MWR Youth Sports Recognized
Adm. Foggo III Begins Podcast
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DoDEA Hosts Open House
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N A S SIG O N E L L A
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AUGUST 31, 2018
Vol. 35 No. 32
DoD Mourns Death of Senator John S. McCain WASHINGTON -- United States senator and retired Navy Capt. John S. McCain died August 25th in Arizona after a long battle with cancer. He was 81. McCain chaired the Senate Armed Services Committee, but it was his life of service and his heroism in Vietnam that inscribed his name in the hearts of service members everywhere.
“We have lost a man who steadfastly represented the best ideals of our country,” Defense Secretary James N. Mattis said in a DoD release. “As a naval officer and defiant prisoner of war, John McCain stood with his brothers-in-arms until they returned home together.” McCain, the grandson and son of four-star Navy admirals, was captured in North Vietnam in 1967. He was wounded in ejecting from his aircraft. The North Vietnamese sought to gain propaganda by torturing
WASHINGTON - U.S. Navy file photo dated January 13, 1964 of U.S. Navy Lieutenant John Sidney McCain III. (U.S. Navy photo/Released)
CAM RANH, Vietnam (June 2, 2017) Sen. John S. McCain III is piped aboard during a visit to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) in Cam Ranh, Vietnam. McCain is a senator from Arizona and former Vietnam War POW. The ship is named after his father and grandfather, both former Navy Admirals. The U.S. Navy has patrolled the Indo-Asia-Pacific routinely for more than 70 years promoting regional peace and security. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Joshua Mortensen/Released)
By Jim Garamone DoD News, Defense Media Activity
him into asking for an out-of-sequence release. He refused to leave. He spent more than five years in the Hanoi Hilton.
Selfless Service to the Nation “Passionately committed to our country, Senator McCain always put service to the nation before self,” Mattis wrote. “He recognized that for our experiment
"McCain" continued on Page 7
Voting in This Year’s Midterm Elections? Make Your Vote Count With a Little Bit of Planning By Janine Scianna NAS Sigonella Public Affairs
NAS SIGONELLA, Sicily – While November might seem far off—we still are battling the summer heat, and the school year just started—NOW is the time to start thinking about how you are going to do your civic duty and cast your vote. Active duty service members, their family members, and civilians living overseas are eligible to vote in all stateside elections in which they maintain residency, but certainly, you will want all your ducks in a row to be eligible to cast your vote in this fall’s highly publicized midterm elections on November 6th. Almost every U.S. citizen aged 18 and over residing in Sigonella is guaranteed the right to vote absentee, as afforded by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. The Department of Defense’s Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP; www. fvap.gov) should be your first stop in registering to vote and requesting an absentee ballot from your state of residency. Keep in mind that your voting residence is the true, fixed address that you consider your permanent home and where you had a physical presence. Your state of legal residence is used for state income tax purposes and also determines eligibility to vote. At the FVAP website, you can walk through an online assistant that automatically generates a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA), a document which can simultaneously register you for voting and request an absentee ballot for your jurisdiction. Filling out a FPCA is an annual requirement to vote absentee, even
if you have already voted absentee in previous years. Once generated, all you need to do is print, sign, and send off to your locality’s registrar—many states even allow email submissions! Once requested, election offices are required to send absentee ballots at least 45 days before a federal election. If you asked to receive your ballot by email, it should arrive right away. Mailed ballots will take longer to receive, especially in our overseas location. Keep in mind that all states have deadlines to register, request your ballot, and receive your completed ballot so don’t delay! Visit the FVAP website today and get the ball rolling. Additionally, NAS Sigonella has a base Voting Assistance Officer (VAO) and departmental VAOs that can help if you need to talk to someone in person. NAS Sigonella VAO Niki McBain encourages all eligible Sigonella voters to visit FVAP or ask their departmental VAO for help. “You fight for the right to vote every day, so why not exercise it and participate in our democracy?” said McBain.