Memorial Day service onboard NAS Pensacola May 28 The Gulf Coast Veterans Advocacy Council Inc. in association with NAS Pensacola and Barrancas National Cemetery, is sponsoring a Memorial Day service May 28, to be held at
Vol. 76, No. 21
NSTI change of charge ceremony May 31 From NSTI
Navy Medicine Operational Training Center, Naval Survival Training Institute (NSTI) will host a change of charge ceremony May 31 at 10 a.m. in the National
Capt. William F. Davis
Naval Aviation Museum as Capt. Jeffrey M. Andrews, Medical Service Corps, will be relieved by
Capt. Jeffrey M. Andrews
Capt. William F. Davis, Medical Service Corps. Davis was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Ind. In July of 1978, he entered the U.S. Naval Academy and graduated in May 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in physical sciences. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps and attended The Basic School in Quantico, Va. Davis entered the naval aviation flight training pipeline and was winged as a naval aviator in April 1984. He transferred to Camp Pendleton, Calif., and Marine Helicopter Training Squadron 303 (HMT-303) for training in the AH-1J Cobra helicopter. After
See NSTI on page 2
NAS Chapel. The ceremony starts at 9 a.m.; participants should be at the chapel by 8 a.m. The Memorial Day keynote speaker will be John Sepulveda, assistant secretary for human
resources and administration for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. For more information, call Robert F. Hall Jr. at 456-1561.
VISIT GOSPORT ONLINE: www.gosportpensacola.com
May 25, 2012
USO celebrates renovations at airport center Story, photo by Janet Thomas Gosport Staff Writer
The next time you visit the Pensacola International Airport, be sure to check out the changes at the USO’s Flight Deck lounge. You can sit in a comfy chair and watch a 60-inch flatscreen TV or hang out and enjoy snacks made in the new kitchen. Other upgrades at the lounge, which has been expanded to 1,200 square feet, include new carpeting and computer stations. Guests including Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward got a first look at the newly remodeled facility on May 18 when officials gathered to celebrate the grand reopening. Navy Capt. Chris Plummer, commanding officer of Naval Air Station Pensacola, was impressed. “I think it is a fantastic change,” he said. “I travel around the country frequently, and whenever I pass a USO I will stick my head through the door and take a look around. And I can tell you, that this is the nicest one I have ever seen. It is just a gem in the airport, and really directly reflects Pensacola’s support for the military.” The USO operation, which serves 2,400 military personnel a month and is a gateway to the community, was well worth the investment, Airport Director Melinda Crawford said. “This is a great day for this airport,” she said. Heidi Blair, director of USO Northwest Florida, is very happy with the work done at the airport, and she said a similar remodeling project at the USO’s Recreation Center aboard Naval Air Station Pensacola is scheduled for completion by late June. The USO, which stands for the United Service Organization, is a non-profit charitable corporation that provides morale, welfare and recreation services to military personnel. The renovations are the results of Operation HOPE, an eight-month fundraising project initiated by the Leadership Pensacola (LeaP) Class of 2012, a program of the Greater Pensacola Chamber. Both facilities were in significant need of renovation and repair, according to
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Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Michael P. Barrett tours NASP Marine facilities, flies with Blue Angels ... Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Michael P. Barrett walks with Blue Angels officers after his flight in an F/A-18 Hornet assigned to the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, during a recent visit to Naval Air Station Pensacola. During Barrett’s two-day tour of NASP, he visited several Marine training facilities to talk about the state of the Corps and answer questions. He flew with Marine Maj. Brent Stevens, Blue Angels slot pilot, in celebration of the Centennial of Marine Aviation. Photo by MC1 Eric Rowley
Resident Energy Conservation Program (RECP) coming to NASP From Navy Region SE and DoN
The Department of the Navy (DoN) is aggressively pursuing conservation initiatives that will reduce the dependence on foreign oil and other fossil fuels. One of these initiatives attempts to achieve reductions in the amount of utilities consumed in our Navy/Marine Corps public private venture (PPV) housing projects. These projects are of particular interest because the service members residing in them typically consume significantly more utilities than their civilian counterparts residing in the local market. The prevailing opinion is that the main reason for this disparity is that residents of PPV housing have paid a flat rate for their utilities (which are included in their basic
allowance for housing (BAH), regardless of the amount they consume. This flat rate system provides no financial incentive to conserve. To address this problem and promote conservation, the Resident Energy Conservation Program (RECP) is being adopted. The program transfers some responsibility for utilities costs from the PPV partnership to the residents consuming the utilities. It accomplishes this objective by charging the residents for usage above the levels deemed to be normal for their geographic location and housing type and by rewarding residents for conserving utilities by issuing rebates to them when their utilities consumption is below certain target levels. Since the
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Buckle up, hang up: Drive safe onboard NASP By Mike O’Connor Gosport Associate Editor
Heidi Blair, director of USO Northwest Florida, cuts the ribbon at the renovated Flight Deck lounge at the Pensacola International Airport May 18. Behind her, from left, are Greater Pensacola Chamber President and CEO Jim Hizer, Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward, NASP CO Capt. Chris Plummer, Interim President of Pen Air Federal Credit Union David Tuyo and Airport Director Melinda Crawford.
Click it or ticket. Hang up and drive. They are messages that bear repeating: wearing a safety belt is mandatory for all personnel while driving onboard NAS Pensacola. And cell phone usage while driving – whether talking or texting – is expressly prohibited. Del-Jen contract safety inspector Renay Riley is
passionate about both topics for a reason – she has worked on highway fatality investigations and seen lives saved because of safety belts. “Active-duty personnel need to be aware safety belts are required on and off the installation at all times,” Riley said. For civilians, the requirement for mandatory
seat belt use applies while aboard the installation per OpNav 5100.12H. Florida’s seat belt statute applies to all operating on state roads. Riley has observed on recent occasions both service members and civilians engaged in cell phone conversations while driving on
See Buckle on page 2
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.