VOL. 54 NO. 1 JANUARY 8, 2015
SERVING NAVAL AIR STATION OCEANA, DAM NECK ANNEX, AND NALF FENTRESS
Oceana selected as one of CNIC’s top installations
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From Navy Installations Command Public Affairs WASHINGTON (NNS) — Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC) has announced the Navy’s 2015 Installation Excellence Award Winners. Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana finished among the top three in the large installation category. The annual installation excellence award recognizes the top three large and small installations world-wide and rewards installation performance consistent with Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) strategic criteria for the DoD-wide Commander in Chief Installation Excellence Awards. “I am proud to congratulate all of our Navy Installation Command winners,” said Vice Adm. Dixon Smith, CNIC. “Competition this year was very tight and each of the nomination packages was impressive.” The Navy’s top installation winners Large 1st Place:NAS Pensacola (Capt.K.W.Hoskins commanding) 2nd Place: NAS Oceana (Capt. Kit Chope commanding) 3rd Place: Naval Base Ventura (Capt. L. R. Vasquez commanding) Small 1st Place: NAS Whiting Field (Capt. M. Coughlin commanding) 2nd Place: Naval Support Activity (NSA) Souda Bay (Capt. M. R. Moore commanding) 3rd Place: NSA Annapolis (Capt. L. Jones commanding) Both NAS Pensacola and NAS Whiting Field, as first-place winners, automatically compete for the nomination to represent the Navy for the DoD-wide 2015 Commander in Chief’s Annual Award for Installation Excellence, which will be announced in the spring. “I am delighted to announce that Naval Air Station Pensacola is the Navy’s nominee for
— See Installations, page 11
NEW SKIPPER FOR VR-56 GLOBEMASTERS —Page 3
Owen Pond plays with a toy during the “Shop with a Veteran” event at the Oceana NEX. The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 392, along with the Hampton Roads Squadron Association of Naval Aviation, host the annual Shop with a Veteran program to offer assistance by providing selected families $75 per child to select toys at the NEX.
Veterans provide holiday assistance to military families STORY/PHOTO BY MC3 KAYLA KING NAS Oceana Public Affairs In the spirit of giving this holiday season, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 392 partnered with the Hampton Roads Squadron, Association of Naval Aviation (HRANA) to host the “Shop with a Veteran” program at the NAS Oceana Navy Exchange (NEX) Dec. 20. Sometimes military families fall on hard times, and around the holidays it can be even more distressing. The program offers some holiday assistance by providing selected families in such situations, a chance to still bring a Christmas smile on their children’s faces. “It relaxes us around the holidays. My chain of command put me in for this
because they knew that we were going through some surprises the last couple of months. It really benefits us to allow the kids to, instead of buying the essentials for Christmas like clothes, they are allowed to pick out a few extra toys that they wouldn’t have gotten this year,” said AirTraffic Controller 1st Class (AW) Charles Allen, assigned to Oceana Air Operations. “I am grateful for the VFW and ANA and for my chain of command for putting me in for this,” said Allen. The program,previously known as“Shop with a Cop,” was started in 2010.“The idea for this program was we wanted to reach out to our military and their families and show them that we still care for them,”said
— See Program, page 10
WRAPPING UP THE HOLIDAY SEASON —Page 9
RECYCLE YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE NAS Oceana is collecting Christmas trees to be reused to help rehabilitate the dunes on Dam Neck Annex’s beaches. Trees free of tinsel, ornaments, and lights may be dropped off at the Natural Resources Center across from the stables on Oceana Boulevard, or on Dam Neck Annex, at building 127 off of Regulus Avenue, at the southeast corner of the parking lot, through Jan. 31. Call 433-2151 for more information.