In the Spotlight

Name: Corey Mason

Command: Public Works Department

Department: Transportation

By MC2 Josh Cote, NAS Sigonella Public Affairs

It is not every day that an American born on an overseas military base gets the chance to serve his country on that very same base. It’s even more rare for that American to serve in the same job at the same base as his parents when he was born. For Construction Mechanic 3rd Class Corey Mason from Hermiston, Ore., though, that is just what he is doing--serving as a Seabee onboard Naval Air Station (NAS) Sigonella.

Mason works for the Public Works Department, just like his parents did. He is assigned to the transportation department inside of PWD. Transportation is charge of all the repairs and maintenance of all the government vehicles on base, including the emergency services vehicles.

When trying to decide whether or not to join the military, past family service can be an important influence.

“For me, I wanted to get out of my hometown,” said Mason. “My old man was a mechanic for 20 years in the Navy, and it did him pretty well, so I decided why not give it a shot? I wanted to be a Seabee, and I knew I wanted to either be a construction mechanic (CM) or a builder (BU) because my mom was a BU, but I got lucky and got CM.”

Mason has been doing all the right things to stand out in a positive way to his leadership here on base.

“CM3 Mason is one of our junior transportation mechanics who has been giving 100% to the cause and mission,” said Chief Utilitiesman Dennys Colodro, senior enlisted leader for PWD. “CM3 Mason is one of two only Seabees in the region to pass Emergency Vehicle Test certification exams offered by Emergency Vehicle Testing Certification Commission.”

Not only does Mason excel at his job, he enjoys it too.

“My favorite part about my job is being able to come into work and actually get my hands dirty,” said Mason. “I don’t sit at a computer all day, I just show up and I turn wrenches. I enjoy doing it anyways and here I get paid for it. I also enjoy getting to talk with the Italians. These guys have worked here for 30 or 40 years, so they are a great source of knowledge. It is really cool to learn something new everyday and just go from there.”

Mason has been in the Navy for three years, and Sigonella is his first command. As an adult in Sicily this time around, he has been able to take advantage the island more.

“I was born here and my parents would always tell me stories about this place and now I actually get to live that life,” said Mason. “It is cool just being in the middle of everything. I am able to go to any place in Europe that I want to travel to for relatively cheap. Coming back here was definitely pretty cool.”

After finishing up his time here, Mason will be traveling to Guam to continue on the next step of his Navy career.