Serving the NATO, Naples and Gaeta Military Community in Italy Russell Egnor Navy Media Awards – 2016 Best Newspaper in the Navy
63rd year, No. 21
Friday, June 1, 2018
Photo courtesy of JFC Naples Public Affairs By U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Mark Patton
With Exercise Trident Juncture 2018 coming up this fall, personnel at Allied Joint Force Command Naples have turned their sights to what promises to be one of the largest exercises NATO has ever conducted. Just how massive will it be? More than 40,000 participants from all 29 NATO members and partner nations Sweden and Finland, among others, are expected to take part. Around 120 aircraft, as many as 70 ships and up to 10,000 vehicles are slated to be utilized during the exercise. Contributing nations are firming up numbers in coming months. German Air Force Lt. Col. Stephan Dirr serves as the officer at JFC Naples with primary responsibility of Trident Juncture 18. With experience
at the national level and previously serving as the primary exercise planner for the European Union, Dirr is no stranger to coordinating and organizing exercises. “After the Cold War, we forgot a little bit to do this kind of exercise, and as you realize, Trident Juncture 18 is one of the most complex exercises NATO has done really in the last 30 years,” Dirr said. Event organizers say that air, land, maritime, special operation and amphibious forces will participate in Trident Juncture 18. The major portions of the exercise will take place in Norway and the surrounding areas of the North Atlantic and Baltic Sea. Whether it’s U.S. Marines doing a rehearsal in Iceland before conducting an amphibious landing in Norway or airplay involving Swedish and
Finnish airspace, there’s really something to test everybody in this exercise. “We have this big ground play,” Dirr said, citing another piece of the Trident Juncture 18 puzzle. “Six brigades fighting each other in the center of Norway … which is on one hand a minute-to-minute scripted thing, on the other hand, you have to be flexible to react if something is going wrong.” Dirr said planning for an exercise of this scale begins more than two years prior to the start and a challenge is to come up with suggestions for main themes and guidance when most people aren’t as interested at that point or won’t be involved themselves. Trident Juncture 18 is designed to NATO-NORWAY EXERCISE
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Normandy Hosts U.S. Ambassador to Greece, Governor of South Aegean By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Stephen Oleksiak Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group Public Affairs
The guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60) hosted the U.S. Ambassador to Greece and governor of the South Aegean Region during a reception held aboard, May 24. During the reception, His Excellency Geoffrey Pyatt, his wife Mary and Mr. Georgios Chatzimarkos, governor of the South Aegean Region, along with other honored guests, vis-
ited with Normandy’s crew and leadership on the flight deck, before receiving a tour of the mighty warship. Capt. Chris Stone, Normandy’s commanding officer, thanked the ambassador and guests for their continued support of Normandy’s crew and their mission. “It was a tremendous pleasure to have [all of our guests] onboard to celebrate with us this evening,” Stone said. “With the beautiful backdrop of the lovely town of
Santorini, we couldn’t be more thrilled to be here.” Pyatt commented on and thanked the crew for their hospitality. He also remarked upon the great support and cooperation that the alliance between Greece and U.S. has seen across the South Aegean region. “We also talk about the importance of this alliance and the capabilities and capacities that our Greek allies bring to bear,” Pyatt said. “So, aside from offering [the crew] the opportunity to enjoy this beautiful
island for a couple of days, I’m grateful to the visit because of what it does to reinforce our confidence in our alliance with Greece and the importance that the United States places on Greece as a pillar of stability in a very complicated region.” Chatzimarkos noted that Normandy’s presence in Santorini sends a very clear message, one that showcases prosperity goes together with safety and security. USS NORMANDY
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CAPTAIN’S CORNER. . . . . . . . . 2 BASE NOTES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 FFSC CALENDAR . . . . . . . . . . . 5 SOUND OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 MOVIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 JOBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR APRIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 5
SAFE, SMART TEXTING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 14
USO TOURS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 WORD SEARCH / COLOR ME 14
Enlisted Force is Military’s Greatest Advantage, Chairman’s Enlisted Advisor Says By Lisa Ferdinando DoD News
The highest-ranking enlisted leader in the U.S. military lauded the enlisted force as the military’s “greatest competitive advantage.” Army Command Sgt. Maj. John Wayne Troxell, the senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, today kicked off the Defense Department’s “Showcasing Lethality Series,” a weekly media briefing in which enlisted members discuss their roles in defending the nation. Defense Secretary James N. Mattis outlined in the National Defense Strategy that the U.S. military has to build a “more capable and lethal force,” Troxell explained. The U.S. military has a warfighting advantage in all domains, he said, adding that the greatest edge comes from the trained, educated and empowered enlisted force. Empowered, Decisive Enlisted Leaders Troxell said he and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, believe the desired attributes in an enlisted leader include the ability to manage risk and the ability to anticipate, analyze, communicate and mitigate risk. The nature of conflict will not change, he said, but the character of conflict will change and evolve. Training will transform as well to ENLISTED FORCE
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