CMC’s Corner

 Hello JOHN PAUL JONES Family and Friends,
   
    MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!  I hope everyone has a happy and safe

holiday season. 

    I'm sure all of you have heard by now that we are deploying very soon.  So what does that mean

for you?  The pre-deployment brief  on 21 & 22 January 2009  is where you can get all the answers to all those questions you are having now or will have during deployment.  Plus it will give you an opportunity to say good-bye to our awesome Ombudsman Heather Cox. 

I would like to extend a "Congratulations on a job well done" to the following Sailors who were recently for sustained superior performance:


Senior Sailor of the Quarter: GSM1(SW) De Leon
Junior Sailor of the Quarter: IT2(SW) Tierney
Bluejacket of the Quarter: OS3 Bittner

Senior Sailor of the Year:  FC1(SW) Alcala
Junior Sailor of the Year: GSM2(SW) Crew
Bluejacket of the Year: EN3(SW) Lariosbriones


Navy Achievement Medal:

HM2(SW) Arnold

New Second Class Petty Officers:

CTT2 Aflleje        FC2 Ahrens            SK2(SW) Atchison
OS2 Burnham            GSM2(SW) Feliciano    FC2 Gieraltowski

STG2(SW) Metz        FC2 Moore            IC2(SW) Robinson
CTT2 Salinas        GM2(SW) Shaver        SK2(SW) Steele

New Third Class Petty Officers:

OS3 Anguiano        CS3 Barnes            OS3 Bittner
STG3 Boegel            GM3 Boucher            BM3 Cagle
DC3(SW) Cummins        OS3 Derrick            QM3(SW) Earls
OS3 Huntt            STG3 Irving            CTT3 Katzenmeyer
EN3(SW) Lariosbriones    EN3 Swan            YN3 Thomason


Very Respectfully,
CMDCM(SW) Karol M. Kramer

OMBUDSMAN’S CORNER

Dear JPJ Families and Friends;

The year is already drawing to a close and I can’t believe everything that has happened this year.  While the past year has been happening I thought nothing of everything that was going on, however looking back I am amazed at what has happened.   Birthdays have been celebrated, deployments survived, readjustments to having our Sailor home, my daughter started preschool, my son has started walking and we welcomed a new CO to the ship.  It’s always amazing to me that at the start of every year I think, “oh wow…a whole year, that’s plenty of time to complete ______”  and at the end I wonder where the time went.  This year there is an extra bit of bittersweet in my thinking.

Why, you ask?  Well, my husband, Adam, has received orders to Maine this year, so we will be leaving the ship in February. While I love doing this job, I will not be able to remain as the Command Ombudsman once we leave because this position is typically filled by a spouse of a ship’s Sailor. 

With the winter holidays upon us I hope you will all be safe.  While Sailors have access to the Arrive Alive program here in San Diego County, I hope all will remember to drink responsibly and use a Designated Driver if you chose to go out to celebrate.

I enjoyed seeing many of you at this year’s Command Holiday Party.  Each year Adam and I have gone I have always been impressed and I love getting to know everyone. 

Have a safe and happy holiday season, and as always, let me know if you need anything!

Heather Cox

Command Ombudsman

USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53)

(619) 743-5416 OMB line

1-866-310-4650 Careline

jpjombudsman@yahoo.com

http://jpjfamilynews.tripod.com

National Drunk and Drugged Driving (3D) Prevention Month

The holiday season is supposed to be a time for family, friends, and festive celebrations, but it is unfortunately also a time when there is a tragic jump in the number of alcohol-related highway fatalities each year between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.

That is why USS John Paul Jones (DDG-53) is joining with other national, state and local highway safety and law enforcement officials to remind everyone this holiday season to always designate a sober driver before each holiday party or event involving alcohol.

Nationally, more than 17,000 people died in alcohol-related highway crashes during 2003. Every 30 minutes, nearly 50 times a day, someone in America dies in an alcohol-related crash. Hundreds of thousands more are injured each year. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), about three in every ten Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some point in their lives.

Remembering to designate a sober driver before the party begins is just one of several, simple steps to help avoid a tragic crash or an arrest for impaired driving during the holiday season. Other reminders include:

• Never get behind the wheel of your vehicle if you’ve been out drinking;

• If impaired, call a taxi – use mass transit if available – or call a sober friend or family member to come and get you;

• Or, just stay where you are and sleep it off until you are sober;

• If you are hosting a party this holiday season, remind your guests to always plan ahead to designate a sober driver, always offer alcohol-free beverages during the event, and make sure all of your guests leave with a sober driver; and

• Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk. Take the keys and never let a friend leave your sight if you think they are about to drive while impaired.

Since 1981, every President of the United States has proclaimed December “National Drunk and Drugged Driving (3D) Prevention Month” to help underscore the public’s commitment to preventing impaired driving and promoting the use of designated drivers and sober ride programs. The month of December and the New Year’s Eve holiday are also often highlighted by significant increases in state and local law enforcement efforts to combat impaired driving such as the use of sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols.

Driving impaired or riding with someone who is impaired is simply not worth the risk. The consequences are serious and real. Not only do you risk killing yourself or someone else, but the trauma and financial costs of a crash or an arrest for driving while impaired can be really significant and not the way you want to spend your holiday season.

So remember, this holiday season, if you catch a buzz, catch a ride.

Source:  " HOLIDAY MINI-PLANNER (FRIENDS)."  National Highway Traffic Safety Association.  11 November  2008.      < http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/alcohol/StopImpaired/HolidayPlanner/downloads/HolidaysFriendsOp-Ed.pdf >.