FROM THE CO’S DESK

DECEMBER 2011 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 12

INSIDE THIS

ISSUE:

CMC’s Call

Ccc news

2

2

CALENDAR OF

EVENTS

News you can

use

3

4

OMBUDSMEN

MEMOS

Milius holiday

parties

5

6-7

MILIUS frontline

news

8

USS MILIUS COMMAND NEWSLETTER

Happy Holiday Season MILIUS Team!

I can’t say often enough how proud I am of all the MILIUS Sailors and their accomplish-ments this fall, while we haven’t been per-fect, we’ve completed every major milestone required to ready us for deployment. There are still some remaining items in the short time we have left: getting underway mid-December to finish our Anti-Submarine War-fare (ASW) certification as well as Seaman-ship proficiency requirements; completing our pre-deployment maintenance availability; finishing the final inspections in Medical, Strike, & ASW; another ammunition onload; and last, but not least, our holiday leave peri-ods. For family preparation, we have our final pre-deployment brief on 6 December at the 32nd Street Bowling Alley.

For the Holiday’s we have a lot of things planned:

6 December, Holiday lighting contest and ship tours from 6:30 – 9:00. If you have never driven along the Na-val Base San Diego waterfront to see the lights, it is worth your time. Judging is 6 December so that week is when the lights are the best.

9 December, MILIIUS Holiday Party. This isn’t a traditional sit down din-ner event, it’s more like a family reunion, office party, or picnic where we mingle and have a good time while enjoying the atmosphere, food, and great company. Tickets are on sale on the ship for $10 each. See the other article in this newslet-ter for more details.

10 December, MILIUS Children’s Holi-day Party. Starting at 1400 this will be onboard with Santa, arts and crafts, and other fun.

16 December – 27 December. First

stand down period. Those not on leave will be in 3 section duty with normal work days to support half the crew being gone.

23 December – 26 December. Duty Sec-tion only.

28 December – 8 January. Second stand down period. Again those not on leave will be in 3 section duty with normal work days.

30 December – 2 January. Duty Section only.

We are looking for a new Family Readiness Group President; if you are interested please e m a i l M as t e r C h i e f T h om as a t cmc@ddg69.navy.mil. The Family Readiness Group fills an essential role while we are de-ployed by providing opportunities for our fam-ily members to get together to connect with people going through the same challenges caused by the ship’s absence. Events can be whatever the FRG decides to do, but often in-clude events like Half-way party, return from deployment preparations, beach clean ups, mak-ing packages for the crew for key holidays and events, other social events; and Children’s events like Easter Egg Hunts and more. Sincerely, CDR Nikki Bufkin

CDR Bufkin helping guests onboard the ship for the

reception hosted by MILIUS for the city of Santa

Barbara

A big BRAVO ZULU to the following Sailors on their recent Commissioning,

reenlistments, advancements and awards:

PAGE 2 USS MILIUS COMMAND NEWSLETTER

Happy Holiday’s, MILIUS Families. November was a busy month and a time to reflect on what we are thankful for. MIL-IUS had an extremely successful visit to Santa Barbara Navy Week, now we are completing the final requirements for deploy-ment. Our last Pre-deployment Brief is on the 6th of December at the 32nd Street Bowling Alley. The Holiday party is on the 9th of December and we begin our POM stand down on the 16th of December. You are a very important part in the suc-

cess of MILIUS with your support of your Sailor to complete our mission. Now is a very critical time in the US Navy and it cannot be overstated how important OUR mission is today for the safety of the United States. Remember not to discuss spe-cifics on our mission or dates with anyone. This is to keep your Sailors and the ship safe. Take Care and thank you for your support of your Sailor. We appreciate it! I hope to see you at the next Pre-Deployment Brief! Sincerely, CMC

CMC’s CALL

FROM THE COMMAND CAREER COUNSELOR Aloha again MILUS Crew, Family & Friends, One great online tool the Navy has is Navy Personnel Command (NPC) Website: http://www.npc.navy.mil From Enlisted to Officer, tons of up-to-date information as well as point of contacts of Sailor’s detailers. Some of the information provided on the website include: Latest instruc-tions released, Retirements & Separations, and even a Customer Service Desk to answer any questions. In addition, majority of Naval forms, worksheets, and checklists may be found here. If you have any questions, please ask your Sailor. Have a Great Holiday Season!

Sincerely, NC1 (SW/AW) B. Baraoidan

Commissioned: CWO2 Walter ―Ted‖ Lasbury Reenlistments GSEC (SW) Mark Urrutia OS2 (SW) Kiara Salgadocajina OS3 (SW) Krista Affourtit Advancements Petty Officer First Class GM1 (SW) Shakara Lawrence LS1 (SW) Carolina Gutierreznieto (CAP) Petty Officer Second Class CS2 (SW) David Perez (CAP) QM2 (SW) Kendall Mabon (CAP) EN2 Christian Andrade GM2 Latisha Barnes PS2 Francis Fuentebella EM2 Jose Garzasalinas DC2 Alec Horton STG2 (SW) Jerrica Johnson EM2 Komi Ketemepi FC2 Zhihong Lin IT2 Anthony Pisciotto GSM2 (SW) Januar Soepangat CS2 (SW) Cheikh Sow ET2 Jon Stump Petty Officer Third Class IT3 Marches Armstrong QM3 Robert Barnett GM3 Jerek Columna OS3 Kyle Kuhn CS3 Christopher Massanetlaracuente DC3 Joshua Merkelbach GSE3 Shannon Oleary EN3 Hugo Tapia HT3 Louie Trevino GM3 Landon York

The Chief’s Mess of the USS MILIUS at the reception onboard MILIUS while

in Santa Barbara

December 6: Pre-Deployment Brief Bowling Alley 32nd St

December 8: Fly for FREE: Space-A Travel

10am –11am; FFSC Gateway Village Branch

December 9: Ship’s Holiday Party @ FLUXX

December 10: Children’s Holiday Party onboard Milius

December 14: Fly for FREE: Space-A Travel

10 –11am; FFSC Village at Serra Mesa

Saving and Investing Workshop

2-3:30pm; FFSC Naval Base San Diego

December 15: Intro to Owning Your Own Business

9-11am; FFSC Naval Base Coronado

December 16: First POM period begins

December 20: Spouse Readiness Workshop:

Resources for the Military family

1-3pm; FFSC Naval Base Coronado

December 25: Christmas day

December 28: POM Change over day

December 28: Second POM period begins

December 31: New Years Eve

* Annotates in-port, away from home port

—Green highlighted boxes annotate underway periods

PAGE 3 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 12

DECEMBER

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December 2011

Deployments can be difficult no matter how many you have under your belt, having a seasoned mentor can provide you with perspective and peace of mind. Mentors can help you avoid thoughts, fears, or behaviors that can make deployment difficult. Having another spouse’s experience can get over that hump. A great organization to assist Military spouses is COMPASS.

PAGE 4 USS MILIUS COMMAND NEWSLETTER

AROUND TOWN...

COMPASS is a spouse-to-spouse mentoring program that intro-duces participants to all aspects of the military lifestyle. COM-PASS offers military spouses the opportunity to establish a peer network, acquire knowledge and develop skills necessary to suc-cessfully meet future challenges of military life.

COMPASS will Help you -

Understand military life better.

Get to know your Military Community and what is has to offer.

Find friends within the Military Community

Offer a cozy place with a warm atmosphere that provides complimentary snacks and FREE babysitting.

To find out more about Compass visit www.gocompass.org and register for their basic class beginning Jan 23rd through the 25th in San Diego.

16th Annual Alpine Village Christmas Parade of lights and Snow Festival is December 9th at 6:30pm. Join us for a ride down Al-pine Boulevard to the Alpine Community Center to light the Christmas tree. Enjoy the FREE mountain of snow. For more information visit www.alpinechamber.com/events.html

40th Annual San Diego Bay Parade of Lights is sponsored by the Port of San Diego. This years theme is Back to the Future, boat-ers will light up the harbor with festive lights and decorations. The event will go from December 11th thru the 18th from 5:30-9pm each night. For more information visit www.sdparadeoflights.org

COMPASS : Spouses Mentoring Spouses

OMBUDSMAN MEMO

PAGE 5 USS MILIUS COMMAND NEWSLETTER

Is Your Family Prepared For Deployment?

With deployment just around the corner, it would be good to ask yourself some of these questions:

- Do you know how to contact the American Red Cross in case of an emergency? - Do you and your spouse have contact information for the Ombudsmen? - Are your Ombudsman Information Sheets up to date? - Do you need a POA for your spouse? - Are your Wills updated? (changes in family status, etc.) - If you have children, how will you talk with your children about their other parent leaving? Are

you familiar with United Through Reading? - Is DEERS enrollment current? - What is your financial plan/budget? - Will my ID expire before my spouse returns from deployment?

These are just a few examples of questions we recommend you be asking yourself during the remaining time before deployment. If you don’t know the answers or need help, we encourage you to contact us so we can assist you and your family in having a smooth deployment.

Care Packages are much more than just a box packed with items most of us would see as being random. For your sailor (to use my husband’s words), they are a priceless way to feel connected back home to family. The USPS offers FREE packing materials to families of military members deployed overseas!

To order:

Call (800) 610-8734, press ―1‖ (for English), press ―1‖ again (for Operator) and ask for the CAREKIT04. More infor-mation at www.usps.com/supportingourtroops.

Jeri and I recommend you and your spouse come out to the next USS MILIUS Pre-Deployment brief on Dec 6th at the Admiral Robinson Bowling Alley at 1800, especially if you missed the first one. The Command leadership, FFSC and both of us will be on hand with handouts and key information. We look forward to seeing you there!

Happy Holidays!

Your Command Ombudsman Team

Teresa Tillman and Jeri Nix

Ombudsman Info:

ombudsman69@gmail.com

OMB Phone– 619.417.9980

Careline– 619.338.1754

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 12 PAGE 6

USS MILIUS CHILDREN’S HOLIDAY PARTY

Sponsored by the FCPOA Our annual Children’s Holiday Party will be December the 10th from 1400 to 1600. We will be doing crafts where each child can make an ornament to proudly hang on their tree at home. The children will also be able to decorate a stocking for Santa to place their gifts in. We will also be providing fruit, veggies, juice and Santa’s favorite, cookies and milk. When the children arrive onboard they will be given a Santa’s helper hat and welcomed to the ship. They will then proceed to the Mess decks to have snacks and begin working on an ornament or their stocking. We have been in touch with Santa and he is very excited to be able to come and visit with us this year. He is so excited he is actually going to bring one of his elves with him to help carry some special books for each of the children. Each child will be able to sit on Santa’s lap to tell them what they want for Christmas, at that

time the child will receive their book and a candy cane. Santa will also hand the children some reindeer food, this is to help the reindeer find their house. To conclude the afternoon they will have their picture taken with Santa.

I hope each of you that come have a great time with your child or children. If you have any questions I can be reached at nixdg@ddg69.navy.mil.

Dewayne Nix ET1(SW)

For the FCPOA

WANT TO GO SHOPPING? NEED CHILDCARE? WANT IT FREE?

To support families during the busiest season of the year, San Diego navy Child and Youth Programs facilities are offering FREE childcare. Reservations are required one week in advance, an up to date shot record for each child and a completed emergency card at time of drop off is all that is required. Visit mwrtoday.com for CYP locations, phone numbers and addresses.

PAGE 7 USS MILIUS COMMAND NEWSLETTER

This year’s Command Holiday Party is fast approaching and December 9th will be here before you know it. The theme is Mas-querade and the night is shaping up to be like nothing you have experienced before. The party is going down at FLUXX, down-town San Diego’s newest night club. Take what you traditionally know of past holiday parties and your Mom’s white linen, fine china, centerpieces and boring speeches in the Hotel Conference room and toss it to the curb as this night will be unprecedented. This will be a heart pumping sensory overload experience with everything from a DJ taking requests to three separate Fire Dancer performances and as always, superb MWR prizes.

This year’s prizes include the chance to win one of three I-Pad 2s or a $500 gift card to the NEX as our Grand Prizes. The re-maining prizes include two Kindles and Visa Gift cards ranging from $50 to $100. We are also giving away two $100 gift cards for the best dressed male and best dressed female, to include your Masquerade Mask.

The cost to you for this EPIC night is only $10. Not only does this price get you all the above mentioned fun and prizes but if you are over 21 it gets you in the club for the rest of the night. That’s right MILIUS Sailors and guests over 21 will not have to pay an additional cover charge (normally $20) when the Club opens to the Public at 2200 (1000 PM for the civilian types) sorry but those under 21 must be out of the Club by 2150. Tickets are now being sold on the Mess Decks during the lunch hour so be sure to get your tickets as this will be an EPIC night and you will have a new sea story to tell your grandkids about.

TRAY PASS HORS D’OEUVRES

Filet Mignon b'stilla with plum sauce Herbed Baby Crepes with free-range

chicken and ricotta Camembert and Cinnamon poached persimmons

on brioche with honeycomb

RECEPTION STATIONS

Gourmet Grilled Cheese Choice of prosciutto, ham or turkey with selection of brie, gorgonzola, cheddar and tomatoes.

Served on sour dough bread and prepared fresh on a hot grill. Roasted Tomato & Fennel Soup

Braised Short Rib

Tender and succulent Beef Short Ribs served with Red Wine Reduction Sauce Martini Mashed Potato Bar

Sour cream and chive mashed potatoes served in individual martini glasses with choice of top-pings to include Boursin cheese, shredded cheddar, sour cream, chives, Applewood smoked

Roasted Turkey Breast Honey & Thyme glazed turkey breast, with cranberry-orange relish, lemon herb mayonnaise &

rolls

SWEET ENDINGS

Gourmet Dessert Bars: Lemon, coconut macadamia, apple crunch, mixed berry shortbread & pecan

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries: Bittersweet & white chocolate

Cupcakes: Red velvet with cream cheese frosting, carrot cake with pineapple

frosting, lemon blueberry with lemon frosting, chocolate chip with caramel butter cream and coconut with key lime frosting

MILIUS’ HOLIDAY PARTY at FLUXX

MILIUS Sailors volunteered at East Beach in Santa Barbara to help

clean up the lagoon. The group collected 67 pounds of trash in one

morning.

PAGE 8 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 12

MILIUS FRONTLINE NEWS

By Ensign Rhianna Cole

If you have questions, comments or suggestions for MILIUS FRONTLINE NEWS, please email the Public Affairs Officer at PAO@ddg69.navy.mil. Also, please check the Facebook page and contact our Ombudsmen for more information!

November proved to be a busy but enjoyable month. To kick off the month, MILIUS’ crew traveled up the California coast and visited the beautiful city of Santa Barbara, Calif., to show off the ship, provide tours, participate in community events and tour the town.

While anchored out in the Santa Barbara harbor, MILIUS gave tours to over one-thousand people. Groups of approximately 25 people em-barked the ship throughout the day when the seas were manageable to get a glimpse into what life on a Navy warship is like.

Luckily, despite rough seas MILIUS was still able to support ship tours two days during the visit.

―It was an enjoyable experience,‖ said Petty Officer 1st Class Richard Blankenship. ―Being able to give tours to people who don’t normally

see this stuff everyday was rewarding. They were so excited to be on the ship.‖

During the weekend, Sailors marched in a Veteran’s Day parade down Santa Barbara’s historic State Street and also volunteered in a beach clean up and at a children’s hospital.

―We volunteered at a local children’s hospital, talked to the kids about life on a ship and passed out MILIUS ball caps,‖ said Ensign Christina Celline. ―It was incredibly rewarding to visit the children and see the smiles on their faces.‖

During the beach clean-up the volunteers gathered 67 pounds of garbage and pollution in the East Bay beach in Santa Barbara.

Commanding Officer, Commander Nicholie Bufkin joked she was going to make the crew continue searching for an extra two pounds to make it match the ship’s hull number, 69.

―I was very excited for the crew to visit Santa Barbara,‖ said Com-mand Master Chief Lisa Thomas. ―The entire visit was very reward-ing for the Sailors; they were treated with wonderful hospitality by the city of Santa Barbara.‖

Next up on MILIUS’ plate is the Command Holiday party, along with mission-essential exercises and assessments to get the ship and crew ready for deployment.

MILIUS lined up for the Veteran’s Day Parade down State Street in Santa

Barbara, CA

MILIUS Sailors setting up the tent for the reception onboard the ship

while anchored in Santa Barbara Harbor. MILIUS welcomed over

200 guests from the city for food, drinks and tours.