Fleet Public Affairs Center Southeast; Bringing you the news

As an element of the Navy's total force strategy, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen approved the merger of the illustrator draftsman, journalist, lithographer and photographer's mate (PH) ratings as a way of capitalizing on the diverse talents found in the four fields and applying them toward a unified mission.

As a result of this vision, the formerly known photo lab was ordered to disestablish and then regroup at the new location aboard NS Mayport under the name of FLTPACEN SE.

MC2(NAC/AW) Lynn Friant shoots photos of the crew aboard USS Roosevelt (DDG-80) as they prepare to deploy on a six-month cruise March 7.

"Our primary mission is to tell the Navy's story," stated FLTPACEN SE Leading Chief Petty Officer MCCS(SW/AW) William Von Seggern. "This public affairs center is responsible for the entire Southeast Region. The scope of services that we offer is completely different from when we were the photo lab."

Gone are the days when you could request a PH to shoot photos of a command event, re-enlistments or even command photo roster boards. "We are fully aware that the changes that have been made affect our customers, but these adjustments are part of a big plan that will provide timely and newsworthy information to media outlets worldwide,"

remarked Von Seggern. "When a customer asks us for a service that we no longer provide, it's hard to turn them away. We know that people are used to what we previously supported and it feels like we are letting them down. However, that is not the case. With the combination of talents from all four of the legacy rates, we are essentially a news team now. Photo services and public affairs are related but they are also two different things. When people hear FLTPACEN SE, I want them to relate that with public affairs, not photography. That is who we are now."

MC2(AW) Leah Stiles shoots photos of a Navy wife and her child as they watch USS Roosevelt (DDG-80) head out from NS Mayport on deployment.

The major responsibilities that the team of 11 MCs take on in their daily role to keep shipmates informed, include writing news articles for publication, photographing events for publication or historic documentation and operating a variety of state-of-the-art still and video cameras. Most importantly, FLTPACEN SE Leading Petty Officer MC1(SW/AW) Toiette Jackson has implemented a continuous, cross-training plan that will provide the FLTPACEN SE news team with the new skills in the MC rating that will guarantee their success.

"When a rating merge occurs, it usually consists of two rates. For us, we are having to learn the specialties of four different rates. It seems overwhelming at times but the way we handle that is to train, train and do more training," said Jackson.

MC2(AW) Leah Stiles (left) and MC2(AW) Elizabeth Williams spent some time aboard USS Hue City (CG 66) catching Sailors conducting the daily grind. These types of photos are submitted to other naval information sources for publication and intended to give visual description of Sailors hard at work.

FLTPACEN SE has limited studio availability for commanding officers, executive officers and command master chiefs only. Special programs applicants including Army and Marine Corps advancement photos are also taken there and at the detachment located at NAS Jacksonville.

"Things are different for us and our customers now. With time, we will all fit into this mold that was created for us. We get to interact with people from every walk of life and we get a front row ticket to every function that takes place. At the same time, we provide our shipmates and their families with the most current information keeping them abreast of situations, the knowledge of their families welfare and of topics that may affect them and their loved ones. It's important to us and it's something that we take very seriously," commented MC2(AW) Regina Brown who is assigned to FLTPACEN SE but has recently volunteered to serve on an Individual Augmentee (IA) tour to Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, Djbouti.

"My husband is also an MC and he also volunteered for IA duty. He is going to Iraq and we will both be departing this summer. We are excited to go abroad and provide media representation, news and support for our troops overseas," she continued.

MC2(AW) Regina Brown (back) and MC2(AW) Chris Brown set up the portrait studio located at Fleet Public Affairs Center Detachment Southeast aboard NAS Jax.

On a average day at FLTPACEN SE, you'll find a sharp and creative group of Sailors who are able to proactively hunt down newsworthy information, collect the data and immediately disseminate it to media sources world-wide. This was the goal set by then Chief of Information Rear Adm. T. McCreary who was the initiator of the massive merge.

Photo by MC2 Elizabeth Williams MC2 Dan Gay inspects his video camera for proper operability.

"I want the basic MC "A" School graduate to be able to write stories, take photographs, shoot video and deliver that information in multiple formats to multiple customers anywhere in the world in one hour," said McCreary, as he explained what is expected of an MC in a recent article.

"The MC rating is about bringing skills together from all ratings in the MC field and making one big visual image,"

"The change hasn't been easy, but it has also been exciting and challenging. I feel like it is going to bring the best of four worlds together and when you bring the best together, the result is always good," commented Von Seggern.