Serving the NATO, Naples and Gaeta Military Community in Italy Russell Egnor Navy Media Awards – 2016 Best Newspaper in the Navy
63rd year, No. 15
Friday, April 20, 2018
USS Mount Whitney Hosts African Nations By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Krystina Coffey
From March 30 through April 5, 2018, the U.S. 6th Fleet Blue Ridge-class command and control ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) hosted six sailors from Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon and Nigeria, Gabon. This was part of a foreign exchange program in conjunction with exercise Obangame Express 2018 to facilitate building bonds within West Africa and the U.S. Sponsored by U.S. Africa Command, Obangame Express is designed to improve regional cooperation, maritime domain awareness, information-sharing practices, and tactical interdiction expertise to enhance the collective capabilities of Gulf of Guinea nations to counter sea-based illicit activity. The exercise took place March 21-29 and included an in-port command post exercise as well as an underway field training exercise in the Gulf of Guinea. USS MOUNT WHITNEY Page 11
U.S. Military Must Develop All-Domain Defenses, Secretary Mattis, Chairman Dunford Say Lt. Cmdr. Ayi Ekpo Archibong, left, a Nigerian sailor, sits in the pilot’s seat of an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter, assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 28, while Lt. Jeremy Clausey, a Navy pilot, explains the controls of the helicopter aboard the Blue Ridge-class command and control ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) March 31, 2018. Mount Whitney, forward-deployed to Gaeta operates with a combined crew of U.S. Navy Sailors and Military Sealift Command civil service mariners. Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Krystina Coffey
U.S. Naval Hospital Naples Announces Civilians of the Year By Christina Clarke U.S. Naval Hospital Naples Public Affairs
U.S. Naval Hospital (USNH) Naples has named Luigia Andreana as Senior Civilian of the Year and Helen Carbonaro as Junior Civilian of the Year for 2017. The awardees were announced last month at morning colors to all hospital staff. The Civilian of the Year award publicly recognizes those junior and senior civilian staff who exhibit exceptional performance, professional character, competence, strong communication skills, and superior customer support. All nominees must have a recommendation submitted and be vetted by a review board prior to se-
lection. This is a highly competitive and prestigious award throughout Navy Medicine. “We are thrilled to be able to recognize these employees who, through their attributes and accomplishments, make significant contributions to the command,” USNH Naples Commanding Officer Capt. Steven Blivin said. Luigia Andreana, Senior Civilian of the Year, has been with the hospital since December 1989. She works in the Utilization Management Department with a position that runs the gamut of responsibilities. Andreana serves as the Command Primary Benefits Counselor and Assistance Coordinator, the Debt Collection Assistance Officer, and is a Patient Liaison.
Her roles impact patient experience both during and after care. She helps alleviate patient fears and concerns during network care, resolves more than 400 claims, and provides services to more than 300 customers. Her assistance to the numerous customers, patients, and staff members resulted in the Utilization Management Department being awarded the Five Star Award for Excellence. Helen Carbonaro, Junior Civilian of the Year, has been at the Capodichino Branch Health Clinic since it opened in 2003. She works as a Medical Support Assistant. As a role model for outstanding customer service, Carbonaro has helped foster positive patient-clinic relationships while ensuring easy access to care to more than 1,800 active duty personnel. USNH CIVILIANS OF YEAR
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CAPTAIN’S CORNER. . . . . . . . . 2 BASE NOTES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 FFSC CALENDAR . . . . . . . . . . . 5 SOUND OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 MOVIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 JOBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 COMMEMORATING ITALIAN LIBERATION DAY . . . . . . . . page 3
CELEBRATING EARTH DAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 14
USO TOURS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 WORD SEARCH / COLOR ME 14
By Jim Garamone DoD News
If a nation wants to challenge the United States conventionally, that nation will lose. So, nations won’t challenge America conventionally, but look for asymmetric ways to do so, DoD’s most-senior civilian and military leaders said to the House Armed Services Committee April 13, 2018. Defense Secretary James N. Mattis and Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also spoke about the problems caused by “gray zone” warfare. Right now, the U.S. military is practiced in counterinsurgency operations. The defeat-Islamic State of Iraq and Syria campaign has honed the skills needed to train local troops and provide troops with enablers like close air support and logistics. If groups like al-Qaida and ISIS were the only threats, then counterinsurgency forces would be fine. But Russia and China will be long-term competitors, and both countries are developing capabilities to challenge U.S. dominance. These areas include the cyber world, space and information operations. MILITARY DEFENSES Page 7