VOL.55 NO. 11 MAY 26, 2016
SERVING NAVAL AIR STATION OCEANA, DAM NECK ANNEX, AND NALF FENTRESS INSIDE THE
OBSERVER
NAS OCEANA HOSTS YOUTH BOWLING TOURNAMENT —Page 3
Tidewater HAZMAT Team utilizes unique training opportunity STORY AND PHOTOS BY MC2( SW) ALYSIA HERNANDEZ Naval Air Station Oceana Public Affairs Emergency responders throughout Hampton Roads visited Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana for Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) training at the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit (CNATTU) Oceana May 9 – 11. The annual training’s host rotates among Hampton Roads cities and this year the City of Virginia Beach asked NAS Oceana to educate more than 100 members of the Southside Tidewater HAZMAT Team on the case of an aircraft mishap. “The City of Virginia Beach recog-
nized that we have a unique opportunity that the rest of the cities don’t traditionally get … All the commands, as always, jumped right in to help me execute the training,” said Kenneth Snyder, district fire chief for NAS Oceana and Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story. There were tremendous benefits to having the team train at NAS Oceana, according to Raymond Haring, HAZMAT officer for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. “An incident involving a military aircraft presents multiple hazards to the team members,” Haring said. “The knowledge gained by attending this training benefits the team as well as the citizens of the Commonwealth,
as the team is now better prepared to successfully manage such an event.” Snyder gathered professionals from NAS Oceana and beyond to inform the HAZMAT teams about the dangers when dealing with an aircraft mishap. Informational topics included lessons learned from past mishaps, an overview of the composite materials that Navy aircraft are made of, how to identify live and inert ordnance, Hazards of Electromagnetic Radiation to Ordnance (HERO) and a brief on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). The team also got an up-close look and explanation of an F/A-18 Hornet, an ejection seat and toured a C-40A Clipper.
— See HAZMAT, Page 3
AME1 Justin Sapp, a CNATTU instructor, explains the cockpit and ejector seat functions in an F/A-18 Hornet to members of the Southside Tidewater HAZMAT team during training focused on HAZMAT team response in the case of an aircraft mishap. The training was held May 9 - 11 to ensure all team members on all shifts had the opportunity to attend.
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HONORS THE MILITARY —Page 10
NAS OCEANA SUMMER CAMP Register now for the NAS Oceana Summer Camp running from June 20 through Sept. 2. Registration is $50 and will count towards the first week’s cost. Camp is open to children of active duty military and DoD ages five to 12 . Camp fees are based on a sliding income scale. Join us for a summer of fun. Call 4333976 for more information.