Martin Luther King Jr. remembered ...
In observance of the 2017 Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, the NATTC Diversity Committee will be holding an event highlighting King’s “I Have A Dream” speech Jan. 18, at 3 p.m., in the Charles Taylor Hangar (Mega Building). Participants will discuss the speech, events leading up to it and how it ties to the Navy today. Base military and civilians are welcome and encouraged to attend. This year, the MLK Jr. federal holiday will be recognized Jan. 16. The national recurring theme of this holiday is “Remember! Celebrate! Act! A Day On, Not A Day Off.” It calls upon the American people to engage in public service or volunteer efforts on Jan. 16. Pensacola’s Martin Luther King Jr. Parade will be held downtown Jan. 16 and starts at 11 a.m. For more, see today’s “Life” section.
Vol. 81, No. 2
VISIT GOSPORT ONLINE: www.gosportpensacola.com
January 13, 2017
Sailor killed in Pearl Harbor attack buried at Barrancas By Janet Thomas Gosport Staff Writer
Rear Adm. Carol Lynch, deputy judge advocate general (reserve affairs and operations) and deputy commander, Naval Legal Service Command, delivers a folded U.S. flag to Jean Bodiford of Greenville, Ala., Jan. 6 during a funeral service with full military honors for her uncle, Water Tender First Class Walter Henry Sollie, at Barrancas National Cemetery onboard Naval Air Station Pensacola. Sollie died Dec. 7, 1941, when the USS Oklahoma (BB 37) was attacked at Pearl Harbor. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) recently identified his remains through a DNA match with relatives. Photo by Janet Thomas
A long wait is over for the family of Water Tender First Class Walter Henry Sollie, 37, of Atmore, Ala., who was killed Dec. 7, 1941, in the attack on Pearl Harbor. About 50 members of Sollie’s family gathered Jan. 6 at Naval Air Station Pensacola (NASP) to pay their final respects to the man they knew as “Uncle Henry.” It was cold, dreary day, but retired Navy Cmdr. David Gibson offered a warm welcome at the beginning of the memorial service at the Naval Aviation Memorial Chapel. “It is fitting today that we gather in this place that represent so much of who he was. It represents our Navy and its history and it represents our nation,” the former NASP chaplain said. “Your saga of waiting is about to end.” Gibson also recognized
three Pearl Harbor survivors who were attending the service. Frank Emond, Cass Phillips and Angie Engel received a round of applause.
Water Tender First Class Walter Henry Sollie
Gibson then recounted Sollie’s story. The 18-year Navy veteran was one of 429 USS Oklahoma (BB 37) shipmates killed in the surprise attack, and he was among the 388 who were buried together in Hawaii because they could not be identified. In April 2015, the Deputy Secretary of
Defense directed the disinterment of the USS Oklahoma unknowns in an effort to identify them, and in August 2016 the family got the news that there was a positive DNA match and Sollie’s remains would be returned for burial with full military honors, Gibson said. Gibson said Sollie’s story reminded him of a line from well-known hymn, “Amazing Grace.” “He once was lost, but now he is found,” Gibson said. The family chose to have Sollie buried at Barrancas National Cemetery in order to reunite him with his brother, Fred, who died in 1999 at age 81. Fred, who was aboard the USS Schley (DD 103) at Pearl Harbor and watched as his brother’s ship capsized, is also buried at the national cemetery. He retired as a chief petty officer after 22 years in the See Sollie on page 2
Information warfare training launches CTM ‘A’ school pilot By MC2 Taylor L. Jackson Center for Information Warfare Training Public Affairs
The pilot course for the new cryptologic technician (maintenance) (CTM) “A” school convened Jan. 6 at Information Warfare Training Command (IWTC) Corry Station. The curriculum, developed by the training directorate at Center for Information Warfare Training (CIWT), is designed to provide entry-level CTM
personnel with fundamental knowledge and skills in the field of electronics equipment repair. Students receive classroom and hands-on laboratory training on computer, networking, communication and collection systems, as well as test equipment such as hardware, software, operating systems, and peripheral devices. The course integrates relevant training topics from the Apprentice Technical
Training (ATT) course, a prerequisite school for the CTM rating, to eliminate redundancy. The course also incorporates elements of the information systems technician training curriculum. The update is expected to result in a 30 percent decrease in production training time and more closely aligns with the Ready Relevant Learning initiative. The streamlining of the course is expected to save nearly $850,000 an-
Naval Aviation Schools Command wins 2016 health, safety and fitness community service award By Ed Barker Naval Education and Training Professional Development Center (NETPDC) Public Affairs
Seven commands were recognized for community service excellence Dec. 14, as Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) announced the Health, Safety, and Fitness Flagship awards for calendar year 2016. Naval Aviation Schools Command (NASC), onboard NAS Pensacola, won their category as having the best HS&F program from a small shore command. The Health, Safety and Fitness Awards are managed by NETC as the flag sponsor, and executed by the Naval Education and Training Professional Development Center (NETPDC). Winners are recognized for having the best overall community service programs teaching and encouraging individuals, especially youth, to lead active lives. “The Navy’s Health, Safety and Fitness Flagship Award program promotes healthy and fit lifestyles
nually. “As with any newly developed course, being able to ‘test drive’ the learning materials with students while validating the course’s length is critical to a successful Navy pilot,” said Danny Campbell, CIWT’s cryptologic functional program lead. “We owe it to the Navy to be not only effective in executing our training but being efficient in utilizing our resources.” See “A” school on page 2
Five things to know about extending your enlistment
through command partnerships with schools and communities,” said Capt. Lee Newton, NETPDC commanding officer. “Every day, thousands of Sailors are out in the community, around the world, helping to educate and set a good example for kids.” NASC was recognized for their wide variety of activities in the community: Engaging and interacting with special-needs persons, feeding the homeless, mentoring community children, assisting those in need, promoting the importance of safety and spreading a sense of goodwill within the community while promoting a positive image of the Navy and Marine Corps. Part of the overall Navy Community Service Program (NCSP), the Health, Safety and Fitness Flagship Awards highlight Navy volunteers who visit schools and neighborhoods to share information and give practical training that focuses on nutrition, hygiene, mental health, disease prevention, leisure
MILLINGTON, Tenn. (NNS) – On Jan. 6, the Navy released NavAdmin004/17 that now allows first-term Sailors on sea duty the ability to elect to extend their expiration of active obligated service (EAOS) to complete their sea duty assignment, known as prescribed sea tour (PST). Here are five things you need to know: 1. Why this is important to the Navy. First-term Sailors make up approximately 60 percent of the fleet and about half that percentage separate at the end of their first enlistment. This initiative allows first-term Sailors to match their projected rotation date (PRD) with their EAOS and helps alleviate unnecessary gaps at sea. This is designed to help reduce gaps at sea and support fleet manning that will be created as the large FY13 enlisted
See HSF awards on page 2
See Five things on page 2
By Navy Personnel Command Public Affairs
Published by Ballinger Publishing, a private firm in no way connected with the Department of the Navy. Opinions contained herein are not official expressions of the Department of the Navy nor do the advertisements constitute Department of the Navy, NAS Pensacola or Ballinger Publishing’s endorsement of products or services advertised.