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Yeoman Seaman Hayley Rienstra, of Jerome, Idaho, arrived aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in October 2010. The 20-year-old Sailor works in the commanding officer’s

administration office and ensures that all correspondence is properly routed.

Rienstra said she joined the Navy to better herself and to travel the world. “At this point in my life, the ability to support myself and the personal satisfaction of seeing the four corners of the world are such blessings,” she said.

With another deployment just around the corner, Rienstra studies and works hard in hopes of advancing to E-4.

“I take every opportunity to learn more about my rate and to become a stronger leader,” she said. “I feel confident that during this next deployment, I’ll become a petty officer.”

Rienstra said she believes that giving anything less than your all means the person you’re failing is yourself.

“And you’re the worst person you can let down,” she said.

Story by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jerine Lee

Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet, Vice Adm. Gerald Beaman visited the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN

72) and embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2, Sept. 26, as part of a multi-day trip to various

Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 9 ships, including guided-missile destroyers USS Momsen (DDG 92) and USS Sterett (DDG 104) as well as guided-missile cruiser USS Cape St. George (CG 71).

While aboard Lincoln, Beaman met with the strike group’s Sailors of the year, toured spaces in the ship and spoke to the crew at an all-hands call.

During the all-hands call, Beaman answered about current and future issues in the Navy and how they impact Sailors, changes in policies and what to expect from the ship’s upcoming deployment.

“We understand the demand from the Navy can be

high, but we know the Abraham Lincoln Strike Group can answer the call when in need,” said Beaman.

Beaman expressed his gratitude to the crew for their hard work and service and for their families’ support of the Navy’s missions and expectations.

“I thank everyone serving in the Navy. I want them to know that they are clearly understood and recognized within the leadership,” said Beaman. “Above all else, I want to thank all the families that support the Sailors and let you do what you do.”

Beaman, commanding officer of CVW 2 from 2000 to 2001, concluded his speech by wishing the crew luck on its future missions.

“Strike Group 9 continues to train and prepare for whatever might come its way,” said Beaman. “Good luck to the entire crew. Take care of yourself, take care of your family and take care of your shipmates.”

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Story by Seaman K. Ashley Lawrence

With the cold season just around the corner, Sailors from USS Abraham Lincoln’s (CVN 72) Medical

department are wasting no time making sure the crew is safe from the flu.

Providing all Lincoln Sailors with their periodic flu shots was their top priority from Sept. 20-23 to ensure everyone is in top shape for the ship’s mission.

Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Dana Mitchell said seasonal flu vaccines protect against the three influenza viruses that will be most common during the upcoming season. The viruses in the vaccine can change every year. In just about two weeks after the vaccination, antibodies that protect a patient against influenza viruses develop in the body.

There are two types of vaccines, Flu Shot and Nasal-spray Flu vaccination. The flu shot is an inactivated vaccine that is given with a needle, usually in the arm. The shot is approved for people who are healthy, over six months of age, and even those with chronic medical conditions. The

nasal spray vaccine is made with live, weakened flu virus, however, it does not cause the flu. It is approved for use with healthy people between the ages of 2 and 49 who are not pregnant.

“30,000 people get hospitalized from October to April every year,” said Mitchell, a Houston native. “Being aboard a ship makes it even more important to get your flu shot. Working closely with people, the flu is not an option. To keep everyone healthy and safe, everyone needs the vaccination. If one Sailor gets sick with the flu, all of his shipmates could be in danger, making flu shots a priority.”

Medical recommends people get their seasonal flu vaccine as soon as it becomes available. Antibodies are developed before flu activity begins. Many different viruses come along throughout the course of the season, and the vaccine is available during that time.

“Preventing the flu on board keeps the Sailors healthy and helps maintain battle readiness,” said Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Matt Papa, from Scituate, R.I. “All of us in Medical do the best we can to make sure that happens.”

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USS Abraham Lincoln’s (CVN 72) Religious Ministries department is offering new seminars entitled “Life

Skills” classes intended to serve as group-based discussions covering a broad scale of issues faced by Sailors in day-to-day life.

While Religious Ministries will continue to offer a full schedule of bible studies, Jewish, Christian and Pagan worship services, these new classes offer a less faith-based option to help Sailors share their feelings and get thoughts off their chests.

Ship’s psychologist Lt. Gregory L. Asgaard, who runs stress management classes every Wednesday at 1 p.m., said the Life Skills classes give Sailors a good chance to sit down in the chapel and talk about their troubles with each other or just vent while one of the chaplains or staff members from the ship’s psychology office act as the moderator for the group.

“The weight of living underway seems to intensify as time goes on, so it’s important to give yourself a break,” Asgaard said. “The key is group interaction. Some people want to relate to what others are going through. Other people may just want to listen.”

It helps to learn from shared experiences, Asgaard said, which is why Religious Ministries is offering the classes.

The class discussions revolve around a variety of topics,

including preparing for marriage, stress management, single parenting and divorce recovery.

“It’s sort of training for life,” said Command Chaplain Cmdr. Dennis Cox. “There are things Sailors will go through underway or during deployment in their lives that will need tending to. For example, how do you cope when you’re going through a divorce? How do you reach out for help? It’s not something people normally go through.

“Single parenting is another. I don’t know how they deal with some of their issues. Sometimes, you’re so busy, you forget to take care of yourself. That’s what these classes are for--finding out how other people cope.” said Cox.

With all the changes and new trends Religious Ministries is adding to their calendar, Sailors can still expect the regular slate of services. If the need arises, chaplains are still available for one-on-one meetings. Cox said Sailors can approach the front desk and schedule these appointments whenever they like.

“I know sometimes people don’t want anyone to know about when they’re going to see the chaplain. You can surreptitiously see a chaplain. It’s still on the down low,” said Cox.

Cox said the Life Skills class schedule will change in the future according to the feedback and attendance used to gauge the direction of the curriculum.

liNcolN SHaReS itS liFe leSSoNSStory and photos by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Mason Campbell

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Welcome to Lincoln’s trash rooms, where the task of cleaning up the ship’s daily waste is an extremely dirty job.

With a constant flow of food products, plastic, metal, paper and various other pieces of garbage, Abe’s trash rooms process our waste 24 hours a day. A majority of the waste management personnel who work in these rooms are temporary assigned duty (TAD) personnel from other departments on the ship. They work in day and night shifts turning out processed material for offload or discharge. Materials dubbed biodegradable are sent overboard, such as small metals, glass and processed food. The remaining trash goes through a series of steps to ensure that it is disposed of properly.

“All jokes aside, the job is garbage, any way you look at it. During our hourly routine, our maintenance and even cleaning stations, our lives revolve around garbage in here,” said Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class Casey Wenzel, waste management’s lead petty officer. “There isn’t a single part that is clean.”

In Trash Room Three, a set of melting units reduce 30-gallon bags of plastic material into two-inch thick, 14-inch wide round disks called “pucks.” Personnel receive the raw material from the crew. The bag must be sorted

Lincoln’s Dirtiest Jobs:

through to ensure that there are no non-plastic items that might damage the equipment. Once it has been cleared, it can be melted down. If the pieces are too thick for the machine to melt, then they must be shredded in a giant pulper, re-bagged and shrunk. The putrid smell that comes off the liquids and substance residue inside the plastics as they’re melting can become overwhelming, said Wentzel. Personnel are also responsible for maintaining the machine by constantly scrubbing and scraping burnt debris off the sides of the plastic heaters.

“We work our butts off for 12 hours straight in some of the roughest conditions I’ve ever seen,” said Operations Specialist Seaman Recruit Elizabeth MacDonald. “The rotation is the most beneficial part because both sections have the remaining 12 hours to work on in-rate qualifications- after showering, of course.”

Trash Room Four takes on a completely different task. Not only do they help with the overflowing plastic from Trash Room Three, Trash Room Four is solely responsible for processing all the ship’s food waste and paper.

“It’s a small room, and when they bring all the trash after cleaning stations, it can pile up to the ceiling pretty fast. We can only process about 30 bags of paper

Story and photos by Seaman Dagan Alexander

Lincoln’s Dirtiest Jobs:

per hour,” said Aviations Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) Airman Lamar Davis, from San Diego.

The leftover food from the galleys and the mess decks has to be processed through one machine, a water-fed pulper that grinds everything that goes through it. The food mixes with water to form a soup-like fluid that can be discharged overboard.

Every ounce of paper the crew throws away goes to Trash Room Four, where a giant metal grinder can shred two bags in less than two minutes. The paper runs up a rotating blade that feeds into an incinerator, which burns at almost 2,000 degrees and must be completely cleaned out every 48 hours. To clean it out, Trash Room personnel scoop out all the ashes once it has cooled down. The ash gets everywhere and creates another layer of mess on the deck.

Even with the hot rooms and hard work, Machinist’s Mate Fireman Jason Bitney, from Portland, Ore., said the morale remains high.

“The best part about this job is that we work at our own pace and keep each other going with music and funny stories,” Bitney said. “You learn a lot about the people you work with, and you keep each other going throughout the day.”

The Aircraft I n t e r m e d i a t e Maintenance (AIMD)

Department aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN

72) helps distribute and locally repair aircraft system discrepancies.

From a complex microchip component to personal flight deck equipment, AIMD makes it possible for items to be ready to support the mission.

Typically, system discrepancies are removed from aircraft by squadron personnel and turned into

the ship’s Supply department. From there, the discrepancies are routed to AIMD for repair.

Production Control (PC) plays a principle role in the overall function of AIMD by maintaining the item request and distribution processes.

The day-to-day work schedule at Production Control is planned according to a word that is used quite often in the production control shop: priority.

Priority determines the amount

of time required to order and deliver any given part, item or component to any workshop that requires it. Logistics Specialist Seaman Emier Sheppard said the various priority levels help AIMD personnel work more efficiently.

“First, we get the pass-down report for what required parts need to be picked up.” said Sheppard. “Priority three has one hour to be returned to a requestor while priority six has two hours and priority 13 requires 24 hours for pick up or delivery.”

PC distributes a various array of items within its priority three category that can range from a few cents to high dollar figures. Sheppard said they are all treated with equal importance.

“Our primary goal is to get the necessary items for the aircraft,” he said. “ You could have a one dollar o-ring on the same priority list as a $10,000 cable assembly. If one doesn’t have the other, or they don’t get where they need to go on time,

“I’m happy I’ve found a job that

challenges me daily. It makes me more and more effective at my craft.

--LSSN Matthew King

there could be a serious problem.”Equipment is not the

department’s only concern. Logistics Specialist Seaman Matthew King, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 2’s Material Control division, said communication is of equal if not greater importance.

“There is a time-sensitive window to produce immediate results. This job requires a great deal of attention to detail and an even greater sense of teamwork,” said King. “It’s up to us to continue

the workflow we have to be relentless in our precision in order to maintain it.”

Much of the day is spent sifting through countless reports, retrieving items from vast storerooms and delivering them almost flawlessly and with laser precision.

“I’m happy I’ve found a job that challenges me daily,” said King. “It leaves no room for error and it makes me more and more effective at my craft.”

Story and photos by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jeremiah Mills

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Story and photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Zachary Welch

Commander, Strike Force Training Pacific (CSFTP) Rear Adm. Thomas Cropper embarked USS Abraham Lincoln

(CVN72) to begin conducting a Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) off the coast of California, Sept. 19.

CSFTP ensures carrier and expeditionary strike groups deploy in the highest state of operational readiness by assessing, training and mentoring strike group assets during various training cycles aboard those ships.

“CSFTP is a strike group that trains other strike groups to deploy,” said Cropper. “We’re going to make sure they’re capable of fighting at the highest level for the high-end warfare they may face during their deployment.”

From top to bottom, CSFTP is a command consisting of mentorship and accountability. Their objective is to provide support to ensure the strike group is battle ready, just as a tutor prepares a student for a final exam.

Operations Specialist 1st Class Raphael McKenzie said CSFTP’s overall mission is to assess the strike group to make sure their skills and qualifications are up to par and that they are able to deploy to high tempo environments such as 5th and 7th Fleets.

“It’s our job to make sure the strike group meets certain wickets in order to deploy by themselves, and we take our job seriously,” McKenzie said.

CSFTP embarks their staff on aircraft carriers to

assess various ships’ readiness levels and their ability to perform day-to-day operations. McKenzie said this better prepares them for real world events they may face in the 5th and 7th Fleet areas of responsibility (AORs).

“We simulate real world environments, including the presence of opposing forces, which a carrier strike group may face at sea. We simulate the possible intentions of opposing forces. We also do media assessments as well as visit, board, search and seizure exercises on board,” said McKenzie. “We’re providing a complete understanding of what’s currently happening so that educated decisions can be made.”

CSFTP personnel help assess various departments so they can determine where problems or deficiencies may exist and then correct them.

“We come on board, embark onto West Coast carriers for a three week phase. I like to think of it as a ‘crawl, walk, run scenario.’ In the crawl stage, that’s where we do most of our initial assessments to get an overall feel for the strike group and how they handle their everyday evolutions as far as protecting the high value unit,” said McKenzie. “It’s an overall look at the administrative and operational capabilities of the carrier strike group as well as the carrier air wing. That’s where we are at this time.”

McKenzie said a strike group’s success can be measured by how well they live up to their title. They are, after all, he said, “a joint task force: two commands working together to achieve a common objective.”

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A supplemental promotion message for active duty officers scheduled to be promoted to lieutenant Oct. 1 will be released when the officers are approved as fully qualified by the Department of Defense, Navy officials announced Sept. 28. The officer promotion message released Sept. 28 in NAVADMIN 290/11 does not include officers selected for promotion to lieutenant with a date of rank of Oct. 1.These officers will have their promotion histories corrected to reflect the appropriate date for date of rank and pay purposes.One the Department of Defense approves the fully qualified list for lieutenants, the chief of naval personnel will release a NAVADMIN authorizing the promotions. For more information on officer promotions, visit www.npc.navy.mil. For more news from Navy Personnel Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/npc/. (source: navy.mil)

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Navy is currently conducting a semi-annual Navy Family Accountability and Assessment

System (NFAAS) verification requiring all Navy personnel to verify and update their personal contact information in NFAAS, officials said Sept. 27.

“We cannot stress enough the importance of maintaining the most accurate and up-to-date contact information in NFAAS,” said Fred Chambers, director, Customer Relations Management at Navy Personnel Command. “It is not only beneficial to those of us running NFAAS, but extremely beneficial to personnel because it can help determine how quickly they will receive assistance during a disaster.”

NFAAS is used to account, manage, and monitor the recovery process for Navy personnel and their families affected by wide-spread catastrophic events. It was most recently used to account for more than 300,000 Navy personnel and families affected by Hurricane Irene and 40,000 Navy

From Navy Personnel Command Public Affairspersonnel and families affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Outdated contact information can delay Navy’s ability to account for and assist affected personnel.

NAVADMIN 275/11 requires all active-duty and Reserve Sailors and Department of the Navy civilian employees to log in to https://navyfamily.mil to verify and update contact information for themselves and their dependents. Navy contractors outside the continental United States are also required to complete the assessment. All verifications must be completed by Oct. 31.

Commanding officers are responsible to ensure compliance with this verification. NFAAS officials will submit the names of commands not in compliance to the office of the chief of naval operations for review.

The message also directs commands to incorporate NFAAS updates into the command check-in and check-out process during permanent change of station move.

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Commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet will hold a disestablishment ceremony here, Sept. 30, marking the end of 65 years of the organization’s service to the fleet. The ceremony is scheduled to be held outside of 2nd Fleet’s maritime headquarters at Naval Station Norfolk, for a final time. U.S. 2nd Fleet’s focus has been on safe fleet operations to achieve its mission in the C2F area of responsibility, providing trained and certified maritime forces for global assignment and teaming with allied and partner navies to execute the nation’s maritime strategy.U.S. 2nd Fleet traces its origin to the reorganization of the Navy following World War II and the creation of U.S. 8th Fleet headquartered in Norfolk, Va. Officially established March 1, 1946, the command was renamed 2nd Task Fleet in January 1947, and re-designated U.S. 2nd Fleet in February 1950. (source: navy.mil)

u.S. 2Nd Fleet to diSeStaBliSH Sept. 30

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Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) Airman Gabrielle Dewitt makes rounds while standing watch inside an arresting gear machinery room aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). (U.S. Navy photo by MC3 Travis Mendoza)

PHOTO OF THE WEEK