big e takes part inoperationenduringfreedom

May 6, 2012 Issue“We are Legend”Magazine Edition

USS Enterprise (CVN 65)

The Shuttle Big E Takes Part In

Operation Enduring Freedom

Sunday, May 6, 2012 The Shuttle

The Shuttle is published and printed daily underway and bi-weekly in port by the USS Enterprise (CVN 65) Media Department, FPO AE 09543-2810. This newspaper is an authorized publication for members of the Department of Defense. Please direct all story ideas, questions and comments to MC1 (SW) Steve Smith at [email protected].

Public Affairs OfficerLt. Cmdr. Sarah T. Self-Kyler

Executive OfficerCapt. G. C. Huffman

Commanding OfficerCapt. William C. Hamilton, Jr.

EditorsMC2 (SW) Kristin L. Grover MCSN Brian G. Reynolds

The Shuttle

USS Enterprise (CVN 65)

Command Master ChiefABCM (AW/SW) Eric M. Young

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By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class (SW) Britney EppsUSS ENTERPRISE, At Sea- In a Navy where technology has been the cause of a multitude of changes within the realm of maritime navigation, one may think that the days of flag hoisting as a means of communication are a thing of the past. However, when it comes to basic communication, the Quartermaster’s (QM) job aboard aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) is much the same as the Signalman’s (SM) job was a century ago. Navigating and plotting aren’t the only jobs held by the QM rating. Although the SM rating is no longer a part of the Navy, the responsibilities once held by these Sailors are still a part of the day-to-day operations of any U.S. Navy ship. QMs now handle these tasks which include visual communication, flashing the search light, using semaphore flags and flag

hoisting. The task of overseeing the transmission of these underway visual messages falls to a Sailor who is referred to as a “signalman.” The signalman’s position is manned 24 hours a day. The Quartermaster of the Watch (QMOW) is also the designated signalman of the watch. The only time that the QMOW is relieved of signalman duties is during special evolutions such as replenishment at sea, entering and exiting ports and general quarters (GQ). “I enjoy learning different parts of a historical rate,” said Quartermaster 3rd Class Bobby Boyd, who began his career in the Navy as a Seabee. One of the methods of communication Boyd and his fellow QMs have learned is Morse code. Using the search light, QMs

are able to convey messages in 10 five-character coded words per minute by opening and shutting the lens. The sent message is then deciphered through the international Morse code. “The hardest part of the signalman’s job is learning the Morse code,” said Berry. “Once you miss a letter in the message, it throws the entire thing off and you have to start over from the beginning.” Enterprise’s QMs also communicate with other vessels using semaphore and “day shapes.” Semaphore flags are moved in different directions and angles - each signifying a different letter of the alphabet. Each flag has a meaning that lets other ships or aircraft know what is happening aboard. In addition to flags and sticks, black day shapes can be hoisted to indicate a ship’s status. One of the day shapes commonly used during the Big E’s current deployment is the ball-diamond-ball combination. This symbolizes restricted maneuvering. The flag is used when the ship is transiting through shallow waters, a narrow canal or when pulling in or out of port. At a moments notice, QMs can be called upon to hoist flags on halyards, which are lines running from the yardarm of the mast down to the signal bridge. QMs must know what every flag and pennant represents and the meaning of

Signals About the ShipBig E Happenings

SIGNALS continued on page 3


In the News

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — It has been a year of milestones for the families of those killed on Sept. 11, with the death ofOsama Bin Laden followed by the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. Now another painful chapter is set to begin: the prosecution of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of 9/11. Victims’ relatives gathered at military bases along the East Coast Saturday to watch on closed-circuit TV as Mohammed and four codefendants were arraigned atGuantanamo Bay, Cuba, where they will eventually be tried in front of a U.S. military tribunal. The trial is probably at least a year away. For some, the arraignment was a long-awaited moment in a case fraught with years of frustrating delays. For others, watching the proceedings heldno appeal at all. They simply want to move on with their lives. Jim Riches, a retired firefighter from Brooklyn who pulled his firefighter son’s body out of the rubble at ground zero, watched from New York City’s Fort Hamilton. “I think it will give the whole world a look at how evil these men are and that they deserve what they get,”

9/11 Families Prepare for Guantanamo Arraignment

he said. “I think it’s going to be veryupsetting for some families whohaven’t seen their act before. I’m sure they’ll be walking out crying.” The vast majority of victims’ families have never seen Mohammed, aside from a widely disseminatedphotograph of a disheveledlookingMohammed in a white T-shirt immediately after his arrest. A small number of them have traveled to Guantanamo and seen him there. Five of them, chosen by lottery, will flew there on Friday to see the arraignment in person. Mohammed and the others were arraigned oncharges that included terrorism and murder. They could getthe death penalty if convicted in the attacks that sent hijacked airliners slamming into the World Trade Center,the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people were killed. “I just hope for the sake of the 3,000 families that they get what they deserve,” Riches said. “Because it’s not enough. They were broken into pieces.” It’s unclear exactly how many families watched at military bases. At Fort Meade, between Baltimore and Washington, organizers were prepared for about 150 members of the public. A spokesman for Joint Base McGuire

Dix in Lakehurst, N.J., said very few people were planned to go, though hedeclined to give a number. Barbara Minervino of Middletown, N.J., whosehusband, Louis, an executive at an insurance and investment firm, died in the twin towers, said she attended a happy occasion on Saturday instead: a Communion party for a member of the family. “We’re looking toward living,” she said. “We’re looking toward the future and not the past.” Mary Fetchet, who lost her son Brad at the trade center and founded the support group Voices of Sept. 11, said she had a prior engagement and couldn’t watch the arraignment but will be closely following the trial. Fetchet surveys the 9/11 survivors every year and said she found that they are dealing with the tragedy in vastlydifferent ways, even within the same family. “Some people will follow it on media reports, and some people just want to put it behind them,” she said. “I think the trial is another roadblock in them being able to move forward. I think the thing you have to realize is that everybody goes through it differently, and you just have to respect what the needs of each individual are.”

SIGNALS continuedstandard flag hoisting combinations. “My favorite part of the job is doing flag hoisting drills,” said. “It’s always fun competing against other ships to see who is the fastest (at hoisting the flag),” said Berry. Common flags used underway include the “Foxtrot flag” (flown when the ship is conducting flight operations) and “Hotel” (used during helicopter operations). Most of these flags are important to

recognize so that everyone is aware of what is going on aboard the ship for safety reasons. Whenever a flag is raised, or lights are flashing at night, remember that every signal has a unique meaning and the Quartermasters of the Big E are keeping the ship safe and in view. Although QMs perform some of the tasks previously delegated to one of the Navy’s most historical ratings,, their duties play a pivotal role in the functionality of Enterprise.


OEF: Week One

Since the beginning of deployment on March 11, 2012, Enterprise has completed:

2,222 Traps2,321 Sorties4,219.6 Flight Hours

Since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom Enterprise has completed:

116 OEF Sorties669.2 OEF Flight Hours

(as of May 4, 2012)

Photo by MCSN Harry Andrew D. Gordon

Photo by MCSN Randy J. Savarese




OEF: Week One



Photo by MCSN Randy J. SavaresePhoto by MCSN Heath Zeigler

Photo by MCSN Heath Zeigler

Photo by MCSN Heath Zeigler


Big E Personalities

USS ENTERPRISE, At Sea – Once upon a time, not too long ago in the Republic of Haiti, chaos filled the land. Citizens rioted in the streets. People killed and people died in an attempt to overthrow their local government. Gean-Claude Duvalier became president at the age of 19 after his father, Francois (Poppa Doc) Duvalier, the self-proclaimed “President for Life,” passed away. Many people were dissatisfied. “I lived in Haiti for nine years and during that time I saw nine presidents,” said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Judith L. Wesley, an independent duty corpsman aboard Enterprise. “Every year someone else would come in. People wouldn’t like him. People would be exiled. People would die. He would be thrown down. It was a vicious cycle.” Wesley was born in New York, but soon moved to the Republic of Haiti where she spent much of her time growing up. Wesley recalls going to school in Haiti. She said school

The Streets Were Hot: One Petty Officer’s StoryStory by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Gregory White

normally started in October, but during election times things would often get so bad children did not go to school for days, weeks and, sometimes, months. People described the streets as being ‘hot’ during these trying times. “I would go to school until a riot would occur,” said Wesley. “Schools would shut down for months so long as the streets were hot. The ‘streets are hot’ meant that people were out there rioting, shooting, and going crazy.” Wesley moved back to the United States when she was a senior in high school. After finishing high school, she enrolled in college. Times were often difficult then, too. Wesley was working three jobs in order to pay rent, pay bills, pay tuition and pay for books and supplies. She chose, however, to make the best of things. “I don’t feel like I’ve had many tribulations,” said Wesley. “I feel as though I may have had set backs, but my parents taught me that when you get knocked down, you get back up. Some days you have food, and some days you don’t, but

Photo by MC2(SW) Brooks B. Patton Jr.


Big E Personalitiesif all you had was bread and water that day, then you had food.” It wasn’t long before Wesley realized that she could not afford to keep going at the rate she was going, so she searched for better opportunities. “One day I saw a commercial that said ‘let the Navy pay for college,’” said Wesley. “I said, ‘OKAY!’ and did just that.” “My experience in Haiti actually shaped me and helped me to grow into a person who was well prepared for the military. I’ve seen dead bodies and I’ve seen people killed as a kid. Now, when I see it as an adult, it doesn’t faze me too much at the. I can say that was an experience that my parents didn’t expect for me, but I saw it, I lived it, I overcame it, and now I’m here.” Wesley has been in the Navy for 14 years now, and she has plans to retire after 20. Her first duty station was in Okinawa, Japan and her first school was physical therapy school. “Right after graduating from physical therapy school the attacks of 9/11 occurred, we had a lot of injured and wounded service members come to the hospital,” said Wesley. “I had the opportunity to perform physical therapy on them and it was very fulfilling. In dealing with their injuries, surgeries, amputations and burns, I learned to become very patient and compassionate with patients as they proceeded through physical therapy. Those were some of my most fulfilling times as a physical therapy technician.” Wesley later served five years in San Diego as a physical therapy technician before moving on to become an independent duty corpsman. Wesley said she likes basic sick call and treating patients for their illnesses. She enjoys learning about new diseases and trying to figure out how to help people. “In the midst of this I’ve learned that, even though I am not a doctor, I’m still a provider, and we cannot cure everybody,” said Wesley. “Certain things that we find, we have to contemplate how to tell people what they have and might have to live with, as well as ways to help them cope with that kind of news.” After becoming an independent duty corpsman, Wesley later traveled to Texas to teach combat casualty care to new doctors, nurses and medical corpsmen who were preparing to deploy to warzones. “I taught them how to get out of the comfort of being in a sterile hospital and how to treat patients in dirty places with no lights and minimal supplies,” said Wesley. “I taught them how to improvise with basic materials to treat patients out in the field and on the front line.” Finally, when her time as an instructor drew to a close, HM1 Wesley reported to aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65). Enterprise is her first ship, and not only is she

the ship’s independent duty corpsman, but she is also the president of the Multicultural Heritage Committee aboard Enterprise. Wesley said she was shocked that she was nominated to be president of the committee. “I never showed up to the meetings,” said Wesley. “I maybe went to three and then helped organize the observance for the Caribbean Heritage Month. Next thing you know, I was running the whole thing.” Because of her experience in Haiti, Wesley speaks fluent French and Creole. She has a deep passion and understanding of people and culture, and she hopes to do a lot of fun things with the committee during Enterprise’s last deployment. She believes that there are many people on Enterprise with interesting cultural ideas, talents and histories and she hopes they will be willing to share in upcoming events. Wesley wants to spend her next tour in the Navy with the Marines “green-side.” “I want to go out with the Marines so that I can say I’ve pretty much done everything in the Navy,” said Wesley. Wesley finished her Bachelor’s degree in Clinical Health Sciences this year. She has been an instructor. She has been overseas. She has been on a ship. She has done a lot of things and she has done them all well because of her drive and perseverance. Wesley said that she wants her three daughters to know that life isn’t always easy, but that nothing is impossible. “I set goals,” said Wesley. “Either I reach them or I die trying.”

Big E Personalities

Do you or someone you know have an interesting

story to tell?

If so, contact MCSN Brian Reynolds via email at

[email protected]

Sunday, May 6, 2012The Shuttle

Big E Entertainment

Lance Cpl. Joseph Watanuki, from Salt Lake City, joined the Marines two years ago to improve himself and follow in his grandfather’s footsteps. Watanuki enjoys hanging out with friends and family, working out and playing Xbox. He plans to work with counter-intelligence and own his own business in the future.

Lance CorporalJoseph Watanuki

Sailor and Marine of the Day

ITSN Rommel Mares, from El Paso, Texas, joined the Navy 16 months ago to follow in his brother’s footsteps. Mares enjoys going to the gym, keeping in contact with his family and listening to music. His future goals include making rank, providing a good life for his family and continuing to serve honorably.

Information Systems Technician SeamanRommel J. Mares

big e takes part inoperationenduringfreedom

Documents

visual communication

means of communication

basic communication

signalmans job

semaphore flags

methods of communication

signalmans sm job

fellow qms