New Leader VS-22 Holds Change Of Command Page 5 CNATTU Jax Preparing Sailors For The Fleet Pages 6-7 Families Needed FFSC Sponsoring Special Event Page 13 C, MARCH 13, 2008 www.jaxairnews.com FACSFAC SOY back from Iraq By Lt. Rebecca Rebarich FACSFAC Jax PAO i N. Fleet Area Control and Surveillance Facility, Jacksonville Sailor of the Year and Air Traffic Controller of the Year 2007, AC1 Brian Kerns returns from a seven month individual augmen- tee (IA) to Iraq and is nom- inated for Naval Air Force Atlantic Sailor of the Year. He has proven himself to be a tremendous leader and an exceptional air traffic controller (ATC) who exem- plifies the characteristics and traits of today's Sailor. His superior dedication, unique talent of balancing the needs of his Sailors, the mission and the Navy led to his selection as FACSFAC Jax Sailor of the Year for 2007. Kerns volunteered for one of the first ATC rate IA bil- lets in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) at Al Taqaddum, Iraq. Within two months, he qualified on all ATC control positions. To date, he is one of only three members of MACS- 2 ATC Det B who is fully qualified. His skillful leadership of Sailors and Marine Corps controllers led to more than 28,000 instrument and visual mishap free opera- tions in support of OEF. Photo courtesy ofAC1 (AW/FMF) Brian Kerns FACSFAC Jax ATC Training Branch Chief AC1(AW/FMF) Brian Kerns outside the Direct Air Support Center (DASC) in Al Taqaddum, Iraq, during a seven-month individual augmentee tour in Iraq. While in Iraq, Kerns earned the enlisted Fleet Marine Force Warfare Specialist (FMF) designa- tion. This is a true testa- ment to his dedication to career progression. Lt. E.J. Drey, FACSFAC Jax ATC officer, is extreme- ly proud of Kerns. "He has displayed the core values of our Navy with great distinction. And he has proven to everyone in our command that volunteer- ing for an IA billet not only helps complete the mission but can be very reward- ing on a personal level," remarked Drey. "His selec- tion as one of the final- ists for the Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic (COMNAVAIRLANT) Shore Sailor of the Year is testa- ment to his integrity and patriotism for his country." As FACSFAC Jax ATC training branch chief, an E-7 billet, Kerns expertly managed and guided 42 ATCs through an exten- sive and complex training program, including 1,500 training hours, produced six supervisor designations and 26 ATC qualifications. See FACSFAC, Page 1 6 Crews retires today after nearly 35 years By Staff NAS Jacksonville Public Affairs Officer (PAO) Rick Crews retires today after nearly 35 years of civilian government service. A native of Baker County, Fla., Crews claims he could skin a catfish before he was toilet trained. "I grew up so far in the country that we had to go toward town to hunt," he said. A graduate of Lake City Community College and the University of North Florida with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications and litera- ture, Crews is nonetheless an ardent Florida Gator fan. "I bleed orange and blue," he says. "You know how to get a Florida State graduate away from your door, don't you? You pay for the pizza." While at junior college he was awarded a debate scholarship. "I guess they needed people for the debate team really bad," he said. "I gave a funny presentation in speech class and was offered a scholarship. I found myself debating kids who won scholarships because they were cham- pion high school competitors. The Tim Tebows of debate. The first debate tournament I ever saw, I was in! It was humbling." According to Crews, his team didn't win any tournaments, but they were spoilers and won a couple of debates. He began his career in 1974 as a cooperative education student in public affairs at the then Naval Air Rework Facility, now Fleet Readiness Center Southeast. "I was barely 21 and didn't know anything about the military," he said. "I once spelled naval 'navel.' Somebody asked me to write an arti- cle for the plan of the week (POW) Photo by Erica Brough Former NAS Jacksonville Public Affairs Officer Rick Crews (left) provides infor- mation to Ocala Star-Banner Reporter Sue Carr during a recent media visit to the Pinecastle Bombing Range in the Ocala National Forest as Range Electronic Equipment Specialist Don Heaton discusses technical information and acts as guide. Crews retired this week after nearly 35 years of government service, most of it in public affairs. about painting the ladies head. I thought the person was just crazy. I wasn't sure if there was really a 'POW,' but I was sure we were not going to paint anybody's head." Crews was assigned to the Naval Supply Center Jacksonville, now Fleet Industrial Supply Center Jax (FISC), from 1980-99. He was the command public affairs officer, then command support director and foreign military training officer. He says one of the highlights of his tour at FISC was managing the Foreign Military Training program, where he made each class of senior and junior trainees do the Gator Chomp before they could receive their diplomas. "They came to Jax from a stop at the Supply Corps School in Athens, Ga., where the University of Georgia is located," he said. "They were barking at me when they got here. It had to be done. How I wound up with military officers from all over the world and didn't create an international incident is still a mys- tery," continued Crews. Crews transferred to Navy Region Southeast Public Affairs in 1998. A big part of his job each year was to manage the media center for Fleet Week in Fort Lauderdale. "We had a hell of a team each year," he said. . -.. .... ...... . Photo courtesy of HS-7 HS-7 personnel recently rescued 10 crewmembers from the Kuwaiti ship Nadi after receiving a distress call that the ship that it was sinking and the crew needed to be rescued. 'Dusty Dogs' perform another rescue at sea Save crew from sinking ship By Lt. j.g. Jonathan Dorsey HS-7 PAO For the second time during their current deploy- ment on board USS Harry S. Truman, the HS- 7 "Dusty Dogs" have executed another success- ful rescue mission. The squadron has now rescued 13 individuals at sea. The second rescue mission occurred Feb. 22 after a five-day port call in the Arabian Gulf. As the Dusty Dogs started their day conducting a joint exercise with the 1F4 Platoon from the U.S. Marine Corps Security Force Company Bahrain, a distress call was intercept- ed and HS-7 personnel were tasked to investigate. The Dusty team unloaded the Marines and seam- lessly refitted their HH60-H helicopter to prepare for the upcoming rescue. Dusty 617 piloted by Cmdr. Kevin Lenox and copiloted by Lt. j.g. Jonathan Dorsey, headed towards the distressed vessel about 50 nautical miles away. The crew chief was AW1 Shad Hernandez and the rescue swimmer was AW2 Brenton Graham. The ship assembled a medical team consisting of Flight Surgeon Lt. April Matiasek and two corpsmen, HM1 AnnMarie Lawrence and HM1 Francis Nielsen to assess the distraught crew of the vessel and aid with any medical needs. Dusty 617 quickly arrived on scene and began to access the situation. Also on scene was USNS Sacagawea (T-AKE 2), a supply ship. The aircrew determined that they would have to first drop off the medical team on the Sacagawea and then bring the rescued crewmembers back to the Sacagawea for med- ical examinations. While waiting for flight quarters to be manned on the Sacagawea, Dusty 617 flew by the distressed ves- sel, Nadi, several times to determine the best course of action for rescuing the crew since the helicopter would not be able to land on the ship. The Nadi was a small 200-foot merchant vessel sailing under a Kuwaiti flag. Its super structure was situated on the aft part of the ship. The ship has two masts, one positioned a third of the way from the bow and the other a third from the stern of the ship. Each mast had a thick wire connected to bow and stern respectively, but no wire between them. Nadi, which had 10 crewmembers, had been dead in the water for about a week, but they were still able to produce electrical power through their diesel genera- tors on board. After several days of being at the mercy of the seas, their ship started to take on water. They had full operation of their bilge pumps, but the ship was tak- ing on water at a faster rate than they were able to expel. The captain determined the ship could not be saved and made a plea for assistance from any ship or aircraft within range. Dusty 617 answered the call. As soon as flight quarters were manned on the Sacagawea, Dorsey made the approach to land and drop off the medical team. The medical team headed inside and made preparations for the survivors. See RESCUE, Page 16 See CREWS, Page 16 TOUCHING Women's History Month celebration set The annual Women's History Month celebration will be held March 18 at 7:30 a.m. at the Flight BASE Line Caf. The observance will feature a breakfast followed by a short program. The guest speaker will be CMDCM(AW/SW) Evelyn Banks, command master chief for the U.S. Naval Academy. Wnaasp The event is open to all hands and the cost is $3.85. ScmOnfh For more information, call YN1 Jenkins at 542-3314.