58th year, No. 13
W hat ’ s I nsIde
Serving the Nato, Naples and Gaeta military community in italy
Friday, april 5, 2013
Seabees and Cameroon Military Complete Health Outposts to Assist Local Villages By Lt. Christie Kehoe, Maritime Civil Affairs and Security Training Command
America’s Cup Races Lead April’s Event Pages 4-5
Maritime Command Naples Deactivates Page 7
Chief Petty Officers Celebrate 120 Years Page 13
Crime Statistics Summary Review what happened between March 25 and March 31. Page 6
FRIDAY High 64 / Low 50 Thunderstorms
SATURDAY High 64 / Low 50 Mostly Cloudy
SUNDAY High 68 / Low 54 Mostly Cloudy
Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 4 and members of Cameroon’s Battalion d’Intervention Rapide (BIR) completed the second of two community health outposts for villages in Cameroon, March 21. The health outposts were built in conjunction with a multifaceted engagement between the U.S. and Cameroon that also includes a medically-focused military-to-military professional exchange and a combined health outreach to provide basic medical and optometry services for Cameroonians living in the littoral region. The intent of the engagement is to strengthen the partnership between the United States and Cameroon as well as to increase capacity of military and civilian medical practitioners, in keeping with the overarching program Africa Partnership Station. It is an international security cooperation initiative, facilitated by U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, aimed at strengthening global maritime partnerships through training and collaborative activities to improve maritime safety and security in Africa. The construction of the health outposts—one in Beskoul and the other in Youhme—supports a BIR pilot program to train community health workers to service remote populations. The constructed outposts allow trained community health professionals to have the workspace needed to conduct preventative health training and provide basic medical support to members of the surrounding community. “Our support enables the BIR to provide assistance to the local populace and in turn enhances security there,” said Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Bailey, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet medical planner. “Our hope is that the health outposts are a huge benefit to the people of Beskoul and Youhme, in conjunction with the training the BIR has provided. Because of the remoteness of those two areas, the outposts will
A member of the Cameroonian Battalion d'Intervention Rapide gives an eye exam with equipment provided by the U.S. Navy during a health care workshop in Douala, Cameroon as part of Africa Partnership Station (APS) 2013. APS is an international security cooperation initiative, facilitated by U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, aimed at strengthening global maritime partnerships through training and collaborative activities in order to improve maritime safety and security in Africa. (Photos by Spc. Jeffrey Hernandez)
serve as a key intermediary location for higher-level medical care.” Cameroon officials acknowledged how important the health outposts were to building civilmilitary relations and ultimately more stability to the impacted areas. "We use the United States as a model [in how the U.S. conducts civil-military relations]," said Cameroonian Col. Biloa Patrice, commander of the Douala Zone BIR. “By helping the people with their needs, we can all begin to work to together, civilians and BIR, to ensure the safety of our homes and enforcement of laws.” U.S. Navy medical personnel will also partner with Cameroon counterparts for a planned medical civic assistance project in Manoka. NMCB 4 Seabees who worked on the health outposts appreciated the opportunity to work in tandem with the Cameroonian civil engineers to serve the local community.
SAPR Team Hosts Focus Groups By MC2(SW) John Herman, Navy Public Affairs Support Element-East Detachment Europe
Enlisted Sailors met in the Capodichnio fellowship hall of Naval Support Activity (NSA) Naples to participate in one of the many Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) focus groups, March 22. The purpose of the focus groups was to ask junior service members their opinions regarding sexual assault in order to improve SAPR programs for the command.
Nursing students at the 2nd Military Region Hospital in Douala, Cameroon take a break from medical training during a medical professional exchange as part of APS 2013.
"The Seabees and the BIR joined together to create one team dedicated to building this health outpost for the people of Beskoul," said Lt. j.g. Henry Lovett, officer in charge of the NMCB 4 detachment assigned to Cameroon. “The
Galena Kuiper, a Fleet and Family Support Center licensed clinical social worker for NSA Naples, led the focus group and started off immediately by asking direct questions about alcohol, sexual assault and social life. “Why does this happen?” Kuiper asked, regarding sexual assault. “We do all these awareness programs and yet it still happens. What can I do to deliver the message more affectively?” Kuiper said she wanted to know what Sailors thought about the program and ways for it to improve since they are the ones who know what’s going on in their community. The more she and the SAPR representatives know, the better they can improve Sailors’ lives. There was active participation as Sailors shared their opinions with the group and personal experiences regarding off-duty
partnership between the BIR and NMCB 4 has been amazing. Col. Biloa and the BIR soldiers have supported us in every aspect of this construction project, creating mutual trust and great respect for everyone involved.”
time, social interaction, alcohol, and sexual assault. “It was good,” said Engineman 2nd Class Cardea Blue, a member of NSA Naples Public Works. “Definitely more effective than previous training, especially with the experience of the counselor; she was very knowledge about it without seeming overbearing.” “The focus groups are part of a move away from pervious SAPR command messages and senior leadership involvement, to a more peer-based and relaxed approach in order to better find out what service members think and feel, and what is going on around the community,” said Mark Malogrino, a Victim Advocacy Support specialist. For more information on the SAPR program, contact the Fleet & Family Support Center at DSN: 629-6545.