Homes for America / Sigonella
NAS Sigonella Commanding Officer
First off, thank you to everyone who participated in last week's Marinai town hallmeeting. I very much appreciate everyone's concern and commitment to ourcommunity and specifically to maintaining Marinai as Navy housing.
This fiscal year, we have seven known reported cases of sexual assault in ourcommunity. I emphasize KNOWN, because statistics suggest there are otherunknown victims within our community. Seven is too many.
Our goal is ZERO victims - known or unknown.
In addition to Sexual Assault Prevention Awareness Month and Month of the MilitaryChild, April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. Child abuse can occur for manyreasons. Usually it is passed down from one generation to the next. Children,abused by parents who did not properly deal with stress, as adults often model thesame poor choices, and the unfortunate cycle continues. The reality is our children(and spouses) do not deserve to be abused. It is fascinating how polite we are withcoworkers and people we meet in public, but how often these same courtesies arenot extended to the ones we love most. How does this happen? What can we doabout it? How it happens?
According to the late Jim Morrison, "people are strange." I agree. We are strange, inthe sense that each of us is fully unique -different in big and little ways from allothers.
Religious Ministries offers many marriage enrichment opportunities and counseling.
Fleet and Family Service Center offers similar services as well as financial
counseling, anger management courses and counseling for adults and children. All
these opportunities and many more are here to help us learn how to be better
parents and partners.
I share all of this because I have struggled. As far as I can tell, marriage andparenting are evolving, unending experiences with changing and persistent stresses.
I have sought counseling and will again when needed. For those of you who know
you have a problem, or even those who are just suspicious, I'd like you to consider:at the end of our lives it will neither be medals, nor rank, nor other Navy accoladesthat define our lives, but rather the breadth and depth of the relationships we havecultivated and the commitment to those whom we say "I love you." Don't we owethem our very best?
Sigonella, Work hard, Be honest, Make smart decisions.

lemon_parade
Sigonella!!! We got orders to Sigonella!!! However... I'm pregnant, due July 3rd.
DH leaves this command at the end of April.
I really don't want to be stuck flying with a toddler and a newborn if I have to go after
DH. Ahhhhh!!!! We're going to Italy!!
Daysgobyand still I think of you
It is sad to see our old base housing now a refugee camp being attached by 1000
asylum seekers. It used to be well kept.
Jennifer
crazy fool
Wow. I had no idea that Mineo was closed down. I worked security there as it wasbeing built, and later as a brand-new housing community that was really a slice of an
American suburb in middle of orange groves.
His girl
Pass the chocolate
Loved Mineo housing! We were one of the last families on our street while it wasclosing.
Jennifer
crazy fool
We were there for 3 years, 2002-2005. I had my first 2 boys there! Aw, thememories.

From: PAO
Asylum seekers stage protest outside Mineo Refugees' center and on State Road
417.
Local media are reporting that about 1,000 asylum seekers today staged a violent
protest outside the Mineo Refugee Center.
Earlier this morning, demonstrators threw rocks at police and other cars traveling on
417. They also set fire to crops and tires, as well as attacked a gas station, a media
crew, and riot police. The violence has prompted riot police to spray tear gas during
clashes and call additional reinforcements coming from Reggio Calabria. CataniaGela state road 417 is still closed to traffic and police are working to clear the road.
All personnel are urged to avoid this area and all other areas of known protests.
Sea Gels
I wonder if they would be happy if the Italian govt sent them back?
Michael
It is amazing someone's wants help and the way they ask is like this. Should bethankful for every thing they get. I know I thankful every day for the blessings I havein my life.
Alexander
Begin the deportation process.
Rich
sad state of affairs down there. it seems food, shelter and clothing isn't enoughanymore.
SergioThat's sad.
MichelleWow, what a change from when I was stationed there!
Chris
Send their sorry rears back on a leaking boat.

Commanding Officer's Suggestion Box
Comment regarding shuttle no-show: Recently my wife and I waited 20 minutes for a
shuttle bus on Marinai that never showed. We called the number provided at the bus
stop for shuttle information, Public Works 095-86-6013. The gentleman who
answered stated he had no information with regard to the shuttle and could only
provide a number which was disconnected. I would suggest replacing the sign at thebus stop with an updated phone number to call when there are issues with theshuttle bus.
Commanding Officer's Suggestion Box
Anonymous
Comment: Where to start… CAPT Dennis? You’ve built a reputation as a man on a
mission to ignore, not solve, the animal problem on the base by ordering everyone to“stop feeding the strays” but now your war on animals has a total number of 10 ormore on lines, with no shelter, no food, no water, and no one doing anything to help
them thanks to NASSIG pressuring the owner of the lot across from the NAS II maingate to “clean up the property because it is a problem for the base and NATO”.
Since the old man that was there was most likely squatting on the property, hisremoval makes sense from a legal standpoint I suppose, but the fact that all thepeople (including my husband) that work on NAS II drive past a lot full of dogs being
neglected and literally starved on a leash is a deplorable act and one that shows thatyour intent is to remove “eyes sores” and “problems” at any cost.
One more item. How do you explain the existence of prostitutes being located withina few minutes of Marinai housing area? You are so focused on threatening people
for passing on solid lines between the bases that you and the authorities somehow
neglect to do anything about the women who are trafficked. Starving dogs andprostitutes – do something.

Texts from the Sigonella U.S military base housing online communities, Sicily. There had
been two identical base housing estates called Marinai and Mineo. However the U.S basecanceled the lease contract for the Mineo in 2011 and since then the apartments have beentransformed into a refugee detention center ( C.A.R.A. di Mineo ) for Middle Eastern andAfrican refugees, many of which have arrived via the coast of Sicily or Lampedusa island.
A *Candy Factory Project (2015)