Nevadan part of counterdrug, rescue efforts

Dick Benoit

Thursday, Feb. 26, 2004 | 8:43 a.m.

A Laughlin High School graduate and career sailor recently participated in a rescue at sea as a crew member on a Navy frigate conducting counter-drug patrols.

Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Albrecht, a 1998 graduate of Laughlin and son of Doreen and Michael Albrecht of Las Vegas, is assigned to the guided missile frigate USS McClusky, homeported in San Diego.

Albrecht and his fellow crew members saved the lives of 169 people in the Eastern Pacific after receiving distress reports from two small fishing vessels. The crew of the McClusky offered around-the-clock assistance for three straight days, providing men, women and children on two vessels with medical attention, repairs to their ships and food and water.

Once the migrants were safely on shore, the McClusky headed back out to sea to continue its counterdrug patrol. Last year the crew of the McClusky seized nearly 6,000 pounds of cocaine, 500 pounds of marijuana, and rescued a California man adrift for four months in the Pacific Ocean. The crew also escorted 185 Ecuadorian refugees back into safe waters and turned them over to the Ecuadorian navy.

New bonuses for nurses

The Navy is upping the ante in its effort to win a share of new nurses in an era of a national shortage of the healing professionals. The Navy recently doubled the bonus for direct accession nurses entering active duty from $5,000 to $10,000 in an effort to bolster recruiting efforts.

"The Navy already has the best programs to offer in terms of opportunity, education and duty stations for nurses," said Cmdr. Juanita Buda, head of the medical community management branch at the Navy Recruiting Command in Millington, Tenn. "This bonus places us on par with the civilian medical community in a challenging market for quality nurses."

Eligible applicants who sign a written agreement to serve on active duty in the Navy for a minimum of four years are authorized to receive the bonus. More information can be found at the website (navy.com/healthcare/nursing).

In brief