ECC Exercise:
Saint Agata:
Parents' Night Out:
Marine-Sailor Cooperation
Honoring Catania's Patron Saint
First Give Parents a Break
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PAGEs 6, 8-9
N A S SIG O N E L L A
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January 29, 2016
Vol. 33 No. 4
CNE, 6th Fleet Master Chief visit NAS Sigonella By Nicole Ybarra NAS Sigonella Public Affairs
NAS SIGONELLA, Sicily – Adm. Mark Ferguson, Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Naples, and FLTCM, Steven Giordano and their spouses paid a visit to NAS Sigonella and held an All Hands Call with Sailors, Jan. 21. During the visit, Mrs. Ferguson and Mrs. Giordano toured Housing, the Fleet and Family Support Center, the Hospital, DoDDS school and met with the NASSIG ombudsman to learn about quality of life issues aboard NAS Sigonella. Before the All Hands gathering, Ferguson visited Sailors at Patrol Squadron (VP) Nine and broke bread with others at the base galley. Opening the All Hands Call, Ferguson remarked on the increased tempo of operations in the European theater, noting the highest level of Russian submarine activity in the area in the past 20 years. He spoke to the growing strategic importance of NAS Sigonella as a central hub against a backdrop of Navy growth in Europe after years of decline. Following his remarks, Ferguson fielded questions from Sailors on topics ranging from enhanced security in light Adm. Mark Ferguson, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, speaks at a Patrol Squadron Nine (VP-9) all hands of recent terrorist attacks, particularly call during a scheduled visit to NAS Sigonella. U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, headquartered in Naples, Italy, oversees in Europe, billet-based distribution and joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied, joint, and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests, security and stability in Europe and Africa. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Amber
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Sigonella Cub Scouts visit Catania’s World War II Museum BY JOE O’BRIEN Pack 53 Committee Member
NAS SIGONELLA, Sicily – Was James Bond “Agent 007” connected with the WWII liberation of Sicily? It was the creativity of British naval intelligence officer Ian Fleming (future James Bond author) who helped devise “Operation Mincemeat” to divert attention away from the planned Allied landing in Sicily. Bogus “top secret” documents planted on a corpse dressed as a British officer washed up on the coast of Spain and eventually made it into German hands. The ruse detailed Sardinia and Greece as landing spots for Allied troops rather than the obvious choice of Sicily. After seeing the documents, Hitler
Den Leader Greg Harris (right) prepares these Cub Scouts for their visit to Catania’s World War II Museum. Among the 16 parents and leaders supervising the 18 Cub Scouts and siblings, were Eagle Scout Chase Ward (rear) and his father, Dr. James Ward. (Photo by Joe O’Brien)
repositioned his troops, resulting in the success of “Operation Mincemeat.” Allied “Operation Husky,” began July 10, 1943, with 150,000 troops, 3,000 ships and 4,000 aircraft, all directed at the southern shores of Sicily. After 38 days of fighting, the U.S. and Great Britain successfully drove German and Italian troops from Sicily, creating a stronghold from which to reach the mainland. Last Saturday Pack 53 Cub Scouts Den Leader Greg Harris arranged for a field trip to Catania’s “Museo Storico dello Sbarco in Sicilia 1943” (Historical Museum of the Landing in Sicily 1943). Once inside the museum there is a full-size replica of a typical Italian town square. You can peer through doorways and windows into rooms furnished as they would have been in 1943: a tailor shop, a haberdashery, a stable, a small bedroom, and a Fascist Secretariat office. Over the balconies there is an Italian flag with the coat of arms of the Savoy family and over the Fascist headquarters is their motto: “Believe, Obey, Fight.” From there you hear the wail of a siren and are escorted down a dark corridor to the “Rifugio Antiaero” (anti-aircraft shelter). You are seated on long benches along the walls of a dark windowless concrete bunker and you begin to hear the sound of planes overhead, bombs dropping and the entire shelter shakes with each explosion. Once the “all-clear” is sounded you walk out into a bombed out version of the previous square. The effect is dramatic and sobering. The museum houses exhibits, audiovisuals and artifacts spread out over 32,000 sq. ft. and two floors. Display cases show authentic uniforms and weaponry of the Americans, British, Germans and Italians. One large room contains over 20 different types of machine guns on their turrets. The second floor features full-size wax likenesses of President Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, King Vittorio Emanuele III, Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. There’s even a large field tent depicting the historic signing of the Armistice between Italy and the Allies on Sept. 3, 1943. The final exhibit has a mural showing rows of white headstones of the 2,135 fallen soldiers buried in Catania’s War Cemetery. In the center of the room is a stone memorial slab with a bronze likeness of a uniformed soldier lying in death. A large screen in the foreground scrolls the individual names and a voice reverently announces each one who made the ultimate sacrifice. “The Cub Scouts were fascinated by the animatronic German machine
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