In the Spotlight

By Megan Mills, NAS Sigonella Public Affairs

AnneMarie Watt is a labor and delivery nurse, Certified Childbirth Education instructor, Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), and Red Cross volunteer here onboard Naval Air Station Sigonella.

You may have seen her recently as she administered voluntary COVID-19 vaccines to eligible personnel on base. Whether she’s helped you navigate early parenthood, fed you pumpkin toffee bread, or given you a vaccine, Watt has been an indispensable asset to the Sigonella community.

Originally from Tappahannock, VA, Watt grew up in an Air Force family and joined the Navy in 1985 as a dental technician. She began volunteering with the Red Cross while stationed in Antigua, West Indies in 1994, and she has continued to volunteer wherever she moved.

“Even when I was hired as a contractor at the hospital, I still volunteered,” she said. “I wanted to keep my skills up. I wanted to help the patients.”

She married a fellow Sailor and eventually used the GI bill to study nursing, becoming a labor and delivery nurse in 2000.

“As soon as I started working with the moms in labor, it just clicked,” said Watt. “It never felt like work, and that’s what you really want.”

From 2002-2005, Watt and her husband were stationed at NAS Sigonella, and they returned as retirees in June 2018.

“We decided to come here as empty nesters, but a lot of things have changed,” Watt said. NAS Sigonella has a smaller population than in the early 2000s, and instead of 800 deliveries per year, the hospital on base now sees only around 100. There were also fewer services available for growing families, so Watt began to provide them through the Red Cross.

“AnneMarie is the epitome of the volunteer spirit,” said Karen Jorgenson, the program manager for the Sigonella branch of the American Red Cross. “She is driven to ensure that the needs of the clients are met, first and foremost. She doesn’t limit herself though, and whenever she is able to support an event or activity which we are doing outside her normal volunteer position, she can be counted on to be there. She has a heart of gold!”

The American Red Cross is a humanitarian organization that provides disaster relief and services to members of the United States Armed Forces. In addition to delivering emergency messages, the Red Cross at Sigonella offers many health and safety courses and provides volunteer opportunities for people with medical certifications.

Watt regularly teaches childbirth education classes and breastfeeding classes, and she also provides breastfeeding support after delivery at the hospital, in clients’ homes, and via FaceTime, especially with the COVID-19 restrictions in place.

“It’s rewarding because, in the end, a lot of clients come back and say thank you, not only just for the service, but for the compassion and understanding that this is hard,” Watt said. “That is the best reward ever.”

When the COVID-19 vaccines arrived to NAS Sigonella, several Red Cross volunteer nurses including Watt jumped into action to administer the inoculations.

“I wanted to be safe, and I wanted to travel again,” she said.

In addition to travel, Watt enjoys cooking and baking, and her pumpkin toffee bread has become famous on base. “Plus having a Danish mother fueled that love of cooking and enjoying my time with family and friends,” she added.

During her two stints in Sigonella, Watt has mastered Sicilian lasagna and learned the secret to pasta with pistachio sauce.

When asked for advice for people new to the island, she said, “Get involved! That’s the main way that you can find out about things. Sicily is a beautiful island. There’s so much to see, and you can’t walk away from a country and not take a little bit of it with you.”