Easter services ...
Catholic services: • Good Friday: 3 p.m. April 14, Our Lady of Loreto Chapel. • Holy Saturday: Easter Vigil Mass, 8 p.m. April 15, Naval Aviation Memorial Chapel. • Easter Sunday Mass: April 16. Mass at 8:30 a.m. at Naval Aviation Memorial Chapel. • Easter Egg hunt: 9:30 a.m. April 16, at NASP. Protestant services: • Good Friday: 7 p.m, April 14, Naval Aviation Memorial Chapel. • Easter Service: 10:15 a.m. April 16, Naval Aviation Memorial Chapel. • Younger Louder Later Contemporary Service: 10:30 a.m. April 16, All Faiths Chapel. • Easter Sunrise Service, 6:30 a.m. April 16, on lawn area in front of Naval Aviation Memorial Chapel. For information, call 452-2341.
Vol. 81, No. 15
VISIT GOSPORT ONLINE: www.gosportpensacola.com
April 14, 2017
F/A-22 Raptors make first visit to NAS Pensacola By Ens. Courtney Avon NASP Public Affairs
The Raptors have landed. Seven F/A-22 Raptors from the 95th Fighter Squadron based at Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, landed April 6 at Naval Air Station Pensacola’s (NASP) Forrest Sherman Field. It’s the first time the base has hosted Raptors, said Eugene Roy, NASP Air Operations Transient Line supervisor. “It’s valuable training to go to other bases and mix services,” said one of the pilots, Maj. Michael Jones of the 95th Fighter Squadron. The planes landed at
NASP for a gas-and-go stop as well as several training opportunities including a walk-around, cross-country and instrument training. Personnel from NASP Fire & Emergency Services Gulf Coast also were involved in the training to familiarize themselves with the Raptors. “It is our first time dealing with F22s,” Roy said. The Raptor is at the top of the line in terms of fighter aircraft of the 21st century, and costs more $140 million per aircraft. It can perform missions with air-to-air and air-to-ground capabilities, according to an Air Force fact sheet.
F/A-22 Raptors attached to the 95th Fighter Squadron at Tyndall Air Force Base prepare to leave NAS Pensacola April 6 after a refueling and familiarization visit. (Above) NASP Transient Line personnel, including NAS Pensacola Air Operations Department Aircraft Handler Edward Gregory (foreground), move out as the planes prepare to take off. Photo by Mike O’Connor
Corry Station experiences interactive SAPR training Story, photo by MC2 Taylor L. Jackson Center for Information Warfare Training Public Affairs
Sailors and Soldiers in the Pensacola area received Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) training in the chapel at NAS Pensacola’s Corry Station, April 4-5. Pure Praxis, a socially adaptive theater group contracted by the Department of the Navy’s SAPR office, led the training. The actors use improvisational theater to encourage involvement and intervention in realworld situations. “This training is perfect for making general military training more engaging and more effective,” said Cmdr. Christopher Eng, commanding officer of Information Warfare Training Command (IWTC) Corry Station. “Training this way is a phenomenal method of encouraging
our youngest Sailors to examine how we approach difficult situations.” Throughout the performances, attendees were asked to give their thoughts on the situations portrayed and occasionally joined Praxis actors on stage to show how they would respond to potentially harmful behavior by fellow service members. “I liked being able to talk to the actors and feel like a part of the training,” said CTRSN Devon McCraw, a student at IWTC Corry Station. “Even though the subject matter is very serious, their performance was relatable and humorous and that made it easy for us to open up and engage in the scenarios.” ITC Bryan Hamel, IWTC Corry Station’s SAPR point of contact, said the hands-on training is more beneficial to Sailors than traditional methods when it comes to topics like sexual assault and victim advocacy.
“The training represents a dynamic shift toward normalizing the conversation in everyday terms that we use not just as Sailors, but as human beings,” said Hamel. “It empowers our Sailors, no matter their pay grade or age, to do the right thing to help a shipmate.”
For more news from Center for Information Warfare Training organization, visit http:// www. navy. mil/ local/ cid/, http:// www. netc. navy. mil/ centers/ ciwt/, http:// www. facebook.com/ NavyCIWT, or http:// www. twitter. com/ NavyCIWT.
French acrobatic patrol performs at NAS Pensacola ... The Patrouille Acrobatique de France (French Acrobatic Patrol, PAF), the French aerobatic display team, performs at Naval Air Station Pensacola April 11 before the scheduled Blue Angels practice. The PAF consists of eight Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jets and is the world’s oldest demonstration team. A signature technique of the PAF is the blue, white and red streams behind the jets. Photo by Ens. Jacob Kotlarski
2016 tax deadline is fast approaching By Ens. Courtney Avon NASP Public Affairs
If you have not completed your 2016 tax form yet, you better get busy. The deadline is April 18. If you need help, you can visit the NAS Pensacola (NASP) Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) office in Bldg. 680, Suite D, Room 225E (on Cuddihy Street across from the NEX mini mart). The VITA office is planning to remain open until April 18 for last-minute filers. VITA provides free electronic tax filing services for Sailors, dependents and retirees with a focus on assisting service members E-6 and below. The office has military personnel volunteers working up until the last day to help answer any questions, but there will not be a guarantee for a tax professional being present, said NASP VITA coordinator LN1 Tanya Belna. Hours of operation are noon to 4 p.m. today, April 14, April 17 and April 18. For more information, contact Belna at 505 6291 or LN2 Tramaine Hunden at 452-8219.
Happy 124th birthday, U.S. Navy chief petty officers ... One hundred and twenty-four years ago, April 1, 1893, Navy General Order 409 established the rate of chief petty officer (CPO) – at that time, the highest enlisted rank in the United States Navy. (Above) Onboard NAS Pensacola, CPOs assemble for a group photo. A printer’s error last week delayed publication of the group shot. Photo by Patrick Nichols
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.