Spartan Race: Not your average teambuilding exercise PAGE 4
Bosnia-Herzegovina:
Sigonella Jaguars:
Beauty in the Balkans
Dominate in Rome
PAGE 8-9
N A S SIG O N E L L A
PAGE 12
October 2, 2015
Vol. 32 No. 37
Sigonella Sailors assist with operations at Naval Support Facility Deveselu, Romania by mc3 amber porter Patrol Squadron Nine Public Affairs
NAS SIGONELLA, Sicily - A selected group of Naval Air Station (NAS) Sigonella Sailors helped shape programs and influence the construction of
NAVAL SUPPORT FACILITY DEVESELU, Romania - Navy Munitions Command Detachment Sigonella's Quick Response Team (NMC DET SIG QRT) and local units conduct training at NSF Deveselu, Romania. (Photo courtesy of Chief Gunner's Mate Joshua Verba)
Naval Support Facility (NSF) Deveselu, Romania, the first Navy base to be established since Naval Station (NS) Everett in Washington. “It was rewarding to be a part of something so new,” said Chief Gunner’s Mate Joshua Verba, assigned to Navy Munitions Command Sigonella. “Seeing the base in its early stages of production and getting to put things in place before setting the permanent structures was exciting.” NSF Deveselu is a part of NATO’s overall ballistic missile defense (BMD) system. A response by the NATO military alliance to increasing threats, this BMD system, named the "Aegis Ashore System," has the capability to defend against the attack of Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM). “Having this base provides us additional military options and helps us and our allies implement a defensive plan,” said Verba, who went TAD to NSF Deveselu from Sept. 7- 12. “I think the purpose of the base is legitimate.” The land-based ballistic missile defense system in Romania will be almost identical to that used on Navy Aegis-capable guided-missile destroyers and cruisers. It's designed to detect, track, engage and destroy ballistic missiles in flight. “It is important that we go there,” said Verba. “Although the Navy does a lot of things at sea, we are also based on shore. Having our assets worldwide gives us presence and we are making our defensive war-fighting easier and more effective.” NSF Deveselu will utilize both an SM-3 missile interceptor battery platform and an Aegis APY-1 radar platform. The U.S. government said the SM-3 missile will have no offensive capability and only target incoming ballistic missiles launched by hostile countries. “Contributing as a team member, I assisted the team that found how
"DEVESELU" continued on Page 5
From tragedy to unity: Nissoria remembers 9/11
By mc2 ramon go NAS Sigonella Public Affairs
NISSORIA, Sicily - The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 were not only an attack on the U.S., but an attack on the world. New York City, a metropolis of commerce, finance, the arts and entertainment, is home to people from diverse ethnic backgrounds, and on that infamous day, the townspeople of Nissoria, Sicily lost two of their own. Each year since, to honor and remember the lost pair, Nissoria has invited NAS Sigonella to participate in a local ceremony, held this year Sept. 22. “Terrorism is global and it affects everyone. After the events of Sept. 11, I went to NYC to show support, to try to put myself in the shoes of those who had lost everything,” said Armando Glorioso, Mayor of Nissoria. During the remembrance ceremony he stated, “Today we remember that tragic day by observing a moment of silence while we raise the flag from half mast in honor of the fallen.” Carolina Chiara stood in the back of the crowd during the ceremony, reflecting on her memories of that day, 14 years ago. “I left New York after 34 years and returned home to Italy while my son stayed behind,” said Chiara. “I was watching TV when the events unfolded. I called my husband over to the TV. I thought I was watching a movie about the Twin Towers, where my son was working on the 107th floor at the ‘Windows of the World.’ That was when the first plane struck.” In disbelief she and her husband continued to debate the reality of what they were watching when the phone rang. Her son, Benito, was on the line describing the incredible, infamous events as they unfolded before his eyes. Benito was a banquet director working 12 to 14-hour shifts at Windows of the World. Except on Sept. 11, he ar-
NISSORIA, Sicily - (Sept. 22, 2015) Sailors from NAS Sigonella participate in ceremony in Nissoria to honor those lost in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks from the town of Nissoria, Sicily. Nissoria is the only town in Europe with a public area dedicated to 9/11. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ramon Go/Released)
rived late because he was getting documents ready from a local church for his Sept. 21 wedding. “My brother was one of the lucky ones. However, two of Chiara’s cousins were not, Vincenzo di Fazio and Salvatore Lopes. Even a small community like Nissoria, a world away from New York, was affected by the tragedy,” said co-coordinator of the event, Mario Chiara, son to Carolina and brother to Benito. “Since then, Nissoria has been the only town in all Europe to dedicate a public area to 9/11 and the first and possibly only
town still annually commemorating the tragic event. Gathered among the commemoration are the Italian and American military members and the townspeople of Nissoria.” As he concluded his remarks, Glorioso underscored the lasting effect the tragedies had in bringing Americans and Italians together: “This tragedy has created a permanent bond between the town of Nissoria and NAS Sigonella. May we continue to share and grow through community relations events.”