Page 8 - Ft. Huachuca Scout 6-12-15

8A The Scout
Marines, Sailors remember Midway at sea
Story and photo by Sgt. Devin Nichols
Marines
USS FORT MCHENRY, AT SEA —
Marines with the 24th Marine Expedi-
tionary Unit and Sailors assigned to the
dock landing ship USS Fort McHenry
(LSD 43) paid homage to the Battle of
Midway during a ceremony while at sea
in the Gulf of Aden Saturday.
Seventy-three years ago, the Battle of talion Landing Team 3rd Battalion, 6th
Midway was fought in the Pacific and
is considered one of the most significant
naval battles of World War II because it
effectively halted the Imperial Japanese
)LUVW6JW-RKQ%HFNHWWWKHFRPSDQ\¿UVWVHUJHDQWIRU.LOR&RPSDQ\%DWWDOLRQ/DQGLQJ7HDP rine aviator who received a Navy Cross
3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, gives a speech during a
ceremony commemorating the anniversary of the Battle of Midway aboard the dock landing
ship USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43) in the Gulf of Aden Saturday. The 24th MEU is embarked on the an attack and crashed into an enemy
ships of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and deployed to maintain regional security in
the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.
From FUTURE3DJH$
the rest of the country and all over the
world.”
Leaders address challenges
The last few years have been chal-
lenging for the department’s Civilians,
Hinkle-Bowles said referring to re-
sults from the 2014 Federal Employee
Viewpoint Survey.
“Our employees sent some messag-
es to us as they have over the last few
years,” she said. “The positive side of
what they said to us is our employees
are very dedicated to the department’s
mission and they continue to remain
focused on the job.”
Despite satisfaction with many
DOD work/life balance programs, ar-
eas such as performance management,
terminal development and resources
were cited as areas needing improve-
ment, Hinkle-Bowles said.
Navy’s advance across the Pacific. The
Marines and Sailors aboard the Fort
McHenry, deployed to maintain region-
al security in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of
operations, took time to reflect on the
battle.
“This ceremony reminds us of our
great Navy-Marine Corps heritage,”
said Capt. Bryceson Tenold, the compa-
ny commander for Kilo Company, Bat-
Marine Regiment, 24th MEU. “We want
to honor those who gave their lives as
well as remember what it took to realize
this great victory.”
“In many cases,” she said, “our em-
ployees expressed some concern about
whether or not we have the right re-
sources [and] people to do the job, and
so those are the types of things that we
are focusing on in the Civilian arena.”
Planning efforts in progress
Hinkle-Bowles said this is an op-
portunity under “Force of the Future”
to explore some of those areas and ef-
forts to affect change are already un-
derway.
One strategic workforce planning
effort, she explained, involves cat-
egorizing the appropriated workforce
across functional communities and as-
sessing if the correct skills and com-
petencies are in place and strategies if
they are not.
“We are making progress in that
planning effort, but we still have a lot
Several Marines and Sailors gave
speeches during the ceremony, each
highlighting an individual who fought
in the battle. First Sgt. John Beckett, the into the sea.
company first sergeant for Kilo Co., said
it made him very proud to hear the Ma-
rines and Sailors speak since they did
the research and wrote the words them-
selves.
“It made it much more personal and
I’m proud of the Marines,” he said.
Sgt. William Norris, a data network
specialist with Headquarters and Ser-
vice Company, BLT 3/6, gave a speech
about Maj. Lofton Henderson, a Ma-
stories, it sets an example for us to fol-
on the first day of the battle. After los-
ing a wing on his plane, he continued
carrier.
“I feel honored to be able to bring to
light the actions and heroism of Major
Henderson, and to hear the other speech-
es about Marines who gave the ultimate
sacrifice,” said Norris. “I am very proud
to be a part of the ceremony.”
Sgt. David Parslow, a joint terminal
attack controller for Kilo Company,
spoke about Capt. Richard Fleming,
another Marine aviator, who received
the Medal of Honor. Parslow said Capt.
Fleming was on a reconnaissance flight
when his aircraft was hit by Japanese
enemy fire over 170 times. Fleming
suffered wounds but still successfully
deployed his ordnance on an enemy
of work to do,” Hinkle-Bowles said. tions that culminated in that effort
New Beginnings initiative
Another initiative, referred to as
“New Beginnings,” began prior to the
Future of the Force initiative, Hinkle-
Bowles said.
This effort, she said, began several
years ago following authorities granted
under the National Defense Authori-
zation Act to establish a new Civilian
workforce performance management
system, and undersecretary of defense
authorities provided hiring capabilities.
“We are anticipating implementa-
tion of that performance management
system and a phased rollout starting as
early as next year,” she said.
“One of the key notes of that for
us,” Hinkle-Bowles said, “is that it was
a collaborative process with our labor
unions and many other recommenda-
FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2015
carrier. The following day, he led a dive-
bombing assault upon a Japanese battle-
ship and hit his target before crashing
Cpl. Lathan Faver, an assault am-
phibian crewman with Kilo Co. gave a
speech highlighting 1st Lt. Daniel Iver-
son, who received the Navy Cross when
he was forced to land his aircraft on one
wheel after a bombing run only to take
off again the next day into heavy anti-
aircraft fire.
“I hope the Marines are inspired by
[these Marines’] acts of courage and
valor,” said Tenold. “When we hear such
low. Fear often makes our enemies more
powerful in our minds than they really
are, and remembering warriors who
knew they were outgunned, yet attacked
the enemy ferociously, exploited their
advantage and won, helps us press on to
great things.”
To conclude the ceremony, seven Ma-
rines fired a 21-gun salute while dressed
in their service Charlie uniform in the
Gulf of Aden. The ceremony ended with
the playing of “Taps.”
The 24th MEU is embarked on the
ships of the Iwo Jima Amphibious
Ready Group and deployed to maintain
regional security in the U.S. 5th Fleet
area of operations. The 15th MEU and
USS Essex Amphibious Ready Group
are scheduled to replace them this later
this summer.
came out of some design teams where
we worked in partnership with labor
and management together.”
Hiring strategy brings back veterans
Hinkle-Bowles noted the Civilian
workforce experiences challenges sim-
ilar to those of the military workforce
in attracting, recruiting and retaining
personnel.
“One of the key elements of our hir-
ing strategy is bringing veterans back
into our workforce as Civilians,” she
said. “About 50 percent of our Civil-
ian workforce has some prior military
service.”
But DOD wants to do a better job
of attracting people who might not
normally consider the department or
government as an employer of choice,
Hinkle-Bowles said.