Las Vegan keeps mine fighters fed

Dick Benoit

Thursday, June 7, 2001 | 8:20 a.m.

Not every important job in the modern Navy is high tech. Some important things just don't change, like good chow.

Navy officials aboard the mine countermeasure ship USS Scout report that Cheyenne High School 1998 graduate Daniel Stone ensured no one went hungry on the combat ship during a recent amphibious landing exercise.

Stone, the son of Steve Stone of Las Vegas, helps feed a crew of 80 sailors aboard the 224-foot Scout, which is designed to counter open-ocean and deeper-water mine threats. The Scout's hull is made of fiberglass-sheathed wood that reduces the chance of a mine being magnetically or acoustically drawn to the ship and allows it to absorb some of the violent shock of underwater explosions.

When not in its home port of Ingleside, Texas, the Scout crew trains to enter suspected minefields using precise navigation and variable-depth sonar. Crew members practiced these techniques at general quarters and battle stations during Kernel Blitz, a recent exercise off the California coast.

"Exercises like this prepare us so that we can hunt for and destroy mines as a team," Stone said. During the vigorous training, the sailors worked up big appetites. "That's my job. I make sure there's always a good meal out."

That's critical to the ship's mission, Stone said, because he ensures that his shipmates have the stamina to react and perform over long periods during any crisis.

Nevada Guard promotes three

Manginelli has been a member of the National Guard for three years, and was previously an infantryman in the Army. Romero has been in the National Guard for four years and was previously a motor transport operator in the Marine Corps. Dickman has been a member of the National Guard for seven years.

In brief

They include Timothy Yarwood, son of Bonnie Yarwood of Las Vegas and a 2000 graduate of Rancho High School; Kyle Spencer, son of Peggy Montgomery of Las Vegas and a 2000 graduate of Durango High School; Aaron Turner, son of Kenneth Turner of Las Vegas and a 2000 graduate of Cheyenne High School; and Demarlo Lightford II, the son of Elaine and Demarlo Lightford and a 1999 graduate of Western High School.

Also, Nicholas Timinskas, son of Kathryn Timinskas of Mesquite and a 1995 graduate of Western High School; Jamie Acklin, son of Donna Acklin of Las Vegas and Gary Acklin of Las Vegas and a 1999 graduate of Eldorado High School; and James Nixon, brother of Roger Nixon and son of Ok Lee of Las Vegas and a 1998 graduate of Las Vegas High School.

The new airmen studied the Air Force mission, organization and customs, and human relations and earned credits toward an associate degree's through the Community College of the Air Force.

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