58th year, No. 4
Serving the Nato, Naples and Gaeta military community in italy
Friday, February 1, 2013
NSA Naples Just Got Greener
W hat ’ s I nsIde
By Cam Betz, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia Public Affairs
Naval Support Activity (NSA) Naples took a step on its path toward energy independence Jan. 24 with a ribboncutting ceremony for the installation's first large-scale photovoltaic (PV) power system at Capodichino. "Nothing this big happens without a lot of great teamwork," said Capt. Scott Gray, commanding officer of NSA Naples, speaking to members of the Public Works Department (PWD) and PV project team. The PV project team leveraged the talents and efforts of PWD Naples and Naval Facilities Engineering Command Europe Africa Southwest Asia to make this project a reality. "The wonderful thing for me is that you guys work so well together and do so many things around this base on a daily basis,” added Gray. PV systems generate electrical power using solar panels to capture sunlight and convert it into electricity. The panels installed atop the West Parking Garage can create, at peak, 300 kilowatts of capacity and generate 345,000 kW hours per year. About 2 percent of the installation’s energy will be provided by these panels with a projected savings of $80,000 annually. Alternative energy sources and curtailing fossil fuel dependence are key to saving tax dollars. “We are excited and looking forward to future energy projects,” said Luca Guadagnuolo, Utility and Energy Branch Head at PWD Naples. This project was part of a major Energy Conservation Investment Program bringing Capodichino closer to a "green" installation; an installation that supports an environmentally conscious movement toward reducing energy consumption and reliance on fossil fuels.
Carnival and Valentine’s Day Travel Ideas Pages 4 - 5
see GREENER Page 6
From left, Timothy Hurst, PWD Naples Construction Manager, Cmdr. Roberto Alvarado, Public Works Officer, Capt. Scott Gray, commanding officer of NSA Naples, Luca Guadagnuolo, PWD Naples Utility & Energy Branch Head, Salvatore Tomasello, LOTUS Srl administrator, Frate Salvatore, PWD Naples Electrician take part in the photovoltaic ribbon cutting ceremony. (Photo by MC1 Travis Simmons)
Naples Student Shares Inauguration Experience
A child attending the 2013 presidential inauguration waves a flag along with other crowd members. This was Frank Spatt's view during part of the inauguration. (Photos courtesy of Frank Spatt)
By MC1 Travis Simmons, NSA Naples Public Affairs
A Naples High School senior traveled to Washington, D.C., and attended President Obama's second inauguration held Jan. 21. Frank Spatt was the only Naples student selected to attend the event along with 2,000 other High School Presidential Inaugural Conference attendees from the United States and around the world. "Being able to travel to the inauguration and view history in the making was really a culminating event for me," said Spatt. “DC on inauguration day was incredible.” “There were around 600,000 people on the mall making the experience overwhelming. It was an awesome experience to meet people in the crowd who were just as excited to see the inauguration as you were,” he said. Although Spatt had been to Washington previously, the five-day conference was a different visit in
so many ways. “We met with Condoleezza Rice and General Wesley Clark in our sessions. We talked about political platforms, the electoral process and campaign strategy in this leadership conference. It was really a once in a lifetime experience," said Spatt. He just finished his senior government class right before he left on the trip. He said most of his studies from the class tied into the conference where he learned about how the presidential election works, how
long the candidates have to start in advance to the election and what the political parties are about. “My favorite part of the whole experience was that I was surrounded by students like me, having the ability to really have fun while learning about our government and the process of what the president goes through to become the leader of our nation,” said Spatt. After graduating from Naples High School, Spatt plans to attend college and major in marine biology.
NSA Naples Holds Swim Tests for “im Swim” Page 7
Tiger Sharks’ 7th Straight Year as Champions Page 12
Crime Statistics Summary Review what happened between Jan. 21 and Jan. 27, 2013. Page 10
FRIDAY High 61 / Low 54 Partly Cloudy
SATURDAY High 61/ Low 41 Partly cloudy
SUNDAY High 54 / Low 37 Chance of rain