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Celebrating 20 years of serving the Hampton Roads Navy family
Vol. 21, No. 47 Norfolk, VA | flagshipnews.com | 11.28-12.4.13
NSAHR celebrates National Public Lands Day By Katisha Draughn-Fraguada Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads Public Affairs
NORFOLK
Sailors from the USS Abraham Lincoln, members of the general public and Armed Forces Retirement Home residents, recite the Gettysburg Address at President Lincoln’s Cottage marking the 150th anniversary of the address. MC3 Danian Douglas
Lincoln Sailors recite Gettysburg Address at Lincoln’s cottage By MC3 Danian Douglas USS Abraham Lincoln Public Affairs
Navy Surgeon General visits NMCP during NME Conference, SOY board
WASHINGTON
Ten Sailors from the Nimitzclass aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) recited the Gettysburg address at the President Lincoln’s Cottage, in the Washington, Nov. 19, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the famous address. The Sailors recited the address at the front of the cottage twice, first with members of the public and the visiting Nazareth Regional High School, from Brooklyn, N.Y., then, for the last reading with residents of the Armed Forces Retirement Home (AFRH). Ollie Brown, a retired Air Force master sergeant, a resident at the AFRH, said he was happy to see the Sailors reciting the address. “I come from Ohio and one of the requirements back then was to memorize the Gettysburg address,” said Brown. “It’s not mandatory today, but it is good to have service members perform the recital.” Executive director of President Lincoln’s Cottage, Erin Carlson Mast, who is responsible for strategic planning for the organization, described the logistics behind the event. “We’re in the middle of the Civil War Sesquicentennial and we were looking for interesting ways to mark a lot of these major anniversary dates. We wanted to bring in a special dignitary but decided to invite various groups of people to participate together,” said Mast.
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By MC2(SW) Anna Arndt Naval Medical Center Portsmouth Public Affairs
PORTSMOUTH
MC2 Dominique Pineiro Vice Adm. Matthew Nathan, Surgeon General of the Navy and Chief of the Navy’s Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, spoke to the NME commanding officers, command master chiefs and Sailor of the Year nominees during his visit to NMCP.
Navy Surgeon General, Vice Adm. Matthew Nathan visited Navy Medicine East and Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Nov. 19, to speak with NME’s commanding officers, command master chiefs and Sailor of the Year nominees. NME is headquartered at NMCP
and comprises 17 military treatment facilities and their branch clinics from Texas to New England, Mass. in the U.S., and from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Bahrain overseas. For the second consecutive year, the three groups have gathered at NMCP for the NME Strategic Operational Planning Conference and the NME Sailor of the Year boards.
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autism
Sailors, community members, and base personnel participated in Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads’ (NSA HR) annual National Public Lands Day (NPLD) event at Lafayette River Annex (LRA), Nov. 15. NPLD is the nation’s largest, single-day volunteer effort for public lands. This year the 20th anniversary was held, Sept. 28. Any project that benefits a public land can be registered as an NPLD project. The majority of projects are focused on habitat restoration, such as tree plantings, trash or invasive plant removal, bird or bat house construction, trail maintenance, fence removal and gardening. “NPLD offers us the opportunity to come out and enhance public lands for recreational use and education,” said Linda Hicks, Environmental Program director for NSA HR. Volunteers spent most of the day cleaning up the designated LRA area and planting wetlands and riparian buffers, which is a vegetated area that helps shade and partially protect a stream from the impact of adjacent land uses. LRA was picked as the location for NPLD due to the fact that riparian buffers and living shoreline are their most critical wetlands. “This site is such a jewel and treasure to the community,” said Pam Boatwright, River Star Business Program Manager with the Elizabeth River Project. “This event gives people the opportunity to see the results and they are more inclined to conserve and understand the environment and ecosystem a little more.”
CPPD CHIEFS RAISE AWARENESS By MCC Jayme Pastoric Center for Personal and Professional Development Public Affairs
VIRGINIA BEACH
Five chief petty officers from Center for Personal and Professional Development (CPPD) volunteered to assist South Eastern Cooperative Educational Programs in promoting autism awareness along the Virginia Beach Board Walk, Nov. 10. The Sailors, along with other
NAVSTA NORFOLK GATE CHANGES As the holidays approach, make note of the gate operations and traffic pattern changes at Naval Station Norfolk beginning Nov. 27.
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volunteers from Families of Autistic Children of Tidewater (FACT), organized a scavenger hunt and other events for autism awareness at the Virginia Beach oceanfront. According to the website, the mission of FACT is to “improve the quality of life for individuals with autism and their families in the greater Tidewater Virginia area. FACT promotes the creation of social, recreational, and vocational programs designed to meet the unique needs of individuals
CNP VISITS NORTHWEST The chief of naval personnel (CNP) visited Navy Region Northwest commands, Nov. 18-19 to speak with Sailors about manning, training and budget concerns.
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with autism.” Master Chief Gas Tu r b i n e System Technician Dave Rush, assigned as CPPD is fleet liaison officer, assisted with setting up, breaking down, escorting and passing out puzzle pieces for the scavenger hunt.
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Katisha Draughn-Fraguada Pam Boatwright, River Star Business Program Manager, Elizabeth River Project, plants riparian buffers during National Public Lands Day, Nov. 15.
THE LIGHTING OF THE CAPE HENRY LIGHTHOUSE Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek – Fort Story will open its gates to the general public this holiday, Dec. 6, with the Illumination of Preservation Virginia’s Cape Henry Lighthouse.
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