Captain's Electronic News Update 04/04/07
Hello NIMITZ Family and Friends,
It was great to see all of you who were able to come out to the pier Monday morning to say good-bye as we departed on deployment. Whether you made it out to see us off or not, you may have seen some of the media coverage – we have every San Diego television station covering the event, as well as FOX national television. The ship and your Sailors looked great!
We’re currently off the coast finishing up Carrier Qualifications for our embarked Air Wing. By the end of the week, Carrier Qualifications will be complete and we’ll be heading west toward Hawaii.
This is the first family update from me as your Commanding Officer and I want to tell you that I couldn’t be happier or more proud to be here – it’s been a fast and furious two weeks as we wrapped up our Preparation for Overseas Movement Period and got the ship underway for a deployment. Your Sailors are ready and prepared to carry out any mission we may be tasked to complete while operating in the Central Command Area of Responsibility. I want to personally thank each of you. We couldn’t perform at this level without the support and encouragement from you all – the friends and family of NIMITZ. Thank you!
While we are deployed, I encourage each of you to stay in touch with the ship and with each other. There are many options available for you to stay connected to the ship and your Sailor. Most of you will take advantage of email (and that’s great) but, I want to remind you that there are times throughout the deployment when email connectivity with the ship may be limited or restricted. Please don’t worry or jump to conclusions if you go for an extended period without getting an email from your Sailor.
Family support is also available through the command Ombudsman and Team NIMITZ – the Family Readiness Group. For those who may not know, the command ombudsman is a spouse or other family member of a NIMITZ Sailor who has volunteered his or her time and effort to help support NIMITZ families. Your ombudsmen are your direct connection to me as the Commanding Officer and serve as the primary conduit of information from the ship to you. You can reach a NIMITZ ombudsman via email at ussnimitzombudsman@yahoo.com or you can call 619.890.3469. You can also call the NIMITZ Careline at 1-877-600-NAVY. The Careline offers you the option to hear a recorded message from me with updates on what your Sailors and the ship are doing, or to hear messages and information from the ombudsmen or the Family Readiness Group. I personally update the Careline message monthly so I encourage you to call in for the latest information.
The Team NIMITZ Family Readiness Group is also a group of NIMITZ spouses who volunteer their time and efforts to support you all. Like the ombudsmen, Team NIMITZ is yet another information conduit between you and the ship. However, Team NIMITZ also offers a strong social network for friends and families who are taking care of business on the home front while we are deployed. Team NIMITZ’ monthly group meetings are informative and a great way to meet people. They also offer free child care for children ages 0 – 12. You can reach Team NIMITZ at teamnimitz@yahoo.com, or call the Careline for updated information on their events and meetings.
The next Team NIMITZ meeting is a potluck dinner tonight, April 4, 2007, at 6 p.m. at the Murphy Canyon Chapel. Childcare will not be available at this event, but you’re encouraged to bring your kids. Please bring a dish to share; Team NIMITZ will supply the paper products and drinks.
And, for all you baseball fans, this weekend kicks off the San Diego Padres 2007 season. This Saturday, April 7, is Military Appreciation Night at Petco Park and NIMITZ will be center stage. During the pre-game celebration, NIMITZ will be broadcasting a live satellite feed and your Sailors will be featured up on the Jumbotron in the park. The Padres donated more than 300 tickets for our families in San Diego to attend the game. Team NIMITZ will be distributing the tickets at tonight’s meeting on a first-come, first-served basis.
As we prepare to head west, our thoughts are with you all. Thanks, again, for your support and take care of each other.
Warm regards and very respectfully,
CAPT Mike Manazir, USN
Commanding Officer
USS NIMITZ (CVN 68)
Date Posted/Last Updated:4/4/2007 1:37:09 PM