Navy Marine Corps Coast Guard Army Air Force AT AT EASE ARMED FORCES Team Carl Vinson San Diego Navy/Marine Corps Dispatch www.armedforcesdispatch.com 619.280.2985 FIFTY SEVENTH YEAR NO. 36 Serving active duty and retired military personnel, veterans and civil service employees THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2018 Saddle up for Carl Vinson returning home from deployment the 54th Annual SAN DIEGO - Sailors from aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) are scheduled to return to Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego April 12 after a successful three-month deployment. Lakeside Rodeo During the deployment, more than 5,000 Sailors from Carl Vinson and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2 conducted routine operations in the Indo-Pacific to maintain security and stability in the region. April 27-29 Carl Vinson visited Guam, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The visit to Vietnam was the first by a U.S. aircraft carrier in more than 40 The 54th Annual Lakeside Rodeo brings years resulting in strengthened bilateral ties. the exciting action of the Professional Ro- Sailors will greet awaiting family members and friends upon deo Cowboys Association to the Lakeside their return. Arena April 27th, 28th & 29th, 2018 with CVW-2 includes the “Black Knights” of Helicopter Sea Combat four full rodeo performances featuring the Squadron (HSC) 4, the “Blue Hawks” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 78, the “Bounty Hunters” of Strike Fighter seven events of rodeo to include Bull rid- Squadrons (VFA) 2, the “Blue Blasters” of VFA-34, the “Kestrels” ing, Bareback riding, Saddle bronc riding, of VFA-137, the “Golden Dragons” of VFA-192, the “Black Eagles” Steer wrestling, Calf roping, Barrel racing of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 113, the “Gaunt- (WPRA), Tie down roping, and Team rop- lets” of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 136, and the “Providers” ing... plus, the Kids Stick Horse Race is of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 30, Det. 2. see the Carl Vinson photo gallery on page 12 hilarious to watch at each performance! HSC-21 concludes 7 month deployment There are vendors to visit, snack bars with SAN DIEGO - A detachment of 68 Sailors and four helicopters tasty treats, beer and a Specialty Food from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 21 returned to Naval booth for those wonderful Rodeo snacks! Air Station North Island April 5 following a seven month deploy- ment to Okinawa, Japan. While on deployment, HSC-21 Detachment (Det.) 4 executed Performances are Friday, April 27 at 7:30 close air support, direct action, personnel recovery, helicopter visit p.m. (gates open at 6 p.m.); Saturday, April board search and seizure and search and rescue operations in sup- 28 at 2 p.m. (gates open at 12:30 p.m.) and port of various Okinawa-based units spanning the Navy, Air Force, at 7:30 p.m. (gates open at 6 p.m.); and Army and Marines. Sunday, April 29 at 2 p.m. (gates open at “I’m tremendously proud of our detachment. We overcame many new challenges during this deployment and provided outstanding 12:30 p.m.) PQRSTdfabceUW Photos by Gene Hyder rotary wing support in theatre,” said Lt. Cmdr. Rob Knoerzer, officer in charge of Det. 4. Other deployment highlights include 336 sorties, 921.1 mishap- l'345;918726z- free flight hours and 20,358 maintenance actions spanning 73,603.5 man hours. “I was able to gain experiences and see different things that I may not have gotten from a traditional deployment,” said Aviation Electronics Mate 3rd Class Justin Boone. “I don’t know anyone else who has loaded helicopters onto C-5s and C-17s!” Mercy departs Bengkulu Indonesia Call (619) 443-5125 to- by MC2 Kelsey L. Adams day to order the best seats BENGKULU, Province of Indonesia - Service members and part- using credit card or debt with ner nations participating in Pacific Partnership 2018 (PP18) departed credit card logo (American Bengkulu aboard hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19), April 10. “I’d like to thank the residents of Bengkulu for their hospitality. Express not accepted)! I have found that they are some of the most engaging and friendly people I have ever met,” said Capt. David Bretz, PP18 mission The Rodeo Ticket Booth commander. will open for onsite ticket “It was very exciting to finally be at our first mission stop and I sales on April 16 at the want to express my gratitude for all of the hard work and dedication shown by our service members and partner nations.” Lakeside Rodeo Grounds, While in Bengkulu, service members and partner nations aboard 12584 Mapleview St. in Mercy, Indonesian military members, and civilians participated in a Lakeside. series of community relations events interacting with the local com- munity at eight different events, with the U.S. Pacific Fleet Band For more information on conducting 12 concerts at locations such as local elementary and junior high schools, universities, and receptions. The engineering line the Lakeside Rodeo visit of effort constructed a new school building and a community hall, www.lakesiderodeo.com. while the medical and dental lines of effort participated in a see Mercy, page 10 Weekly Contest AutoMatters & More Around Town This Weekend Here’s your chance to win Do-It-Yourself, Self-Driving Cars? Oceanside Jazz Festival, Heartbreak admission to the Lakeside Ridge Half Marathon, Lifestyle & Fitness Rodeo. See page 6 See page 19 Expo Festival. See page 26 sotos -not by main During Alcohol Awareness Month, practice drinking smarter and share how you keep what you’ve earned WASHINGTON - April is source, and a calorie counter that tial short-term and long-term a short description including Alcohol Awareness Month, a not only estimates what’s in your impacts of driving under the name, rate/rank, command and national observance promot- cocktail or beer, but how many influence. This poster and the location to MILL_NADAP@ ing ways to maintain healthy push-ups it may take to burn off campaign’s full suite of materi- Navy.mil, subject: A Day in the drinking habits. Navy Alcohol those calories.” als that can be found on the cam- Life. NADAP will review all and Drug Abuse Prevention’s paign’s website or ordered from submissions and contact those (NADAP) Keep What You’ve The app’s latest release in- the Naval Logistics Library. that may be considered for future Earned Campaign has resources cludes other Sailor-requested campaign products. to help Sailors take proactive enhancements, like renaming Keep What You’ve Earned has steps to drink responsibly. the Tools option on the home resonated with Sailors and con- This April, NADAP wants screen to “Resources” so that tributed to a consistent decline in Sailors of all rates and ranks “April is a great time for Sail- key features can be easily lo- alcohol-related incidents because to practice and share ways to ors and their families to check in cated. In addition to the Safe it’s designed from their point-of- drink responsibly. All members with their drinking,” said Dorice Ride Home access, the Calorie view. Starting this month, Sail- of the Navy community can Favorite, NADAP Director. Counter and Alcohol Estimator, ors have the opportunity to share stay engaged by holding lo- “Drinking responsibly doesn’t the Resources section includes a their responsible drinking story, cal Keep What You’ve Earned have to mean avoiding alcohol quick and anonymous self-check what motivates them to keep events, sharing the campaign’s altogether. It’s taking conscious to help gauge drinking habits and what they’ve earned, or highlight social media content, showing steps to stay safe, like planning engage the right resources if a the ways that their command is their realistic Public Service ahead, knowing your limit and person has concerns about their encouraging healthy behaviors Announcements during train- finding a safe ride home.” drinking. The app can also push for a chance to be featured in ing events, or even serving as a periodic smart drinking tips to future campaign products. designated driver. Pier Pressure is the Keep What users on the go to help them keep armed forces You’ve Earned Campaign’s what they’ve earned. “Sailors want to hear from “Any one of these things mobile application that en- each other, and those testimo- can make a difference and help A Navy graphic produced by Navy Personnel Com- ables Sailors to take these steps, Pier Pressure is not the only nials are powerful persuaders a Sailor keep what they’ve mand promoting the Navy’s new responsible drink- combining real-life tools with tool that the Keep What You’ve when it comes to promoting earned,” said Favorite. ing campaign, “Keep ispatchWhat You’ve Earned.” For more gamification to encourage a Earned campaign offers to pro- ways to drink responsibly,” said information on the “Keep What You’ve Earned” cam- responsible drinkingD environ- mote a culture of responsible Favorite. For additional messaging, paign,D visit http://www.public.navy.mil/bupersnpc/ ment, while celebrating Sailors’ drinking. Other new or updated videos and graphics to share, support/nadap/campaign_events/drinkresponsibly/ achievements in their Navy products include the Costs of a For a chance to have their follow NADAP on Facebook, Pages/default.aspx. (Navy photo illustration by Navy careers. DUI poster, illustrating poten- story shared, Sailors can submit YouTube, and Flickr. Personnel Command “Pier Pressure has been popu- Air Force Times armed forces lar among Sailors and we con- stantly seek their feedback to Air Force chief of staff orders review improve the app’s function and user experience,” said Favorite. of increasing aviation mishaps ispatch “We recently added access to Uber, Lyft and local cab searches by Stephen Losey Most of those mishaps in- The 25 Class A mishaps - in- in the app’s Safe Ride Home re- In the wake of a spike in Air volved the A-10 Thunderbolt II, cidents that result in a fatality or Force aviation accidents, Air several kinds of cargo aircraft permanent disability or at least Force Chief of Staff Gen.