Serving the NATO, Naples and Gaeta Military Community in Italy Russell Egnor Navy Media Awards – 2016 Best Newspaper in the Navy
64th year, No. 46
Friday, December 6, 2019
Commander, U.S. Africa Command, Embarks USS Florida Rear Adm. Zirkle, Scouts Support Sailors Aboard USS Abraham Lincoln U.S. Army Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, commander, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), center, speaks with the crew of the Ohio-class fleet guided-missile submarine USS Florida (SSGN 728) while underway in the Mediterranean Sea, Nov. 25, 2019. AFRICOM, a full-spectrum combatant command, is one of the six U.S. Defense Department's geographic combatant commands and is responsible for all DoD operations, exercises, and security cooperation on the African continent, its island nations, and surrounding waters. SEE MORE ON PAGE 11, Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jonathan Nelson
USO TOURS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Rear Adm. Matthew A. Zirkle, chief of staff, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa (CNE-CNA), teamed up with Scouts BSA Troop 007 to make care packages for Sailors deployed aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy, Nov. 25, 2019. Before getting started, Zirkle addressed the scouts to talk about the importance of what they were doing for the Sailors. “When you’re aboard a ship, you can’t just go get the things you like to eat or drink whenever you want,” said Zirkle. “So we’ve gathered a whole bunch of goodies together to send to the men and women who are out on Abraham Lincoln, working hard to keep us all safe. Let’s make sure we make these packages extra special for them.” More than 30 youth ranging between the ages of 11 and 17 joined Scoutmaster Bob Adams and several other adult volunteers from the military community in putting together care packages for Sailors.
WORD SEARCH / COLOR ME 14
REAR ADM. ZIRKLE
Standing NATO Maritime Group One Trains With Norway By Allied Maritime Command Public Affairs Office
Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1) ships joined the Norwegian navyled exercise Flotex off the coast of Norway. This annual exercise takes place every autumn and trains the Norwegian navy in planning and executing tactical operations at sea in cooperation with NATO ships. Set near Tromso, with its breathtaking scenery of snowcapped mountains and the northern lights, Flotex kicked off on Nov. 18 and ran for two weeks. “Alliance collaboration throughout the North Atlantic
and seas off the coast of Norway is crucial for maritime situational awareness of all allied nations. It is a great opportunity for SNMG1 to participate in FLOTEX,” said Rear Adm. Edward Cashman, Commander of SNMG1, “It demonstrates and exercises the important ability for NATO forces to quickly and seamlessly integrate with national forces of all of the allies. This ability is a key to NATO’s commitment to the collective defense of all member nations and is key to NATO’s goal to deter and prevent conflict. “ STANDING NATO MARITIME GROUP ONE Page 7
The guided-missile destroyer USS Gridley (DDG 101) fires its Mark 45 5-inch gun during a live-fire exercise. Gridley is underway on a scheduled deployment as the flagship of Standing NATO Maritime Group One to conduct maritime operations and provide a continuous maritime capability for NATO in the Northern Atlantic. Photo by Master-At-Arms 1st Class Joseph Broyles
CAPTAIN’S CORNER. . . . . . . . . 2
70 %
BASE NOTES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 FFSC CALENDAR . . . . . . . . . . . 5 SOUND OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
20 %
MOVIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 JOBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2 0%
day oF iNFaMy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 4
MyNavy FaMily app . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 6
By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Drew Verbis, CNE-CNA Public Affairs
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