FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2016
Eye on the Fleet
Belleville, illinois
VOL. 16 NO. 42
WWW.CNIC.NAVY.MIL/KEYWEST NAVAL AIR STATION KEY WEST, FLORIDA
Trick-or-treat hours set for base housing From NAS Key West Public Affairs (Oct. 24, 2016) - MCPO Philip Burlin performs with the Navy Band Commodores jazz ensemble at Belleville West High School in Belleville, Illinois. The Navy Band performed in seven states during an 18-city, 2,500-mile national tour, connecting communities across the United States to their Navy. U.S. Navy photo by CPO Adam Grimm
inside: GET THEM NOW Holiday party tickets. . . . . . 2 POSTAL PEACH Long-time clerk retires. . . . 3 HOSPITAL HAUNTING Scare, not care . . . . . . . . . . . 4 SCATTER Gadzooks, zombies!. . . . . . . 6 TOP OF PAGE ONE: An MH-60S Sea Hawk from the ‘Eightballers’ of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 8 transfers ordnance during an at-sea ammunition onload on board USS Nimitz (CVN 68).
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rick-or-treating will run from 6 - 8 p.m. Monday for youngsters living in Naval Air Station Key West’s Balfour Beatty Communities housing areas on Sigsbee Park, Trumbo Point, Truman Annex and Naval Branch Health Clinic Key West. Security will man gates and personnel will patrol housing areas in vehicles and on bikes. NAS Security Officer Lt. Cmdr. Michael Rickett said access to housing areas for trick-or-treating will be strictly limited to military and DOD residents only. NAS Housing officials said trick-or-treaters should only visit residences with porch lights that are on; residents not wishing to participate should make sure to turn off porch lights. Parents are encouraged to accompany their children, who should follow traffic rules and make sure they can be seen by passersby, either by wearing reflective costumes and/or carrying flashlights. Motorists should drive with extreme caution during the trick-ortreating period.
U.S. Navy photo by Jolene Scholl
Rosamaria Gonzales waves at pilots from Fighter Squadron Composite (VFC) 111 as they traverse back to their hangar. Gonzales is up early to clear the airfield of birds before training operations begin. She sweeps the field several times a day as flights ops continue.
BASH biologist wrangles birds to keep airfield clear
By Jolene Scholl Southernmost Flyer
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he’s the guardian angel of the airfield. And she carries a gun. Okay, it’s a starter pistol but when Wildlife Biologist Rosamaria Gonzales sets off a round, birds head for safer areas away from the airfield. And getting the birds out of the way as fighter aircraft prepare to
takeoff or land while training at Boca Chica Field is a job she takes very seriously. Gonzales, whose husband is a Navy veteran, had worked a variety of jobs ranging from chef to corrections, before deciding to go back to school in 2005. “My father worked for the Bureau of Land Management ... and I loved what he did outdoors,” she
said. “With a combined love of camping, hiking and nature, I just felt that was the route I wanted to take when I began school.” Gonzales graduated in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture, majoring in wildlife science and minoring in biology. While in college she was awarded a scholarship that included internships with the U.S. Department
of Agriculture Wildlife Services. After graduating, the USDA assigned her to Naval Air Station Key West to run the Bird/Wildlife Aircraft Strike Hazard (BASH) Program at Boca Chica Field. Her days start before dawn when she retrieves pyrotechnics from storage see bash page 2