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More Than Just a Cake
PACIFIC OCEAN (Nov. 9, 2015) – The smell of fresh cake fills the air of the bake shop. One Sailor, known as the cake boss, is there waiting for the cake to be ready for icing. With long strokes he spreads the icing. The detail in the design on top takes hours of perfecting. When the cake is finished it’s time to enjoy.
The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) has their own cake boss in Culinary Specialist 3rd Class Keizer Rosales.
“I really enjoy making the cakes for the ship,” said Rosales. “I really like art and drawing so I am able to use my artistic abilities with that, for making the cake and decorating them as well.”
For Rosales making cakes is a rather new challenge for him. Before the Navy he did not have any training for making or decorating them.
“I had never made or decorated a cake before,” said Rosales. “I was new to the whole thing but now I am looking to go and take some decorating classes in my free time to learn more and be able to make better cakes for everyone.”
Rosales has an appreciation for decorating cakes that wasn’t necessarily there before.
“What people don’t understand that is it is actually hard to get the cake the way you want it, especially when you are as passionate about it as I am,” said Rosales. “It is a way for me to take what I see in my head and then transfer it onto the cakes I make.”
TR cakes play a big part in celebrating everything from a reenlistment to the Chief Petty Officer birthday. With the amount of cake that is made for the ship it can sometimes become a lot for one person.
“Rosales never complains about the amount of work he has to do,” said Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Steven Heard. “At one point he was making two or three cakes a day, which is a lot, and every one of them looked great. He put everything he had to each cake.”
Rosales does the job with enthusiasm and seamlessly filled the role of a first class petty officer.
“He has definitely done a very good job with the cakes,” said Chief Culinary Specialist Nino Villamor. “He has taken over when one of our CS1’s left and he has moved right into the roll and has just done a great job with it.”
By Mass Communication Specialist Anthony N. Hilkowski, USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Public Affairs
Join the conversation with TR online at http://www.facebook.com/USSTheodoreRoosevelt and http://www.Twitter.com/TheRealCVN71. For more news from USS Theodore Roosevelt, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/cvn71/.
Theodore Roosevelt Departs 7th Fleet and Enters 3rd Fleet
WESTERN PACIFIC OCEAN – The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) departed the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations and entered the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations Nov. 13.
While in 7th Fleet, Theodore Roosevelt participated in Exercise Malabar 15 with the Indian Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, made a port visit to Singapore and hosted Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and Malaysia’s Defense Minister.
“Our time in 7th Fleet was certainly well spent and eventful,” said Rear Adm. Roy Kelley, commander, Carrier Strike Group 12. “Malabar 15 was an excellent opportunity to build relationships and improve interoperability with our Indian Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force counterparts. It was also a pleasure to host Secretary of Defense Carter.
It was great for our crew members to hear, from the highest levels, why their service matters and how it is having a direct impact every day.”
Theodore Roosevelt’s entrance into 3rd Fleet marks the final phase of the ship’s eight-and-a-half month deployment before pulling in to its new homeport of San Diego.
“It has been an arduous eight months and the crew has done a superb job, and I am incredibly proud of their accomplishments. I look forward to finishing strong and bringing Theodore Roosevelt to her new home in San Diego,” said Capt. Craig Clapperton, commanding officer of Theodore Roosevelt.
Before the 2015 deployment officially ends Theodore Roosevelt will pick up friends and family for a five-day Tiger Cruise that concludes in San Diego. It is the first time Theodore Roosevelt will pull into San Diego in the ship’s 29-year history. Theodore Roosevelt’s change of homeport is part of a three-carrier swap that includes USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan, and USS George Washington (CVN 73), which is on her way to her new homeport in Norfolk.
By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jennifer Case, USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Public Affairs
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November 12, 2015 Rough Rider
United Through Reading Connects Sailors with Their Loved Ones
PACIFIC OCEAN (Nov. 9, 2015) – USS Theodore Roosevelt’s (CVN 71) Sailors and Marines submitted more than 2,000 videos to their loved ones through the United Through Reading (UTR) program and earned themselves recognition as the leading command for submissions in the Atlantic Fleet.
The previous record for the Atlantic fleet was 1,610, and the all-time record for any carrier is at 2,371 which was recorded during a 15-month deployment.
“There were 96 volunteers and 800-plus hours went into this program,” said Religious Program Specialist 1st Class William Murdy, the program coordinator.
UTR is a program that allows deployed Sailors to read to their children via video recordings. Program volunteers provide some age-appropriate books, space and equipment and then convert parents’ recordings to CD or DVD so children can view the readings at home.
“The most influential time in a child’s development is when the child is young,” said Religious Program Specialist 1st Class William Murdy. “Being able to show themselves on a TV and reading a book to their kids, allows the children to see and recognize that person—so that when they come back from deployment, the mother or father is not a stranger.”
Although the program was originally for Sailors to read to children, the program has evolved into a way for Sailors to connect with anyone, be it a child, spouse, or friend, through recorded video. This has allowed Sailors to get creative when sending these video recordings.
Some people will even write their own stories,” said Aviation Electrician’s Mate 1st Class Caitlin Brunetta, a program volunteer. “I had a Sailor who would write a story and then read it with his own illustrations of it on notebook paper. Another would read out the letters he wrote to his wife.”
Brunetta opted to give her child an opportunity to interact with her while watching the recording.
“I bought a 10-pack of books, and I read the whole series to my daughter. I told her with each book to read with me,” she said. “When I was done reading all the books, I sent the package with all the books I recorded home to her.”
Volunteers were careful to provide maximum privacy since some Sailors cry during the videos, said Murdy.
“The recordings are private, so once the volunteer starts the recording: the Sailor can speak however they want, in whatever language they speak and however is most comfortable to them,” said Brunetta. “Then we just come in to end the recording, put it on a disc, and we give it to them in an envelope to mail. They can send it home on their own.”
Sailors and Marines are encouraged to try the program, “There is no limit on how many times a Sailor can come back to make another video,” said Brunetta. “So if a Sailor was away from their child or family for a long time, this is a way for that Sailor to cope. Some people came every other day to make a video for their child.”
Theodore Roosevelt is the flagship of the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group (TRCSG), which is composed of Carrier Strike Group 12, Carrier Air Wing 1, Destroyer Squadron 2 staff, the guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60) and the guided-missile destroyers USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81), USS Farragut (DDG 90) and USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98).
Theodore Roosevelt is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations as part of a worldwide deployment en route to its new homeport in San Diego to complete a three-carrier homeport shift.
By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Joseph S. Yu, USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Public Affairs
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November 10, 2015 Rough Rider
November 8, 2015 Rough Rider
Secretary of Defense Visits USS Theodore Roosevelt
SOUTH CHINA SEA (NOV. 05, 2015) – Secretary of Defense Ash Carter visited the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) today in the South China Sea and met with Sailors and Marines aboard the ship to thank them for their service following more than 8 months at sea.
During the visit, Carter received a brief covering the operations of Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, held a brief press conference, met with Cmdr. Robert Francis, commanding officer of the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Lassen (DDG-82), and spoke with a group of 200 Sailors and Marines.
During his press conference, Carter discussed the U.S. role in security operations in the region.
“The American approach to the security structure for Asia is an inclusive one. I believe that discussions with China, military-to-military contact with China and making sure that nobody does anything or has any misunderstandings, is all a critical part of the job of keeping peace and stability out here,” said Carter. “We’re not trying to make divisions. We want China to be part of the security system of Asia, not to stand apart from it.”
Speaking to the crew, Carter thanked them for their service and noted the impact they have had on events around the world.
“I am so proud to be your Secretary of Defense. You have been at the hinge of everything happening in the strategic history of this era,” said Carter. “First off, you were part of the ISIL fight. That was when you were in the Middle East. Now you are in a completely different part of the world. If you look around this region, there is no NATO, there is no structure that keeps the peace in Asia and yet half of humanity lives here, half of the world’s economy is here, so it is a place of great consequence for America’s future and security. We are what creates reassurance, brings people together and stops the animosity that is very real among these countries.”
Following his speech, Carter presented coins to the crew in attendance as more than 200 Sailors and Marines lined up to shake the defense secretary’s hand.
“He was very knowledgeable on the region. It was definitely interesting to have him put it in perspective for us,” said Aviation Electronics Technician 3rd Class Joseph Evans. “It was nice hearing that someone actually knows and cares about what’s going on with our military.”
Theodore Roosevelt is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations as part of a worldwide deployment en route to its new homeport in San Diego to complete a three-carrier homeport shift.
By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Chad M. Trudeau, USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Public Affairs
Join the conversation with TR online at http://www.facebook.com/USSTheodoreRoosevelt and http://www.Twitter.com/TheRealCVN71. For more news from USS Theodore Roosevelt, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/cvn71/.
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