Welcome new


 JAX AIR NEWS, NAS JACKSONVILLE, Thursday, July 16, 2009 17



Navy spouses


By Beth Wilson
Special Contributor


June is historically the month for weddings. Dating
 back to ancient Rome and Juno, the goddess of
 marriage, getting married in June was believed to
be 'lucky' or 'blessed' for a happy, prosperous marriage.
Today, June continues to be the popular and romantic
month for weddings and that includes military weddings.
This column is dedicated to our new fellow spouses to the
'MilSpouse Club.'
 Congratulations on your recent marriage. As a new
Navy spouse, you are excited about building a life together
with your man or woman in uniform. Here are a few
basics to get you on the road to successful navigation of
Navy spousedom.
 Schedule a trip to the ID Office with your spouse to
obtain your military dependent ID. Bring a copy of your
marriage license and birth certificate. Your dependent ID
is the key to accessing services and benefits as a spouse.
 You will present it each time you access the base medi-
cal clinic, commissary (grocery store), Navy Exchange
(NEX), theatre, gym, bowling alley and other services on
base. Guard it like your driver license and Social Security
card.


 SPOUSE'S PERSPECTIVE
 The next stop is Pass & ID for decals for your vehicles.
Bring your driver license, vehicle registration and proof of
insurance. The decals go on your vehicle and permit you to
drive your vehicle on base.
 Your service member will add you to DEERS (Defense
Eligibility and Enrollment Reporting System). Once you
are in the system you can enroll in TriCare (medical cov-
erage) and United Concordia (Tricare Dental Program).
You can enroll at the local military treatment facility near
you. There are several plan options available and you can
read about them online at www.tricare.mil. You can enroll
for dental online at www.tricaredentalprogram.com.
 Learn your resources because many military marriages
begin right before an upcoming move or deployment.
Either event presents challenges. Knowing your resources
will help you sail through them.
 The first resource is Fleet and Family Support Center
(FFSC). Each base has an FFSC where you will find
helpful and experienced staff offering classes and indi-
vidual support for you. Your base website contains contact
information for your local FFSC. The FFSC will intro-


duce you to additional resources such as Military One
Source, COMPASS, Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society,
local resources and much more.
 Get connected with organizations and fellow spouses
who can assist you in building your new life as a Navy
wife.
 The first person to contact is your command ombuds-
man. This fellow Navy spouse is a volunteer appointed by
the commanding officer of your Sailor's command. They
are trained as a resource for you with information, refer-
rals, communication and support. Your Sailor can get
their name and contact information from the Plan of the
Day/Week or the command website.
 Each command has a Family Readiness Group or FRG.
This is a group of spouses just like you who get together
for friendship, projects, information and support. Entering
the world of military spousedom is both exciting and a
bit overwhelming but armed with resources and informa-
tion we can 'navigate' even the roughest of seas. Welcome
to the world of military spousedom, where you are truly
among friends.
 Questions or comments for Beth? Email her at beth@
homefrontinfocus.com. Don't miss Beth's internet talk
show, Navy Homefront Talk! at www.blogtalkradio.com/
nht.


NAS Jax Boathouse aids in rescue training


By AWVAN Scott Beach
Staff Writer


Search and rescue (SAR) swim-
 mers from HSM Weapons
 School Atlantic at NS Mayport
arrived at the NAS
Jacksonville Air
Operations Boat
Division June 23 to
conduct their annual
rescue swimmer deploy-
ment qualification.
 The qualification
consists of SAR jumps
and direct deployment
maneuvers utilizing an
SH-60B Seahawk heli-
copter in both daylight
and nighttime opera-
tions on the St. Johns
River.
 Aircrew rescue swim- A search and
mers rely on the NAS swimmer f
Jax Boathouse crew for Weapons Sch
the operation its 40-foot performs a di
 ment rescue
SAR boat in order to annual SAR
conduct various train- procedures (
ing and qualification in the St. Johi
evolutions. NAS lacksonvi


n
il


 "Conducting our annual SAR
deployment training is important
because it provides the real-water
conditions that we'll encounter during
a rescue situation while deployed,"
 said AWRC(AW/SW)
 Craig Wooten, leading
 chief petty officer of the
 HSM Weapons School
 Atlantic Training
 Department.
 "During our quarterly
 training sessions, we
 are in a pool environ-
 ment which obviously is
 not as realistic as being
 in the open water with
 the helicopter involved."
 The boathouse's
 orange SAR craft gives
 aircrew rescue swim-
rescue (SAR) mers a platform for
rom HSM their equipment and to
ool Atlantic observe fellow swim-
rect deploy-
during the mers as they secure a
deployment "survivor" to the heli-
ualification copter rescue hoist in
is River near the dark, choppy water
le. of the St. Johns River.


(From left) AWRC(AW/SW/NAC) Craig Wooten, AWR2(AW/
NAC) Paul Sanchez, AWR1 (AW/SW/NAC) Michael Skinner,
AWR1 (AW/SW/NAC) Chris Kasprzyk, AWR2(AW/SW/NAC)
Jeff Gies, and AWR2(AW/NAC) Will Dillon prepare to cast
off from the NAS Jax Boathouse and rendevous with their SH-
60B Seahawk from NS Mayport for a rescue swimmer certifi-
cation exercise.


rnotos uy Avvv iN aScou neacn
AWR2(AW/NAC) Paul Sanchez from
HSM Weapons School Atlantic performs
a search and rescue (SAR) jump from
an SH-60B Seahawk on the St. Johns
River during his annual SAR deployment
procedures qualification which included
SAR jumps and direct deployment.


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