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1 United Sttes Nvy Public Affirs Alumni Assocition President Jim Noone Vice Presidents Steve Clwson Steve Pietropoli Secretry George Kolbenschlg Tresurer Mike Doubledy Historin Brent Bker Chplin Chris Bumnn Bord Members Brent Bker Kenneth Brithwite John Crmn Joe Ciokon Steve Clwson Chuck Connor Jim Finkelstein Jck Grrow Fred Leeder Bobby Lincoln Bruce Newell Jerry Ppe Steve Pietropoli Tom Plntenburg Frnk Thorp Crig Quigley Jill Votw Kevin Wensing Volume 16, Issue 1 Mrch 2010 A wrm nd informtive experience For ll t the Sn Diego Reunion XIII The wether ws gret, the hospitlity ws gret nd Jill Votw, who ws the Reunion XIII coordintor, hndled the Reunion with gret expertise. Thirteen couldn t mke it including Bill nd Dorothy Thompson. The hotel stff nd the Assocition volunteers were on the job 24/7 to help mke this plesnt nd informtive escpe for those who could mke it from the Est cost. In his View from the Bridge, President Jim Noone provides very thorough outline of the informtive nd meningful presenttions given by our invited ctive duty guests. A generl membership meeting ws held during Reunion XIII. To led off the meeting President Noone cknowledged with pprecition the presence of severl ctive duty types. A specil moment t the meeting ws experienced when Chplin Chris Bumnn red the nmes of our fllen collegues who pssed since the lst Reunion in September They re: Robert Hrtmnn, Frnk nd Dolores Mher, Buzz Lloyd, Pete Litrent, Dvid Mchtel, John Crtwright, Jerry Bstrche, Tom Coldwell, Robert Jones, Wlter Thoms, Leo Loftus nd Frnk Orr. Continued on pge 2 Webmster Aln Goldstein Membership Chir Dick Thompson Sightings Editor Bill Gengler Reunion ttendees shre slute with Lind Litrent in lobby t the Mnchester Grnd Hytt. Cptin Pete Litrent, seen in the picture on the wll, died in An ctive Nvy nd community leder, Pete hd gret impct on the Sn Diego community fter he retired.

2 View from the Bridge This issue contins outstnding coverge of Reunion XIII t the beutiful Mnchester Grnd Hytt in Sn Diego. Not only ws it good time s the reunions lwys re from socil point of view but lso very informtive nd meningful. As reported elsewhere in Sightings, Rer Admirls Denny Moynihn nd Ken Brithwite provided n excellent rundown on the gret work being done by tody s Nvy Public Affirs Tem, ctive nd reserve/ officer nd enlisted. We were lso fortunte to get the perspectives of Mster Chief Priscill Kirsh, CHINFO Senior Enlisted Advisor (SEA), nd Mster Chief John Willims, Reserve Component SEA, prticulrly on the integrtion of the vrious public ffirs rtings into the single Mss Communiction Specilist rting. Commnder Scott Norr, CO of Nvy Public Affirs Support Element (NPASE), Norfolk, opened our eyes to the extremely ggressive nd effective opertionl public ffirs work being done by his commnd Nvy-wide. Commnder Norr ws ccompnied by Mster Chief Ron Mrtinez, NPASE Commnd Mster Chief. A rel highlight of the weekend ws the presenttion of our Assocition wrds t the Sturdy night dinner. Ech ws significnt, for different resons. The Sn Diego Pdres were most deserving of our Distinguished Service Awrd for their outstnding support of the militry. The wrd ws ccepted by retired Cptin Jck Ensch, the Pdres Director of Militry Affirs, Vietnm vetern nd former prisoner of wr. MC1 Dniel Bll of NPASE West in Sn Diego selected vi CHINFO-convened bord in Nvy Region Southwest received our Exemplry Service Awrd. He is n outstnding petty officer, communictor nd leder. And, Brother Chris Bumnn, our Assocition chplin, received the first Cptin Thoms Coldwell Awrd for Significnt Achievement for the spiritul comfort he hs provided in the religious clling he pursued fter his nvl service. The presenttion ws doubly stisfying becuse it honored Tom Coldwell, who did so much for this Assocition over the yers. As you hve red, we continued the prctice of prior reunions by strting the Sturdy progrm with tolling of the nmes of our members who hve pssed wy since the prior reunion. So, we recognized deprted shipmtes, enjoyed the compny of friends old nd new, got up to speed on current Nvy PA chllenges nd chievements, nd honored three most deserving wrdees. It ll dded up to hppy nd stisfying Reunion XIII. Reunion - Continued from pge 1 - Jim Noone The members present unnimously pproved slte of officers. (The new officers re included in the Assocition officers disply on the first pge of Sightings). Tresurer Mike Doubledy reported the totl ssets of the Assocition were $116,900, including $91,343 in CD nd $11,279 in Money Mrket svings. A checking ccount hd $14,268, most of which would be used to py for Reunion expenses. Jeff Zkem ws commended for his service s Tresurer over the lst five yers. President Noone then reported tht the 2010 Membership Directory would be e-miled to those who hve current emil ddresses on file. Hrd copies will be miled to those who do not use emil or who specificlly sk for hrd copy. Trget dte to receive the 40-pge Directory online is erly Mrch. Brent Bker then reported on his efforts to ssemble history of Nvy public ffirs. His request is reported elsewhere in this issue. Chuck Connor followed with report tht the USNPAAA s present IRS sttus s 501.c.6 does not llow gifts to the Assocition to be tx deductible. To chnge tht, 90% of our members need to qulify s wr veterns. Generlly speking tht mens they must hve been in the militry during designted times. An internl udit of the membership is plnned to determine if we cn meet the tx-deductble requirements. The Assocition will be collecting this dt shortly, nd will survey by emil or regulr mil. It ws stressed tht it is very importnt tht ll members respond to this udit/survey. Pge 2 Sightings

3 USNPAAA Awrds to Cring Professionls Awrds for Distinguished Service - Significnt Achievement - Exemplry Service The Distinguished Service Awrd given to the Sn Diego Pdres recognized the tem s mgnificent contributions to members of the militry nd their fmilies over more thn 13 yers. The Pdres, known s The Tem of the Militry, hve provided more progrms nd support for the militry thn ny other professionl sports frnchise in the ntion. It ws the first tem to fly the POW/MIA flg t ll home gmes, nd is the only tem with full time militry ffirs deprtment. It is the only mjor legue Jim Noone, Jck Ensch nd RDML Denny Moynihn bsebll tem tht holds Militry Home Opener, during which the tem wers cmouflge jerseys s visible slute to the militry. The Pdres sponsor n nnul Armed Forces Night, Slute to Veterns Night nd Ntionl POW/MIA Recognition Night, with pre-gme ceremonies recognizing current nd former militry personnel. The tem hs provided lifetime psses for regulr seson gmes to WWII nd Koren Wr veterns in Southern Cliforni, nd round the ntion. Reenlistment nd retirement ceremonies re ccommodted on the field before home gmes. The Pdres hve provided ssistnce to mny militry relted orgniztions, including the USO, The Armed Services YMCA nd the Nvy/Mrine Corps Relief Society. The tem hs rised funds for the Fisher House, which is of gret ssistnce to militry fmilies. The first Cptin Thoms Coldwell Awrd for Significnt Achievement ws wrded to Br. Chris Bumnn. The wrd sttes tht s the first chplin of our Assocition he hs provided very vluble pstorl cre to our membership nd to individul members. He hs orgnized, given sound guidnce nd prepred mterils for severl funerls of members nd their fmilies t Arlington Ntionl Cemetery. His clm nd gentle mnner nd his knowledge of militry funerls hve provided quiet ressurnce to collegues nd their fmilies in times of sorrow nd nxiety. His demonstrted compssion speks to his gret chrcter nd his dediction to the church nd to our Assocition. After retiring from the Nvy s commnder, Br. Chris becme the spokesmn for the Ctholic Bishops of the United Sttes, nd pursued clling by being ordined s Romn Ctholic decon. He hndled medi reltions for the Ntionl Cthedrl, nd becme the specil ssistnt nd personl chplin to the Den of the Cthedrl. Lter he took vows in n Anglicn Benedictine religious community nd becme Brother Chris. He becme the Director of the Deprtment of Ecumenicl nd Interfith Ministry t Sint Frncis University in Pennsylvni. In 2009, Br. Chris presided over the funerl of Cptin Thoms Coldwell for whom the wrd is nmed. The wrd stted tht the presenttion is most fitting nd prticulrly specil for our Assocition. Jim Noone, Br. Chris Bumnn, Jim Finkelstein Sightings Pge 3

4 Lucreti McCin, Alice nd Kthleen Noone with Jill Votw looking on S n D i e g o Bill Grves, Jim Finkelstein, RDML Dennis Moynihn nd Mrk Stull Jerry Ppe, nd George Kolbenschlg Anne Gengler, Jim McCin, Chris Bumnn Jim Noone Bill nd Dorothy Thompson ner USS Midwy Doug nd Lou Strole, Lind Litrent, Bill Gengler Luncheon speker RDML Gry Bonelli, Nvy Specil Wrfre Commnd, Jim Finkelstein, Crolyn Lincoln R e u n i o n S n p s h o t s Kren Crmn, Vici nd Steve Tylor Joe Ciokon hosts USS Midwy tour Sightings Pge 4

5 A Ky nd Jim Finkelstein, Vonnie Kolbenschlg, Anne Gengler nd George Kolbenschlg G r e t Bill Grves hngs with Hzel Stern nd Dine Plntenburg T i m e Sheil Grhm nd Bob Nsh, Jill nd Mrk Stull W s Kren nd John Crmn H d A group of reunion ttendees t lunch B y Brent Bker nd Crolyn Ppe A l l Hospitlity Suite time for Jim Noone, Jill Votw nd Steve Tylor LCDR Josh Frey, CDR Scott Norr, RDML Denny Moynihn, MC3 Foster Bmford, MC1 (SW) Dniel Bll, nd MCCM Priscill Kirsh Sightings Pge 5

6 Chinfo s Old nd New World of Public Affirs Active nd Reserve Duty - Officer nd Enlisted - Civilin PAO s RDML Denny Moynihn strted the dy s presenttions by introducing ctive duty uniformed nd civilin public ffirs people t the reunion. He then stted, The reson I did tht is tht there is bit of DNA thing going on. So mny of you tught so mny of us. You tught us how to do it nd now we re teching others. The theme of his presenttion ws, The more things chnge, the more they sty the sme. Admirl Moynihn explined how in the old dys, when crisis hppened CHINFO pulled people off the news desk nd other plces to go to the crisis. He sid, Tht is not how we do business tody, nd tht the Nvy Public Affirs Support Element (NPASE) hs chnged ll tht. When it hits the fn, we hve cdre of young Mss Communictions Specilists nd PAOs, who go out the NPASE door to get it done. He sid tht when there is not crisis, the NPASE trins its MCs nd PAOs. He believes tht the NPASE is huge difference chnger in our community. When one-str in crrier strike group needs help, like t Hiti, he pprecites tht kind of support. But, he sid he relly pprecites the kind of experience tht ll these MCs nd PAOs re getting from the NPASE. Sticking with his DNA theme, he told the ttendees, You tught us bout community reltions, but wht we never did ws put ll the pieces together. For instnce, the Blue Angels used to go nd do their thing nd the bnd did its thing, nd flg officers used to go spek where they could. He sid, We put n instruction together clled Outrech Americ s Nvy nd we now develop these things clled Nvy Week. He confirmed tht t lest 20 times in 2010, the Nvy will focus its ssets t one plce for week. Coming up is Tmp in Mrch. There will be three-str dmirl from Florid. There lso will be Blue Angels performnce, Nvy recruiters, Nvy bnd, nd other one nd two strs who will spek to severl groups. The dmirl sked the udience, Do you hve Fcebook ccount? He sid it s the wy people re hving converstions now, nd it is the socil medi where people re going to get breking news. He dded tht it is just nother mens by which to communicte, nd tht the Nvy hs some relly shrp people engged in this medium. When Hiti hppened, the number of fns jumped drmticlly. According to the dmirl the Nvy hs bout 73,000 people who re following it s ctivities on Fcebook. He sid, if you hve Fcebook ccount, check us out - U.S. Nvy. We hve people working 24/7 to give you the informtion, nd its relly net. He continued, It s not us exclusively; there re converstions tht re tking plce. We re getting young people in there, who re sying, Hey I m relly interested in joining. Hs nybody been on crrier? So, we re building this little online community. We re feeding it. We re observing it, nd we lso hve veterns who re coming in nd joining the converstions. Admirl Moynihn then showed chrt, which listed 226 officers (1650) nd 34 officers (6470) for combined totl of 260 officers in the PAO Community. He explined, We ll know the 1650 designtor, but the 6470 is the photo LDO or visul informtion designtor. We re ll one community now! We never used to be tht wy. We re working on blended fmily here. The other thing I point out is the officer IA requirement. Tht stnds for individul ugmentees. We hve 15 IA requirements, so we hve to send people to Irq, Afghnistn, nd to Hiti s well. He sid tht is, chllenging for us, becuse they re not billets, we cnnot grow our community from IA requirements, so we tke them out of hide. The dmirl then showed chrt feturing 1,300 within the Mss Communiction Community who re on ctive duty 450 re from JO rting, nd 850 re legcy rtings (come from other rtings). These people re gret, he sid. He ws mzed bout how mny of them hve degrees. A chrt showed tht out of typicl clss of 24 prospective MCs, most lredy hd college degrees. He sid he ws t Sn Diego Stte postgrdute clss yesterdy, nd five of the eight officers there were prior enlisted. The dmirl closed his presenttion by sying he tlked bout how things hve chnged, but went to his opening comments bout DNA nd tht things Sightings Pge 6

7 hve relly styed the sme. He sid tht wht mkes the Public Affirs community gret ws nd is the temwork prt of the community. And he dded tht the other thing tht mkes this current tem gret is when there is crisis they rush down nd prticipte. For exmple, he sid when Hiti hppened the Nvy hd 23 PAOs nd 63 MCs involved with ll our units. Also, 15 PAOs nd 18 MCs within period of dys were down there ugmenting. So the thing tht stys the sme is rushing to help out our tem. Vice Chinfo RDML Ken Brithwite followed up on Admirl Moynihn s presenttion with theme of One force one fight! He stted, Unlike the cold wr where the Nvy Reserve ws orgnized in its own units s strtegic reserve, we re now n opertionl reserve tht is orgnized to ssist in the dy-to-dy opertionl needs of the Nvy. We re prt-time full timers. Tht demnd cycle on the individul hs put strin on their civilin occuption s well s on their fmilies. We hve to be sensitive to tht. For exmple, he pointed out tht 65% of the ctive duty public ffirs individul ugmentees (IAs) re Nvy Reservists. Tody, reserve units re ssigned to work in ctive duty units nd commnds. These reserve units hve Directors nd Deputy Directors, not Commnding Officers or Executive Officers, nd hve opertionl plns tht re gered to direct support of the ctive duty unit. The Reservist s fitness reports re signed by ctive duty officers, not other Reservists, just like their regulr duty collegues. Wht mde RDML Brithwite s presenttion especilly interesting ws the number of retired Reserve members in the udience, who contrsted tody s Nvy Reserve with their reserve creers. After member told of his Reserve experiences in the old dys, the dmirl pointed out tht Reserve drills could be held ny time the ctive units needed the Reservist, not on some weekend or during twoweek summer period. He sid to him, The thing tht is different now thn when you were in it, is tht the cmrderie of being together on Fridy night nd then hving tht Sturdy nd Sundy together s cohesive unit doesn t exist nymore. Why? Brithwite sid, Becuse tht s not the role of the Nvy Reserve. He continued tht, The role of the Nvy Reserve unit is to support tht ctive component nd to show vlue for wht we do. He pointed out Most of us re single public ffirs opertors or mybe two of three on smll stff working for senior ctive duty unit commnder. The dmirl pointed out tht Reserve officer or enlisted member cn t just cut their own del nymore. MC John F. Willims, USNR, joined the presenttion nd sid, The rel difference is tht I hve Reserve senior chief who works for me, nd detils every Reserve Mster Chief. He continued, Retention is n issue for us. Admirl Moynihn nd I re working with the Commnder Nvy Reserve. We ve been working with fleet force commnds to see wht we cn do to llevite some of the burdens of the Reservist during one-yer deployment. He mde the obvious conclusion tht if you re in your own public ffirs business or work in smll compny it s tough. He sid, We re looking t how we cn mitigte tht perhps by going bck to seven month cycle rther thn yer deployment s intelligence specilists do. CHINFO Senior Enlisted Advisor Mster Chief Priscill Kirsh continued detiling the new PA community. Bck in the dy tht I ws JO, we hd this JO nd PH sibling rivlry it ws the wy it ws, but it worked, we were tem. I did the writing nd tried to sty out of the photo business. It s not tht wy nymore. In 2006, they put nme to wht we were doing when they sid welcome to the MC rting. I think of the MC rting s one set in the helo concept. We hve folks over in Afghnistn, horn of Afric, Irq, put your finger on mp, nd there s n MC there. There s only one set on tht helo., so who re you going to tke, you ll tke n MC. He or she s got cmer, video cmer pen nd pd nd cn still write. An MC cn do it ll. Imgine wht whole tem of MCs cn do. For exmple, in Irq our MC in chrge of Nvy combt cmer is in chrge of ll the service s combt cmers. It s ll bout ledership, s we hve sid before. As usul we must thnk RADM Brent Bker for his detiled nd ccurte summry of the presenttions mde t the Reunion. Sightings Pge 7

8 And, Exemplry Service Awrd... Goes to MC1 Specilist Dniel Bll The Exemplry Service Awrd ws given to Mss Communiction Specilist First Clss (SW) Dniel Bll, USN in recognition of his truly outstnding performnce with NPASE West nd his mnifold contributions to the success of Nvy public ffirs. Acting s his commnd s creer counselor, he hs been ctlyst behind the unprecedented success of the Nvy Public Affirs Support Element West. His visionry ledership in revitlizing the commnd trining progrm, by estblishing new curriculum for professionl development, impcted 38 ctive duty nd reserve commnds in Sn Diego, nd directly resulted in fleet-wide improvement of trining for ll mss communictions specilists. MC1 Specilist Bll (l) receives ppluse for his wrd. During his deployment s n independent photojournlist in support of the Nvy s Southern Prtnership Sttion mission, he provided expeditionry public ffirs support cross seven countries nd produced more thn 10,000 photos nd 20 news stories. He lso ssisted the public ffirs officer with Project Hndclsp, including medi vilbilities nd distinguished visitor events during this high visibility mission. He distinguished himself by pplying his ledership nd mentoring skills to ssist silors s they rotted in nd out of Southern Prtnership Sttion. His outstnding work lso includes ssisting in community restortion projects in Pnm nd Columbi nd volunteering t the Sn Diego County Humne Society Animl Shelter. Petty Officer Bll s commnding officer hs sid tht his positive ttitude nd devotion to duty, long with his dediction to militry stndrds nd equitble tretment of subordintes, hve promoted temwork nd optimized mission ccomplishment. Brent Bker needs your help To fill our USNPAAA Archive Brent Bker needs your help in mking the Nvy Public Affirs Archive grow to its full potentil. He needs one or two pge bio including when nd how you entered the nvl service nd chronologicl list of duty sttions. Also include when you becme PAO, journlist or communictions specilist nd the dte you retired. Something bout your post-retirement creer would be pprecited. This is for the mster bio index. You cn send this informtion to Brent Bker, vi e-mil or snil mil. Short bios re best. He would lso like documents nd mterils tht you my hve collected over your creer bout mjor events or ccidents or incidents. And, most of ll, he is looking for first person nrrtives bout your experience t mjor events during your creer. These nrrtives bring those sprks of emotion nd life to the history rchive. Plese include wht ws it like to prticipte in n event, nd sometimes the lessons you lerned In his Reunion presenttion Bker sid tht public ffirs lessons in our history rchive re mny nd include the fct tht most public ffirs folks re driven by current events. He sid tht we rect to events more thn we pln or crete them, nd tht some of our most importnt public ffirs successes re scored on the run. He sks you to Go through your old Nvy stuff. open tht old cruise box, dust it off, nd sk wht re you sving this old Nvy stuff for? He sid he could ssure you tht most of your reltives will not vlue your Nvy ppers like you do. So, why not donte some your stuff to the rchive? He lso mentioned the orl history progrm t the rchive. If you hve story to tell, just contct him by telephone nd he will be gld to listen nd record it. Biogrphicl Info is needed For Chester Nimitz book CAPT Bryton Hrris hs been given contrct by Mcmilln to write fresh biogrphy of FADM Chester Nimitz. The publisher hs growing militry leder list, which strted s Gret Generls series. When Hrris suggested, hey, wht bout the Admirls? The reply ws, You men like John Pul Jones? Although he ws only cptin in our Nvy, he ws n dmirl in Ctherine the Gret s Russin Nvy. Sightings Pge 8

9 According to Hrris, the ssignment is both n honor, nd chllenge. The honor prt is obvious. The chllenge, he sys, is to dd to the record with mteril tht hs not been published before. He notes tht he hs the support of the Nimitz fmily who hve lredy shipped him the fmily rchives including the pln for the Bttle of Midwy. He is looking for suggestions from nyone who knew, or worked for, or herd tles bout the Admirl. And, he is most interested in his tctics to get the best out of people nd quietly move side people who didn t quite work out, without destroying them personlly or professionlly. If you hve ny stories of substnce, plese contct him t bryton@hrris.net. Frnk Steel is the Rel Del He is Volunteer Honoree CDR Frnk Steel received the St. Mry s d Youville Pvilion 2009 Volunteer Honoree wrd in Lewistown, Mine. The Pvilion is one of the lrgest nursing homes north of Boston. The stte-of-the-rt rehb center, specilizes in dementi cre unit nd skilled nd long-term cre trditionl nursing. He hs volunteered t the Pvilion since 2001, nd hs contributed more thn 6,000 hours to the orgniztion. He ssists with therpeutic progrms nd trnsports residents to vrious offsite ctivities. He lso enjoys visits with those ptients who re unble to ttend these ctivities. He sys he cme to mke difference for the residents. But the more I spent here, the one I ws mking difference for ws me. He sys tht when his mother ws living t the home, he used to visit her every dy. But, she pssed wy t lmost 104 yers. He then begn to visit her roommte nd others whom his mother knew. Finlly, they sked him to become volunteer. He sys, tht when he strted, he ws going to do perhps one hour week, but now I m how 4-5 dys week. It s my complete full-time occuption, ccording to Steele. RADM Joe Cllo to Receive Literry Achievement Awrd The Assocition of the United Sttes Nvy (AUSN) hs nnounced selection of RADM Joseph F. Cllo, USNR (Ret.) to receive the Lee Wylnd Dougls Awrd for Literry Achievement. The wrd is presented for exceptionl literry chievement in the field of mritime history. It emphsizes the importnce of history nd heritge to the United Sttes Nvy. According to the Assocition, the body of literry work creted by RADM Cllo hs illuminted those subjects with unique clrity in wide vriety of medi over mny yers. His most recent book is the wrd-winning John Pul Jones: Americ s First Se Wrrior (Nvl Institute Press). It ws described by one knowledgeble reder s n bsolute triumph, very beutifully written, with just the right scholrly emphsis tht doesn t overshdow the dring-do of the tle. Cllo hs written three books bout Britin s Admirl Lord Nelson, nd is U.S. editor for Who s Who In Nvl History. He is frequent uthor of mgzine nd newspper rticles, nd been interviewed bout mritime subjects on mny rdio nd television progrms. The Assocition is dedicted to informing the ntion nd the Congress bout importnt issues relted to the Nvy nd ntionl defense. The wrd Cllo will receive is nmed for the lte Lee Wylnd Dougls, writer nd Nvy Reservist, who for mny yers ws pioneer in the AUSN s predecessor orgniztion, the Nvl Reserve Assocition. Hedqurtered, in Alexndri, VA, AUSN ctively seeks members from ll rnks nd rtes of Nvy personnel: ctive, reserve, retired, fmily nd civilins. The orgniztion not only serves s voice for Nvy people on Cpitol Hill, but lso provides wide spectrum of informtion on benefits nd py, nd other res ffecting them. AUSN offers free Friends of the Nvy memberships s n introduction to our legisltive progrms. For further informtion, go to or cll Nvy 411. Sightings Pge 9