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Celebrating 20 years of serving the Hampton Roads Navy family
Vol. 21, No. 21 Norfolk, VA | flagshipnews.com | 05.30-06.05.13
TR celebrates diversity with Asian and PaciďŹc Islander Heritage Month event Press Release
Machinistâs Mate 3rd Class Raymond Li of the diversity committee aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) performs the traditional Chinese Lion Dance during an Asian and PaciďŹc Islander Heritage Month celebration in the shipâs hangar bay.
USS Theodore Roosevelt Public Affairs
NEWPORT NEWS
The Diversity Committee aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (TR) (CVN 71) hosted a multicultural event celebrating Asian and PaciďŹc Islander heritage in the U.S. Navy, May 23. âDiversity brings our country and our Navy different ideas, different perspectives, different experiences and different capabilities,â said guest speaker Lt. Cmdr. Jeremiah Ragadio, TRs assistant navigator and a second generation Filipino. âWe should embrace that diversity, not with preferential treatment or quotas, but with inclusion and without discrimination.â The Navyâs ethnically diverse community ranges from ofďŹcers to seamen. Today, 6.5 percent of the Navyâs active duty personnel identify as Asian or PaciďŹc Islander, totaling more than 20,000 Sailors. Asians and PaciďŹc Islanders have a strong history with the Navy. To that end, Congress passed a joint Congressional Resolution in 1978 to commemorate Asian and PaciďŹc American Heritage Week during the ďŹrst week of May. In 1990, Congress voted to expand it from a week to a month-long celebration. A year later, the month of May was permanently designated as Asian and PaciďŹc Islander Heritage Month. âItâs great how people come from different places and backgrounds,â said Operation Specialist Seaman Kent Baylon, a third generation Filipino Sailor. âIt creates one big melting pot. Everyone has something unique to bring to the table that helps us be a better Navy.â That melting pot extends to Sailors who were not citizens prior to joining the Navy. For example, Machinistâs Mate Fireman Michie Biyo was nationalized in boot camp.
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More than six percent of the Navyâs active duty personnel identify as Asian or PaciďŹc Islander, totaling more than 20,000 Sailors.
MC2 Sean Hurt
A missing in action table is set to honor missing service members at a bell tolling ceremony at Joint Expeditionary Base Little CreekFort Story.
Fallen service members honored at bell tolling ceremony
The ceremony was held to honor fallen or missing service members in recognition of Memorial Day.
By MCSN Jackie Hart Navy Public Affairs Support Element East
MCSN Jackie Hart
VIRGINIA BEACH
Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story (JEBLCFS), in observance of Memorial Day, hosted a bell tolling ceremony to honor fallen service members where military members and civilians were in attendance, May 22. Memorial Day, previously Decoration Day, became an ofďŹcial U.S. holiday in 1971. It is observed on the last Monday of May to pay reverence to
service men and women who serve in the United States military. âMemorial Day began as a remembrance for those who had died in the Civil War,â said Cmdr. John Franklin, command chaplain, JEBLCFS. âWe want to now remember those who have died in service to our country, because they still put on the uniform, they still go, they still ďŹght and they pay the ultimate sacriďŹce for our freedoms.â For the Memorial Day recognition,
service members, families and friends came together to pay their respects for the 87 JEBLCFS service members who dedicated their lives in service to our country since Sept. 11, 2001. Instilled with a sense of deep gratitude and appreciation for the fallen, onlookers stood reverently in silence as each name was read with one bell toll in remembrance.
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Dolphins swim next to PCU Minnesota during sea trials Dolphins race PCU Minnesota as the Navyâs next Virginia-class submarine begins her sea trials in preparation for delivery to the Navy in September.
John Whalen | Newport News Shipbuilding
SUBVETS HONORED The Submarine Veterans of World War II Memorial Service was conducted at the Submarine Learning Facility (SUBLRNFAC), Naval Station Norfolk, May 23. The event is held each year prior to Memorial Day.
THE FLAGSHIPâS 2013 HURRICANE GUIDE As the 2013 hurricane season approaches, beginning June 1 and running through the end of November, the region is steadily planning ahead by making early preparations for any future natural disasters.
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BLACKBEARD PIRATE FESTIVAL Ahoy!The 14th annual Hampton Blackbeard Pirate Festival returns this weekend, May 31 through June 2, for another year of swashbuckling excitement and family fun.
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Sailors reminded to âKeep What Youâve Earnedâ By MC3 Karen Blankenship Navy Public Affairs Support Element, East
NORFOLK
Sailors leaving naval installations throughout Hampton Roads received a reminder to have a safe Memorial Day weekend, May 23-24. Junior ofďŹcers, chiefs and ďŹrst class petty ofďŹcers manned the gates around the area and held signs promoting the message, âKeep What Youâve Earned.â
Âť see KWYE | A7 online Rear Adm. Tim Alexander, Commander, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic and Navy Region Mid-Atlantic Command Master Chief Dominick Torchia teamed together to deliver a message via YouTube to express the importance of the âKeep What Youâve Earnedâ campaign. To view the video, visit www.youtube.com/ watch?v=RNPKXdqBM1w.
OKLAHOMA TORNADOES A âDOD Liveâ blog post provides resources for people affected directly or indirectly by the deadly tornado that struck Moore, Okla., May 20. Visit www.dodlive.mil for more information.