Panorama July 20, 2018

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Serving the NATO, Naples and Gaeta Military Community in Italy Russell Egnor Navy Media Awards – 2016 Best Newspaper in the Navy

63rd year, No. 28

Friday, July 20, 2018

U.S. Naval Hospital Naples Welcomes New Commanding Officer Defense Secretary James N. Mattis

Mattis Reaffirms ‘Unbreakable’ Bond, Enduring Commitment to Europe By Lisa Ferdinando Defense Media Activity

U.S. Naval Hospital Naples Commanding Officer Capt. Steven Blivin saluting the ceremonial side boys during a change of command ceremony, where he was relieved by Capt. Richard Knittig at the Support Site Chapel on July 16, 2018. Photo by Christina Clarke

By Christina Clarke USNH Public Affairs

U.S. Naval Hospital (USNH) Naples, Italy held a change of command ceremony at the Naval Support Activity Naples Chapel on July 16, 2018. Captain Richard Knittig assumed command of USNH Naples, relieving Captain Steven Blivin. Rear Adm. Anne M. Swap, commander, Navy Medicine East, praised Blivin for his leadership and impact during his tenure. “I have had the pleasure of working with Capt. Blivin for five years,” Swap said. “Being a commanding officer is the ultimate vote of confidence and you have displayed incomparable leadership. Under your charge, U.S. Naval Hospital Naples has achieved 98.5 per-

cent individual medical readiness, the highest among all 18 military treatment facilities in the region. You have certainly left a positive mark on the command.” During the ceremony, Blivin gave credit for his successes to the USNH Naples team. “Our community has been blessed with the best of the best in Navy medicine,” Blivin said. “Beyond beneficiaries in Naples, our command has had the distinct honor of providing care to submarine forces, detachments in Poland and Romania, Sixth Fleet ships, and Landstuhl. We are alongside rendering assistance to keep warfighters in the fight. It has been a privilege to lead a team that has the utmost competence, confidence, and caring.”

During Blivin’s tenure as commanding officer, USNH Naples received multiple awards and accolades. A key achievement was being named the only Navy Medicine recipient of the 2017 Community Service Health, Safety, and Fitness Flagship Award as a result of its annual Teddy Bear Health Clinic. UNSH Naples was one of only four Navy hospitals to earn the Secretary of the Navy’s “Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star Site” which signifies commitment to safety of patients and staff, in addition to having the highest recorded Culture of Patient Safety scores on record. USNH CHANGE OF COMMAND

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CAPTAIN’S CORNER. . . . . . . . . 2 BASE NOTES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 FFSC CALENDAR . . . . . . . . . . . 5 SOUND OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 MOVIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 JOBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 ACTIVE-DUTY OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESERVISTS . . . . . . . page 6

BICYCLE HELMET SAFETY FACTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 14

USO TOURS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 WORD SEARCH / COLOR ME 14

Defense Secretary James N. Mattis reaffirmed the “unbreakable trans-Atlantic bond” between the United States and Europe and underscored the enduring U.S. commitment to peace and prosperity on the continent during the U.S.-Adriatic Charter defense minister’s July 14 meeting in Zagreb, Croatia. “I’m here today to reinforce America’s commitment to the security and stability of southeast Europe,” Mattis said. Established in 2003, the U.S.-Adriatic Charter began with the United States, Albania, Croatia and Macedonia as founding members. It expanded to include Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro as members; Kosovo, Serbia and Slovenia are observers. Mattis said many of those militaries “stand alongside each other shoulder to shoulder” to support critical missions across the globe. Those missions, he said, include NATO’s regional support; the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan; operations in Kosovo, the enhanced forward presence in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland; and the coalition effort to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. DOD COMMITMENT TO EUROPE Page 11


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