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Celebrating 20 years of serving the Hampton Roads Navy family
Vol. 21, No. 18 Norfolk, VA | flagshipnews.com | 05.09-05.15.13
STAY PREPARED Keep personal and family info updated in NFAAS By MC1 (SW/AW) Molly A. Burgess The Flagship Military Editor
NORFOLK
MOTORCYCLE RIDE, BIKE SHOW ARRIVE AT NAVSTA NORFOLK By MC3 Molly Greendeer Naval Station Norfolk Public Affairs
NORFOLK
Naval Station (NAVSTA) Norfolk, with the support of the Norfolk Navy Exchange and the Sewells Point Safety Office, hosted the 3rd annual Hampton Roads Military Motorcycle Safety Ride and Bike Show, May 3. The 135-mile motorcycle ride provided an opportunity to ride with co-workers, while promoting the safe operation of motorcycles in a group environment. The free event was open to all personnel with Department of Defense decals on their motorcycles and a current Motorcycle Safety Foundation Rider’s Safety Course card. Guest Speaker, Rear Adm. Kenneth Norton,
Commander, Naval Safety Center reminded participants to always take proper precautions before getting out on the road. “Before you ride, remember three Es: equipment, environment and ego. Check that your motorcycle is operating up to standards, consider what environmental hazards you may endure, such as heavy rain or crosswinds, and make sure to check your ego. Just because you are an experienced rider, does not mean you will not fall prey to the same mistakes as a rookie rider,” he said. “These are lessons not only for today’s ride, but for every ride.” Machinist’s Mate 1st Class David Kronberg, one of the event coordinators and a participant, said events like these are critical to raise awareness of motorcycle safety, es-
MC3 Molly Greendeer Riders participate in the 3rd annual Military Motorcycle Safety Ride and Bike Show, May 3. The 135-mile motorcycle ride, hosted by Naval Station Norfolk, provided an opportunity to ride with co-workers, while promoting the safe operation of motorcycles.
pecially with the impending warmer weather signifying the start of the riding season. “Safety is critical for us as military members,” he said. “We strive to ensure our onduty activities are safe and controlled through operational risk management and other safety mechanisms. However, when Sailors are off-duty, they often act as if safety does not apply to them anymore. It is very important for them to remember that safety needs to be practiced around the clock, on and off-duty.”
» see SAFETY RIDE | A6
RunfortheFallen
Community honors fallen troops Top left: Active duty and retired service members participate in the Virginia Run for the Fallen. The 236-mile run from Ft. Story to Arlington National Cemetery commemorated fallen service members from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Top right: Family of Lance Cpl. Kielin T. Dunn display a collage and personalized flag in remembrance of their son during the event. Bottom: Students from the Atlantic Shores Christian School hold a banner to support families participating in the event.
Photos by MC3 Justin Wolpert
NMCP ‘TAKES BACK’ PRESCRIPTION DRUGS By Deborah Kallgren Naval Medical Center Portsmouth Public Affairs
PORTSMOUTH
The Naval Medical Center Portsmouth (NMCP) pharmacy collected 57 percent more expired and unused prescription
drugs, April 27, than it did last year. Approximately 20 people cleaned out their medicine cabinets and turned in 66 pounds of prescription drugs to the pharmacy. This was the fourth time NMCPs pharmacy participated in
GARY SINISE FOUNDATION, FLAGSHIP TO HOST FREE CONCERT FOR TROOPS The Gary Sinise Foundation will host a special free “Tribute to theTroops” concert featuring Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band, May 11, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the nTelos Wireless Pavilion in Portsmouth.
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this activity. The previous TakeBack Day in September of 2012 yielded 42 pounds of prescription drugs. The medical center partnered with the Drug Enforcement Agency to provide a site where people can safely dispose of old
prescription drugs, rather than flushing them down the toilet or sending them to the landfill. More than 371 tons of prescription drugs were turned in nationwide during the Take-Back event.
Natural disasters do not discriminate when and where they strike, nor do they care what they destroy during their beastly attack. Hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes and floods are just some of the disastrous reasons why it is important to make sure your Navy Family Accountability and Assessment System (NFAAS) information is always up-to-date. NFAAS is an online accountability tracker, used following a disaster or other events, to help determine the location and well-being of Navy active duty, reserves, Department of Navy civilians and their immediate family members. “The key things during a disaster are accountability, to make sure everyone is OK and where they are at. The second part is needs assessment. Where are they, what do they need and what can we do to help them, because we are responsible for them. And the third thing is orders, because when you evacuate, you are on paid orders with per diem,” said Lt. Cmdr. Ron Pugh, personnel services officer, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic. “If you’re not up-to-date in NFAAS, it’s really hard to do any of that.” The establishment of NFAAS came after the massive destruction of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when the displacement and evacuation of so many people made it difficult to accurately account for each person. “We did not have NFAAS during Katrina and many Navy people evacuated, and it took a very long time to find all the families,” said Pugh. “NFAAS is one of the key elements for making sure all of our people are good to go, see what they need and to make sure they are OK.” To help keep information current in NFAAS, service members are required to take part in the Navywide semi-annual updates. “It’s extremely easy to use,” said Pugh. “You don’t have to have a common access card {CAC] when validating your information and the information of your family. It also has a link to DEERS [Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System].” The last semi-annual update took place in April and recently showed just how effective of the system can be when needed. “It was good because we had a real event from the Boston bombing, and because we had just gone through the semi-annual update, it was pretty much spot on,” said Pugh. “The NFAAS event included about 50,000 people in the Northeast. It’s a Navywide system that affects everybody – active duty, reserve, reserves on active duty, Navy civilians and contractors to a certain extent – so it effects the entire Navy family ... and all of their families. According to Pugh, during times when the service member is unable to update their NFAAS infomra-
» see NFAAS | A7
WARRIOR GAMES Members of Team Navy began arriving in Colorado Springs, Colo., May 4, to prepare for the 4th annual Warrior Games.
MONSTERS ON THE BEACH Kalbones Monsters on the Beach, presented by Pungo Off Road, brings thrills and chills to the Virginia Beach oceanfront, May 10-12, as MonsterTrucks battle for ultimate sand domination.
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