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Celebrating 20 years of serving the Hampton Roads Navy family
Vol. 21, No. 22 Norfolk, VA | flagshipnews.com | 06.06.-06.12.13
SERVICE MEMBERS, VETERANS PARTICIPATE IN REHABILITATION RIDE
By MCSN Jackie Hart Naval Station Norfolk Public Affairs
NORFOLK
More than 200 veterans, active duty service members and their supporters traveled more than 45 miles from Williamsburg to Naval Station (NAVSTA) Norfolk during the United Healthcare Ride 2 Recovery Memorial Challenge, May 31. The Ride 2 Recovery Me-
morial Challenge is a sevenday, 325-mile ride in a series of cycling events designed to improve the overall health and well-being of injured veterans by providing multi-day, longdistance group ride as a means to aid in rehabilitation. Founded to help the strength and conditioning of veterans coming from warrior transition Participants in the Ride 2 Recovery Memorial Challenge ride through historic Yorktown during their journey from Williamsburg to Norfolk.
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MCSN Scott Barnes
JEBLCFS members clean up the beach By MC3 (SW) Frank J. Pikul Navy Public Affairs Support Element East
VIRGINIA BEACH
MC2 (SW) Anna Arndt Mizuki Hamada and Mary Metzger play the koto during the Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month celebration at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, May 29.
Japanese music accompanies NMCPs Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month celebration By MC2 (SW) Anna Arndt Naval Medical Center Portsmouth Public Affairs
PORTSMOUTH
Naval Medical Center Portsmouth’s (NMCP) Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month celebration featured a 15-minute koto performance and a speech by one of the 176 Filipino master chief petty officers in the Navy, May 29. Master Chief Hospital Corpsman (FMF) Pete Villanueva, from Manila, Philippines, highlighted the many accomplishments and contributions of generations of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders. He spoke passionately about the thousands of Chinese immigrants who built the transcontinental railroad in the 1800s, as well as how Asian-Americans have contributed to the military’s success by serving in every American
conflict since the War of 1812. Mizuki Hamada was the other featured guest of the celebration. A native of Japan who has lived in Virginia Beach for 15 years, Hamada teaches the Japanese national instrument, koto, at Old Dominion University. She played three songs for the audience and was accompanied by Mary Metzger, one of her students. “This event is not about highlighting an individual’s accomplishments,” said Villanueva. “It is about the contributions of generations of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders to our society and our Armed Forces ... contributions that made this nation great.” Villanueva mentioned the Latin phrase “e pluribus unum,” which means “out of many – one.” The phrase is on every dollar bill and
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DECAL CHANGE On July 1, vehicles regularly accessing Navy installations will no longer be required to have permanent installation-access decals.
HISTORIC FIND NHHCs Underwater Archeology Branch at Washington NavyYard received the crated remains of a historic and rare Howell Torpedo, May 30.
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Multiple commands at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story (JEBLCFS), participated in “Clean The Bay Day,” May 31. Approximately 200 Sailors, Soldiers and Marines removed trash and debris from 7 miles of shoreline on JEBLCFS and promoted en-
MC3(SW) Frank J. Pikul Sailors assigned to Navy Special Warfare Group Two Mobile Communications Unit remove a rope buried in the sand on the beach at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story during “Clean The Bay Day.”
vironmental preservation and awareness. “We are here to celebrate the bay every year to remove trash that has accumulated over the past year on our beach,” said Chief Hospital Corpsman Heather Anderson, Assault Craft Unit Two
(ACU2) and “Clean The Bay Day” coordinator. “We have to make sure that this place is good for our Sailors and future generations of families to enjoy for years to come.”
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PCU FORD ESTABLISHES CREW By SN Phylicia Hanson PCU Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) Public Affairs
NEWPORT NEWS
More than 100 Sailors from PCU Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) attended a special ribbon-cutting ceremony, May 15, to officially establish the crew of the first Ford-class aircraft carrier and open the building where they will work while the ship is constricted. “The Shipyard and the crew decided to have a turnover and an official ceremony to stand up PCU Ford. As
HARBORFEST HITS NORFOLK THIS WEEKEND Norfolk Harborfest , June 6 - 9 atTown Point Park includes: tall ships and the Parade of Sail; the largest fireworks show on the East Coast; local, regional and national entertainment; family activities; performances; water activities and more.
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our first official function as a crew, we wanted this ceremony to help us say ‘we are a crew,’” said Cmdr. Robert Kurz, combat systems officer. “The commanding officer just arrived back from school, as did our executive officer, and we have a total of 170 Sailors aboard at this time, so manning is extremely minimal.” Sailors from Ford had a few offices that were run out of the 4th deck of building 608. In April, the command took over the whole building as the home for their PCU of-
fices. Now, with their office space established, the crew is working to increase their community involvement and raise awareness about the new carrier. “There is still a great deal of work that has to be done before our ship is fleet ready,” said Capt. John F. Meier, commanding officer. “With the beginning of the crew here today, and the official start of our new facility that we will be operating out of until our ship is ready, we are
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