C3F Sea/Shore Sailors of the Year announced



SAN DIEGO (Feb. 12, 2009) Commander, U.S. THIRD (C3F) Fleet Vice Adm. Samuel J. Locklear, III awards Yeoman Petty Officer First Class (SW/AW) Alayna Mascia from Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command as C3F Shore Sailor of the Year (SOY) and Hospital Corpsman Petty Officer First Class Jaimer Cadang from Commander, Carrier Strike Group Nine the C3F Sea SOY at THIRD Fleet Headquarters. U.S. Navy photo by MC2 Jeremy M. Starr.

Lieutenant drops bomb on Guinness world record
CAMP ECHO, Iraq (NNS) -- Navy Lt. Jonathan Kehoe, commander, Platoon 602, 63rd Battalion, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobilization Unit 6, based out of Little Creek, Va., and attached to the 4th Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, decided to run here Feb. 2 for a Guinness World Record for the fastest mile in a bomb suit at Camp Echo.
With a crowd of their Iraqi EOD counterparts, servicemembers and U.S. contractors cheering him on, Kehoe completed the mile in 10 minutes and 13 seconds, beating his target time by almost three minutes.
But the true purpose of the event was to draw a crowd for a fund-raiser benefitting the EOD Memorial and Scholarship Foundation and to commemorate fallen EOD members.
"We as a team decided we wanted to do something special for the EOD memorial," said Kehoe, who comes from Leadville, Colo. "The EOD memorial celebrates the lives of [EOD members] who've made the ultimate sacrifice to bring the freedom that [many people] take for granted every single day. It's a tribute to them, and our way to give back to their families and show them that we're thinking of them."
The memorial, located at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., was built in 1999 and features the names of fallen EOD members since the declaration of World War II.
Kehoe and the rest of his team said they were glad to be able to help raise funds and honor the fallen in their own way. Some of them commented that although remembering their deaths is a somber time, remembering their lives and their selfless dedication should be something to celebrate.
Members of the 8th Iraqi Army Division's EOD team were invited to the event as the guests of honor, and they cheered Kehoe on with the rest of the crowd. One Iraqi soldier served as an official timer, and others even ran part of the mile to show their support and encouragement.
The U.S. and Iraqi EOD teams have a great relationship, Kehoe said. Together, they've detonated a dozen or more explosive devices since Kehoe's unit arrived in Iraq three months ago.
Kehoe said he loves his job and is excited to be able to work with the Iraqi security forces and teach them how to do their jobs better for their own safety as well as that of their co-workers and civilians.
"I've been very impressed with them and their ability to do EOD," he said. They're professionals, and the 8th Iraqi Army [EOD team] is the team that all other army units are looking to as an example of where they need to be."
Kehoe said he trained for the event for two months, with EOD members from both nationalities encouraging and helping him during that time.
"People don't realize how much physical training we go through as EOD. He made us all proud. With the crowd cheering and all, it gave him a big boost. He surpassed what I expected," Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class William Young, of Platoon 602, said.
Now, it's just a matter of whether the Guinness World Records will accept the record, said Kehoe, who already holds one record for the fastest mile while carrying an egg on a spoon. Either way, he said, it was worth it to continue building the relationships with the Iraqis, get the Camp Echo residents out to honor the fallen EOD members and earn money for the memorial and scholarship funds.
"I just wanted to tell the family members of those who have given the ultimate sacrifice that we pray for you every day and we can never do enough to thank you," he said.

Navy directs network security training day
by MC2(SW) Christopher Koons
NORFOLK (NNS) -- The Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Gary Roughead has directed all Navy activities to conduct a network security training and awareness day no later than Feb. 28. Every Navy member who uses government computers including Sailors, civilians and contractors are required to complete this training.
The CNO mandated this policy due to wide-spread non-compliance with established guidelines, regulations and directives concerning the use of Navy networks and multiple malware infections that have recently occurred throughout the Navy.
"The recent setting of Information Operations Condition (INFOCON) Level 3 set the stage for the CNO to mandate this training," said Lt. Cmdr. Damen Hofheinz, Naval Network Warfare Command's (NETWARCOM) deputy for information assurance.
"It will heighten everyone's awareness of electronic threats and the safe computing practices that are needed to ensure the security of the Global Information Grid."
INFOCON is a comprehensive defense posture and response system based on the number and level of threats posed to military information systems. It has five parts, with INFOCON Level 5 being the lowest threat to military networks and Level 1 being the greatest threat condition.
Commands will be required to conduct training for all users in the following areas: removable media, anti-phishing, safe home computing and 4) personally identifiable information (PII) handling procedures.
Members will also review their commander's expectations regarding user accountability and network security. The ultimate goal is to increase awareness and ensure compliance with Department of Defense information assurance policies and procedures.
"Bad practices such as using thumb drives to transfer data between domains, not digitally signing e-mails with links and attachments, and people opening spam and phishing e-mails are all areas that will be addressed," said Hofheinz. "It will increase awareness of these practices and the vulnerabilities that can arise from them and will hopefully stop people from doing them in the future."
NETWARCOM is scheduled to conduct its training Feb. 23. Vice Adm. Denby Starling, NETWARCOM commander, anticipates that all personnel will come away from it with a better sense of what must be done to increase network security.
"Recent events have reinforced the continuing need for network operators who are aware of the threat, are well trained in network security guidelines, and whose command leadership has high expectations for compliance and accountability," Starling said.
"This Focus Day is your opportunity to improve the Navy's overall network security posture by increasing the overall level of security awareness in your organization as well as ensuring that your subordinate commanders understand and reflect your expectations regarding their responsibility in setting, maintaining and enforcing the high operational standards necessary to keep our networks secure."

PACIFIC OCEAN (Feb. 6, 2009) The aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), left, and the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG 54), right, transit alongside the Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Pecos (T-AO 197) during a replenishment-at-sea. John C. Stennis and Antietam are on a scheduled six-month deployment to the western Pacific Ocean as part of the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group. U.S. Navy photo by MC3 Kyle Steckler

Suicide awareness, Code of Conduct and other training available on NKO
by Susan Lawson
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (NNS) -- A wide variety of topics are included in the new list of general military training (GMT) announced via NAVADMIN message Jan. 30.
Topics this year include code of conduct, suicide awareness, law of war and stress management training The curriculum materials for the first six GMT topics have been distributed to commands and are also posted on Navy Knowledge Online (NKO). Seven additional topics will be delivered to commands in March and will also be available for download on NKO.
"The effectiveness of this training will be enhanced by the presence and participation of officers and chief petty officers, who can mentor their fellow shipmates by passing on knowledge of the Navy's Core Values through the four main GMT subject areas," said Cmdr. George Michaels, training director for the Center for Personal and Professional Development. The development command oversees curriculum updates and manages the development and distribution of GMT materials for command use throughout the fleet.
GMT is non-occupational general training, taught at the command level, and is required periodically for all Navy uniformed personnel.
Topics are values-based, emphasizing commitment to integrity and effective decision making. Each of the 2009 topics falls under one of the four subject areas: Navy heritage, hersonal growth and professional relationships, managing risk, and wellness.
The 2009 topics include: code of conduct, introduction to stress management, combating trafficking in persons awareness training, introduction to anger management, sexual health – unplanned pregnancy prevention, equal opportunity – religious accommodations, introduction to the Navy's hazing policy, introduction to time-critical risk management, law of war, domestic violence, personal financial management – surviving the holidays, alcohol awareness - enabling alcohol misuse, and introduction to stress response continuum and suicide awareness.
Web-based lessons are available through Navy e-Learning located on NKO. Once training is completed, it is automatically recorded in Fleet Training Management & Planning System (FLTMPS) and reflected in the Sailor's electronic training jacket. Commands can also download the GMT topics from NKO and deliver them locally. Commands using this delivery method will have to ensure course completion for their Sailors is recorded in FLTMPS by their command training officer.
For more information read NAVADMIN 033/09, or visit www.nko.navy.mil and select the Personal Development link. Information on 2009 topics can be found on the GMT page.

Navy mandates Electronic Service Record accounts fleetwide
MILLINGTON, Tenn. (NNS) -- The Chief of Navy Personnel released a NAVADMIN Feb. 5 announcing the requirement for all active-duty and Reserve personnel to establish and maintain a self-service Electronic Service Record (ESR) account within the next 60 days.
"Having a self-service account is necessary for updating emergency contact information. Self-service accounts contain other important features, such as enabling Sailors to directly submit PCS (permanent change of station) travel claims upon PCS transfer, update race, ethnicity, and religion information, and view all other ESR service record information," said Vice Adm. Mark Ferguson, chief of naval personnel in NAVADMIN 043/09.
The requirement date for Sailors serving at sea and without connectivity to establish and ESR is 60 days upon return to homeport.
The Navy first implemented ESRs in 2006. The ESR provides individual Sailors, Personnel Support Activity Detachments (PSD), personnel offices holding service records, Navy Operational Support Centers, and customer commands of PSDs, with secure worldwide Internet access to personnel, training, and awards data.
The ESR replaces the paper service record as the single field level data entry point for service record maintenance. Commands are required to use all available ESR functionality.
Self-service accounts can be created at https://nsips.nmci.navy.mil or on the Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System (NSIPS) ESR server on board ship.
Commanding officers, executive officers and command master chiefs can obtain command level view only access by completing the NSIPS/ESR system authorization request and contacting their local NSIPS area manager. This access provides the user view only capability for all ESR accounts within their UIC(s).
All commands responsible for service record entries are required to initiate updates in NSIPS ESR, however official military personnel file requirements remain unchanged.
NSIPS ESR is the data entry point for electronic service record maintenance. Sailors are responsible for the accuracy of their ESR and must contact the servicing personnel office if any information is incorrect.
For more information read NAVADMIN 043/09, http://www.npc.navy.mil/ NR/rdonlyres/E434A6D2-021E-4E08-89CB-8FEA2F5408BD/ 0/NAV09043.txt