USS MILIUS COMMAND NEWSLET TER

V OLUME 2 I SSUE 4 A PRIL 2011

F ROM THE CO’ S D ESK

Hello and Greetings from the MILIUS will get underway proach to their positions and
Shipyard. after the change of command the work that they have done
and visit Port Hueneme, CA and continue to do for the
This will be my last column in for an intensive period of Ship, Crew, and Fami-
the MILIUS newsletter as Combat Systems training and lies. Thank you very much
Robynn and I head off to our material assessment then for your help over the past
next duty station this month. back to sea and a stop in Seal year.
Beach, CA before coming
CDR Nikki Bufkin will as-
back to San Diego. This un- As this tour comes to a close
sume Command of MILIUS
derway opportunity will span and Robynn and I head out to
on 14 April. I would like to
two weekends and allow Washington DC, our
welcome Nikki and her hus-
your Sailors to get into an thoughts will be with the
band Brad to the MILIUS team
underway rhythm, continue great Sailors and Families of
and wish her and the crew the
to prepare for INSURV in MILIUS, showing strength
best of luck.
July, and continue the duty through their readiness, I NSIDE THIS
weekend plan upon return poise through their actions, ISSUE :
This past month, your Sailors through the month of May
and full of their subject –
have been hard at work pre- and beyond. ready if called upon to de- XO’s Notes 2
paring the ship in every way –
fend the nation. Fair Winds
whether that has been on a
Also this month, on April and Following Seas.
tiger team working out of
10th, the CRG is hosting an CMC’s CALL 2
their division, going to school
Easter Egg Hunt from 1000- Sincerely,
to prepare themselves for the
1300 at the Mariners Park
training cycle, monitoring CDR R. Trevor King
across from the Dryside NEX Ombudsman 3
ongoing work from outside Commanding Officer memo
complex. More information
contractors, or going about
in this newsletter, but the
their daily routine – while
CRG will provide a light Calendar of 3
filling in for those that are at
lunch, crafts and games with events
school and on tiger
prizes along with two Easter
teams! There has been a sig-
Egg hunts for children 1-6 (at OMB 411 4
nificant amount of work ac-
1030) and 7-13 (at
complished and planned and
1130). Please put on your
over the next few weeks, get- Command 5
calendar and RSVP by April
ting moved back aboard, get- Support
8th.
ting all equipment operational
and checking it out on Sea
MILIUS frontline 6
Trials will require much effort Robynn and I have appreci- news
and the work that your Sailors ated all the support of the
put in during the yard period Crew and Families during
should pay off with operating our time on MILIUS and I
equipment and trained opera- especially want to thank
tors that leads to mission ac- Kayla Hendrix Jackson and
complishment and advance- Shannon Rivera for (1) Vol-
ment. unteering and (2) their de-
pendable, thoughtful ap-
P AGE 2 USS MILIUS COMMAND NEWSLETTER

XO’s NOTES
Dear MILIUS families,
I’m extremely happy to finally be aboard MILIUS after a lengthy
training pipeline and I appreciate the very warm welcome from
the crew. I am excited to be a part of the great ship MILIUS
and look forward to the next three years.
Since this my initial newsletter input, I want to introduce my
family. My wife, Lauren, and I are high school sweethearts
from Long Beach, CA, and have been married 15 years. She’s
been on this Navy journey with me ever since I was a Midship-
man at the Naval Academy. We have four kids ranging in age
from 1 year to 8 years old. They are active in several sports,
clubs, and general mischief, thus keeping us on our toes.
I’ve been a West Pacific Sailor for my career and we’ve done
two, non-consecutive sea tours in Yokosuka, Japan. Because of
this experience, Lauren and I do fully appreciate the demands
put on families when a ship’s operational tempo is so high.
As a Navy family member back home, not only are you handling
day-to-day responsibilities, but you have to ―pick up the slack‖
when your Sailor is unavailable. My opinion is that the stronger
the support from the Command, the better equipped the fami-
lies are at home. Likewise, the stronger the support from
home, the better equipped the Sailor is at sea. So, thank you for
your sacrifices and personal contributions to help make USS
MILIUS mission ready!
In ship news, the crew has been pushing very hard this week to
prepare for our move aboard and departure from the shipyard.
Everyone is eager to vacate the berthing barge, get back on-
board and return to the Naval Base. Bringing a ship out of a
maintenance period is no small task and the crew has been terri-
fic in getting the job done!
Thank again you for all you do on the home front!
Sincerely,
CDR Steve Shedd
Executive Officer

CMC’s CALL

BRAVO ZULU to the following Sailors on their recent accomplishments and awards:

Navy Commendation Medal

OSC(SW) Lumarie Suders

Navy Achievement Medal

CS1(SW) Amanda Vickers
FC2(SW) Leocarlo Sanpedro
ET2(SW) Brian Ridgel
ET2(SW) Ronald Andrews
IT2(SW) Douglas Mason

Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist

EN2(SW) Tomeaka Magallon
STG3(SW) Jerrica Johnson

Sadly it is time for me to transfer. This will be my last newsletter. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve with crew of MILIUS and
their families. I wish you all the best in the future.

Sincerely,
CMDCM(SW/AW) Richard Thomas
V OLUME 2 I SSUE 4 P AGE 3

Calendar of Events

9, 10 April- Encinitis Street Faire- 9am-5pm- one of the largest

A PRIL 2011
street festivals in San Diego County, with around 400 vendor booths,
featuring arts and crafts, antiques, clothing, items from around the
world, good food, live music, and much more. The white tent booths
line up in two columns from D to J Streets. The faire includes chil- Sun Mo Tue We Thu Fri Sat
dren's rides, four live stages, and the Karl Strauss Brewery beer gar-
den. See pg. 5 for more details. 1 2
10 April– Easter Egg Hunt- 10:00 am –1:00 pm. Join us for an
early Easter Egg Hunt (located across from the 32st Commissary at
Mariners Park), for children ages 1-13. There will be two different
hunts for age groups 1-6 and 7-13. Please RSVP with the CRG by 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
April 8th, with ages of your children.

14 April– Change of Command- 10:00am at NBSD Pier 2.

10 11 12 13 14 15 16
19 April– CRG Monthly Meeting- 6:30pm-8:30pm at the Mur-
phy Canyon Chapel. A FFSC speaker will be out to talk about Stress
Management. Childcare will be provided, please email or RSVP
on Facebook with name and ages of children with the CRG no later 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
then 12 April.

30 April– 38th Annual Roots Fest on Adam- on Adams Ave

and 34th Street in Kensington, University Heights and Normal 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Heights. a free, two day festival with live performances by local and
nationally touring music acts on six stages. See pg, 5 for more details.

OMBUDSMAN MEMO
Happy Spring MILIUS Crew and Families!

It has been a busy year so far and we are only a few months into the new year. With a busy SRA period, and the approach of INSERV, many of
you may be feeling a little stressed out and worn down. April is Stress Awareness Month, so it presents a great opportunity to learn more
about how to deal with stress before it becomes an issue. If left unchecked, stress can cause mental, emotional, and physical issues. There are a
variety of courses and classes offered to military members and their families to help during stressful times of life, such as the death of a loved
one, birth of a child, job loss, deployment, etc. The Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC), Tricare Assistance Program (TRIAP), and FO-
CUS, are just a few resources available to help overcome life stressors. Check out the resources in the OMB section on pg. 4 to learn more
about these programs. Also, make room in your schedule to attend the CRG monthly meeting where a FFSC representative will
be out to discuss Stress Management.

I would like to thank those families who have donated their time and money (in the form of donations) to the displaced families
from Japan. During times of tragedy, it is often the littlest things that can make the biggest difference. That being said, as you Ombudsman Info:
spring clean this month, would you think about donating items to the Ombudsman Food Locker, the NMCRS thrift store, or ombudsman69@gmail.com
other such organizations that support each and every one of us during difficult times. It only takes a moment to do something
good for someone else but the impact can last a lifetime. You can contact me for more information if you have questions about assistantombudsman69@
where to go to donate items. gmail.com
OMB Phone– 619.417.9980
Fair Winds and Following Seas to the Command Officer and his wife Robynn as they turn over this month, as well as the Com- Careline– 619.338.1754
mand Master Chief and his wife Elenita. Thank you for your support of the Ombudsman Program and the families during the
past year. Without your help, the families would not have had the support they needed and we wish you well on your next chap-
ter of military service.

-Your USS MILIUS Ombudsman

P AGE 4 USS MILIUS COMMAND NEWSLETTER

411
FOCUS- Families Overcoming Under Stress
FOCUS provides resiliency training to military children and families. It teaches practical skills to meet

M B the challenges of deployment and reintegration, to communicate and solve problems effectively, and to

O
successfully set goals together and create a shared family story.
FOCUS can help families anticipate issues that might be most stressful when a service member is leaving
for or returning from deployment and make plans to reduce that stress. For example, FOCUS teaches
families to set and achieve realistic goals, like having a strategy for assigning new responsibilities when a
parent is deployed.
The FOCUS website has interactive training for adults and children and also has a place to sign up for on-
site training. Visit www.focusproject.org.

San Diego Food Bank, Military Appreciation Food
Distribution
Sunday, April 3 starting at 10am
The San Diego Food Bank will host a FREE food distribution for
military families at its Miramar warehouse. The first 400 families
will receive a Pantry Box filled with a variety of non-perishable
goods, fresh produce and bread.
The distribution will be held outside, next to the Food Bank’s
warehouse located at 9850 Distribution Avenue, San Diego, CA
92121. Parking will be available in nearby parking lots and on
Carroll Road.
For more information, please
visit www.militaryymca.org, www.SanDiegoFoodBank.org, or call
1.866.350.FOOD (3663).
TRICARE Extends Web-based Counseling Program
The TRICARE Assistance Program (TRIAP) has been extended through March 20,
2012 . The web-based TRICARE Assistance Program (TRIAP) Demonstration began on
August 1, 2009 and is available from any location in the United States. Through the
program, TRICARE health care beneficiaries use the Internet and a Web cam to speak
"face-to-face" with mental-health counselors around the clock and from anywhere in
the United States.
People can log on from home to receive short-term, nonmedical counseling for situa-
tions that may arise from life circumstances such as deployment stress, relationships,
personal loss and parent-child communications.
To learn more visit, http://www.tricare.mil/mybenefit/home/overview/
SpecialPrograms/TRICAREAssistanceProgram

Sixth Annual San Diego Student Shakespeare Festival
Saturday, April 30 from 12pm – 4pm. A wonderful afternoon of
performance, theater art, and sheer enthusiasm in the beautiful
open-air surroundings of Balboa Park! The Sixth annual San Diego
Student Shakespeare Festival is bigger and better than ever in 2011.
It's free to come and watch, and everyone is invited! Hundreds of
students from K-12 schools from the city and county will perform
10-minute scenes from Shakespeare on a number of outdoor stages
along the pedestrian-only El Prado promenade. Schools often in-
corporate music and dance into their scenes and the costumes are
fantastic. Truly a sight to behold and always enjoyed by spectators
and proud family members!
El Prado promenade is located at 1549 El Prado San Diego CA
92101. For more information, please
visit www.sandiegoshakespearesociety.org/festival.html.
American Wanderer Summer Camp
Military youth from across the U.S. are invited to explore our National Parks this
summer with the American Wanderer Summer Camp program. They offer unique
two-week camp sessions that explore over 34 Parks in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho,
Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.
American Wanderer Summer Camp currently has openings available for middle & high
school aged youth (11-17 years old) from all branches of the military and Coast Guard
during the following sessions:
Session 1 (June 22-July 5)
Session II (July 6-July 19)
Session III (July 20-August 2)
Session IV (August 3-16).

Military discounts and scholarships are available.

Baskin-Robbins, 31 Cent Scoop Night
Wednesday, April 27 from 5pm to 10pm For more information, to register or inquire about military discounts/scholarships
visit: www.rvcampforkids.com/Scholarships.html or contact the American Wanderer
Join us for 31 Cent Scoop Night at Baskin-Robbins® and help us Camp owners/directors, Lyn & Chris Kimberly at:203-557-3339 or
honor America's firefighters. Baskin-Robbins is donating $100,000 email: Lyn@RVCampforKids.com
to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation™ (NFFF).
Participating stores will reduce prices of ice cream scoops to 31
cents*. At some locations, you may also have an opportunity to
make a donation to your local fire charities.
 P AGE 5
CRG NEWS
We would like to thank all of the sailors and family members who partici-
pated in the Chili Cook-off at the Command Picnic in March. We had a
good turn out with different 5 chili's. The panel of judges decided in a
blind taste test the following winners:
1st place- STG3 Robert Walleck
2nd place- IC2 James Bryant
3rd place- CS2 Michael Bulusan
Congratulations to all of the winners and participants.
On March 22nd, we held our monthly meeting and had a speaker from the
FFSC who held a Basic Budgeting class. She provided us with important
information on how to determine net worth, prepare a monthly budget,
and saving tips and techniques. Thank you for those who were able to
come out. In April we will have another FFSC speaker out to talk about
Stress Management. We encourage all family members to come out and
take advantage of these free, one hour classes. Childcare is available by
RSVP only.
We are still looking for volunteers to hold a position on the CRG
Board. The President will be turning over soon, so anybody with interest
is asked to go to the meeting in April for more information.
Volunteers Needed
The following positions are in need of being filled as soon as possible. If
interested contact the CRG, the Ombudsman, or the CMC.
-CRG Board Members– President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer
-Assistant Ombudsman position
-United Through Reading Homefront Coordinator
38th Annual Roots Fest on Adams
April 30 – May 1
Roots Fest on Adams, or Adams Roots, is a free, two day festival with live per-
formances by local and nationally touring music acts on six stages.
Over 50,000 people are expected to attend this event, which will feature a Heal-
ing Arts Festival in Adams Park, the quaint Lestat’s West music venue, a Beer
Garden, a preview of Taste of Adams, carnival rides, farmers market, and arts and
crafts vendors.
This event will take place on Adams Ave and 34th Street in Kensington, Univer-
sity Heights and Normal Heights. For more information, please visit http://
adamsavenuebusiness.com/content/events-0.
USS MILIUS COMMAND NEWSLETTER
Encinitas Street Faire
April 9 - 10, 2011 from 9am - 5pm
The Encinitas Street Faire will be located on S. Coast Highway 101 from
D to J Streets in Encinitas, CA. Stretched along Coast Hwy 101 in Old
Encinitas, the Encinitas Street Faire is one of the largest street festivals in
San Diego County, with around 400 vendor booths, featuring arts and
crafts, antiques, clothing, items from around the world, good food, live
music, and much more. The white tent booths line up in two columns
from D to J Streets. The faire includes children's rides, four live stages,
and the Karl Strauss Brewery beer garden.
The Encinitas Street Faire has a pleasant atmosphere. While many people
attend the faire, plenty of room is available along the route to move
about. People can walk their dogs, push their children's strollers, browse
through the booths, without feeling crammed in a small space, thus
making for a pleasant, easygoing atmosphere. Also lending to the pleas-
ant atmosphere is the laidback, yet lively downtown feeling, and lack of
any nearby traffic, except at the ends of the route.
For more information, please visit http://www.sandiegocoastlife.com/
events/san-diego-coast/events-encinitas-street-faire.htm
Fundraising Opportunity! Calling all Cooks, Chefs, and
Foodies
The USS MILIUS CRG is planning a Command Cookbook and we need your
recipes! To use this system you need to do the following:
1– go to www.typensave.com
2– enter your name as the Contributor
3– enter miliuscookbook as the Group Login
4– enter eded8 as the login password
5– Once logged in, add up to 20 recipes per person
6– Check your recipe for errors and save and pass the word on to family
members!
This will be a great opportunity to contribute to a memorable keepsake.
The cookbook will be a professionally printed three-ring binder cook-
book with Command Photos, history, and, of course, your recipes.
Once all the recipes are collected we will send it out for printing and
they should be back 30-45 days from then. We will be taking pre-orders
once we have a decent amount of recipes to move forward! The deadline
is July, 2011.
Command Readiness Group Contact
ussmilius69frg@gmail.com
Or on Facebook on the USS MILIUS Command Families Page
V OLUME 2 I SSUE 4 P AGE 6

MILIUS FRONTLINE NEWS

Mission Accomplished: End of SRA
By ENS Rhianna Cole

As March comes to a close, we are quickly approaching the end of our
maintenance yard period.
―There were definitely some long and stressful days over the last couple
months while in the yards,‖ said Damage Controlman Second Class, Mat-
thew Lesage. ―Overall though, the crew came together and worked hard to
get the job done. It was good to see different depart-
ments working together and getting things accom-
plished.‖
Each department worked day in and day out to get the
ship back up to standards and ready for the upcoming
inspections. Some days were longer than others, but
the hard work from each Sailor does not go unnoticed.
A few rigorous assessments were conducted during the
yard period to include a recent assessment for the engineering department
which with the successful completion, allows MILIUS to remain operable
and get underway. The assessment, appropriately named a Light Off As-
sessment, involved a thorough look from inspectors of the equipment and
material condition of the ship before MILIUS can ―light off‖ the plant and
start her engines.
―I am proud to say that the engineers came together to help complete a
highly successful yard period; accomplishing long, overdue and much needed
maintenance throughout the plant and throughout the ship,‖ said Chief Engi-
neer, Lieutenant Micah Sybor. ―Not only was extensive work done in all the
main spaces, it was also done to improve the habitability and long-standing
maintenance concerns of MILIUS. The hard work of
the engineers has helped MILIUS complete the main-
tenance period one week early and I could not be
happier with the performance of each engineer.‖
The time in the yard was very productive and proved
that MILIUS is on track future successes.
―I am incredibly proud of each Sailor on board and the
progress that was made while in the yards,‖ said Com-
manding Officer, Commander R. Trevor King. ―Each
department tackled their tasks with their best effort and put MILIUS on track
for successful operations, early, to continue to allow MILIUS to be ready for
all tasking.‖

Stress Awareness Month

by Shannon Rivera

April is Stress Awareness Month. Stress is
something all military families know about first
hand. It always seems a crisis happens when we
least expect it. Stress is a normal psychological
and physical reaction in the brain, like an inter-
nal alarm system that happens when your brain
perceives a threat,. When your mind feels
threatened your body releases a burst of hor-
mones to fuel your fight-or-flight response.
Given the extreme demands from deployment
cycles, many military members, their spouses
and children rarely leave this heightened stress
mode.
That is why stress management is so important
for military members and their families. Stress
management gives you the tools to reset your
alarm system. Without stress management,
your body is always on red alert. Over time,
that level of stress leads to serious health prob-
lems. Don't wait until then to combat stress.
Learning to identify your problems and imple-
ment solutions is the key to successful stress
relief. The first step in stress relief is identifying
your stress triggers. Some causes of stress are
obvious — deployment, illness, job loss. But
small, daily hassles and demands can also con-
tribute to your stress level.
Once you've identified a stressful situation, you Stress Relief Ideas
can write it down and make a plan of how to han-
dle it. Sometimes, the solution may be as easy as  Throw On Some Music and Clean House
taking a break from housework for a few days, or  Let yourself Laugh, alone and with your
turning off depressing news stories. When you kids
can't avoid a stressful situation, try brainstorming  Take a Walk With A Friend
ways to reduce the irritation factor. Most impor-  Take a Bike Ride
tantly, realize that it is okay to talk to others when  Set Up a Home Spa
things get to be too much. Seek help and support
 Cut Down On Some of Your Commit-
from family, friends, church, doctors, or Com-
ments
mand Chaplain. Take a class or course at the Fleet
and Family Support Center, a F.O.C.U.S. course  Write Positive Notes and hang them up
online, or set up a free counseling session through around the house
TRICARE. Don’t tackle your stress alone!  Utilize Parent Nights Out childcare and
take a break
 Walk Your Dog
 Try Breathing Exercises
 Draw a Picture
 Dance to Your Favorite Music
 Buy some sidewalk paints and create a
mural with your kids
 Take a Mini-Vacation
 Pray
 Keep a Gratitude Journal
 Invite your Friends over for a low-key
movie night