File - Aviation Boatswain`s Mates association

T he A venger
USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77)
Volume 2, Issue 2
In
January 28, 2011
this issue:
News From the Strike Group
Ouija Board Sees Green
The Journey of a Bomb
table of
[CONT ENTS[
Strike Group VBSS Ops
The Green Ouija Board
The Week in Photos
2
3
COMPTUEX
5
From On-load to Release
7
DCAG/Deputy DESRON
9
This Week in Navy History
10
COMMANDING OFFICER
Capt. DeWolfe H. Miller III
AFFAIRS OFFICER 
 PUBLIC
Lt. Cmdr. John Schofield
EDITOR
MC3 Joshua D. Sheppard

AVENGER STAFF
MC3 Joshua Horton MC3 Timothy Walter
MC3 Sandi Grimnes MCSN Jess Echerri
“The Avenger” is produced by the Media Department of USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH (CVN 77). The editorial content of this newspaper is edited and
approved by the Media Department ofUSS GEORGE H.W. BUSH.
“The Avenger” is an authorized publication for the members of USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH (CVN 77) and their families. Its contents do not necessarily
reflect the official views of the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense or the U.S. Navy and do not imply the endorsement thereof.
Mitscher Conducts Night Boarding Exercise
Story by MCSN Deven King
ailors from the visit, board,
search and seizure (VBSS) team
aboard the guided missile destroyer
USS Mitscher (DDG 57) conducted
a nighttime boarding exercise Jan.
23.
The 13-member team boarded a
vessel acting as a pirated ship.
Ensign Jason Coyle, who is scheduled to take over as boarding officer
for Mitscher’s upcoming deployment, said nighttime boardings are
very unusual for a VBSS team.
“It’s not something we usually
do,” said Coyle. “Usually you see
higher level teams like Navy SEALs
conducting these operations.”
Even a nighttime training exercise can be dangerous, but Coyle
said the risk paid off.
“We learned a few extra things
we weren’t taught in (VBSS) school;
S
situations we can be put in which
we typically would not encounter
during a daytime boarding,” said
Coyle.
The boarding was an evaluated
exercise for the team.
“They look at everything from
tactical movements down to interrogation techniques,” Coyle said.
“It’s not been confirmed, but the
word I received is of the past six
teams that went over and did the
nighttime boarding, we were the
best.”
This was Mitscher’s VBSS team’s
first nighttime exercise.
Mitscher is conducting a Composite Training Unit Exercise
(COMPTUEX) as part of the George
H.W. Bush Strike Group to prepare
for an upcoming combat deployment.
Photo by MCSN Deven King
Members of the visit, board, search and seizure
(VBSS) team from USS Mitscher (DDG 57) board
a rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB). Mitscher’s
VBSS team recently completed its first nighttime VBSS exercise.
Piracy Challenges Maritime Security Off Somalia
P
By Cheryl Pellerin, American Forces Press Service
irates off the coast of Somalia are using bigger vessels to extend their criminal reach in a move that
could prompt U.S. Navy forces in the region to intensify techniques for pursuing the lawbreakers, the top
naval officer in the region said, Jan. 26.
Vice Adm. Mark I. Fox, commander, U.S. Naval
Forces Central Command and the U.S. 5th Fleet, told
a group of defense reporters that pirates have begun
commandeering large merchant ships and using them
as "mother ships" to put smaller boats into operation
far from the coast, and beyond the reach of the international forces arrayed against them.
"This is the first time we've seen persistent and increased use of mother ships - up to eight 'pirate action
groups' as we refer to them, disbursed throughout the
region," Fox said, calling this development a "game
changer."
Fox said the number of pirate hostages rose from
250 to about 770 between September and January. In
response to this and to the pirates' evolving capabilities, "we're in a constant process of assessing the way
we do our business here."
The international force that works together in the
region includes participation from the political alliance with the European Union, the military alliance
with NATO, and military combined task forces that address critical security issues facing the region, including terrorism and piracy.
On the cover:
Gas Turbine System Technician (Mechanical) 3rd Class Rynell D. Perkins climbs down a ladder
onto a rigid-hull inflatable boat (RHIB) while the visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) team
departs the Arleigh Burke-Class guided missile destroyer USS Truxtun (DDG 103) to help a
stranded vessel in need. Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Richard J. Stevens.
2
Story and layout by MC3 Timothy Walter
The Handler’s
Bank
Few people would willingly set down a single dollar on a table and simply walk away, let alone
leave a bill with Benjamin Franklin’s face on it. But at the desk of the aircraft handling officer of USS
GEORGE H.W. BUSH (CVN 77), crew and visitors have been doing exactly that since June 2010.
The aircraft handling officer, or “handler,” is an unlikely banker. He has a difficult enough job coordinating maintenance, scheduling flights, and monitoring the movement of all of the aircraft and
helicopters that occupy the flight deck and hangar bay, let alone handling money.
In his case, a lot of money.
Public Service Announcement
3
Remember to sort your trash according to type. For example, when you finish your Starbucks
coffee, the lid goes in with the plastic trash and the cup goes with paper trash.
W
hen Lt. Cmdr. Ron Rancourt arrived on board USS
He brought this mentality to USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH,
GEORGE H.W. BUSH to serve as the aircraft handling but then the dollar bill tradition took an unexpected turn,
officer, in June 2010, he brought with him a tradition that as the Ouija board seemed to have a destiny of its own.
now causes his workspace to become richer every week.
“As we started putting money under the Ouija board, all
Denominations of all types, including several bearing the visitors and dignitaries starting asking what the money
the face of Benjamin Franklin, Ulysses S. Grant, and George was for,” Rancourt said.
Washington, line his table, known as the Ouija board.
One such visitor was the Vice Chairman of the Boston
As a scale drawing of the flight deck covered in plastic, Red Sox, Phillip H. Morse, who upon seeing the money,
Rancourt’s Ouija board normally presents a visual picture signed his name on a $100 bill and offered it for the fund.
of real time aircraft movements, status, and maintenance
“From the day he contributed the $100 bill. It has grown
needs so that he can offer quick and accurate information and grown and grown and grown. Most anyone that has
to the aircraft directors as well as provide details for opera- visited this ship has donated,” Rancourt said, adding that
tional readiness to those in command.
the board is a constant conversation piece during ship
To represent this information, the Ouija board employs tours.
off-the-shelf items such as colored push-pins, tiny wooden
Visitors “will come in here and the first question is,
blocks, wing nuts, washers, and even
‘What’s up with the money?’” Ranre-painted nuts from float coat ac“It’s a really good tradition, court said.
tuators.
What started out as a punishbecause it’s honestly donated
Interestingly enough, the bills linment now “brings a smile to everymoney
for
people
who
need
it.”
ing the board serve no purpose in
one’s face,” Rancourt said.
--ABHAN Robert Farley
showing the location or status of the
Among those who have contribaircraft. Rather the bills accumulated
uted are Medal of Honor Recipient
due to fines that Sailors incurred for
Retired Army Col. Jack Jacobs, the
knocking, bumping, touching, or otherwise invading the CEO of Pratt and Whitney, Boy Scout Troop 982, and even
handler’s space.
Santa Claus, if the bill bearing his face is to be believed.
“When I have 45 aircraft up here and people lean all over
All those donations have added up, changing not only
the Ouija board and knock stuff around, we can lose situ- the main source of money but also its destination.
ational awareness of what’s going on out there. And that’s
“It’s to the point now where there is just too much monvery critical. We can lose valuable time,” Rancourt said. ey to say we’re going to have a party,” Rancourt said.
When this happened in the past, “grumpy old handlers”
Instead, the money will now be donated to the Aviation
charged a fine for the inconvenience, usually a dollar.
Boatswain’s Mate Association’s (ABMA) Scholarship Fund,
Rancourt followed suit during his last tour on USS THE- which helps dependents of its members receive tuition asODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71) and collected a dollar for sistance for college.
any sort of table-touching. Not to be confused with the
“It’s not my money. It will be a gift from USS GEORGE
grumpy handlers before him, Rancourt gave the money H.W. BUSH to the ABMA,” Rancourt said.
back to the aircraft directors, or yellow shirts, who were
Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) Airman Robert
the Sailors most affected by a misplaced push-pin, so that Farley contributed a dollar himself and appreciated that
they could have a social.
the money would now be used for a worthy cause.
“When you mess up the Ouija board, it affects the yel“It’s a really good tradition, because it’s honestly donatlow shirts’ ability to do their jobs. The yellow shirts have ed money for people who need it,” Farley said.
to park and move those aircraft. So if an aircraft is out of
The only issue now is making sure that money doesn’t
its spot or some pins are missing, they are missing a large disappear from the board. But Rancourt isn’t losing any
piece of information,” Rancourt said. “Then the squad- sleep over the issue when he isn’t at his desk.
ron can’t do their maintenance. We can miss the ability
“I’m not worried. If we show people that we trust them
to launch an aircraft to drop a bomb and save our troops. and we stick with the Navy’s Honor, Courage, CommitThat’s how important these pins are.”
ment, I think people grasp that and respect that,” he said.
Damage Control Question of the week
List the names of the alarms that can override the microphone control of the 1MC.
4
Answer: Collision, chemical attack, general, and flight crash alarm.
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COMPTUEX
Layout by MC3 Timothy Walter
8
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Layout by MC3 Timothy Walter
1. Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) Airman Jericho Mendez, of USS GEORGE H.W.
BUSH (CVN 77) Air Department’s V-2 Division, moves into position after securing an
F/A-18E Super Hornet to a catapult, Jan. 21.
2. Naval Air Crewman 2nd Class (NAC/AW) Nathaniel Sniff, from Helicopter Sea Combat
Squadron (HSC) 9 embarked aboard USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH (CVN 77), lowers a
rescue basket as part of a Search and Rescue (SAR) training exercise, Jan. 25.
3. Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Zach Montanaro climbs down a ladder from the guided
missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG 57) into a rigid hull inflatable boat to accompany the ship’s visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) team on an exercise mission, Jan. 24.
4. An MH-60S Seahawk from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 70, attached to
USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH (CVN 77), sets on the flight deck, Jan. 20.
5. Sailors heave a line during an underway replenishment aboard the Arleigh-Burke Class
guided missile destroyer USS Truxtun (DDG 103), Jan. 20.
6. Sailors aboard the guided missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG 57) stand by as the
fleet replenishment oiler USNS Leroy Grumman (T-AO 195) pulls alongside to
conduct an underway replenishment, Jan. 20.
7. A Sailor assigned to USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH (CVN 77) Weapons Department fires a
.50-caliber machine gun during a live-fire exercise on the ship’s fantail, Jan. 23.
8. USS Mitscher (DDG 57) fires its 5-inch gun during a gun exercise, Jan. 22.
-
E
ight disassembled bombs are laid out on the bomb table in one of the six magazines on board USS George H.
W. Bush (CVN 77). One side of the room is filled with various explosives and weapons. Forklifts move across the
room carrying ordnance into and out of storage. In between the destructive warheads, 10 Sailors calmly maneuver
the room to assemble the bombs on the table.
The tail crew stands behind the table to attach fins onto the backs of each bomb. These fins will later help the
bomb “fly” after it has been deployed from an aircraft. On the other side, the nose crew assembles the guidance
system which uses either a laser or a global positioning system (GPS) to guide the bomb to its intended target.
The quality assurance safety observer (QASO) inspects each bomb for completeness and safety. After the bomb
passes inspection, a hoist attached to the overhead of the magazine picks up the bomb and moves
it onto a skid. The skids, carts with attached adapters to secure different ordnance, are then
wheeled to the center of the room where the live bombs will wait to ultimately be transported to waiting aircraft.
In order to get it from the magazines below decks to the aircraft on the flight deck,
ordnance goes through different steps and many different hands in its short lifespan.
The journey starts with the Sailors in Weapons Department’s G-3 division. They are in
charge of assembling and disassembling ordnance in the ship’s magazines for delivery
to the hangar bay.
Bush’s magazines hold bombs, missiles, torpedoes, mines, 20-mm and small arms
ammunition, said Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class (AW) Richard Roux, the 74-series
magazine supervisor.
G-3 Sailors load the ordnance onto the elevators, which Weapons Department’s G-4 division operates.
“We’re able to transport ordnance without moving it where most of the crew moves around,” Roux said.
The nine elevators and one emergency back-up elevator on board Bush are maintained by Weapons Department’s G-4 division. Sailors perform daily maintenance to ensure each elevator operates like it should. If an incident
should occur, they are prepared to fix the elevators quickly and safely.
Each magazine has access to at least two elevators so if one is being repaired or maintained, there will be another
one available.
“Without elevators enabling ordnance to be loaded onto aircraft, there’s no point in even having strike fighters,”
Public Service Announcement
7
Please remember to close A/C boundaries after you pass through them. Securing these doors
regulates the temperature inside the ship, making it a much more pleasurable environment for
all hands.
Layout by MC3 Joshua Sheppard Story by MCSN Jessica Echerri
said Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class Pete Grocut, a maintenance technician and elevator troubleshooter in G-4
division. “There would be no way to get ordnance from the magazines to anywhere.”
Aviation ordnancemen from Weapons Department’s G-1 division take control of the weapons from the elevators.
They collect the skids in a section of Hangar Bay 2 called the bomb farm. Anytime ammunition is moved, a team of
qualified handlers, led by a team leader and a QASO, must work to ensure the Sailors and the ammunition are kept
safe. The hangar bay ordnance team sends the ordnance on the upper stage elevators to another bomb farm on the
flight deck.
“We’re basically set up like a store,” said Aviation Ordnanceman 1st Class (AW/SW) Donnie Dowell, G-1 division’s flight deck assistant leading petty officer. “G-3 division is the distribution center, G-1 is the store,
and the squadrons are the customers.”
The squadron ordnance teams come to the bomb farm to check out the weapons they
need to complete that day’s operations. The team will perform the final weapon inspection before it is loaded.
“It all comes down to the mission,” Dowell said. “G-3 has to build it right, G-1 has to
deliver it right, and the squadrons have to attach it right because there might not be a
second chance.”
Some ordnance requires final assembly before being attached to the aircraft. The torpedoes launched by MH-60R Seahawks must be armed with cartridge activating devices
(CADs).
“The CADs are in place in case the pilot needs to get rid of the torpedo,” said Aviation
Ordnanceman 1st Class (AW/SW) John Farris, the ordnance team’s leading petty officer from Helicopter Maritime
Strike Squadron (HSM) 70. “If the eject button doesn’t work, the torpedo can still be detached with the CAD.”
It takes a team of five or more Sailors to attach a weapon to an aircraft. Two or more Sailors lift the nearly 5,000
pound weapon to be guided and secured to the aircraft by another Sailor. Another team member also operates a
hoist to alleviate some of the weapon’s weight. A team leader and a QASO supervise and assist to ensure everything
is performed safely and quickly.
“Without us, this would be a ship,” said Aviation Ordnanceman 1st Class (AW/SW) Angel Berrio, G-3 division’s
leading petty officer. “We make it a warship.”
3M Question of the Week
What is the purpose of equipment tag-out procedures?
8
Answer: To provide safety measures for equipment and personnel and prevent improper operation of equipment or systems.
Capt. John Fuller
Deputy Commodore, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 22
USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH (CVN 77)
welcomes Capt. John Fuller, Deputy
Commodore, Destroyer Squadron
(DESRON) 22.
Fuller earned his commission
from the United States Naval Academy in 1987, graduating with a
Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science.
His first sea duty assignment was
on board USS VANDEGRIFT (FFG-48)
as a Damage Control Assistant and Combat Information Center
Officer from Sept. 1988 until June 1991. While attached to VANDEGRIFT, Fuller conducted two deployments and participated in
Operations EARNEST WILL and DESERT SHIELD.
Upon completing the Manpower/Personnel Training Analysis
curriculum at the Naval Postgraduate School in March of 1993,
Capt. Fuller earned a Master of Science degree in Management
and then went on to complete the Surface Warfare Officer De-
partment Head Course and reported to USS Kauffman (FFG59), on which he served as Chief Engineer from January 1994 until November 1995. Fuller was assigned as a space inspector on
the Commander, Atlantic Fleet Propulsion Examining Board from
November 1995 to November 1997, and then as Flag Secretary
to Commander, Amphibious Force, Seventh Fleet in Okinawa, Japan, from November 1997 to November 1999.
In November 2000, Fuller graduated from the College of Naval
Command and Staff at the Naval War College, where he received
a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies. From there, he was forward-deployed to Yokosuka, Japan,
where he served as the Executive Officer of USS CURTIS WILBUR
(DDG-54) from March 2001 to July 2002. Fuller went on to command USS MASON (DDG 87) from January 2006 to August 2007.
“I’m excited to be here. This is the first deployment for the
Bush and we’re trying to integrate the DESRON 22 team and CVW
8 and we’re trying to be as effective as possible. This is my first
time on a carrier. It’s a new experience for me so I’m here to learn
and I’m here to try and help the team win,” said Fuller.
Capt. Daniel W. Dwyer
Deputy Commander, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8
USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH (CVN
77) welcomes Capt. Daniel W. Dwyer, Deputy Commander Carrier Air
Wing (CVW) 8.
Dwyer is a 1988 graduate of the
California Maritime Academy, where
he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Transportation and
a Third Mate’s License in the Merchant Marine. Dwyer received his
Wings of Gold in March 1992 in Meridian, Miss., and was given orders to fly the F/A-18C in Lemoore,
Calif.
While assigned to Strike Fighter Weapons School Pacific, Dwyer
was selected as the Commander, Strike Fighter Wing U.S. Pacific
Fleet, Admiral Wesley McDonald Junior Officer of the Year.
Dwyer went on to serve as Commanding Officer for Strike
Fighter Squadron (VFA) 27 from May 2006 until August 2007, and
as Commanding Officer of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 106 at
NAS Oceana from June 2009 until December 2010.
His decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious
Service Medal, Strike/Flight Air Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Battle E, and has accumulated over
3,000 F-18 flight hours, and over 950 carrier arrested landings on
10 different aircraft carriers.
Dwyer was selected for major command and reported to Carrier Air Wing 8 as Deputy CAG in December 2010.
“Being a part of the CAG 8 was my number one choice. I feel
fortunate to have been selected to be a part of this maiden voyage; it’s very exciting. I’ve seen so many Sailors here that I’ve
served with in the past at FRS, and it’s great to serve with them
again,” said Dwyer.
Naval Trivia
Name the largest flying boat ever built for the U.S. Navy.
Answer: The Martin “MARS”
9
Date: Jan. 26, 1913
John Paul Jones interred in U.S.
Naval Academy Chapel
Story by MC3 Timothy Walter
On Jan. 26, 1913, John Paul Jones, often referred to
as the founding father of the U.S. Navy, was laid to rest
for the third and final time.
Beneath the U.S. Naval Academy Chapel in Annapolis, Md., Jones’ remains are interred in a
tomb of ornate black and white Royal Pyrenees
marble held high upon the backs of four bronze
dolphins. It is a fitting end for a man whose
indomitable spirit inspired a Navy and
cemented an ethos of determination
that still defines the modern fleet.
His unwillingness to surrender
during a battle between his Bonhomme Richard and the HMS
Serapis was immortally captured
in his famous words to his adversary, “I have not yet begun to
fight.” Despite taking on water and
combating a fire aboard his ship,
Jones won the day, and ultimately
the admiration and respect of those
Sailors who followed after him.
However, after a courageous career both
in the Continental Navy and later in the service of the Empress Catherine II of Russia, his initial place of rest was not always so enshrined as his
reputation nor was it even known.
“For more than a century the mortal remains of our
first great sailor lay in an unknown grave lost to her
country,” reads a plaque near his final tomb. Jones
had retired in France, where he died in a Parisian
apartment on July 18, 1792, and was buried at Saint
Louis Cemetery. In the years to follow, this property
changed ownership several times until his grave fell
into obscurity and was lost.
However, due to the tenacity of Gen. Horace Porter
during his tenure as U.S. Ambassador to France, Jones’
remains were recovered after nearly six years of research. His body was carried back to the country he
helped defend by the Navy he helped forge aboard the
naval cruiser, USS Brooklyn (CA 3).
He was placed at the Naval Academy’s Bancroft Hall
while a permanent tomb could be built. When he arrived, then-President Theodore Roosevelt made
clear on Apr. 24, 1906, that a hero had returned.
“I feel that the place of all others in which
the memory of the dead hero will most
surely be a living force is here in Annapolis, where year by year we turn out
the midshipmen who are to officer in
the future the Navy, among whose
founders the dead man stands first,”
Roosevelt said. “Moreover, the future naval officers, who live within
these walls, will find in the career
of the man whose life we this day
celebrate, not merely a subject for
admiration and respect, but an object
lesson to be taken into their innermost
hearts. Every officer in our Navy should
know by heart the deeds of John Paul Jones.”
Seven years later, Jones was moved to his final
resting place beneath the Chapel where his tomb
stands to this day in honor, surrounded by his captain’s
commission, medals, honors, and other items that celebrate his storied past.
Jones’ words still speak from the grave, echoing a
pioneering fearlessness to those Sailors who serve and
are still to serve: “I wish to have no connection with
any ship that does not sail fast, for I intend to go in
harm’s way.”
ESWS/EAWS Question of the Week
ESWS: What does a two coordinate radar provide?
EAWS: What is NALCOMIS?
10
ESWS Answer: Course, Range and Bearing
EAWS Answer: Naval Aviation Logistics Command Information System
MWR Underway Events
MWR Fitness Classes
Fri., 28 Jan.
Saturdays
Movie Night, Aft Mess Decks 2000-2200
Cardio Kickboxing 0600-0630*
Spin Cycle 1500-1600 Spin Room 01-64-5-Q
Step Aerobics 1930-2030*
Sat., 29 Jan.
Dominoes, Fwd. Mess Decks 2000-2200
Circuit Training 2000-2100*
Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays
Sun., 30 Jan.
Texas Hold’em, Fwd. Mess Decks 2000-2200
Mon., 31 Jan.
Board Game Night, Aft Mess Decks 2000-2200
Tues., 1 Feb.
Circuit Training 0600-0700*
Step Aerobics 2000-2100*
Circuit Training 2000-2100*
Tuesdays
Cardio Kickboxing 0600-0630*
Spin Cycle 1500-1600 Spin Room 01-64-5-Q
Step Aerobics 1930-2030*
Zumba 2000-2100*
Uno Tournament, Fwd. Mess Decks 2000-2200
Thursdays
Wed., 2 Feb.
Spin Cycle 1500-1600 Spin Room 01-64-5-Q
Cardio Kickboxing 1500-1600*
Step Aerobics 1930-2030*
Spades Tournament, Aft Mess Decks, 2000-2200
* Hangar Bay: location depends on current Hangar Bay status