USS MILIUS COMMAND NEWSLET TER

V OLUME 2 I SSUE 10 O CTOBER 2011

F ROM THE CO S D ESK

Happy October! It's hard to believe another month has gone by and I'm quickly coming up on six months since I took command of MILIUS. One of the things that I am dedicated to as the Commanding Officer is communication, both with my crew and with the families and would like to write about that this month. To get information to friends and families, we have many different forums with this newsletter being one of the main ones. Other communication paths are the MILIUS Facebook page and the MILIUS Command Families Facebook page (If you're not a member send an email to the Ombudsman to get added). We are also going to be holding predeployment meetings, starting this month with the first meeting on October 17 at the Murphy Canyon Youth Center. I will be speaking at this meeting, as will the Fleet and Family Service Center (FFSC) speakers. FFSC have given many predeployment briefs over the years and know what families are concerned about. We will also do additional meetings November 1 and December 1 at the Bowling Alley on 32nd Street dry side. While it is mandatory for your MILIUS Sailor to attend one of these events, I would like to strongly encourage you to attend also. Not only will you get some great information, but afterwards the MILIUS Family Readiness Group will be holding meetings as we stand this organization back up. We've already had some volunteers to help run the FRG, including Arianne Anderson-Ion, Yolanda Davis, and Katie Horton - thank you!" I know how challenging it is to be a MILIUS Family member with our complex schedule and would like to encourage your participation in this group so you can get together with others going through the same challenges. Another major means of communication with MILIUS Families is through the Ombudsman. I would like to sincerely thank Shannon Rivera for all she has done for MILIUS as our Ombudsman. Thank you Shannon! As Shannon moves on to another phase of her life, we will be transitioning to two new Ombudsmen, who are introduced later in this newsletter, Jeri Nix and Teresa Tillman - welcome both of you! The Ombudsman phone number and email will remain the same. Back to my theme of Communication - if there is any information you'd like covered during one of these meetings, in a future newsletter, or via Facebook, please don't hesitate to ask. The best fashion is to email either the Ombudsman or CMC (cmc@ddg69.navy.mil) and we'll do our best to answer your questions. As I stated above, it's one of my goals to have open communication, so please don't be worried about asking ANY question! I do want to add how proud I am of the MILIUS Sailors - they have been kicking butt and taking names as we've executed multi-ship, multi-warfare operations as part of our training for deployment. You can be equally proud of them and what they've accomplished - we are ready to accomplish any mission for the Navy!

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CMCs Call

Career Counsel- 2 ors corner CALENDAR OF EVENTS OMBUDSMEN MEMO

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MILIUS frontline 5, 6 news

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USS MILIUS COMMAND NEWSLETTER

CMCs CALL
Hello, MILIUS Families. How time flies when you are having fun! Kids are back in school and fall is in the air. It was nice seeing many of you at the Command Picnic or Family Day Cruise. Start planning now to attend the Command Holiday Party which is in early December. MWR is planning a great time with many prizes. Big upcoming events are San Francisco Fleet Week which is a chance to show off our ship to the taxpayers and have liberty in a different port. And we are putting together a Pre-Deployment Brief which will be mandatory for all Sailors and HIGHLY recommended for Family! During the initial brief on the 17th of October we will have our FIRST Family Readiness Group meeting and elect officers for that group. I have seen a lot of interest in this group which will help make deployment a little easier on those of you holding down the home front! Take Care and have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN and I hope to see you at the Pre-deployment Briefs! Sincerely, CMC FROM THE COMMAND CAREER COUNSELOR A big BRAVO ZULU to the following Sailors on their recent reenlistments and awards: Reenlistments GSCS (SW) Joey Talob Navy Achievement Medal PS1 (SW) Douglas Lankford CS1 (SW/AW) Jerry Delair BM2 (SW) Omar Goenaga Advancement to Chief Petty Officer ITC (SW) Joshua Shepherd Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist (ESWS) IT1 (SW) Timothy McCarthy YN2 (SW) Nathan Sheddy Senior Sailor of the Quarter ET1 (SW) Shawn Kelly Junior Sailor of the Quarter HT2 (SW) William Willen Blue Jacket Sailor of the Quarter STG3 (SW) Jerrica Johnson Aloha again MILUS Crew, Family & Friends, This month, I would like to mention the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) Workshop offered to separating or retiring Sailors and their spouse. The Transition Assistance Program is a U.S. Department of Labor workshop and is available at Fleet & Family Support Centers (FFSC) worldwide. Here in San Diego, FFSC offers 4 different TAP workshops and any spouse is encouraged to attend! TAP-For separating E6 and junior. RETAP-For Retiring E7 and junior. JOTAP-For separating Junior Officers 01-04. SETAP-For retiring Officers, LDOs, Warrants, E8 & E9. More information can be found at: http://www.cnic.navy.mil Search TAP in the top right corner. Transition Resources-Fleet and Family Support Center. Workshop schedule varies and is no longer than 4 days each. Classes fill up quick and there are limited seating. All requests to attend a TAP Workshop is coordinated though the Command Career Counselor and if a Sailors spouse would like to attend, the Sailor will make note on the Special Request Chit that their spouse will be attending. If you have any questions, please ask your Sailor. Sincerely, NC1 (SW/AW) B. Baraoidan

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O CTOBER 2011
Sun
2 9 * 16 23 30 3 10 * 17 24 * 31

Mon
4 11 18

Tue
5 12 19

Wed
6 13 20

Thu
7 14 21 28

Fri
1

Sat
8 * 15 22 29

25 *

26 *

27 *

O CTOBER

October 3-7: Multi-ship & Multi-warfare exercises October 8-11: San Francisco Fleet Week October 11: Individual Augmentee Family Connection Meeting - 6-8pm, Murphy Canyon Chapel October 15: Navy Birthday Ball - 6pm, Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina October 17: Family Readiness Group meeting - 6pm-8pm, Murphy Canyon Youth Center

October 17-21: ULTRA S October 22: Beautify Chula Vista Clean-up Event - 730am-1200, Harborside Park October 24-28: Seal Beach October 29: Navy & Marine Corps Ball - 6pm, Pechenga, Temecula October 31: Halloween

UPCOMING: November 1: Pre-Deployment Brief - Bowling Alley, Dry-side December 1: Pre-Deployment Brief - Bowling Alley, Dry-side
* Annotates in-port, away from home port Blue highlighted boxes annotate underway periods

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USS MILIUS COMMAND NEWSLETTER

MILIUS Sailors and Families,

OMBUDSMEN MEMO

Ombudsman Info: ombudsman69@gmail.com assistantombudsman69@ gmail.com OMB Phone 619.417.9980 Careline 619.338.1754

Bungee jumping isnt for everyone, but I like the idea of committing myself to a project and not looking back because it gives me satisfaction and pride to look back at what I have done in life. The excitement I experience along the way is pretty fun, too! My name is Teresa Tillman and my husband and I have been together for 7 years and have a 1 year old son, Caleb, who likes to run the show and be the center of attention. I am from Napa, CA (Wine Country! Go Crushers!) and graduated with my degree in Healthcare Management last year. You would most likely find me taking Caleb to new places, exploring downtown, having family movie night or sitting at a sushi bar having dinner with my husband while watching him try things that are out of my league. I am both honored and humbled to serve as your Ombudsman and look forward to assisting you and your family in any way I can. -Teresa Tillman

Hello Milius Sailors and Families, My name is Jeri Nix, ET1s wife. It is my privilege and honor to be named as one of your Ombudsman Team members. I look forward to serving and working with your spouses, while youre getting ready to deploy, as well as during deployment and following. It is the job of the Ombudsman , which enables you to relax and be mission ready, knowing that your families are being taken care of at home. It is our job to be available with information and referral needs for your family. We are not babysitters, taxi drivers or banks, but we can direct you or your family as to where to find them. Our training includes the importance of CONFIDENTIALITY. There are some issues that arise, such as suicide, child or spousal abuse, drug or alcohol abuse, homicide, life threatening behavior, etc., which requires us to notify the chain of command immediately; otherwise, we will direct you privately, without incident. Remember, the only dumb question is the question that is never asked! We are here for your benefit. Dewayne and I have been married for 17 yrs. We were both raised in the South. Dewayne is from South Carolina and I am from Alabama. We have three children: Michaela, 13; Glenn, 7; and Marley, 5. They all currently attend the Barona Indian Charter School in Lakeside. We moved to El Cajon, from a shore command in Corpus Christi, TX, in mid August. I was the Ombudsman and Assembly Chair person for the base and local tenant commands at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi for the past 2 years. Prior to Corpus NAS, I held the Ombudsman position for 2 yrs, on the USS Hue City, in Mayport, FL I held the FRG President position during Dewaynes first command, with the USS Stump in Norfolk, VA, for 1 years, and am well aware of how hard it is to start an FRG from scratch. However, with the spouses involvement and support, we can have an amazing FRG! If you are willing to volunteer and chair a position, please let us know as soon as possible. We will be hosting elections at our first pre-deployment briefing, to be held 17 October 2011. The newsletter will have more information about the briefing. I bring experience and years of training to this position. I am excited and look forward to working with you and your families! -Jeri Nix

Thank you MILIUS Crew and Families for all that you have done and will continue to do for our country. It has been an honor to volunteer as your Ombudsman. I know you will be in good hands with Mrs. Nix and Mrs. Tillman and I encourage you to support them as they take on this challenging, yet rewarding position. Best Regards and Warmest Wishes, Shannon Rivera.

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MILIUS FRONTLINE NEWS

By Ensign Rhianna Cole
Living and working on a warship is something not easily explained to those who havent had a chance to experience it on their own. A Sailor can describe the trials and tribulations of his or her day to day schedule; the lack of sleep, the noise, the hours of watch standing and the drills but one can never really understand the excitement, the stories, the learning and the success until they have lived it. Some family and friends had the opportunity to sail with MILIUS for a day during the Friends and Family Day Cruise at the end of August. Hundreds of family and friends came out bright and early on a Monday morning and headed out to sea.
Lowering the RHIB in the water to execute small boat operations

While out at sea, loved ones had the chance to see MILIUS finest Sailors in action executing boat operations, engineering drills, weapons demonstrations and a demonstration from our team of Visit Board Search and Seizure members. All of the finest moments were brought together to give our loved ones a first hand experience of what life onboard MILIUS is like. It is a great opportunity for those around us to see what our life is like and to be able to share some incredibly unique experiences. The cruise was a success and MILIUS received nothing but great feedback.
A tactical demonstration from MILIUS VBSS Team Hundreds of MILIUS family and friends gathered on the Flight Deck during the Friends and Family Day Cruise

If you are interested in living the life of a MILIUS Sailor for a few days, MILIUS is looking to host another Tiger Cruise on the way home from Santa Barbara in November. We will be putting out more information soon. Stay connected through Facebook, the Ombudsmen and our newsletters. Hope to see you all again soon!

If you have questions, comments or suggestions for MILIUS FRONTLINE NEWS, please email the Public Affairs Officer at PAO@ddg69.navy.mil. Also, please check the Facebook page and contact our Ombudsmen for more information!