BEACON January, 2017
The Beacon
SPARTAN SPOTLIGHT
Warfighting First, Operate Forward, Be Ready
Commanding Officer, NSA Souda Bay Capt. Brad J. Collins
HOLIDAY DELIVERY
AWARDS QUARTERS
Contents
LET IT SNOW
Executive Officer Cmdr. James R. Bird Command Master Chief CMDCM Neal T. Olds
Beacon Staff Jacky Fisher Jacky.Fisher@eu.navy.mil
Public Affairs Officer 266-1244
Kostas Fantaousakis Konstantinos.Fant.gr@eu.navy.mil
Community Relations/Public Affairs Specialist 266-1348
PO2 Chase Martin Chase.Martin@eu.navy.mil
Public Affairs Specialist 266-1348
Naval Support Activity Souda Bay’s baseball field covered in snow after the first snow in Chania in more than ten years. Photo by: MC2 Chase Martin
The Beacon is the professional online newsletter of NSA Souda Bay Public Affairs. Information contained in The Beacon does not necessarily reflect the official views of the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense or the Department of the Navy. Editorial content is prepared by the Public Affairs Office of NSA Souda Bay. Articles for publication in The Beacon should be submitted to SoudaBayPAO@eu.navy.mil Story submissions must be routed through tenant command or departmental senior leadership. Security and policy review must be completed before submissions can be considered for publication.
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Triad Corner
A message from the Commanding Officer By Capt. Brad Collins
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Spartan Spotlight
Meet Eleni Trachalaki. An MWR Employee with a love for volleyball.
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Holiday Delivery
Sailors from NSA Souda Bay delivered gifts to the Daily Care Center for Children and Young Adults of Chania
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Joint Exercise
The U.S. Air Force and Hellenic Air Force team up for training. By SSgt Austin Harville
By Konstantinos Fantaousakis
ON THE COVER: Building One following snowy weather in Chania. Photo By MC2 Chase Martin
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Triad Corner “My name is Eleni Trachalaki and I have been working on NSA Souda Bay at the MWR as a recreaction assistant and sponsorship coordinator since 2007.” What you do for your job? “My job is to find ways to keep you guys busy. Find ways for you guys to explore Crete, and adapt to Greek culture. You will see me doing day-trips, over-night tripsor even teaching Greek.”
Team Souda,
“Great leaders don’t make excuses. They make things better. They are not unrealistic or blind to the difficulties they face. They simply are not discouraged by them. They never lose confidence that the problems can be solved They maintain a positive attitude. Great leaders don’t blame their people for not being where they ought to be; they take their people from where they are to where they need to be. Great leaders never lose faith that this is possible.” Henry Blackaby I want to take the time to emphasize leadership in this issue of The Beacon. Our understanding of leadership is important because it is the foundation of everything that we do, it is a part of who we are and it is what enables us to do for others. Part of the reason why I believe we lose focus on how all-encompassing and important true leadership can be is because many short change themselves by thinking leadership has to be something big, initiated by people with more authority and not something that is more a state of mind, a daily effort to uphold personal responsibility and provide care for others. I’ve said this many times in the NSASB indoctrination classes, everyone is a leader; from the most junior person who checks in every month to the most senior, from the youngest airman on the installation to myself, each of us is responsible not only for ourselves, but for everyone they live and work with. Those who strive for the pinnacle of true leadership, no matter what their rank, will find success through perseverance.
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The quote above is very insightful, and though not written by a person concerned with military matters, it is tremendously mindful of the servant life that each of us has opted to be a part of. We don’t have the time to make excuses at NSASB. The mission is too important, the time too precious. If our personal daily mission is to make things better, if we are willing to recognize and communicate our shortcomings and weaknesses to bring about change while highlighting our strengths, there is no end to the things we can do together. As the author writes, difficulties surround us, but we need to have confidence in our abilities as individuals and as a team that encourages us to, rather than discourages us from achieving every one of our goals. Lastly, for everyone wh desires to be a great leader, the word or concept of blame cannot exist for you; to put others first and insure their success is the pinnacle of your calling. Service to Family, to Nation, to Navy and to each other is a high calling demanding the best of our people exercising leadership each and every day. Leaders know what the right thing is, leaders do the right thing whether under observation or not, and leaders put others first. The future of the Navy is bright because we are filled with leaders and it is my great pleasure to work with all of you each and every day.
What are one of your passions in life? “I’ve been playing volleyball since I was eight years old. Unfortunately, at the age of 19 I had a really bad injury so I had to quit. So I started refereeing. Refereeing became my passion. I’ve been a national referee since 2003. Recently, in 2015, I became an international referee. I get to travel the world refereeing volleyball and beach volleyball. In July 2016 I participated in a world championship game in Cyprus. One of my wildest and biggest dreams is to participate as a referee at the Olympic Games.” Top: Eleni Trachalaki poses for a photo after receiving her international referee certification.
Right: Eleni Trachalaki calls a play while refereeing a vaolleyball game
Skipper Sends. Page 5
Volunteers from NSA Souda Bay delivered holiday gifts to the boys of the "Daily Care Center for Children and Young Adults of Chania" on Wednesday, December 21, 2016. The volunteers were met with the smiling faces of the children and were treated with traditional Greek holiday sweets "melomakarona" and "kourampiedes." This holiday gift collection was a team effort by VQ-1 Detachment, the Chief's Mess, the First Class Association, the Union of Greek Employees, the Chaplain's department and a large number of individuals from Team Souda. Page 6
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MA1 Patrick Gilyard MA3 Harrison Vanderpol ABHC Denny Thao MA3 James Sorrow MA2 Cody Ruvolo MA3 Andrew Harvey MA2 Logan Timson MA3 Kevin Flores MA3 Scott Fontana MA1 Gerald Cotton MA3 Jonathan Rider Page 8
Congratulations Awardees & Frockees!
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Joint Exercise
Let it Snow
A 555th Fighter Squadron F-16 Fighting Falcon departs from Aviano Air Base, Italy on Jan. 21, 2016 to support a flying training deployment in Souda Bay, Greece. Fourteen F-16s, one KC-135 Stratotanker from the Arizona Air National Guard’s 161st Air Refueling Wing, and 280 Airmen deployed to Souda Bay to train with Greece’s Hellenic air force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Krystal Ardrey)
SOUDA BAY, Greece -- From Jan. 20 to Feb. 3, the 31st Fighter Wing’s 555th Fighter Squadron and Arizona Air National Guard’s 161st Air Refueling Wing are participating in a Flying Training Deployment to Souda Bay, Greece. Fourteen F-16 Fighting Falcons, one KC-135 Stratotanker and 280 Airmen are partnering with their NATO ally, Greece, to evaluate aircraft and personnel capabilities, and to train with Greece’s Hellenic air force. These training engagements are planned in advance to strengthen military-to-military relationships and increase NATO ally interoperability. The scenarios involve combined flying operations between countries to identify and work through coordination concerns that may arise during real-world events. “Training here at Souda Bay prepares us for any upcoming deployments,” said Lt. Col. Rob Faustman, 555th FS director of operations. “Access to their ranges allows us to drop live ordnance … and utilize other combative tools on our jets.” Engagements such as these strengthen relationships between the US, allies and partners, and demonstrate the United States’ shared commitment to a safe and secure Europe. “Our Greek counterparts have been extremely accommodating—we wouldn’t be able to do any of this without them,” said Faustman. “We look forward to continuing to work with them during an already-stellar FTD.” Page 10
Photo by: MC2 Chase Martin Page 11
Photo by: MC2 Chase Martin
Photo by: MA2 Max Beitel
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Photo by: Anna Matchett
Photo by: Lt Adam Roach
Photo by: Anna Matchett
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Photo by: Lt Adam Roach
Photo by: CWO4 Wayne Slack
Photo by: Jacky Fisher
Photo by: Jessica Nardi
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Photo by: Jessica Nardi