Aussie Navy is hiring
May 8th, 2012 | Australia Navy | Posted by Sam Fellman
The Australian Navy is seeking former U.S. Navy sailors and officers to man new destroyers and amphibs. // RAN
Interested in sailing with the Royal Australian Navy?
The U.S. Navy may be cutting jobs, but the Australian Navy is adding new ships — and seeking former U.S. sailors and officers to crew them.
“The Royal Australian Navy welcomes enquiries from both officers and sailors who are interested in a new career and new life in Australia,” the Australian defense department said in its recruitment posting. “In the coming decade, the RAN is delivering new capabilities in amphibious warfare, air warfare and also helicopter systems.”
They’re looking for submariners, medical officers and technicians, among others. Aegis experts are needed aboard three Hobart-class destroyers. Maintainers are needed for landing craft, planners are need for amphibious operations. Eligible applicants are 44 or younger and left the Navy within the last three years, according to the job post, recently reported on by Stars and Stripes.
Applications sent now will be considered in July and August, the defense department said.
After delay, Mercy leaves fired up for a mission of help
May 4th, 2012 | Community relations Deployment Disaster response Medical Navy Pacific Partnership | Posted by Gidget Fuentes
With the “global force for good” in mind, some 400 military service members, many of them trained and skilled in the medical and health professions, boarded the hospital ship Mercy at San Diego Naval Base, Calif, on the morning of May 1 for a mission to Southeast Asia. Joining them that day were scores of civilians, volunteers of all ages from universities, nongovernmental organizations and charities who embarked on the ship for “Pacific Partnership 2012,” the seventh iteration of the U.S. Pacific Fleet’s humanitarian and civic action program that grew from the widespread disaster of the 2004 tsunami that struck South Asia. The atmosphere on the pier was one of excitement, as if a cruise ship was heading out to sea. In the coming week or two, nearly 1,000 will board the ship for missions in Indonesia, one of four countries Mercy will visit on this deployment, along with the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia.
Sailors manned the rails for the departure through San Diego Bay, a string of white uniforms interrupted by an occasional Air Force blue dress uniform or Army beret. But just as Mercy was preparing to leave her berth, and crews readied to lift the brow and toss the lines, trouble came with a faulty valve in the forward propulsion section. The crowd waited on the pier. It wasn’t long before the ship’s radar went still, and two super tugs waiting to nudge the former tanker-turned-hospital ship from the pier veered away and headed back to their berth nearby. It would be two days before Mercy, with repairs done, would get underway.
The hiccup probably did little to quash the excitement for the mission. “This does energize you,” said Command Master Chief (SW/FMF) Thomas Twigg, Mercy’s command master chief and a 21-year veteran. “Going to Vietnam is going to be a great opportunity, and the chance to visit some of the remote islands in Indonesia.” Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class (AW) Amirah Roman volunteered for the mission, a break from her regular duties at Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif. She described herself as “a jack-of-all-trades corpsman,” and expects to dabble in everything from patient administration to patient care and medical education during the deployment. She’s been teaching herself a little Tagalog but can’t wait to see Cambodia. “It’s going to be amazing,” she said. “These are all new countries to me.”
Life on the 894-foot-long ship will have a different feel than her previous sea tour aboard the carrier Abraham Lincoln. “It’s smaller but it’s more comfortable,” she said of the berthing spaces and lounges. “They’ve got a Fit Boss, and they even have a Fun Boss.” “It’s kind of like a cruise ship atmosphere,” she added. “You can go see things that you’ve never seen before.” There’s even a nutritionist aboard, she said. Actually, there may even be more than one. Deploying and joining her over the four months will be a wide range of health, medical, dental and even veterinarian experts with the Military Treatment Facility, along with engineers and scores of civilian volunteers, many who will go ashore for civic, humanitarian and disaster relief missions and training. Others will treat patients aboard the ship, which has up to 1,000 beds, vast medical and patient spaces including surgery, radiology and optometry lab. The ship produces its own water, even oxygen, and can hold up to 5,000 units of blood.
The $20 million humanitarian mission will start with Indonesia at the end of May, then onto the other countries for missions lasting two weeks each before the ship returns, probably sometime in September. The mission is about building relationships as much as mending broken bones, fixing teeth and teaching local providers and residents about good health, said Rear Adm. C. Forrest Faison III, who commands Navy Medicine West in San Diego. “We learned that from our experience in Indonesia,” after the 2004 earthquake and tsunami.
Nearly two dozen nongovernmental organizations, from Project Handclasp and World Vets to the University of California-San Diego Pre-Dental Society, will participate. “It’s an opportunity to serve our country in ways others can’t,” said retired Army Lt. Col. Mike Hughes, a physician’s assistant and LDS Charities volunteer who joined his wife Shari, a nurse and veteran of “PP 2010.” This larger presence of volunteers, many who will go ashore to work with military teams and train with local first-responders and NGOs, is noticeable on the ship, crewed by 70 civilian-mariners. “Our people brought a spirit to the ship,” said Dr. Irv Silverstein, the Dental Society’s director and advisor and veteran of previous Pacific Partnerships. “At first, there was a lot of skepticism. By having the civilian engagement concept, there’s less of a feeling that it was a military mission.” Cultural exchanges and training help as well. “It’s not us telling them how to do things,” he said. You can track PP ’12’s own blog here.
Hospital ship Mercy deployed Thursday from San Diego, bound for Southeast Asia and "Pacific Partnership" humanitarian and civic missions. (MC2 Eve-Maria Ramsaran/Navy)
Mullen: Don’t politicize bin Laden raid
May 1st, 2012 | Naval special warfare Navy SEALs The Middle East | Posted by Charles Hoskinson
Former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen says he’s worried that the SEAL raid in Pakistan which killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden a year ago is becoming an election-year political football.
“I do worry a great deal that this time of year that somehow this gets spun into election politics,” Mullen told NBC’s Brian Williams. “I can assure you that those individuals who risked their lives, the last thing in the world that they want is to be spun into that. So I’m hoping that that doesn’t happen.”
Mullen’s comments, set to air Wednesday in an hourlong special commemorating the anniversary of the raid, comes as President Obama and his presumptive Republican opponent, Mitt Romney, traded accusations about whether the administration is trying to politicize bin Laden’s death and make it a campaign issue.
Sleep deprived? Join the club
April 27th, 2012 | Health Life at Sea Navy Safety | Posted by Gidget Fuentes
Long, odd work schedules and cramped berthing don't make getting decent shut eye easy, as these sailors faced aboard the submarine Virginia. (Navy photo)
Apparently it’s not just the Navy that has a sleep problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 41 million American workers aren’t getting enough Zzzzs. That’s nearly one in three workers.
“Not surprisingly, workers who work the night shift are more likely to not get enough sleep,” according to Dr. Sara Luckhaupt of the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, who authored the study.
Those workers pulling more than 40 hours on the job each week also are more apt to get less sleep than what medical experts say is needed to stay alert, avoid fatigue and remain mentally sharp. The study found that four in 10 night shift workers say they don’t get enough sleep, but that’s not surprising of course.
Lack of sleep is linked to all sorts of ailments, including diabetes and obesity. Sleep deprivation, and the inherent problems that come from it, is disconcerting to Navy officials seeing the rising popularity of sleep aids to make up for the deficit in sleep and supplements like “go pills” to help keep someone awake. Navy safety officials told a Combat Operational Stress Conference audience in San Diego last year that fatigue was the culprit in 85 percent of mishaps caused by human error, and lack of decent sleep was the main driver.
The worst community at avoiding the issue? The surface fleet, despite various efforts to try different watch sections to try to curb fatigue and get more alert watchstanders. Long days at sea, prolonged flight operations, and nontraditional workdays can lead to more disrupted sleep and more fatigue. Eight hours of sleep? Mission impossible. Short naps instead? Not always seen as professional, although there’s growing research of its value in keeping folks alert. This 2006 thesis by a student at Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., found big benefits of naps at least 20 minutes long.
But the 24/7 demands of naval service mean the mission continues, regardless. Still, you wonder sometimes why being a sailor (and actually, any military service member) isn’t among the best jobs.
NFL hopeful shows creative side
April 26th, 2012 | Football Naval Academy Navy | Posted by Jacqueline Klimas
Lt. j.g. Eric Kettani’s release from the Navy was approved so he could go follow his dream to play in the NFL with the Patriots. However, the former Naval Academy running back seems to have another passion: painting.
The NFL hopeful tweeted that he just shipped one of his paintings, “Limitless,” to the American Heart Association Fundraiser to be auctioned off with a starting bid of $15,000.
His website, www.erickettani.com, says that Kettani is a “self taught artist who has always had a great appreciation for the arts.” His paintings are on wood panels and finished with an apoxy resin to give the finished product a glossy look. A percentage of the sale of all paintings will go to the charity of Kettani’s choice.
He gets his inspiration from the many countries he visited during his time in the Navy, as well as his love of football and the NFL, according to his site.
“The art that I create is a direct reflection on my life experiences and features a different dynamic than any other which provides limitless possibilities,” Kettani said on his website.
To see his art, visit www.erickettani.com/#!paintings.
LGBT leaders push for next ship to be named Harvey Milk
April 24th, 2012 | Don't ask don't tell Navy Navy secretary | Posted by Jacqueline Klimas
An upcoming addition to the Navy’s fleet may be the USS Harvey Milk if Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., and other San Diego gay rights leaders have their way about it.
The GLBT Historic Task Force of San Diego County and Filner sent letters to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta last week asking for Harvey Milk to be considered as a name for a submarine, carrier or other appropriate vessel, according to a PR Newswire press release.
Milk, a late civil rights icon, was a Navy veteran who served aboard the submarine rescue ship Kittiwake as a diving officer during the Korean War. He went on to be a diving instructor at Naval Station San Diego. Milk, whose parents both also served in the Navy, was honorably discharged at the rank of lieutenant junior grade.
In his letter, Rep. Filner wrote “this action would be a fitting tribute to Mr. Milk’s support for equality, an ideal exemplified in the military’s recent repeal of its former Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy,” according to the press release.
The request comes after a series of controversial namings, such as the littoral combat ship Gabrielle Giffords or destroyer Lyndon B. Johnson, that have caused Congress to ask Mabus for a report due in June detailing the process that Navy uses to name ships.
Training video got Navy vet Bob Barker’s goat
April 24th, 2012 | Coast Guard Ethics Medical Navy Training | Posted by Jacqueline Klimas
For Navy veteran Bob Barker, the price is never right when it comes to using goats to train Navy and Coast Guard medical personnel.
He’s written a letter to both Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano urging them to replace training on live animals with lifelike human simulators.
Barker’s letter comes just a week after the release of a video showing a live goat that appeared to be conscious while its legs were sawed off with tree trimmers during a Coast Guard training session. According to a PETA press release, veterinarians watching the video said the goats didn’t seem to be properly anesthetized.
“I have long been a supporter of efforts to preserve the health and well-being of our troops, most recently donating to a number of projects that directly aid the recovery of injured servicemembers and assist their families during this difficult time,” Barker wrote in the letter to the two secretaries. Barker has donated millions of dollars to Semper Fi, which provides financial assistance to wounded Marines and their families, and Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, which serves military personnel injured in service and their families, according to a PETA press release.
In his letters, Barker asked Panetta and Napolitano to invest in modern human simulators, which better prepare servicemembers for combat medicine and spare animals.
“It is clear from this video that dismembering and then trying to mend live goats in these crude procedures is worlds apart from treating an injured human on the battlefield. Thankfully, realistic human simulators that breathe, bleed and even have bones that break have been shown to do a much better job at preparing medical providers to be able to treat traumatic injuries than does the use of animals. Unlike animals, these simulators accurately mimic human anatomy and physiology and allow trainees to repeat procedures until they are skilled and confident,” Barker wrote.
Katy Perry kisses a mid
April 23rd, 2012 | Entertainment Naval Academy Navy | Posted by Jacqueline Klimas
Pop star Katy Perry portrayed a Marine in her newest video, but when she performed at the Naval Academy last Friday night, it was all about playing sailor.
Perry, who said she was fighting a fever, performed in a sailor get-up. In this YouTube video she proceeds to recreate the iconic World War II-era image of a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square. A lucky Midshipman 3rd Class named Tanner Beasley plays the coveted role of sailor and promptly plants one on Perry’s kisser.
The crowd, of course, goes bananas.
ABC News offers more details.
Vote now on Battleship advanced screenings
April 23rd, 2012 | Entertainment Movies Navy | Posted by Jacqueline Klimas
Want to see Battleship on a big screen at your base?
Eventful Inc., is holding a “Battle of the Bases” campaign to bring sneak previews of the movie Battleship to 10 military bases across the country before the film opens everywhere May 18.
Family, friends and servicemembers can vote online at http://eventful.com/battleship. The 10 military bases with the most votes by May 8 will get an advanced screening of Battleship at a theater near the base between May 15 and May 17.
The action-adventure movie, which includes real sailors as extras, is about Earth fighting for survival against aliens. It stars Rihanna, Brooklyn Decker and Liam Neeson.
“These early screenings of ‘Battleship’ allow Universal an opportunity to thank our active duty and reserve service members and their families for their sacrifices,” said Josh Goldstine, President of Theatrical Marketing, Universal Pictures, in an Eventful press release. “The spirit of the film is one of assembling the best of the best for a daunting, shared mission. We hope that by bringing together members of our country’s best, they may enjoy a night out at the movies.”
For one easy payment this stealth boat could be yours!
April 23rd, 2012 | Navy | Posted by Joshua Stewart
The government is getting rid of the Navy’s experimental Sea Shadow stealth boat. And if you got the goods, this sweet ride could be yours.
But there’s a catch: you have to scrap the boat.
The 164-foot-long craft is up for auction by the General Services Administration and has a $10,000 minimum bid, that, as of noon Monday, had not been met. Act fast, the auction ends May 4 at 5 p.m. CST.
But wait, there’s more. If you’re the winning bidder, you’ll also receive the Hughes Mining Barge, which has the Sea Shadow inside, like the world’s most awesome nesting doll. The winning bidder needs to scrap the barge as well – which you’ll probably do eagerly since it looks like a giant, boxy pile of rust. It makes the super-angular, svelte stealth boat look all the more slick and sneaky. You can pick them both up in San Diego.
The Sea Shadow program started in the mid-1980s and was designed to test new surface ship technologies, including stealthiness. The Hughes Mining Barge was developed in a top-secret CIA effort to raise a sunken Soviet submarine. Both are being scrapped after years of unsuccessful efforts to give them away to museums.
