Sigonella Celebrates Ombudsmen

By Ky Resel, NAS Sigonella Dispatch

September was Ombudsman Appreciation Month, and the Naval Air Station Sigonella commanding officer Capt. Kevin Pickard hosted the annual Ombudsman Appreciation Dinner on Oct. 1, 2021.

The role of the ombudsman first became an important part in the Navy’s history and mission over 50 years ago when former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Elmo Zumwalt Jr. created the program as a place for spouses to air grievances, make suggestions and become more involved. Since then, ombudsmen have been making a difference and continue to carry on that mission.

“An ombudsman is a military spouse volunteer appointed by the commanding officer who can help with various things such as information, referrals, assisting the commanding officer with disseminating information to the commands families, and addressing any concerns,” said Agata Carnazza, ombudsman program manager for NAS Sigonella.

Carnazza went on to add that she believes the role of ombudsman is even more essential while being stationed overseas.

“Being overseas, I believe the program plays a crucial role to make the families feel part of the community and overcome the sense of loneliness for being far away from family and friends,” she said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has proven the need for open lines of communication from the commands to the families.

“Especially in the last 18 months, the ombudsmen have helped disseminate accurate information about the pandemic and the continuous changes with local decrees by attending monthly meetings that became weekly meetings when we were in lockdown,” Carnazza said.

Carnazza stressed that one of the biggest achievements of being an ombudsman is the ability to give back to their communities.

“Being an ombudsman can make a difference in someone’s life,” she said. “I often see spouses becoming ombudsmen because they want to give back to the community and because they want to be helpful for other spouses.”

If being involved in the ombudsman program sounds appealing, Carnazza said that the best place to start is by reaching out to your command’s current ombudsman to ask how you can support them and what options might be available.

New spouses to Sigonella not sure who their ombudsman is can check the two boards at both the Commissary and the Fleet and Family Support Center with photos and contact information. Individual command ombudsmen present at the spouse orientations.

The ombudsman appreciation dinner was held at a local restaurant and included a certificate of appreciation signed by several NAS Sigonella triad leaderships, a gift and pin from the Navy Exchange, an invocation by Chaplain Ryan Albano, and a speech by Courtney Silvestre, fleet readiness director.