COMREL - 2020 Year in Review

COMMUNITY RELATIONS

Over the past year, the NAS Sigonella PAO Community Relations (COMREL) program maintained a high standard despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which inherently altered many of our activities. The COMREL program’s mission is to foster positive relationships and give back to our local Sicilian communities who have hosted American service members and their families since 1959.

The COMREL program of Sigonella is only made possible by the gracious volunteer efforts from all commands and departments across the installation. These projects are extremely helpful to our host nation communities and the volunteer efforts go a long way in forging positive community relations with the Sicilians who live outside the NASSIG fence-line.

This year, base volunteers contributed thousands of hours of their time through 140 events, to include environmental cleanups at parks, beaches, charities, churches, and historic sites; language interaction and painting projects at Sicilian schools and parishes; and participation in WW2 commemoration events, as well as ceremonies and social events. The volunteer efforts attracted the interest of local media, which praised them in 55 articles and a dozen segments aired during the daily television news across Sicily. The positive impact of their efforts also reached thousands of people in Sicily and abroad, through numerous social media posts and shares.

In February, Sigonella COMRELs hosted a special guest of the U.S. State Department. During an official visit to Sicily, Naples U.S. Consul General Mary Avery joined hands with Marines deployed to NASSIG and Italian volunteers from the Knights of St. George’s religious association to partake in a special cleanup and painting project at the enchanting Baroque Church of Jesus and Mary in Acireale. In the same month, Marines of the Special-Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force were officially awarded by the Knights for their selfless efforts.

As the seasons shifted from winter to spring, the pandemic restrictions become a fact of daily life. Even though COVID-19 limited in-person gatherings, language interaction volunteering at Sicilian schools continued to thrive. Even though schools were closed, base volunteers joined virtual classrooms to continue to assist Sicilian students in improving their English skills.

Another highlight of the Sigonella COMREL year included the installation-wide April food drive known as the “Good Neighbor” campaign. Sigonella personnel donated approximately 1,800 pounds of non-perishable food items, baby supplies and personal hygiene products to assist local Sicilian communities negatively affected by the COVID-19 lockdown.

In July, the NAS Sigonella achieved a milestone when a Naval officer received an international award for community service. On July 22, Sigonella Naval Hospital orthodontist Cmdr. Corinne Devin was presented with the International Virdimura Award for her career and community service activities in Sicily. This marked the first time in NAS Sigonella history that an American service member was honored with this prestigious award.

On the same day, Sigonella Marines also received a thank-you award for their ongoing COMREL support. The ceremony was hosted by the AIN, Associazione Italiana per Neurodisabili (Italian Neuro-disability Association) and the Sicilian Center of the Academy for the History of the Sanitary Art. It was patronized by the Italian Ministry of Education and University (MIUR) and the Società Italiana di Storia della Medicina e di Bioetica (Italian Society of the History of Medicine and Bioethics).

Summer volunteer activities were also marked by a series of special initiatives held at three local schools with the goal of creating socially distanced classrooms for students and staff to minimize the transmission of COVID-19 during the school year. Thanks to Sigonella volunteers from the U.S. Air Force association, Public Works Sigonella, TOP IV and the rotationally deployed VP-47 and 16 squadrons, these efforts greatly reduced the burden of this massive and costly maintenance challenge for the school’s leadership.

In August and September, additional projects were conducted at two Paternò schools, an elementary school in Biancavilla, and a middle School in Adrano. These projects consisted of painting and renovating the classrooms of these schools. These projected also provided local students a safer and cozier school environment upon their return in September. At the end of these projects, the mayors of Paternò and Biancavilla and the school principals presented volunteers with awards as a way to say thank you for their flawless efforts conducted in the Sicilian summer heat.

In the fall, Sigonella COMREL volunteers again made history as they partook in another unprecedented project. Under the supervision of the archaeologists of the Ragusa historic heritage department, they aided a dig in the town of Chiaramonte Gulfi. Volunteers were able to assist the team in unearthing a newly-discovered ancient Greek grave site dating back between the 2nd and 5th century BC.

Though 2020 presented many obstacles, Sigonella volunteers continued to demonstrate how relatively small actions can add up and make a big difference in the lives of our local Sicilian community neighbors. We look forward to many more projects in 2021!