FRIDAY, DEC. 15, 2017
Eye on the Fleet
Key West, Florida
VOL. 17 NO. 46
WWW.CNIC.NAVY.MIL/KEYWEST NAVAL AIR STATION KEY WEST, FLORIDA
SAR busy with rescues
Elfin magic
From NAS Key West Public Affairs (Dec. 7, 2017) Lt. Patrick ‘Snoopy’ Imperato, left, and Lt. Roderick ‘Disco Stu’ O’Hearn of VFC-111 check out a display featuring Naval Aviator No. 2612 Lt. Paul Reams, who flew at Naval Air Station Key West in 1918, during the NAS Key West Centennial of Naval Aviation Celebration at the Key West Art and Historical Society’s Custom House.
U.S. Navy photo by Trice Denny
inside: ASK A SAILOR Holiday plans? . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 VISITING VET Pet checks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 SANTA Stops over at Sigsbee. . . . . 5 100 YEARS NAS celebrates . . . . . . . . . 6, 7 TOP OF PAGE ONE: U.S. Navy Sailors demonstrate the operation of the mobile crash crane during a crash and salvage drill as part of Tiger Cruise 2017 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), in the Pacific Ocean.
N
aval Air Station Key West Search and Rescue crews were busy this week in two separate rescues. The first rescue occurred Saturday as SAR was on a routine maintenance check flight in the Lower Keys. A SAR crewmember spotted a semicapsized 32-foot white sailboat about 3:15 p.m. in the vicinity of Marvin Key. The crewmember then spotted a man and a small dinghy washed ashore just east of Marvin Key. After determining the survivor needed assistance, the crew contacted Coast Guard Sector Key West and received amplifying information to conduct a rescue. They then lowered a SAR medical technician to the mariner, who was hoisted to the helicopter. Once rescued, the flight diverted to Boca Chica Field as the inclement weather had fouled the landing at Lower Keys Medical Center. The victim was transferred to an ambulance and taken to LKMC. see SAR page 2
T
U.S. Navy photo by Jolene Scholl
ransportation/Personal Property Assistant Stephanie Chapple, dressed as the ‘Elf on the Shelf,’ is all smiles after winning the Elf Contest during the Civilian Morale, Welfare Recreation Association’s Annual Holiday Appreciation Luncheon Tuesday at the Beachside Marriott. Also shown are, from left, CMWRA President Donald Allman, Naval Air Station Key West Commanding Officer Capt. Bobby Baker and Deputy Supply Officer Diane Moll.
NAS marks 100 years of naval aviation Monday From NAS Key West Public Affairs
N
aval Air Station Key West celebrates its Centennial of Naval Aviation on Monday, marking 100 years since Naval Air Base Key West was commissioned at the
Trumbo Point annex. The nation’s southernmost Naval Base, established in 1823, proved to be an ideal training ground for the Navy’s fledgling aviation force as the U.S. prepared for World War I. Ground was broken for construction
of a small coastal air patrol station on July 13, 1917, at what is now Trumbo Point, on land leased from the Florida East Coast Railroad Company. The project involved dredging, erection of station buildings, three seaplane
ramps, a dirigible hangar, a hydrogenerator plant, and temporary barracks. On Sept. 22 of that year, the base’s log book recorded the first naval flight ever made from Key West - a see NAS page 6