The Signature: 2020 Year In Review
13
needs that cannot be met in the local economy. Laboratory Officer Lt. j.g. Lina MacPartland: At no time in recent history have laboratories around the globe been more in the spotlight than today with the COVID-19 pandemic. Well-trained and talented laboratory professionals are the backbone of medical services, supporting clinical testing and diagnoses on a daily basis in theater, in the fleet, and at home. Our laboratory team saw an increase in testing demand due to the pandemic and met the challenge head on. We quickly increased capability to support testing for our community and deploying units. The laboratory spearheaded the Swab-ex evolution, which is a way to quickly sample and test large amounts of people. These evolutions ensure that service members and their beneficiaries are screened and tested for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. We have done this by coordinating with NAS Sigonella and tenant commands in Bahrain and Souda Bay in conjunction with 5th and 6th fleet. The screening and testing performed support mandated Department of Defense sentinel surveillance testing and operational risk reduction measures in addition to emergent symptomatic testing. U.S. Naval Hospital Executive Officer Capt. Walter W. Dalitsch III: And there you have it from our subject matter experts! On behalf of the hospital triad, I would like to say how proud we are of the flexibility, adaptability, resilience, passion and dedication of every single member of our staff to ensure the health and safety of both our own personnel and our precious patients. From E-1 to O-6, and all of our U.S. and local national civilians, the accomplishments of this team have been simply eye-watering to witness. In Sigonella…we’re always ready!
LEGAL SERVICE OFFICE SIGONELLA
R
egion Legal Service Office (RLSO) EURAFSWA, Detachment Sigonella forged through an unprecedented operating environment, providing legal support services to more than over 30 tenant commands and personnel at NAS Sigonella in 2020. Although the RLSO is more than just numbers, these figures will provide a glimpse at the work that happens day in and day out to serve the Sigonella community. The RLSO’s local national language specialists successfully processed more than 900 sojourner’s permits with the Catania Immigrations Office, and our claims professionals investigated and adjudicated more than 30 cases. In the legal assistance department, the RLSO’s legal assistance attorney and paralegal staff drafted over 300 powers-of-attorney and notarized more than 500 documents. The department’s attorneys also advised nearly 200 clients on areas including family law, consumer fraud/protection, taxation, and estate planning, while the civil law staff also supported 20 clients through immigration and nationalization processes. Command services attorneys at the RLSO provided command advice to more than 30 tenant commands as well as the installation itself. The department processed documents supporting 25 non-federal entities in the community, and the staff judge advocates provided standards of conduct and ethics advice on 156 separate matters. Through a uniquely challenging year, RLSO EURAFSWA, Det. Sigonella was proud to support the commands and community at NAS Sigonella, and looks forward to providing high quality legal services to you, the Navy, and the nation in the coming year. Happy Holidays!
