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Family members and friends of USS Nimitz

(CVN 68) Sailors checked on board yesterday for a three-day cruise from Everett, Wash., to San Francisco.

Tiger cruise is a unique opportunity for crew members to acquaint their families and friends with Nimitz and associated shipboard duties.

“The Tigers are encouraged to stand watch with their sponsors, follow their sponsor around, and gain an appreciation for what their sponsor does on a daily basis,” said Lt. Cmdr. Tracy Hanson,

Tiger Cruise coordinator.Tigers had the

opportunity to man the rails as Nimitz departed Everett, enjoy an ice cream social, view displays of damage control equipment and weapons and to take part in tours.

“There is an air

demonstration planned, a couple weapons demonstrations, and a Close-in Weapons System (CIWS) Precision Aiming Calibration (PAC) fire is currently being planned,” said Hanson. “There will also be sumo

May 25, 2012 Vol. 1 Issue 13

Remembering the battle

Tigers loose aboard NimitzStory by MC3 (SW) Thomas Siniff

See TIGERS page 3

Frankie Hudson, nine years old, sits by her mother, Electrician’s Mate 1st Class Shelly Hudson while she mans the rails as USS Nimitz (CVN 68) pulls away from the pier at Naval Station Everett, Wash., for their Tiger Cruise to San Francisco. Photo by MC3 Jacquelyn Childs.

Friends and family of Sailors check in for a three-day Tiger Cruise May 24, from Everett, Wash., to San Francisco. Photo by MC3 (SW) Thomas Siniff.

Tiger Schedule of Events

Today - Weapons demo 8:00 a.m. Flight Deck - Air demo 12:00 p.m. Flight Deck - Gun Shoot 8:00 p.m. Flight Deck - Sumo Wrestling 8:00 p.m. Gym

Tomorrow - Steel Beach Picnic 10:30 a.m. Flight Deck - CIWS PAC Fire 6:00 p.m. Flight Deck - Dodgeball 7:00 p.m. Hangar Bay 2 - Nacho Night 8:00 p.m. Mess Decks - Karaoke 8:30 p.m. Mess Decks

Commanding OfficerCAPT Jeffrey S. Ruth

Executive OfficerCAPT Buzz Donnelly

Command Master ChiefCMDCM Teri McIntyrePublic Affairs OfficerLCDR Karin Burzynski

EditorMC3 Ashley Berumen

Lead DesignerMC3 Jacob Milner

Nimitz News accepts submissions in writing. All. submissions are subject to review and screening. “Nimitz News” is an authorized publication for the members of the military services and their families. Its content does not necessarily reflect the official views of the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Navy, or the Marine Corps and does not imply endorsement thereby.

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What’s at the very center of your life? In other words, what is it makes you who you are? What is the most important aspect of your life? I think these are important questions to ask yourself.

I’m a Lutheran and in the Lutheran church we speak of the altar as being the center of our lives. We live each day according to all that is reflected in Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection, all of which are replicated through symbol and sacrament upon our altar. There, we find a model of our Lord’s cross, the Bible and the elements of the Lord’s Supper. On the way to that sacred space for Holy Communion, we also walk past the Baptismal font that connects us to the Lord’s cross and eternal life as St. Paul mentions in Romans Six.

The point is simply that every aspect of our lives is centered upon what we do as a worshiping community. It permeates our souls. It defines who we are and, consequently, how we act. We believe that the cross reminds us of Jesus’ death and all he endured to give us eternal life. The Holy Scriptures are his very words;

words that both convict us of our sin and converts us into believers. My church also teaches that the Lord’s Supper

is a meal of forgiveness where we are joined together with all of Christ’s followers from all times and all places into one family with Jesus as the center. When we leave the worship service we take these profound ideas into a profane world. Hopefully, others will see us as Christians who desire to be like Christ in every way, including our in our service to all people. This is how Lutherans are defined; by faith put into action.

The problem, of course, is that all too often we move off center. We let less important events and circumstances upset our equilibrium. When this takes place, we begin to list to one side or the other, losing our balance, and then falling down. It might be work that knocks us off balance. Maybe we spend too much time focusing on this one aspect of our lives and not enough time focusing on the needs of our family. Maybe it’s time we spend on recreation. Again too much or too little will cause us

to fall off center. Pleasure, money, power, health, you name it; it can create asymmetry in our lives that results in deep problems.

Christian or not, you probably have the same dilemma.

What’s at the center of your life? Is your God? Is it your family? Is it your work? What is it that defines your identity? What ever it is, don’t let the other less important influences upon you upset who you are. Stay centered. Stay focused. Stay true to yourself.

Chaplain's Corner : Centered Story by Chaplain Richard Townes

wrestling with “Chester the Tiger”, basketball events, bingo, karaoke and organized tours throughout locations around the ship.”

Some Tigers say they are enjoying their visit and appreciate the politeness of the Sailors.

“Everyone has been so helpful and friendly,” said Victor Chavez, father-in-law of Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class (AW/SW) Brandon Tarbox. “We’ve taken a tour of where the anchor is and have been on the flight deck. We’re trying to visit each department.”

Some Tigers who have not had much experience with the Navy are impressed with the size of the ship and what Sailors are doing.

“I’m amazed at the enormous amount of space and how much metal and steel is here, and then it floats,” said Sally Hawkins, mother of Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class (AW) Christina Beyer.

Hawkins also spoke about her father who served in the Vietnam War.

“It brings me closer to what he talked about for all those years,” she said. “To really see the military for what it is - it just makes me really proud.”

Although Tigers are encouraged to enjoy the military experience, they should still be mindful of safety while on board the ship.

“Tigers need to know it’s an industrial environment as well as a very dynamic environment,” said Hanson. “They need to be especially mindful of safety hazards throughout the ship and be attentive to spaces that may not be authorized to them. Those spaces are marked with the ‘No Tiger’ signs.”

Once the ship arrives in San Francisco, transportation will be provided for Tigers to the airport.

“We are going to provide buses in San Francisco from the beach landing to the airport immediately after we disembark May 27,” said Hanson. “The buses will be available for about three hours after we disembark.”

Continued from Page 1TIGERS : Sailors, families underway

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Sailors and their Tigers watch as USS Nimitz (CVN 68) pulls away from the pier at Naval Station Everett, Wash., for their Tiger Cruise to San Francisco. Photo by MC3 Jacquelyn Childs.

Sailors help bring smiles to kids’ faces

Story and photos by MCSN Jess Lewis

Eight USS Nimitz (CVN 68) Sailors read stories, made art

projects and played games with local children at the Imagine Children’s Museum in downtown Everett, Wash., May 22 as a community relations (COMREL) project.

“Someone brought up the idea at one of our [Junior Enlisted Association] meetings,” said Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 3rd Class (AW/SW) Adam Baez, JEA volunteer coordinator. “I looked into it, got in contact with the director and organized the event.”

Although the number of volunteers was restricted by the museum, it was still a unique experience for the Sailors.

“This COMREL was more interactive and hands on,” said Baez. “It’s a really neat place for parents to bring their children.”

The museum is made-up of three levels. The lower level is comprised of an eating area, party rooms, a construction studio, an art studio and a few classrooms used for larger groups.

The main level gives children endless opportunities to use their imaginations, beginning with an Italian café where they can pretend they’re chefs, servers or hostesses of the café. Next door is an animal clinic where children can pretend to be a veterinarian. An indoor tree house called, “PJ’s Place” is a popular place for children to enjoy story time. There’s a theater room with a stage and costumes where children can dress up and perform shows for their parents. Parents can

Personnel Specialist 3rd Class Carisa Whitehurst makes music with a small child during a community relations project at Imagine Children’s Museum.

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even take the stage if they’d like. The museum also features a music room where you can create music with just a wave of your hand or by stepping on giant piano keys on the floor.

“It’s really neat how it’s set up here,” said Yeoman 3rd Class Jacob Whitis. “It allows parents to teach their children things they’ll need to know in life like how to get on a bus or airplane and what to do if they’re in a fire.”

Local community and businesses such as The Everett Transportation System and Boeing are also involved in the museum. Another area is set up like a farm where children can learn how farms operate and how to milk a cow. The most popular place on the main floor was probably the H2O discovery. Children have an opportunity to play with hundreds of gallons of water in tables designed for engaging in water-related activities such as boat races or learning how to connect pipes.

The fun doesn’t stop there. The

museum also features rooftop adventures. Rooftop adventures is exactly what it sounds like, a museum on the roof. Full of various places to explore, the rooftop adventures provides children hours of entertainment from digging for fossils, to climbing on monkey bars and sliding down slides.

The museum is designed for parents to comfortably interact with their children.

“I was amazed at the place,” said Whitis. “I have never seen anything like it. Makes me wish I was a kid again or makes me wish I had a kid to bring there to play.”

JEA is always looking for new and different ideas for COMREL participation. Sailors are encouraged to attend the JEA meetings and bring their suggestions.

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Information Systems Technician Seaman Bradley McMichael builds a water path for a boat race during a community relations project at Imagine Children’s Museum.

Interior Communications Electrician Fireman Stephanie Santos assists a small child during a community relations project at Imagine Children’s Museum.

Editor’s Note: The following is the first in a three-part series about the Battle of Midway: the turning point of the Pacific Theatre campaign during World War II. By USS Nimitz Public Affairs

Only six months had passed, yet it felt like an eternity.

This, after all, had been Teddy Roosevelt’s America: unstoppable. Still, the unthinkable did happen. And it happened as most of America slept that distant Sunday December morning. As Sailors busied themselves in preparation for liberty, the Hawaiian tranquility

suddenly exploded in the inferno of a sneak attack. We were at war. In a matter of hours it was over. Nine ships sunk, 21 severely damaged. The United States Pacific Fleet was in near ruins. Almost 2,500 American lives were lost that day – 1,177 from the USS Arizona (BB 39) alone. The following months would see the imperial Japanese juggernaut’s expansive domination of the Pacific: Wake Island, Dutch East Indies, the Solomon Islands, Corregidor, the Philippines … If Australia, and possibly Pearl Harbor were to be spared from future attacks, the fight would have to be brought to the enemy. If ever there was an underdog for just such a fight the U.S. Pacific Fleet was it. Coral Sea The first swing took place in May 1942 when U.S. and Japanese naval forces engaged in what would be a history-making battle: Coral Sea. The battle, fought mostly in the skies above the aircraft carriers,

USS Yorktown (CV 5) receives repairs in dry dock at Pearl Harbor following the Battle of Coral Sea. Salvage efforts for ships lost during the attack on Pearl Harbor can be seen in the background. (Photo courtesy of the Navy History and Heritage Center)

T H EB A T T L E o f

MIDWAYP A R T 1

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marked the first time in history that a naval engagement took place without the ships ever seeing each other. Deadly torpedo raids claimed USS Lexington (CV 2) leaving the carriers USS Hornet (CV 8), USS Yorktown (CV 5) and USS Enterprise (CV 6) to fight another day. Objective AF They listened. The static-filled beeps, discernable to only a few, crackled across weak signals into the earpieces of a determined group of codebreakers – ironically positioned deep inside the bombed-out basements of the same Pearl Harbor headquarters attacked six months earlier. They listened. Embedded deep within the hours of sound lay the battle plan of the mighty Japanese fleet: Objective “AF” would be the next target. But where, or even what, exactly was “AF”? It was a long shot, U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Chester Nimitz thought, but the gamble’s rewards would be worth it. Waiting was not an option. The tiny atoll of Midway, that

lonely, isolated speck of a runway in the vast Pacific Ocean, must be the location. Since the fall of Wake, it marked the furthest western military outpost - a sure prize to the Japanese, thought Nimitz. An ingenious solution was presented to Nimitz by the codebreakers to prove Midway was the location. Puzzled looks must have crossed

the radio operators’ faces at the isolated outpost when they received the order to broadcast the unclassified message: “Distilling plant suffered serious casualties. Midway is running low on fresh water.” Back in Pearl, they listened. “Objective ‘AF’ is running low on water” crackled across the airwaves.

Commander U.S. Pacific Fleet Adm. Chester Nimitz meets with service members on Midway Island May 1942. Less than one month later, the full might of the Japanese fleet would descend on the isolated outpost. (Photo courtesy of the Navy History and Heritage Center)

T H EB A T T L E o f

MIDWAYP A R T 1

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Channel 7Channel 6

1000 / 2200

Dolphin Tale

1200 / 0000

The Adventures of Tintin

1400 / 0200

Hugo

1600 / 0400The Santa Clause

1800 / 0600Puss in Boots

0800 / 2000

Avatar

Channel 5

We Bought a Zoo

Marley and Me

Polar Express

Happy Feet 2

Elf

War Horse

Top Gun

The Three Musketeers

Captain America

Moneyball

True Grit

Indiana Jones and the Last

Crusade

TV LINEUP