Vol. 28 No. 41
OctOber 28, 2011
http://www.cnic.navy.mil/sigonella
Sigonella celebrates Hispanic Heritage By MCSN Cameron Bramham
NAS Sigonella Public Affiars Sailors, friends and family members gathered at Knight’s Hall Oct. 21 for the annual Hispanic Heritage Celebration hosted by Naval Air Station (NAS) Sigonella’s Heritage Committee and Latin American Association (LAA). “This event gives us the opportunity to show what we’re about and share our culture by showing how Hispanics live and how they celebrate,” LAA President, AM2 Alfredo Gonzalez said. National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 and was started by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968. President Ronald Reagan expanded the holiday to 30 days by enacting the observation into law August 17, 1988. Sept. 15 also marks anniversaries of Independence for some Latin American countries such as Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Sept. 16 is another significant date for Hispanic celebration as it marks the day of Mexico’s independency.
“The way I see it, it’s important to acknowledge other cultures that are currently serving in the Navy or Department of Defense,” NAS Sigonella Heritage Committee President, LS1 Alejandro Ozornio said. The celebration consisted of many Latin dance performances, brief lessons on the history of the Hispanic culture and different Latin style food prepared by the LAA. “We had two special performances by the LAA and we had three other dances performed by couples,” Gonzalez said. “The couples dances were the salsa, samba and bachata.” Members from NAS Sigonella’s Heritage Committee and NAS Sigonella’s LAA wanted to focus on not only teaching the audience about the Hispanic culture, but entertaining them as well. “The event was similar but different as well,” Ozornio said. “We tried to do the same things but explain the history of Hispanic heritage in different ways. Last year we did more power points and tried to teach a lot more and this year we tried to entertain and perform EVENT, continued on page 12
NAS Sigonella celebrates naval tradition with a cake cutting ceremony at the Navy Ball. Tradition dictates that the oldest and youngest Sailor in attendance cut the ceremonial birthday cake. (From left to right) Deputy Commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet R. Adm. James Foggo III, NAS Sigonella Commanding Officer Capt. Scott Butler, U.S. Naval Hospital Sigonella Commanding Officer Capt. Cynthia M. Feller, and Hospital Corpsman Elizabeth Kirkner
NAS Sigonella celebrates Navy’s 236th birthday By MCSN Cameron Bramham NAS Sigonella Public Affairs
Members of the NAS Sigonella Latin American Association (LAA) perform a folklore dance during the annual Hispanic Heritage Celebration which was held at Knight’s Hall on NAS I, Oct. 21. The celebration included other dance performances, a Hispanic presentation and a tasting of different Hispanic style foods which was prepared by members of the NAS Sigonella LAA.
The Sheraton Hotel, Catania was taken over by personnel stationed at or deployed to Naval Air Station (NAS) Sigonella on Oct. 22 for the Navy Ball and the i celebration of the United States Navy’s 236th birthday. The ceremony began with the presentation of the colors by the NAS Sigonella Honor Guard and the singing of the Italian and American National Anthems. After the anthems were complete and the Honor Guard exited the room, Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Cauble gave the opening prayer of blessing. NAS Sigonella Navy Ball Committee Vice President, Lt. Brandon Elliott then announced NAS Sigonella com-
manding officer, Capt. Scott Butler to the podium to give his opening remarks. “This was my second Navy Ball and it was a great one,” Butler said. “It’s fantastic to watch the coalition people come together with the Navy, the Air Force, the Army and Marines to celebrate our traditions while also having a great time. Being a part of an event like this is really special to me especially with how hard this base has worked this year support NATO Resolution 1973.” Following his opening remarks, Butler introduced the distinguished guest, Deputy Commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet R. Adm. James Foggo III who thoroughly discussed the role NAS Sigonella played in support for NATO Resolution 1973.
“We couldn’t have done it without Italy,” Foggo said. “We couldn’t have done it without our air bases in Aviano, Naples and mostly Sigonella because of all the proponents down here and we couldn’t have done it without our Italian counterparts.” Dinner was served and raffle prizes were drawn which included an X-Box Kinect, a Nintendo Wii, and a Nikon D3100 digital camera, among others. “The prize quality was really high this year as we spent a lot of money for prizes,” Elliott said. Elliott also said though the ball was greatly successful, it wasn’t always an easy task to make it successful. “It’s always difficult to coordinate an event for hundreds of people which also required over $30,000 in BALL, continued on page 12
Underwater Clean-up
Enjoy a leisurely hike
Visit Rome this Holiday Season
NAS Sigonella community takes part in the 11th annual underwater beach clean-up at the Stazzo Port, Acireale, Sicily.
Monti Rossi is a very nice park in the town of Nicolosi. Spend some time outdoors this weekend and take in the view!
Join MWR’s ITT on a trip to Rome this December. See all the sites and enjoy the festive spirit.
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Scan for direct links to NAS Sigonella
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oCtoBer 28, 2011
Direct Line There are plenty of events going on in the Sigonella Community over the next few days and I hope everyone will take advantage of the chance to enjoy them. First up is MWR’s biggest festival of the year, Autumnfest, which kicks off today at 3 p.m. and goes until midnight both today and tomorrow. This is a great event for the entire community – including our Italian friends and members of the Coalition – so come out and enjoy the rides, the food and the fun! Monday is Halloween and this year I’ve authorized Trick or Treating from 1700-2000 in Marinai. Please stay alert when walking or driving around Marinai on Halloween: watch out for all those strange-looking little creatures – and I’m not just talking about the aircrew over at MEDEX!! The end of October means that Sunny Sicily has officially entered the rainy season! The recent downpours make the roads wet and the road conditions difficult – and potholes seem to magically appear overnight. This makes it hard to
NAS SigoNellA CommANdiNg offiCer, CApt. SCott Butler
drive around the area, and believe me – it’s not going to get any better! The further we get into the fall and winter months, the wetter the weather tends to become. These early storms are a good reminder to be prepared and to always be alert to changing weather and road conditions. Two key lessons learned from the December 2005 flood are that pre-planning and communication are vital to our safety. For those who did not attend the Emergency Department’s exceptional, informative Practical Emergency Preparedness Training this past week – you really should have!! At my direction, and following suggestions from Command Ombudsmen, JG Somavilla and his team provided excellent briefs and have created a number of community awareness training briefs and handouts that provide excellent information that EVERYONE needs to be aware of. The time to think about what to do in an emergency situation is before it ever happens. If you wait until
after it has already occurred, it’s probably already too late! Plan ahead! Flooding due to rainfall is a fact of life on this island. Sometimes local roads may be closed or simply difficult to navigate. Every year, we experience flooding on our bases. Although it’s generally not so bad that folks are forced to leave their homes like in 2005, the additional water makes it extremely challenging to drive even on the installations. Last year, when rains were especially heavy, we started sending alternate route maps via All Hands email and by posting them on Facebook. These routes were based on lessons learned from the 2005 floods and were designed to ensure the safety and security of our personnel in the event of further rain. When the rains are heavy, if you do not need to drive, don’t! Be in touch! I will use every possible avenue to communicate and increase the odds of reaching all of you. Options will include notifying your chain of command, putting notices on our Facebook page (face-
book.com/nassigonella), employing AFN Radio and Television (AFN Atlantic or decoder Channel 20), All Hands Mass Emails, Command Phone Trees and Command Ombudsmen. If you are ever unsure what is going on, please actively search for information from one of these sources! Be ready! I can’t tell you how important it is to be ready for any potential emergency. Professionals recommend you keep a five-day supply of food and water, as well as an emergency kit that should include a battery-powered radio, flashlights, and batteries. I also want to take a moment to congratulate the members of the Coalition forces that have been deployed to our Base for the past six months in support of Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR. As we all know, the Libyan people are now free and this means that these forces are now preparing to return home
after an historic and successful operation. I have been honored to serve alongside so many incredible men and women from Denmark, Turkey, the UAE, Sweden, Canada and France – and I have been incredibly proud of the support that the entire Sigonella Community has provided to them this year. Brazo Zulu on a job very, very well done!
Dive! Dive! Dive! Knights in Shining Armor
By GM2 Ericka McKim
The Signature
The L.I.F.E. Onlus Association (Life Improvement For Every disabled: http://www.lifeonlus.com), a non-profit organization founded in 1997 following the international guidelines given by Padi project aware and Linea Mare (http://www.lineamarecatania.it/), put on its 11th annual underwater beach clean-up on Oct. 16. NAS Sigonella Sailors and DODDS teachers, divers of the Vigili Del Fuoco (Fire Department) and Protizione Civile, the Airone Sporting Club, the Sigonella Scuba Club, and local fisherman and residents all assisted with the beach clean up and beautification effort. The event took
place at the Stazzo Port, Acireale, Sicily. “It is our goal to improve the environmental condition of the Mediterranean Sea as the summer comes to an end. Ever year this is a fun event that promotes awareness of the capabilities of disabled people while improving our waters. In water, those who have limits on the mainland are able to learn the custom techniques that allow them to enjoy the beauty of our waters in complete safety,” Carmelo La Rocca, President of Sigonella Scuba Club and L.I.F.E. Onlus. The event turned out more than 50 volunteers with over half being divers. The divers worked in groups to extract DIVE, continued on page 12
By Lucia Saperstein
Something exciting is happening at Sigonella Elementary School, and it involves a special group of Knights. “Knights in Shining Armor” is a group of dedicated and enthusiastic parents who have stepped forward to take an positive, active role in continuous school improvement (CSI) for the elementary school. This CSI parent team meets once a month to give feedback on areas of school performance from a parent’s perspective. At the most recent round table gathering, the Knights engaged in a lively discussion on the school’s vision sta-
Commander U.S. Naval Air Station Sigonella Capt. Scott Butler
Deputy Public Affairs Officer Dott. Alberto Lunetta alberto.lunetta.it@eu.navy.mil
Executive Officer Cmdr. Eric Vosler
Writer/Editor Tracie Barnthouse tracie.barnthouse@eu.navy.mil
Command Master Chief CMDCM David Graham
Public Affairs Officer Lt. Tim Page timothy.page@eu.navy.mil
Staff Writers/ Photographers MC1 Christopher Delano MC2 Gary Prill GM2 Kris Carmody MCSN Cameron Bramham MCSA Brian Glunt
tement. Future round table discussions will focus on issues of communication, transition, and academic success. The Knights in Shining Armor will play a key role in this year’s accreditation process. Every five years the school undergoes an intense evaluation process culminating in a visit from an accreditation team. As the school prepares for this visit, the outcomes from each of the monthly round table discussion will be shared with teachers and staff. Parent feedback will help the school better address the goals of raising student achievement, providing a safe and enriching learning environment, and
maintaining efficient and effective school operation. If you would like to join us in our quests as Knights in Shining Armor, please attend the next round table discussion on Nov. 9 from noon-1pm at Sigonella Elementary School (Room 106). The topic for November’s discussion will be math. Have questions about the new math curriculum? Want to see the data showing how our school’s math scores compare to stateside schools? If so, please join us at the table to be an active participant in our continuous improvement process. Contact Lucia Saperstein at luciamorgan@yahoo. com for more information.
This civilian enterprise (CE) newspaper is an authorized publication for members of the military services overseas. Contents of The Signature are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense (DoD), or the U.S. Navy. The appearance of advertisingin this newspaper, including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement by the DoD orStampa Generale S.r.l., of the products or services advertised. Everything advertised in this publications hall be made available for purchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, sex,national origin, age, marital status, physical handicap, political affiliation or any other non-merit factorof the purchaser, user or patron. A confirmed violation or rejection of this equal opportunity policyby an advertiser will result in the refusal to print advertising from that source until the violationis corrected. The Signature is published weekly by Stampa Generale S.r.l., Sig. Bruno Brandi, Publisher, Naval Support Activity, Capodichino (Naples), Italy Tel. 081-568-7884, Fax 081-568-7887. E-mail: stampagenerale@tin.it. Editorial submissions are welcomed from all Naval Air Station Sigonella departments, divisions and tenant commands. Editorial submissions should be sent to the Public Affairs Office via thesig@eu.navy.mil, guard mail stop #68 or hand-delivered to our office no laterthan the close of business on the Friday proceeding the expected publication date. All articles submittedby non-staff members will be considered contributing writers. The Signature will not publish anyanonymous articles. All advertisements in this publication are the property of Stampa Generale S.r.l. Any reproduction of advertisements in The Signature is unauthorized without the written consentof the publisher.
The Signature editorial office is located at: Naval Air Station Sigonella, Sicily PSC 812 Box 3020, FPO, AE 09627 Telephone: 095-86-5440 • DSN 624-5440
Email thesig@eu.navy.mil to place your classified advertisement or community announcement.
OctObeR 28, 2011
On
the
GO
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Christmas in Rome By Jamie Andrews
It may be hard to believe, but Christmas is less than two months away! Being stationed in Europe provides a unique opportunity to spend the holidays in a special way. For most Americans, spending Christmas in Rome might sound like an unattainable dream, but for Sigonellans, it could be a great way to ease the pain of being away from loved ones this time of the year, and make those loved ones totally jealous! Besides mom’s house, Italy is probably the best place to spend Christmas and Italians know how to do it right. The season begins in November and doesn’t end until about mid-January. Decorations are everywhere and each city has its own official nativity display set around every corner, often featuring famous unexpected characters. The medieval cobblestone streets are draped with glittering lights and a festive atmosphere is ever present. Yep, Italy does Christmas the best, and Rome, as the capital of Italy and once center of the universe, could be the number one holiday destination. Think about it... A giant sparkly tree is pretty, right? But a giant sparkly tree set in a Coliseum backdrop is spectacular! Christmas shopping at WalMart... sigh. But shopping at the
Christmas market in Piazza Navona... hooray! Christmas Eve Midnight Mass may be nice, but Christmas Eve Midnight Mass at the St. Peter’s Basilica delivered by the Pope? Stellar!
fresh roasted chestnuts while you take in the atmosphere of the Christmas market, full of trinkets and gifts shaped like Babbo Natale (Santa) and La Befana (the happy witch.) Stand in
The holidays used to be magical, but now it seems they bring us stress. Maybe touring the ancient streets and structures of Rome could bring back the magic. Imagine the excitement of stepping in to the Sistine Chapel, the Pantheon or the Roman Forum! Walk the streets from the Spanish Steps, by the Trevi Fountain and into the Piazza Navona. Warm up with a hot bag of
St. Peter’s Square while the life-sized nativity is unveiled. Sip a glass of wine on Christmas Eve under the Roman moonlight. Buon Natale indeed. ITT is spending Christmas in Rome, December 22nd – 26th. Don’t worry about travel arrangements, let ITT do all the work while you have a wonderful holiday. Make your reservations today! Call ITT for details x4777, x4396.
MidtOwn MOvie theateRS Schedule & deScRiptiOnS
WARRIOR – Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Morrison
Friday, October 28 5:00pm Columbiana, 5:30pm Apollo 18, 7:30pm Contagion, 8:00pm Final Destination 5,
PG-13 PG-13 PG-13 R
Saturday, October 29 2:00pm Spy Kids 4, 2:30pm The Help, 4:30pm Footloose, 5:00pm Warrior, 7:30pm Shark Night,
PG PG-13 PG-13 PG-13 R
Sunday, 2:00pm 2:30pm 4:30pm 5:00pm 7:30pm
PG PG-13 R PG-13 R
October 30 Dolphin Tale, Apollo 18, Fright Night, Contagion, Shark Night,
Tuesday, November 1 5:00pm Contagion, 5:30pm Footloose, 7:30pm The Help, 8:00pm Our Idiot Brother,
PG-13 PG-13 PG-13 R
Wednesday, November 2 5:00pm Contagion, 5:30pm Apollo 18, 7:30pm Columbiana, 8:00pm Shark Night,
PG-13 PG-13 PG-13 R
Thursday, November 3 5:00pm Warrior, 5:30pm The Debt, 7:30pm Fright Night, 8:00pm Our Idiot Brother,
PG-13 PG-13 R R
Friday, November 4 5:00pm Columbiana, PG-13 5:30pm Apollo 18, PG-13 7:30pm Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, R 8:00pm Our Idiot Brother, R
An ex-Marine haunted by his past, Tommy, returns to his hometown of Pittsburgh and enlists his fathers help to train him for a MMA tournament awarding the biggest purse in the history of the sport. As Tommy blazes a violent path towards the title, his brother, Brenden a former MMA fighter unable to makes ends meat as a public school teacher, returns to the amateur ring to provide for his family. The three have been bitterly estranged, and when Brenden’s unlikely rise as an underdog sets him on a collision course with Tommy and his father, the three must finally confront one another and the things that tore them apart; waging the most intense, winnertakes-all battle of their lives.(139 min.) FOOTLOOSE – Julianne Hough, Kenny Wormald, Dennis Quaid, Andie MacDowell, Miles Teller
Ren MacCormack is transplanted Boston to small town America where he experiences a heavy dose of culture shock. A few years prior, the community was rocked by the tragic loss of 5 teenagers after a night out and the town’s councilmen and beloved minister responded by banning loud music and dancing. Not one was to bow to the status quo; Ren challenges the ban, revitalizing the town and falling in love with the minister’s troubled daughter, Ariel (118 min). CONTAGION – Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Brayan Cranston, Kate Winslet
The worldwide medical community races to find a cure to a deadly epidemic and control panic that spreads faster than the virus itself (102 min.) DOLPHIN TALE – Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Kris Kristofferson, Harry Connick Jr., Nathan Gamble
Swimming free, a young dolphin is caught in a crab trap, severely damaging her tail. She is rescued and sent to the Clearwater Marine Hospital, where she is rehabilitated and called Winter. Winter’s diagnosis without a tail is dire, but the ingenuity and dedication of the hospital staff and unwavering devotion of a young boy bring about a ground-breaking miracle! A miracle that saves Winter and possibly scores of people around the world. The real Winter plays herself in this tale as a symbol of courage and perseverance – both to able and disabled people alike (119 min.)
Movie schedule is subject to change. Please call to confirm. Movie Hotline: 624-4248
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