62nd year, No. 6
Serving the NATO, Naples and Gaeta Military Community in Italy
Friday, February 17, 2017
U.S. Soldier Excels at KFOR’s EOD Mission By U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Mark Patton
U.S. Army 1st Lt. Erin Schneider is currently serving as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal team commander with KFOR. Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Mark Patton
U.S. Army 1st Lt. Erin Schneider appears calm and collected on the outside. It’s an appearance she maintains even while conducting what is arguably the most dangerous mission at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo. The 23-year-old officer is currently serving as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal team commander in Kosovo as part of the Kosovo Force, the NATO-led peace support operation commonly referred to as KFOR. Schneider’s Fort Riley, Kansas-based unit, the 774th Ordnance Company, EOD, is currently part of KFOR”s Multinational Battle GroupEast, which is located at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo. Schneider’s team is regularly tasked to assist the Kosovo Security Force with the detonation and disposal of discovered explosives from previous conflicts. “People say that driving is the most dangerous thing in Kosovo, but they obviously haven’t spoken to us,” Schneider said.
Becoming a Soldier Schneider is a native of Elgin, Illinois, which is located northwest of Chicago, and her desire to join the military started in high school even though her family doesn’t have a military background. Schneider skipped the 8th grade and was able to excel academically in high school, which resulted in her graduation at the age of 16. Upon entering Winona State University in Minnesota at the age of 17, Schneider played on the school’s golf team as a freshman, earning in-state tuition for her prowess on the links. As a sophomore, Schneider’s itch to join the military returned, and she started with the Reserve Officer Training Corps, or ROTC, program at Winona State and worked with a guard unit. Her dedication to the program was evident to classmates and fellow troops as Schneider opted to skip her university graduation in order to attend one final JFC EOD SOLDIER
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UMUC Awarded Multi-Year DOD Contract to Educate U.S. Troops in Middle East and Africa; Continues Contract for Europe From University of Maryland University College
University of Maryland University College (UMUC) announced February 9 that it will continue educating U.S. military troops in the Middle East and Africa after being awarded a new 54-month contract by the U.S. Department of Defense. The contract calls for UMUC to offer undergraduate and graduate instruction at military installations across the region. Faculty will teach at U.S. military installations in Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt (Sinai), Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. Students will have access to onsite and online courses, as well
as testing services at National Test Centers, to achieve their academic goals while serving at overseas locations. Headquartered in Adelphi, Maryland, University of Maryland University College is the largest public university in the country, and has an enrollment of more than 90,000 students and offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs online and on-site. UMUC has a long history of service to the military and currently enrolls more than 50,000 service members, veterans and their families each year. UMUC offers educational serv-
ices in 25 countries and territories and more than 150 locations worldwide, including Naples. “UMUC continues to be the primary education service provider for U.S. military personnel deployed around the world,” Gen. Lloyd “Milo” Miles (U.S. Army-Ret.), senior vice president for Global Military Operations at UMUC, said. “The awarding of this contract is clear affirmation of the dedication of our faculty and staff abroad and a university-wide commitment to
those who serve and sacrifice to protect us.” UMUC, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, first began sending faculty overseas in 1949 and has continuously served the higher education needs of active duty military and their families since. “No other university in the country has had a longer, continuous relationship with the military,” Javier Miyares, president of UMUC, said. “As I have often said with great pride, serving the military is in our DNA.” UMUC is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and is a member of the University System of Maryland. CAPTAIN’S CORNER. . . . . . . . . 2 BASE NOTES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 NAVY HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 FFSC CALENDAR . . . . . . . . . . . 5
40%
SOUND OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 MOVIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 JOBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
70% TIGER SHARKS WIN REGIONALS . . . . . . . . . page 6
HAPPY PRESIDENTS DAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 14
USO TOURS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 WORD SEARCH / COLOR ME 14
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis
Mattis: U.S. Remains Committed to NATO as Alliance Transforms By Cheryl Pellerin DoD News
The United States remains committed to NATO, history’s most successful military alliance, as it transforms to match the changing character of war, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters on February 14 who were traveling with him to this week’s NATO defense ministers conference in Brussels. In addition to attending the conference and meeting with counterparts from other NATO member nations, Mattis also will host a meeting of ministers from the coalition to counter the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria during his second international trip as defense secretary. “Our commitment remains to NATO, [which is] … in the midst of transformation. Why? You’ve watched as the character of war over this last dozen years has changed itself, and as the character of war changes, so must the character of the militaries that address them,” Mattis said. To underscore the alliance’s commitment to change, the secretary noted that the only NATO command with a headquarters in the United States is Allied Command Transformation. MATTIS Page 7