USS Harpers Ferry Newsletter - First In Freedom

From the CO

November 2016

Safety and Ship Ownership

Team HARPERS FERRY,

Issue No. 001

Quote Of Month
"Don't give up the ship!" - Cap-

Commanding Officer,
Cmdr. Jon Rigby

Welcome to the first edition of our new newsletter! We are starting this to help keep our
Sailors up to date on the latest developments
in schedule and systems upgrades and maybe
throw in a little education and entertainment as
well. As with all programs on our mighty warship, if there is something you would like to
see added or an idea for improvement, please
dont hesitate to let us know. The information
disseminated in our newsletter is sharable, so
please feel free to take a copy home and
share with your family, in fact I encourage it!
Lastly, as we get ready to enter our maintenance phase, I again ask everyone to re-focus
on safety and ship ownership. Lets get er
fixed and back in action!

Meet Your Ombudsmen!

tain James Lawrence

Tradition has it that Captain James

Lawrence said these heroic words
after being mortally wounded in the
engagement between his ship, the
U.S. frigate Chesapeake, and HMS
Shannon on 1 June 1813. As the
wounded Lawrence was carried
below, he ordered "Tell the men to
fire faster! Don't give up the
ship!" Although Chesapeake was
forced to surrender, Captain Lawrence's words lived on as a rallying
cry during the war. Oliver Hazard
Perry honored his dead friend Lawrence when he had the motto sewn
onto the private battle flag flown
during the Battle of Lake Erie, 10
September 1813.

Inside This Issue

From the CO P.1

Quote of the Month

P.1

Meet Your Ombudsmen P.1

Danielle Gayhart was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is a mother to three

kids: two girls and a boy. She's been a military spouse for 10 years and an
Ombudsman for five years. She loves spending time with her family and is
a die-hard Bengals fan.
Courtney Dalcour was born and raised in San Diego and has been a
military spouse for two years. She is a die-hard Oregon Duck, enjoys traveling, playing softball, and playing with her two little nieces.
We are here to assist you with questions, issues and resources to make
this military life just a little bit easier for you! Reach us via email, cell phone
or Facebook and we are happy to help!

Photos of the Month

P.2

Command Events P.2

BAE Systems Wins

Harpers Ferry Mega
PMA Contract P.2

Genesis of USS Harpers Ferry P.3

This Month in Naval

History P.3

Contact Us P.3

Cell: (619) 301-7556 Tel: (619) 0301-7556

Email: harpersferry.ombudsman@gmail.com
Facebook: Harpers Ferry Ombudsman

Sailors of the Year

revealed P.4

An Ombudsman is an official representative of the Commanding Officer

and plays a vital role in establishing and maintaining current and accurate
communication between the command and its family members.
Who We Are, What We Do!

The Harpers Ferrian

No. 001

November 2016

ALL-IN-ONE
Command Events
Event: Holiday Party
When: December 15 Time: 1800 - 2345
Where: Manchester Grand Hyatt
Downtown San Diego
Theme/Dress: The theme of the event will be
Black and White Masquerade and the dress code
recommended for the event is semi-formal or
anything relative to theme.
Person of contact (POC): PO1 Campodonica
Tel: (817) 707-5719 or 6646
Please contact POC for additional information including ticket sale.

Photos of the Month

BAE Systems Wins Harpers

Ferry Mega PMA Contract
By Seaman Valentine Mulango
BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair has been awarded the multi-million Phased Maintenance Availability (PMA) contract for
dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry (LSD-49).

CO, Cmdr. Jon Rigby addresses crew at the end of a

three-day underway in the Pacific Ocean, Nov. 2016

USS Harpers Ferry moors at Seal Beach, October 2016

Sailors and officers aboard dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49) perform curl-ups during a Physical
Readiness Test (PRT). The PRT is a standard Navy
fitness test consisting of push-ups, curl-ups (sit-ups) and
a 1.5-mile run. The event took place at the Admiral
Prout Field, Naval Base San Diego, Nov. 2016
The Harpers Ferrian

BAE Systems is being awarded a not-to-exceed $19,336,152

undefinitized contract action with to a previously awarded costplus-award-fee/incentive-fee contract (N00024-12-C-4403) for
USS Harpers Ferry (LSD-49) fiscal 2017 PMA, reads a Department of Defense (DoD) release.
A phased maintenance availability includes the planning and execution of depot-level maintenance, alterations, and modifications
that will update and improve the ship's military and technical capabilities. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and
is expected to be completed by September 2017.
Fiscal 2017 operations and maintenance (Navy); and fiscal 2017
other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $19,336,152
will be obligated at time of award and funds in the amount of
$18,798,959 will expire at the end of the current fiscal
year, states the November 14, 2016 release.
The DoD says the Southwest Regional Maintenance Center, San
Diego, California, is the contracting activity for this action.
2

No. 001

November 2016

HISTORY TALK
This Month in
Naval History
November 1, 1941 - President
Franklin D. Roosevelts Executive
Order 8929 transfers the U.S. Coast
Guard to Navy Department control
for the duration of a national emergency in order to perform antisubmarine patrols and escort highvalue convoys.

Genesis of USS Harpers Ferry

The Harpers Ferry (LSD 49) is the first of
four Cargo Variant (CV) of the Whidbey
Island-class dock landing ships and is
named for the town of Harpers Ferry, West

dustries shipyard in New Orleans, Louisiana, on April 15, 1991; Christened and
launched on January 16, 1993; Mrs. Mimi
Dailey, the wife of General John R. Dailey

November 14, 1906 - President

Theodore Roosevelt becomes the
first president to visit a foreign country while in office, traveling to Panama onboard USS Louisiana (BB
19).
November 19, 1969 - Navy astronauts Cmdr. Charles Conrad, Jr.
and Cmdr. Alan L. Bean become
the third and fourth men to walk on
the moon as part of the Apollo 12
mission.
November 21, 1942 - USS Northampton (CA 26) is sunk and USS
Pensacola (CA 24), USS New Orleans (CA 32), and USS Minneapolis
(CA 36) are badly damaged by a
Japanese torpedo counter-attack
during the Battle of Tassafaronga at
Guadalcanal.
November 24, 1943 - Japanese
submarine I-175 sinks USS Liscome
Bay (CVE 56) southeast of Makin
Island. Though 272 of her crew are
rescued, she loses 55 officers and
591 enlisted men, including Navy
Cross recipient Cook 3rd Class Doris Miller.

USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49), part of the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group, 13th Marine
Expeditionary Unit team, is now operating in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations.

Virginia, which, because of the Federal

arsenal there, was an important location
during the Civil War.
Cargo variant dock landing ships carry two
Landing Craft Air Cushion Vehicles
(LCAC's), instead of the standard four, in
order to provide additional cargo stowage.
The keel was laid down by Avondale In-

November 24, 1964 - USS Princeton (LPH 5) completed seven days

of humanitarian relief delivering
1,300 tons of supplies to the Quang
Tri, Quang Ngai, and Binh Dinh
provinces of South Vietnam which
suffered damage from typhoon and
floods.
November 28, 1775 - Is Birthday of
the Chaplain Corps after Congress
adopted the first Rules for Regulation of the Navy of the United Colonies.
In a multi-destroyer gun action on
November 28, 1944, USS Saufley
(DD 465), USS Waller (DD 466),
USS Pringle (DD 477), and USS
Renshaw (DD 499) sink the Japanese submarine I-46 in Leyte Gulf.
The Harpers Ferrian

(Ret.), former Assistant of Commandant of

the Marine Corps, served as sponsor of
the ship; Cmdr. Charles P. Salsman is the
prospective commanding officer. January
7, 1995 USS Harpers Ferry was commissioned during a ceremony at the Navy
Landing in Woldenburg Park in downtown
New Orleans.

Publisher:

CO, Cmdr. Jon Rigby

Editorial Adviser:
XO, Cmdr. John Ryan
Contact Us

Executive Editor:

For more information about our newsletter,

Write us at:
USS Harpers Ferry LSD49
FPO, 96665-1737 AP
Email us at:
PAO@LSD49.Navy.Mil
Visit us on the web at:
http://www.harpers-ferry.navy.mil/
Facebook:
USS HARPERS FERRY LSD49
3

CMC, MCPO Vince Vanterpool

Managing Editor, PAO:
LTJG Britney Steen
Desk Editor, Assistant PAO:
SN Valentine Mulango

No. 001

November 2016

SAILOR SPOTLIGHT
Sailors of the Year Revealed
In October 2016, Commanding Officer of USS Harpers Ferry, Cmdr. Jon Rigby, announced winners of the 2016 Sailor of the
Year Award. One of the four winners is from the deck department and the remainder from the medical department. In this
maiden issue of The Harpers Ferrian, we celebrate these sailors whose hard work and dedication is worthy of emulation especially by junior sailors.

Senior Sailor of the Year

Sailor of the Year

Junior Sailor of the Year

Blue Jacket of the Year

Petty Officer 1st Class

Kevin Brooks (medical
department) is the Senior
Sailor of the year 2016 on
Harpers Ferry. He has
been a Navy Sailor for
nine years. He is from
Hickory, North Carolina.
His favorite sport is football. The Dallas Cowboys
and Carolina Panthers are
his favorite teams. Hobbies include Ju Jitsu,
working out, and spending
time with family. If he didn't join the Navy, he says
he would have been a
school teacher. In his own words: Being the Senior Sailor of
the Year is a great accomplishment, but personally, what matters the most to me is when sailors I mentor tell me that I have
positively impacted their lives. Being the Senior Sailor of the
Year is not for me, but for all of the Sailors that look up to me.

Petty Officer 3rd Class

Christopher Ekondo
(medical department) is
the Junior Sailor of the
Year 2016 on dock landing
ship USS Harpers Ferry
(LSD 49). He has been a
Navy sailor for six years.
He is from San Antonio,
Texas. His favorite sports
team is San Antonio Spurs
and he enjoys hanging out
with friends as a hobby. If
he didn't join the Navy, he
would still been be working
at FT. Sam Houston. In his
own words: Being named
the Junior Sailor of the
Year is a direct reflection of the hard work of my department
and chain of command. This experience has taught me that it's
okay to make mistakes as long you can learn from them and
pass on your knowledge to other sailors."
The Harpers Ferrian

Petty Officer 2nd Class

Edmond Kincaid (deck
department) is the Sailor of the year 2016 on
dock landing ship USS
Harpers Ferry (LSD 49).
He has been a Navy
sailor for almost 14
Years. He hails for Houston, Texas. His favorite
sport is NASCAR and
hobbies include spending time with family and
playing guitar. If he didnt join the Navy, he
would probably still be a
Printing Press Operator.
In his own words It is a great honor to be Sailor of the
Year. I wouldn't be here without the support from my Chain
of Command and the hard work my department has put in. I
take pride in everything I do and do the best I can at all
times to get the job done right.

Seaman Rahmeik
Ross (medical department) is the Blue
Jacket of the Year
2016 on Harpers Ferry. He has been a Navy sailor for two years.
He hails from Charleston, South Carolina.
His favorite sport team
is the Dallas Cowboys
and hobbies include
spending time with
friends and family,
traveling and food
tasting. If he didnt join
the Navy, he would
have been a physician
assistant. In his own words: Being the Blue Jacket of the
Year is an honor and privilege that my Character has
earned me. I am so blessed to have peers, leadership, and
family who helped me conquer.
No. 001

November 2016