USS CARR Families and Friends –
First off, there was an error in last week’s update; it should have read CTT2 Mathew Brown vice Jonathan Brown. I hope all our family and friends have had an opportunity to talk or Skype with their Sailor before we sail for the second part of our deployment (albeit a much shorter portion). Also, thank you to those family members who were able to make it to Mayport!
Day 97 – Sunday, September 18th
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Today’s steel beach picnic was in jeopardy early on; however, just before lunch the weather cleared and the barbeques were rolled out and fires lit! Probably the most beautiful day so far for a steel beach picnic – the Atlantic looked like a lake.
Day 98 – Monday, September 19th
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As we continued our transit across the Atlantic, our Engineers were busy conducting Basic Engineering Casualty Control Evolutions (BECCEs) to practice their casualty response and support getting Sailors qualified.
In the afternoon, after a two hour oral exam by the Department Heads and me, LTjg Dominic Bagley demonstrated the requisite knowledge to earn his Surface Warfare qualification – well done!
At around taps (2200), Carr entered the famed Bermuda Triangle. The Bermuda Triangle is the area of the Atlantic Ocean within a triangle marked by Bermuda, Miami, and Puerto Rico. This area is known for strange happenings and disappearances of ships and planes….I am confident we will emerge unscathed.
Day 99 – Tuesday, September 20th
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As predicted, we have departed the Bermuda Triangle with no mysterious happenings!
Our Combat Systems team had the opportunity to conduct live fire exercises, which included shooting our 76mm and 20mm guns. We shot the 20mm in the surface mode at another target constructed by the Fire Controlmen.
In the afternoon another oral exam in my stateroom, today it was time for EN1 Antwone McWhirter and GSE2 Steven Barry to demonstrate their engineering acumen (The Chief Engineer, Top Snipe, and I had the opportunity to observe both conduct casualty control drills earlier in the week). Congratulations to both for demonstrating superb knowledge and earning their Engineering Officer of the Watch qualification.
Day 100– Wednesday, September 21st
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We held an awards ceremony on the flight deck; congratulations to all those recognized below. Our Sailor of the Quarter and Junior Sailor of the Quarter will now go on to compete for Commander, Destroyer Squadron Twenty Two’s Sailor and Junior Sailor of the Quarter.
Sailor of the Quarter:
EM1 Antwone McWhirter
Junior Sailor of the Quarter:
CS2 Timothy Faulkner
Blue Jacket of the Quarter:
SN Michael Dimick
Culinary Specialist of the Quarter:
CS2 Timothy Faulkner
Food Service Attendants of the Month.
GSM3 Tyler Smith
BMSN Joshua Fidler
The following earned the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal:
LT John Arazny LTJG Philipp Gordley QMC Jory Mason
GSE2 Steven Barry LS2 Gregory Chery CS2 Kevin Prekopa
The following earned the Good Conduct Award:
GMC Orlando Munoz GMC Anthony Scott QMC Jory Mason
YN1 Anthony Contino OS1 Salvatore Pacileo STG2 Matthew Greenwood
GM2 Jacob Scyoc BM3 Justin Arnold BM3 Melvin Cooks
DC3 Andy Fernandez GM3 Jachin Frontone OS3 George Walker
QMSN Richard Andino
Congratulations to ENS Maria Decristoforo and ENS Rory McGowan upon their successful qualification as Officers-Of-the Deck Underway.
Great job to ET3 Jason Dimaoala for rapidly responding to a casualty to Carr’s copier machine. Although it doesn’t appear to be a vital piece of equipment, the copier is very important to support the admin part of our job; once it was reported broken ET3 Dimaoala quickly sprang into action and repaired it.
BZ to the winner of our Wardroom moustache contest: LT Quentin Lease captured the title of best “clean” moustache; while CWO2 Dilson Ramirez captured the “Dirty” moustache title. I am sure their families are very proud of them. Before results were even announced LT Sean Scanlon had shaved his moustache off – followed in short order by CDR Jim Sposato and ENS Rory McGowan (although on second though his moustache may have been milk residue from his morning cereal). A handful of us will continue our pursuit for the perfect moustache for the remainder of deployment.
Day 101 – Thursday, September 22nd (Arrived Port Mayport, Fl)
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As we arrived in Mayport, it was time to bid farewell to some of our shipmates…fair winds and following seas to: LTJG Phillipp Gordley; EM3 Eric Sims, GSE2 Steven Barry, LSSN Sean Horn, and LS2 Gregory Chery. We also welcomed some new shipmates on board, including LT Brenda Walker (future Operations Officer) and LTjg Jimmy Peluso (future Damage Control Assistant).
Immediately upon arrival our crew shifted into high gear to receive stores and take on fuel. Great job to LS2 David Burke who onloaded 600 lbs of mail (This will be the last mail we receive for approx 45 days). LS1 Frank Caterino headed to SERVMART (the Navy’s version of WALMART) to purchase $55,000 worth of supplies, including $20,000 worth of paint and cleaning supplies to get us through the rest of deployment; he also coordinated the onload of 24 pallets of parts soon after arrival.
Day 102 – Friday, September 23rd (In Port Mayport, Fl)
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Today started off with an early morning ammunition onload to ensure we are prepared to continue deployment (we shot many rounds of 76mm, 20mm, and small arms to verify our equipment worked and maintain operator proficiency). Following the ammo onload, the entire crew assembled quickly and loaded 24 Pallets of food from the pier into the ship’s reefer. Because of the hot and humid weather, the crew had to work fast to get all the frozen foods and dairy products into the ship’s reefer before it thawed. The crew did a great job despite the heat and humidity for over two hours – Great Job!
Day 103 – Saturday, September 24th (In Port Mayport, Fl)
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This morning I had the pleasure of reenlisting CTT2 Joseph Seal on the flight deck. After I presented him with his discharge papers, he proposed to his now fiancé. After his proposal was accepted we continued and completed the reenlistment. Shortly after the reenlistment, we presented OS3 Michael Sterrett and YNSN Scott Hunt with their Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist pins – great job on completing a tremendous career milestone!
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I am headed off to watch my New England Patriots; until next week, stay safe Carr Family and Friends – Go PATS!
CDR Patrick Kulakowski
Commanding Officer
USS CARR (FFG 52)
“Courage, Will, Determination
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