VOL. 53 NO. 20 MAY 22, 2014
SERVING NAVAL AIR STATION OCEANA, DAM NECK ANNEX, AND NALF FENTRESS
Click It Or Ticket effort means officers looking for violators
JET
INSIDE
OCEANA NAMES SAILORS OF THE QUARTER
From the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles RICHMOND — Law enforcement officers across Virginia and the nation are out in full force during May looking for seat belt violators as part of the national Click It or Ticket enforcement mobilization. Seat belts prevent ejection, which is one of the leading causes of death and serious injury during a crash.Without a seat belt, a person’s body becomes a missile inside the vehicle, endangering everyone else in the car. “Don’t risk death or hurting others in your vehicle,”said Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Commissioner Richard D. Holcomb, the governor’s highway safety representative.“If you’re driving, the second action you need to take after fastening your own seat belt is to insist all your passengers are wearing their belts too.” Day and night, local law enforcement officers are on the lookout for those not wearing their seat belts — and for good reason. Last year in Virginia, 54 percent of all traffic fatalities, or 310 deaths, were unrestrained drivers and passengers, and most of the unrestrained fatalities (144 or 46 percent) occurred between the hours of 6 p.m. and 3 a.m. In 2012 nationwide, 61 percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed at night (6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m.) were not wearing their seat belts. DMV’s Virginia Highway Safety Office encourages all Virginians to buckle up on every trip, every time, no matter what time of day. Also last year in Virginia, 118 (38 percent) of the unrestrained traffic deaths were young people ages 21 to 35, and 73 percent were
— See Seatbelts page 16
—Page 4
Workers with the Worldwide Aircraft Recovery, Ltd. use a crane to remove the engine of the A-1 Skyraider during its disassembling on NAS Oceana on May 8. The Skyraider, which has been at Oceana for more than 40 years, was transported to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City, where it will be restored and put on display.
Skyraider makes move from NAS Oceana to New York City STORY/PHOTO BY MC3 TIMOTHY DAUGHTON NAS Oceana Public Affairs For more than 40 years, NAS Oceana has been home to a prototype of the famous A-1 Skyraider series of attack bombers. Nicknamed “Spad,” this particular airplane was the XBT2D-1 Dauntless II. Last painted in the colors of the“Valions” of Attack Squadron 15, (now Strike Fighter Squadron 15), which flew the AD-4 Skyraider from 1949 to 1965,the Skyraider has served as the backdrop for many photos by visitors to Oceana. But on May 14, after a week of careful dismantling, Spad left its longtime home at the Aviation Historical Park and was transported to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City, where museum staff inspected the
aircraft and carefully re-assembled it. “To have this airplane on the Intrepid is a very big deal because it is beautiful and is very relevant to the Intrepid’s history,” said Peter Torraca, aircraft restoration and interpretation specialist for the museum. “It has performed a lot of duty on the Intrepid during its time in service.” “It’s sad to see the Spad go, but we recognize that all the aircraft in the park are an important part of Navy and Marine Corps aviation and deserve to be in a place where they will reach the best audience. The Intrepid Museum is the best place for that aircraft,” said NAS Oceana Commanding Officer Capt. Kit Chope about the aircraft’s departure from the base.
MCAST STANDS DOWN AT DAM NECK —Page 6
MEMORIAL DAY OBSERVANCES IN HAMPTON ROADS —Page 20
BENCH PRESS COMPETITION —Page 22
— See Skyraider page 13