62nd year, No. 14
Serving the NATO, Naples and Gaeta Military Community in Italy
Friday, April 14, 2017
U.S. Soldier Represents JFC Naples at NCO Winter Camp in Slovenia By U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Mark Patton JFC Public Affairs
There’s not much U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Leverion Wynn hasn’t done in his nearly 20 years of military service and four combat deployments. The 38-year-old native of Dudley, North Carolina, can now add one more accomplishment to his resume. Thanks to a recent noncommissioned officer course, he learned to ski. Wynn, who currently serves as a logistics operations NCO, was chosen to represent Allied Joint Force Command Naples at the 10th International NATO and Partners for Peace NCO Winter Camp at Pokljuka, Slovenia, March 3 to 10, 2017. The course, which included 28 NCOs from 14 NATO and Partners for Peace nations, culminated with a biathlon competition that combined skiing and shooting. For a Soldier who had never donned skis before, Wynn was pleased with how far he came during his week in Slovenia. He described standing on top of the biggest hill around at the beginning of the course, weighed down with his rucksack and gear, hoping his skis would guide him to the bottom. Members of Slovenia’s Armed Forces and instructors of the 132nd Mountain Regiment and Mountain Warfare Centre of Excellence utilized the sink-or-swim approach to see which participants would need more training to get up to speed with skis. Wynn said another Albanian
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis
Mattis: U.S. Missile Strike on Syrian Air Base Was Measured Response U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Leverion Wynn, a logistics operations NCO at Allied Joint Force Command Naples at the 10th International NATO and Partners for Peace NCO Winter Camp at Pokljuka, Slovenia, March 3 to 10, 2017. Photo courtesy of JFC Public Affairs
Soldier was also struggling during the first run, but they motivated each other to the bottom of the hill. A more experienced British participant also helped the duo through their initial run.
“I kept falling,” Wynn recalled. “I was going fast, but I couldn’t stop. By the end, I was getting good.” WINTER SOLDIER
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Forty-Five Job Seekers Walked Away With Tentative Offers at One-Stop Shop CYP Hiring Event By Lisa Julian MWR Marketing
A one-of-a-kind Child and Youth Programs (CYP) Hiring Event was held at the Support Site Youth Center Gym March 29 to fill 40-plus positions throughout the Child & Youth Programs. Sixty-one community members showed up, resumes in hand, with hopes of leaving
with a provisional employment letter. Upon registration, each candidate was given a nametag and the opportunity to start or continue their careers working with our community’s children in the fast-tracked, one-stopshop event. Applicants moved through various stations where they filled out applications, participated in panel interviews and
completed forms for background checks. They were also fingerprinted and drug tested, and received appointments for physicals. The hiring event surpassed expectations, with 45 new hires expected to report to their new jobs in the next two or three weeks. Teams of expert personnel
from MWR, CYP, Human Resources, Security and Occupational Health coordinated the hiring event process. One of those experts was NSA Naples MWR Director Anthony Smith who was pleased at the positive results from the hiring event. CYP JOB FAIR
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CAPTAIN’S CORNER. . . . . . . . . 2 BASE NOTES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 FFSC CALENDAR . . . . . . . . . . . 5 SOUND OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 MOVIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 JOBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
NMHS STUDENTS LEAD ART TOURS . . . . . . . . . page 6
EASTER FUN FACTS . . . . . . . . . . . . page 14
USO TOURS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 WORD SEARCH / COLOR ME 14
From DoD News
The April 6 U.S. military missile strike that targeted Shayrat airfield in Syria was a measured response to Syrian President Bashar Assad regime’s April 4 chemical weapons attack in Khan Sheikhoun, Syria, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said in a statement issued on April 10. Deter Future Use of Chemical Weapons President Donald J. Trump directed the strike to deter future use of chemical weapons and to show the United States will not passively stand by while Assad murders innocent people with chemical weapons, which are prohibited by international law and which were declared destroyed, Mattis added. The Defense Department’s assessment is that the strike resulted in the damage or destruction of fuel and ammunition sites, air defense capabilities and 20 percent of Syria’s operational aircraft, the secretary said. The Syrian government, he added, has lost the ability to refuel or rearm aircraft at Shayrat airfield and at this point, use of the runway is of idle military interest. The Syrian government would be ill-advised ever again to use chemical weapons, Mattis said.