USS NIMITZ (CVN-68)

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Comment by PNM of Joshua 52 seconds ago

Hi everyone,
I have a question My brother is in the hospital and has just been told he is dying he is Joshua uncle and I know that he is not considered imediate family so should I tell my son Joshua or not. I am having a hard time with this so though I would ask for some advise from you all. This is sudden and was not expected so I am still in shock myself. Thanks for any advise. You are the best. Susan

Comment by Pat 8 minutes ago

I am going to email 3 of the smaller ships in the strike group and the PAO of the Nimitz. Perhaps they can get names of anyone that doesn't receive anything from home from the MC's

Comment by Pat 12 minutes ago

Dottye, it doesn't have to be done anonymously. As for the berthing areas, some of the larger dept's have one large berthing room where about 80 crew sleep. I know Supply has several large berthing areas so I assume Air does as well.

Molly's group picks from all branches of the military that are deployed. They don't specifically target anyone that is in need. We were thinking along the lines of Adopt a Lonely Sailor (Laurie picked that name).

Comment by AblueOK 25 minutes ago

Stillwater sailor misses holidays at home



Somewhere in the North Arabian Sea aboard the USS Nimitz, Stillwater resident Michelle has a pile of Christmas presents in her quarters.

She’s waiting until Christmas Day to open them.

It’s her first Christmas away from family. The aviation support technician knows her work is important, but admits it’s hard to not be home for the holidays.

The Nimitz steamed from port in California on July 31, and is scheduled to complete its tour at the end of March, said Lt. j.g. David Bennett, deputy public affairs officer.

So far, pilots based on the Nimitz have flown 1,800 sorties and logged 10,000 flight hours in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and the ground troops in Afghanistan, he said.

xxxxxxx talked to the Stillwater NewsPress on Thursday.

Q: Christmas is coming up soon. What’s it like on board ship now?

There are some Christmas decorations up. Little trees in a few rooms and some Christmas lights. Today, they played a Christmas song over the intercom. That was nice.

We should have a big Christmas dinner and it’s movie night too. I go to all the movies. I have a nice stack of presents from my family waiting to be opened on Christmas Day. I’m looking forward to that.

Q: Is this your first Christmas away from home?

Yes. Last Christmas I was able to make it home. It’s my first Christmas away from my family. I have lots of Christmas gifts, but they don’t replace being home with them. It’ll be different. I’m used to being with family.

Q: Thanksgiving was a special event on the Nimitz because of a special guest – four-star Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. operations in 20 countries from Egypt to Central Asia and the entire Middle East. Petraeus conducted re-enlistments, presented awards, carved a turkey for Nimitz sailors and gave a speech to the entire crew.

“I'm so thankful to be out here with over 4,000 great Americans who are engaged in important missions and working together to accomplish them,” Petraeus said. “There's no greater source of energy than the 4,000-plus members of the crew and air wing that are on one of these great ships.”

What was Thanksgiving like?

They went all out. We had turkey, ham, roast pigs, roast beef, stuffing, pies and all sorts of desserts.

(The crew feasted on 1,000 pounds of traditional Thanksgiving turkeys. Nimitz’ food services team also dished up 600 pounds of ham, 15 roasted pigs, roast-steamship rounds of beef, broiled lobster and 150 one-gallon cans of cranberry sauce, according to a Navy news release.)

Gen. Petreaus visited us on Thanksgiving. In his speech, he talked a little about how important our mission is. It was motivating. He’s a funny man, a very funny man. It was an honor to have him on the Nimitz on Thanksgiving. We were away from our families on Thanksgiving and it meant a lot that he would give up Thanksgiving with his family and spend it with us.

Q: Your first port of call was in Yukosuka, Japan. What was it like?

It was a blast. I had a blast. It was the first port and I was ready to get off the ship and see something different. It was a big city. The people were kind, and food really good – something different. I traveled all around the town.

Q: What was your most memorable experience?

I think the city life. I was not used to the atmosphere. It was a shock to me. All the trains, the transit system and stuff. It was different. It was a big city with a lot of people. It was a shock and neat.

Q: What other ports and places have you visited?

The next port we hit was Singapore. It was beautiful – amazing. There’s so much stuff to do when you hit port. So much to do in a short time. It’s hard to explain all the stuff you see and what it is like. It’s so different. Each place is different and you just want to soak it in.

Singapore has been my favorite port. It’s multicultural. There’s Little India and Little China. There’s a lot to take in. It’s gorgeous there. I went to the zoo. There’s so much amazing stuff.

We also made port in Bahrain and Dubai (United Arab Emirates). In those places, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I got a chance to see their culture and soak it in. It was nice to see their part of the world and view things – get a little insight into the morals and culture. It was exciting to just see all that.

Q: What’s it like on ship?

The work never ends during deployment. I’m on TAD – temporary assigned duty. It’s different than my original job of doing maintenance on the equipment we use to maintain the aircraft. I’m in 3M now. That’s material maintenance management – the general upkeep of the ship. I change filters, maintain battle lanterns – backup lighting if electricity goes out – make sure the hatches operate. It’s easy to forget how important each job is on a ship. ... It’s all important. It needs to be done in order for us to live and function.

Q: Do you like the temporary assignments? It seems like they’d give you a break from your usual duties.

Every day is repetitive out here. It does give us a break from what we usually do. It makes a difference.

Q: You said you love movie nights. What movies have you seen?

The last movie I saw was “The Final Destination.” I’ve also seen “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” “G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra” and a few others. I saw “Terminator Salvation.” It’s my favorite.

Q: What did you like about it?

The first one was a classic. It was a really cool movie. “Terminator Salvation” is a new twist. It’s exciting with new actors. It’s just one of those movies I really like. I saw it five times.

Q: Is there anything you’d like to say to Stillwater residents or your family?

Merry Christmas to everyone. I’d like to tell my mom, dad and grandparents that I love and miss them. I can’t wait to open my presents and see what they got me.ꆱ

Comment by ErnysMom 1 hour ago

You know, when my kiddo got to the ship I asked him to look around and see if any of his shipmates -- and presumably co-workers and friends -- weren't receiving anything from home. I knew I would be shipping stuff to him regularly and I told him I would be happy to "adopt" somebody that he was friends with or just someone from his group. It's as easy to make two packages as one.

This was before I knew anything about the "Molly's adopt a sailor program."

It just seemed to me, from watching the PBS documentary Carrier, that a fair number of the young people were escaping from home or were coming from families that were unlikely to be keeping in touch. I thought this was something I would like to do if he could come up with a name.

Pat, it is so sad to think there is someone (or many sailors) serving who never get a letter or an email or a package.

I'm going to poke my kiddo again and ask him to look around and see if there's anyone he's working with or -- I dunno, do they berth with the guys they work with or do they mix them up so they get to know more people than just the folks they work with?

In any event, if he looks around after this holiday rush it seems to me that he should be able to notice somebody who doesn't get mail, yes?

Now how would we do this, send it anonymously from Navy4Moms? Maybe with a first name and an email address in the event the sailor wanted to respond? Or wanted to request specific items?

Dottye

Comment by Pat 1 hour ago

Yesterday Laurie shared with me that a Sailor that works with her son never receives anything from home......no mail or care packages. That is so sad. She said Josh said this Sailor isn't the only one. Laurie is sending him a package and if I ever get out from out of all this snow, I am too. I told DN abut it and she's going to send something too. This got me to thinking perhaps we could send something to other sailors on the ship that don't receive anything. We could ask our Sailors for the name of someone in their section. If you're interested let me know.

Comment by Pat 2 hours ago

Kim, usually when you register anyone on Adopt a Sailor or any of those other sites, the the packages are meant to be shared w/ the person/s section. This may be why his command is upset. I know someone I know sent Tim 15 care packages and he gave the packages to his section & gave 2 of them to Kattya's son, Chris.

Comment by KIM 4 hours ago

Pat hello .... No I did not ever find out who registered him for the Adopt a Sailor. But he did tell me that the squadron was not so happy about him getting a ton of packages in. I gave him the address that I sent my Chirstmas stockings to on the Carrier. And he was going to find that person and just start giving the boxes to him to pass it. But I have not herd from my son since last weekend.

Comment by Sam 5 hours ago

Maggie, I didn't know your daughter was sick. I hope she gets well soon.
I am glad that I didn't hurt you by something I said. I just have to be a
motivated person myself or I would never get anything done. Ginger
bread people that sounds wonderful. I am going to start on sugar
cookies today. I am going to make some fudge, puppy chow and my
sons girlfriend is now the no bake oatmeal cocoa and peanut butter
cookies. So I asked her if she wanted to do some cooking with me.
The cookies are the only thing in the world she knows how to
cook. Ty cooks for her she said her mother never cooked. I just
don't understand how so many people don't know how to cook.
Michael told me that I taught him and his brother to cook they
would make good wives. I am glad you are trying to make it
thru this time it is almost here and almost gone and the pressure
of the holidays will be off everyone. Take care you and the girls
are always in my prayers and heart.

Comment by Julie 5 hours ago

That's great Maggie. I am glad you found your motivation!

I had a very busy day yesterday and then when I got home and tried to take a quick nap I had horrible leg cramps and was stuck upstairs in bed all night. I haven't gotten caught up here yet, but I will later because I have a lot of cleaning to get done even though I can still barely move.

Have a great day everyone.

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