Direct Line: NAS Sigonella Commanding Officer, Capt. Kevin Pickard

Buongiorno Sigonella! Wow! Has it already been almost six weeks since the change of command? I can honestly say that the first month and half has been a non-stop whirlwind of meetings, tours, and discussions. But that is a good thing. It is always the highlight of my day to get out around the installation, to meet and talk with as many of you as possible, and have the opportunity to see where you work and what you do. It is easy to see the amount of hard work and dedication each one of you puts forth every day to make Naval Air Station Sigonella so successful. I am extremely impressed and honored to be part of this incredible operational team.

So many of you may also be wondering about the new guy. Well, I am a helicopter pilot and have been fortunate enough to be stationed in a ton of great places: Pensacola, San Diego, Norfolk, Boston, Guam, Washington DC, etc. In fact, I was even stationed here at Sigonella flying the MH- 53E as a member of the Black Stallions of Helicopter Combat Support Squadron Four during my first operational tour from 1999-2002. Of all of the places that I have been stationed, Sicily is at the top of the list. I can honestly say that I, and my family, are incredibly excited and honored to be back in Italy as a part of the Sigonella family.

So as your new commanding officer, you may ask yourself, what are Capt. Pickard’s expectations? A nautical metaphor may help illustrate my philosophy: constant process improvement. One of my favorite tours was as a Navigator aboard an aircraft carrier. On the bridge of a ship, just a few degrees of rudder change can make huge differences in course and can shift the direction of the vessel either toward open water or toward shoals. This is very similar to my expectation of you. Every day, make small, incremental and positive changes. Strive to do something better…improve the quality of life for your Sailors and their families, streamline a process in your workcenter, find an efficiency, make an effort to engage with your direct report or your boss. The options are endless, but the name of the game is process improvement. If you make even a few degrees of improvement every day, over the course of time, your efforts will steer us toward open water away from the shoals and positively impact the base in a very meaningful way.

As a direct result of your hard work, we have earned the reputation as one of the most critical operational nodes in Europe. My charge to you is to always remember that we are the strategic “Hub of the Med.” We are indispensable to our nation’s mission throughout Europe, Africa, and Southwest Asia. Thanks for all that you do and thank you all for the gracious welcome. I look forward to meeting with you and hearing from you. See you around Sig! Ci vediamo!