15th Annual Polar Bear Plunge



SAN DIEGO (Feb. 2, 2009) Participants race into the water at Smugglers Cove, Naval Base Point Loma kicking off the base's 15th annual "Polar Bear Plunge." Polar Bear Plunge is a 500-meter cold-water swim race open to active duty military as well as friends and family. U.S. Navy photo by MC2 Joshua Valcarcel

PACIFIC OCEAN (Feb. 15, 2009) An MH-60S Sea Hawk from the "Eightballers" of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 8, embarked aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), flies plane guard during sunset flight operations. John C. Stennis and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9 are on a scheduled six-month deployment to the western Pacific Ocean. U.S. Navy photo by MC1 Denny Cantrell.

Navy revises tracking of Sailors health post-deployment
MILLINGTON, Tenn. (NNS) -- Commands may now access the Deployment Health Assessment (DHA) Program instruction online the Navy announced Feb. 18.
OPNAVINST6100.3. cements the requirements for periodic assessments prior to and after deployments.
"When leadership takes an active role in making sure that the assessments take place then we know we are really taking care of Sailors physical and emotional needs," said Fleet Master Chief Mike McCalip, Office of the Chief of Naval Personnel.
"Sometimes Sailors in a hurry to get demobilized or back to their pre-IA (individual augmentee) job may not spend the time on the post-deployment assessment that they should and issues arise months after a deployment. The post-deployment re-assessment (PDHRA) is designed to pick up those issues," he added.
Sailors frequently rate their overall general health worse three to six months after returning than they did immediately upon return. The process is designed to identify stress injuries and other health concerns that require further assessment or treatment.
Sailors are required to undergo a Pre-deployment Health Assessment (Pre-DHA), form DD 2795 no earlier than 60 days prior to the expected deployment date. Then when the Sailor returns from deployment a Post-Deployment Assessment (Post-DHA), form DD 2796 should be completed as close to their homecoming date as possible, not earlier than 30 days before the expected redeployment.
Reserve Sailors should complete the Post-DHA before being released from active duty. The PDHRA form DD 2900 should be completed between 90 and 180 days after return from deployment.
To make life easier, Deployment Health Assessments are all submitted electronically by a nurse, corpsman or medical technician. If a service member gives positive responses to some questions, the assessment may be bumped up for review by a physician, physician's assistant (PA), nurse practitioner (NP), or independent duty corpsman (IDC). The PDHRA can only be done by a physician, PA, NP, or IDC.
For more information on the assessments and reassessments review OPNAVINST 6100.3 available in the reference section on the Navy Personnel Command Web site http://www.npc.navy.mil/channels/.

General Dynamics NASSCO awarded design contract for Mobile Landing Platform Ship
SAN DIEGO -- General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), has been awarded a $3.5 million design contract for the U.S. Navy's Mobile Landing Ship (MLP) program. Under the contract, NASSCO will develop a preliminary ship design based on Navy requirements. A contract for the detail design and construction of up to three ships could be awarded next year.
The MLP is a new class of auxiliary ship for the Navy's Maritime Prepositioning Force of the Future (MPF(F)) program. The ship is intended to serve as a transfer station or "floating pier at sea," improving the U.S. military's ability to deliver equipment and cargo to areas where port access is limited or unavailable. Early requirements of the ship include the ability to land helicopters, a facility for the operation of air cushioned landing crafts (LCACs), and the capability for ship-to-ship transfer of equipment from large-draft prepositioning ships to others vessels, including T-AKE ships.
"We are pleased to be selected to design this revolutionary auxiliary ship," said Fred Harris, president of General Dynamics NASSCO. "We look forward to working closely with the Navy to further understand the requirements and ensure our team creates an affordable, effective MLP design."
General Dynamics NASSCO employs more than 4,700 people and is the only major ship construction and repair yard on the West Coast of the United States. NASSCO is currently building four T-AKE ships for the Navy and three product carriers for U.S. Shipping Partners L.P. Additional information on NASSCO can be found at www.nassco.com.

SECNAV, Officials Visit Southern Partnership Station in Nicaragua
EL BLUFF, Nicaragua (NNS) -- Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Donald C. Winter, U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua Robert Callahan, United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Glenn Spears and other representatives of the U.S. and Nicaraguan armed forces visited the Southern Partnership Station (SPS) team here as they conducted training with members of the Nicaraguan military.
The group observed courses in port security, boat engine repair, small boat basic coxswain skills and martial arts.
"One of the changes that we made over the past few years was to make our partnership development activities and humanitarian assistance a core mission of our Navy," said Winter. "We are committed to those missions, to establishing partnerships and to developing those relationships over time."
Winter, along with U.S. and Nicaraguan military officials, witnessed the mutual respect that develops between instructors and students from different countries, a common occurrence during the SPS mission.
"When you go through all the hardships that are involved in the kind of martial arts training that we do, we start building camaraderie and friendship," said Marine Corps Martial Arts Program lead instructor Sgt. Geormon Elder, from Douglasville, Ga. "I definitely think the SECNAV could see that today."
Guests boarded one of the SPS special operations boats used to instruct students for a practical demonstration of elements of the basic coxswain skills and waterborne security courses offered by SPS training teams.
"It was good that he got to see what we're doing here," said small boat basic coxswain course instructor Electronics Technician 1st Class Michael Harris, from Baton Rouge, La. "We were able to show him firsthand how we teach the students, and we explained how the students teach us about the local area. It was a good time."
During the visit, SECNAV took time to address Sailors and Marines at an all-hands call.
Southern Partnership Station is an annual deployment of various specialty platforms to the U.S. Southern Command area of focus in the Caribbean and Latin America. The mission goal is primarily information sharing with navies, coast guards, and civilian services throughout the region. SPS is comprised of Navy training and support teams, Marine Corps training teams, foreign naval officers and civilian contract mariners on the high speed vessel Swift, a Military Sealift Command platform.
The mission is coordinated through U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet (NAVSO/ 4th Fleet) with partner nations to meet their specific training requests. As the Naval Component Command of SOUTHCOM, NAVSO's mission is to direct U.S. Naval Forces operating in the Caribbean, Central and South American regions and interact with partner nation navies within the maritime environment. Various operations include counter-illicit trafficking, Theater Security Cooperation, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, military-to-military interaction and bilateral and multinational training.

CFAC construction improves service in Korea
by Lt. Cmdr. Pamela Bou
CHINHAE, Republic of Korea (NNS) -- This week, Sailors moved into the new $8 million Navy headquarters building, one of the many base improvement projects at Commander, Fleet Activities Chinhae (CFAC).
CFAC staff will work on the ground floor of the headquarters building, and the top two floors will be used by Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Korea and Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet staffs during exercises.
"This is a state of the art building designed to help people communicate," said Michael Papale, IT project manager. "In the exercise work spaces, every desk has NIPR (unclassified network), SIPR (U.S. only classified network) and CENTRIX-K (ROK/U.S. classified network) drops and a phone."
Host nation funded construction built the 19,000 sq. ft headquarters and the U.S. funds were used for the C4I computer drops. The headquarters has a command center with a "wall of knowledge" where multiple screens of information can be displayed simultaneously, as well as an emergency operation center, video teleconference spaces, and conference rooms.
"Having the critical admin and operations functions co-located will improve productivity," said Cmdr. Andy Weedon, CFAC. "The new facilities and close proximity will make it much easier to collaborate on internal projects and improve the operational support to 7th Fleet."
CFAC, the only U.S. Navy base in Korea, is located on the southern tip of the peninsula, 40 minutes from Pusan. CFAC is one of the five major U.S. posts/bases in Korea that are scheduled to stay open when the U.S. Military presence shifts south of the Han River, which runs through Seoul.
The Fleet and Family Town Center and enlisted quarters are two other base improvement projects in progress to improve the quality of life for the 120 Sailors and their families who live in Chinhae and countless others who come for exercises.

PACIFIC OCEAN (Feb. 12, 2009) The Seawolf-class submarine USS Seawolf (SSN 21), leads the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer JS Oonami (DD 111), left, and the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) after a successful undersea warfare exercise involving the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and other naval vessels operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility. John C. Stennis is on a scheduled six-month deployment to the western Pacific Ocean. U.S. Navy photo by MC3 Walter M. Wayman.