Serving the NATO, Naples and Gaeta Military Community in Italy Russell Egnor Navy Media Awards – 2016 Best Newspaper in the Navy
63rd year, No. 26
Friday, July 6, 2018
Festa Americana 2018 – Tremendous Success Hundreds Work Behind Scenes to Pull Off Annual Event By Mass Communication 1st Class Marcus Suorez NSA Public Affairs
Service members, Department of Defense civilians, dependents and local Italians came together at Naval Support Activity (NSA) Naples’ Carney Park for Festa Americana this past weekend. The annual event is held to celebrate the United States’ Independence Day and share American culture with the local Italian community. Fifteenthousand people attended this year’s Festa Americana; 3,000 more than last year. “We held the event this year on a Saturday and Sunday and opened it up to guests both days,” Tony Smith, the director for Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) Naples, said. “In terms of logistics, that means a lot more needed to be done.” Hundreds of people from more than 50 organizations spent thousands of man-hours working together to make Festa happen. This is a community event and everyone had to come together, said Chris Kasparek, community recreation director for MWR Naples. FESTA AMERICANA
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Fifteen-thousand Naval Support Activity (NSA) community members along with their guests enjoyed 2018 Festa Americana at Carney Park for Festa Americana this past weekend. Photo by Gary Nichols
U.S. Naval Hospital Naples Celebrates 50th Anniversary From USNH Naples Public Affairs
The 100-bed U.S. Naval Station Hospital at Agnano near the old U.S. Navy Base in 1967. Photo courtesy of BUMED
U.S. Naval Hospital (USNH) Naples has a long history in the Campania region. July 1st marked the 50th anniversary of the commissioning of USNH Naples. However, the history of Navy Medicine in Naples dates back to 1951, when personnel from the USS Adirondack moved ashore to establish the Headquarters, Support Activity Naples. Upon this estab-
lishment, a medical dispensary near the first NATO headquarters was opened in an apartment building on Via Orazio. Subsequent increases in shore-based personnel led to the commissioning of a 50-bed infirmary just outside Naples in Afragola in 1952. Two years later, in 1954, the need for closer proximity to other U.S. Navy personnel led to a move into a facility in Naples on Via Manzoni. This facility was desigCAPTAIN’S CORNER. . . . . . . . . 2 BASE NOTES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 FFSC CALENDAR . . . . . . . . . . . 5 SOUND OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 MOVIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 JOBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
TUITION ASSISTANCE INCREASE HELPS SAILORS . . . . . . . . page 5
SOCCER FUN FACTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 14
USO TOURS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 WORD SEARCH / COLOR ME 14
nated as the Station Hospital, U.S. Naval Support Activity, Naples. The Station Hospital centralized all military medical services within the Naples area, resulting in the closure of the original dispensary and infirmary. Continued growth in the beneficiary population and the expansion of NSA Naples led to the construction of a new eight story, 100-bed Station Hospital in Agnano, which was occupied in 1967. Many staff members still remember that hospital on the hill. After suffering severe damage to the hospital as a result of a series of several earthquakes in the Pozzouli-Agnano region, the Navy began planning a newer facility that would keep pace with the latest seismic requirements. USNH 50TH ANNIVERSARY Page 6