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In the Military Gregg K. Kakesako |
See also: For Your Benefit
Navy dad cheers
on '‘Idol’ finalistMachinist's Mate 1st Class William Velasco was surrounded by shipmates on the 7th Fleet's command ship USS Blue Ridge as he anxiously watched his daughter, Camile Velasco, 18, as she performed on the nationally televised show "American Idol" on Feb. 18.
"I never told anyone that my daughter was going to be on 'American Idol' until they put it on the night engineering orders, and everyone came to congratulate me on my daughter's success," Velasco, 43, told the Navy News Service.
Velasco, from Batanes, the Philippines, said his daughter's singing career began when she was 16. Her first performances were at the Philippine community centers in Hawaii. His daughter currently lives in Hawaii, while he is stationed aboard the Blue Ridge, at Yokosuka, Japan.
"'American Idol' came to Hawaii, and she participated in the tryouts," he said as he watched Camile appeared on screen to perform Brian McKnight's song "One Last Cry."
He said this was the first time he had seen his daughter sing.
"I have not had a chance to see her perform yet, and I am very excited to see how she will do on the show," Velasco said. "My daughter enjoys singing hip-hop and R&B songs. She also loves to perform in front of a crowd."
Velasco said his daughter's goal is to attend a music college in Sacramento, Calif. But he admits that what she really wants to do is be a famous singer.
"I will always support her no matter what career choice she chooses," he said.
Velasco said he was happy that his daughter's performance was good enough to get her into the next round, bringing her one step closer to possibly being the next winner. He said he has high hopes for his daughter.
"I really hope that she gets to go all the way," he said.
On Feb. 24, the Blue Ridge made a third port call at Shanghai.
More than 30 additional sailors were brought aboard the attack submarine USS La Jolla as part of Seal Delivery Vehicle Team 1 before the vessel left Pearl Harbor on Feb. 23 on a Western Pacific deployment.
Commissioned Oct. 24, 1981, the Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered sub is 360 feet long and displaces 6,900 tons. It is equipped with accurate sensors and weapon control systems, and serves as a platform for Special Operations Forces with a special shelter bolted to its deck from which it can launch SEALs. It is helmed by Cmdr. Brian Howes.
A film crew from Columbia Pictures spent six weeks aboard the carrier USS Carl Vinson getting footage for the motion picture "Stealth," which will premiere during the summer of 2005. The film will feature Jessica Biel, Jamie Foxx, Josh Lucas and Sam Shepard, and portrays the introduction of three futuristic stealth fighters called Talons into the Navy. To further increase the new birds' success ratio, officials decide to use a supersonic unmanned version, lined with a breathable, titanium exoskeleton. However, when technology goes haywire, Navy pilots are called in to save the day.
The Carl Vinson and its airwing recently completed carrier qualifications training off the coast of Southern California.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
"In the Military" was compiled from wire reports and other
sources by reporter Gregg K. Kakesako, who covers military affairs for
the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. He can be reached can be reached by phone
at 294-4075 or by e-mail at gkakesako@starbulletin.com.
