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M/V Maersk Alabama Captain Receives Valor Award

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M/V Maersk Alabama Captain Receives Valor Award ® Serving the Hampton Roads Navy Family Vol. 17, No. 47, Norfolk, VA FLAGSHIPNEWS.COM November 26, 2009 M/V Maersk Alabama captain receives valor award BY MC3 LAUREN G. RANDALL Maersk Alabama for doing their job in Navy Public Affairs Support Element, Norfolk keeping international waters safe for all as- pects of American security from merchant NORFOLK — The captain of M/V trade to military endeavors. Maersk Alabama received the inaugural During the ceremony Phillips present- National Maritime Valor Award from the ed 15 Sailors who had a direct role in his Nauticus National Maritime Center Nov. rescue with a commemorative coin that 19 at the Nauticus in Norfolk. was minted in Norfolk with images of the The ceremony held Thursday evening Bainbridge, the Navy SEALs’ pin and the was a continuance of the reunion of Capt. Maersk Alabama on the face. Richard Phillips and the captain and crew “You have served honorably and you of the guided-missile destroyer, USS Bain- have written a page in the history of the bridge (DDG96) and the Navy SEALs. Navy,” Roughead said. Speakers at the ceremony included the Earlier Thursday, Phillips thanked the honorable Paul D. Fraim, mayor of the captain and crew of the Bainbridge and city of Norfolk, John Reinhart, president presented 16 additional Sailors with the and CEO of Maersk Line, Limited, Adm. commemorative coin during a ceremony Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations on the fantail of the Bainbridge. A press (CNO) and Phillips. conference with Phillips and Cmdr. Frank “This is a celebration of the courage and X. Castellano, commanding offi cer of the dedication of Capt. Richard Phillips of the Bainbridge, was held afterward in the Photo by MC3 David Danals Capt. Richard Phillips, former commanding offi cer of M/V Maersk Alabama, publicly thanks Maersk Alabama,” said Fraim. Nauticus. the commanding offi cer and Sailors assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS Bainbridge The CNO and Reinhart expressed their For more news from Commander, Navy (DDG 96) for his dramatic rescue at sea. On Easter Sunday, April 12, Navy SEALs positioned gratitude to the Bainbridge, the Navy Region Mid Atlantic , visit www.navy.mil/ on the fantail of the Bainbridge opened fi re and killed three of the pirates who were holding SEALs and Phillips and the crew of the local/cnrma/. Phillips hostage. USS Chosin Sailors seek to deter piracy in Gulf of Aden Foiled pirate attack encourages BY MC2 MATTHEW A. HEPBURN of a regularly-scheduled deploy- Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Cen- ment. tral Command/Commander, U.S. 5th Defense offi cials Fleet Public Affairs “We’re extremely well equipped BY ARMY SGT. 1ST CLASS to support this mission,” said MICHAEL J. CARDEN ABOARD USS CHOSIN, Capt. Timothy Smith, command- American Forces Press Service At Sea — USS Chosin (CG 65), ing offi cer, USS Chosin. “An Aegis homeported in Pearl Harbor, as- class Cruiser has an awful lot of WASHINGTON — Defense sumed the role as fl agship for the capabilities to search and identify, Department offi cials are pleased counterpiracy task force Com- perform command and control op- with the Maersk Alabama’s suc- bined Task Force (CTF) 151 Nov. erations, collect intelligence and cessful defense against suspected 6 after arriving in the U.S. 5th pirates off the coast of Somalia, Fleet area of operations as part See CHOSIN, A9 Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whit- man said. Four suspected pirates in a skiff used small-arms weapons in an at- tempt to board the U.S.-fl agged ship, but were unsuccessful. The ship’s security team responded with evasive maneuvers, acoustic devices and small-arms fi re, which deterred the attack without assis- tance from the U.S. military. “We are pleased that we had a ship that was able to take appro- priate actions to prevent itself from being hijacked,” Whitman told Pentagon reporters. Photos by MC1 Scott Taylor Whitman noted that the inter- The fi rst of three men that were rescued from the water of the Gulf of Aden national shipping industry has is helped aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Chosin (CG 65), which been very engaged in sharing rescued the men after a civilian cargo vessel spotted them and called for best practices against pirates. Pen- assistance. Chosin is the fl agship of Combined Joint Task Force 151, a tagon offi cials have encouraged A boat crew from the guided-missile cruiser USS Chosin (CG 65) multinational task force established to conduct counter-piracy operations such talks, which involve evasion approaches three men that were spotted clinging to a piece of wood in under a mission-based mandate to actively deter, disrupt, and suppress techniques, transit routes and pro- piracy off the coast of Somalia. the Gulf of Aden. tection teams, he said. “It’s clear, at least in this partic- ular case, some of those practices were employed,” he said. Offi cial calls military child care ‘Model for Nation’ But piracy in the region re- mains a concern, Whitman said, STORY AND PHOTO BY SAMANTHA QUIGLEY tem the one to emulate. child development conference. “The Depart- and the department is looking Offi ce of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs “We have come a long way,” said Tommy T. ment of Defense Child Development System is for ways to help in reducing the Thomas, deputy undersecretary of defense for ... a model for this nation.” threat. But in addition to U.S. mil- WASHINGTON — The Military Child Care military community and family policy, during Before 1989, care for military children was itary involvement, he said, efforts Act of 1989 has made the military child care sys- the opening remarks of the department’s annual little more than on-post drop-off and nurser- from the international communi- ies, Thomas said. What was available often was ty and continued measures within housed in converted stables, Quonset huts, the shipping industry are neces- basement or attics. Many facilities were op- sary. erated by private organizations or staffed by “There is no single solution to volunteers, and often care was available only for piracy,” Whitman said. “It’s some- social events. Retaining trained, qualifi ed care- thing that has to be dealt with givers was extremely diffi cult. internationally and across the In the 20 years since enactment of the Mili- broad front with a broad array of tary Child Care Act, military child care has tactics and techniques. undergone enormous change. Those changes “We’re seeing that employed have led to recognition by a number of organi- more often,” he continued. “This, zations, including the National Association of I think, is an example not only of Regulatory Administration and the National evasive techniques, but defense Women’s Law Center for the department’s com- posture ... making it more chal- mitment to high-quality, accessible, affordable lenging for pirates.” child care. No injuries or damage were Military child care service improved after the reported aboard the Maersk Ala- act became law, Thomas said in an interview af- bama, which is proceeding to its ter the opening session of the conference. “My destination of Mombasa, Kenya. kids experienced a whole new, different type of Suspected Somali pirates brief- [care] than the earlier military kids,” he said. ly seized the Maersk Alabama off “When my kids were dropped off to the child the coast of Somalia on April 8 and Sesame Street Muppets Rosita, right, and Elmo, accompanied Melvin Ming, Sesame Workshop’s chief care center, the fi rst thing my wife would say held the ship’s skipper, Capt. Rich- operating offi cer to the Defense Department’s 2009 Child Development Conference in Washington. Ming was one of the conference’s two keynote speakers Nov. 17. Elmo and Rosita helped him explain is, ‘That’s a very clean environment. The peo- ard Phillips, hostage for fi ve days the Workshop’s “Talk, Listen, Connect” videos designed to help military kids deal with many of the on a skiff. U.S. naval forces res- challenges they face. See CHILD, A9 cued Phillips on April 12. INSIDE: WALTER REED ARMY MEDICAL CENTER A8 FRONT & CENTER B1 OFF DUTY C2 Who let the dogs out??? Wings for Warriors Griffin evens score Homeless dogs help soldiers Pilot Program against Ortiz recover at Walter Reed Army Equi-kids now offers a program Griffin avenged his 2006 split Medical Center. specifically geared towards wounded decision loss to Ortiz with a split service members. decision win at UFC 106. GOING GREEN Energy savings performance contract to save NAS Oceana $4 million per year BY CATHY HEIMER Jet Observer Ground was broken at Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana, Nov. 19, for Phase 2 of the Energy Savings Per- formance Contract (ESPC), which is expected to save the Navy more than $4 million each year in energy costs when completed in 2011. The contract partners Oceana, Na- val Engineering Facilities Command Mid-Atlantic and Trane to replace the aging heating and air condition- ing equipment with a state-of the art Photo by MC2 (AW/SW) Jamica Johnson Helping to break ground Nov. 19 on the Oceana 2 Energy Savings Performance heating, ventilation and air condition- Contract (ESPC) are (left - right) Jim Wells from Public Works Department (PWC) ing (HVAC) system. Attendees at the Oceana; PWC Oceana Construction Manager Greg Hedley; PWC Oceana Assistant ground breaking included Virginia Publics Works Offi cer Lt.j.g. Patrick McCullough; Oceana Deputy Public Works Beach Mayor William Sessoms and a Offi cer Andrew Porter; Naval Air Station Oceana Commanding Offi cer Capt. Mark representative from Rep. Glenn Nye’s Rich; NAVFAC Mid-Atlantic Executive Offi cer Capt.
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