onnection Visual guru focuses on way-ahead Story and photos by Bruce Hill hat does it take to be a

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1 C onnection The Hamilton The Face of the Army in New York City Vol. 11 No. 11 DECEMBER 2017 THE FACE OF THE ARMY IN NEW YORK CITY Vol. 13 No. 4 APRIL 2018 Visual guru focuses on way-ahead hat does it take to be a W visionary? Imagination? Innovation? Creativity? How about hard work and dedication? Or could it be just wishful thinking? For this year s professional of the year winner, it is far from the latter, because being a visionary also requires clear vision, something Katie Gray naturally and professionally has as the visual information specialist for U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hamilton, and according to her boss, has been exhibiting promise since the day she arrived about two years ago. Katie s recognition as the employee of the year represents the caliber of employee that form our Garrison team, said Juan Caez, director of the directorate of plans, training, mobilization and security. She is mission driven, customer service oriented, flexible and committed. We at DPTMS are very proud of this selection. Arriving in September 2016, it didn t take Gray long to establish her footing when she stepped through Fort Hamilton s gates. Within her short tenure, she s mounted layers of proficiency in not only what she expected to perform as a photographer shooting career-making Department of the Army photos and other special events, as well as ensuring audiovisual capability, but she also received high praise for her technical efforts in the full scale exercises. She effectively managed WEBEOC training, stood-up and provided training for SharePoint, assisted with the Microsoft Windows 10 transition, programmed and assigned 25 Blackberry iphones to the garrison and more. I actually didn t know I was being honored until literally 10 minutes before, said the 29-year-old Hawaii native who is also a public affairs specialist staff sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve for 12 years. Although I didn t expect the amount of work, I appreciate the irregularity and diversity of the VI mission. It s nice to have something different throughout the week and month to add to the variety of the job. It keeps me on my toes. Unlike the typical, bigger Army installations where the VI shop and staff are much larger, Gray said she welcomes the challenge of being the lone-wolf, even though the requests often match those of larger posts. See Focus on page 3 Katie Gray, visual information specialist for the directorate of training, mobilization and security, ensures a customer s uniform is quality and senior promotion p\board standard before taking the all-important Department of the Army photo that could make the difference in a Soldier's career.

2 Hamilton honors Vietnam veterans ort Hamilton hosted F its annual Vietnam Veterans Day ceremony at the community club March 29. Though the ceremony commemorates all Vietnam veterans, keynote speaker Marlene Molly Levi spoke of her late, life-long partner, Vietnam veteran Patrick Gualtieri, who was a pillar of strength, dedication and valued voice for all veterans in the Bay Ridge community and throughout Brooklyn. Dozens of Vietnam veterans, family and friends listened intently as Levi shared her memories of the veteran who passed away about threes ago from lung cancer. She began by encouraging all to do what Pat would ve done by speaking to the person to their left and right to either foster old friendships or establish new ones. Pat loved Fort Hamilton and we considered this our second home, she said. He was warm, friendly, smart, insightful and determined. So many thought positively of him at his untimely death, but his legacy continues to live on. She went on to share the many accolades he performed to include producing events around the world and mentoring many and paving ways for veterans. He was fun-loving but not only did he talk the talk, he walked the walk, she said. Photo clockwise from left: The ceremonial Vietnam Veterans cake sits on display and awaits to be sliced. Vietnam veterans salute in honor of their fallen comrades during the playing of Taps. Keynote speaker Marlene Molly Levi is emotional after sharing memories of honored Vietnam veteran and long-time partner Patrick Gualtieri. Pictures of Patrick Gualtieri adorn the Jackson Room of the community club during the Vietnam Veterans Day celebration March 29. U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hamilton displays its personal tribute to Vietnam veterans. PAGE 2 THE HAMILTON CONNECTION APRIL 2018

3 A united commitment April is National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hamilton and tenant units sign SAAP proclamations as a vow of commitment to unite and put an end to sexual harassment and assault. This year's theme, "SHARP: Shaping A Culture of Trust, signifies the responsibility in all to make that vow a reality and making it a way of life. (Photo by Spec. Malik Ashby) Focus cont. from page 1 It s a matter of a lot of time management and being able to fit things into a narrow schedule, she said. Gray has been deployed twice throughout her career and is scheduled to deploy to Kosovo soon. She also looks forward to attending the Advance Leadership Course to boost her chances of getting promoted. When I return, I plan to reclassify and become a linguist, she said. I already speak Japanese and a little Korean. Gray taught English while living in Japan for a few years. It could definitely have an affect on my time here if I m selected, since the school could take up to two years to complete, but it s something I truly would like to pursue. It s easy to say that Gray is used to staying focused since it s mostly what she s been doing for 12 years, especially here as a VI specialist, and vibrant focus is what true visionaries need. Women s History Month A poster size photo of Sally Kristen Ride, an American physicist and astronaut, as well as other contributing women of American History, beams on display as master of ceremonies Air Force Maj. Donna Barrios and other female service members of Joint Task Force Empire Shield spoke of the many contributions American women, military and civilian, have made throughout history. Ride, born in Los Angeles, joined NASA in 1978 and became the first American woman in space in Ride was the third woman in space overall, after USSR cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova in 1963 and Svetlana Savitskaya in (Photo by Cathy Santopietro) Editorial Staff Garrison Commander Col. Peter Sicoli Deputy Commander Don Bradshaw Garrison Command Sgt. Major Command Sgt. Maj. Tony Stephens Public Affairs Chief Cathy Santopietro Command Information/ Media Relations Officer APRIL 2018 THE HAMILTON CONNECTION PAGE 3

4 Youngbloods notch a three-peat ort Hamilton held its F intramural basketball championship game March 5 at the sports and fitness center where the civilian team, The Youngbloods, defeated the Navy team The Youngbloods quickly came out firing with precision of marksmen as they not only torched Navy with 12 three- pointers in the first half, but defensively held the Navy to under 30 points. Youngblood sharp shooters Kevin Rodriguez and Deshawn Summers picked up where they left off in the first half, quickly helping to gain an insurmountable lead of 26 points, while denying Navy to breach the 45point mark, smothering Navy with a Navy point guard Earl Commodore, 2, weaves through Youngbloods' defense to score two of his team's game high of 15 points. Youngblood forward, 5, displays his ability to score with four Navy defenders guarding him. The $30,000 goal Keynote speaker, U.S. Army retiree Delores Johnson, Madeline Pastorella, Army Emergency Relief and relocation readiness officer, Command Sgt. Maj. Tony Stephens, U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hamilton command sergeant major and Pfc. Frank Halstead perform the traditional first slice of the AER cake. (Photo by ) PAGE 4 THE HAMILTON CONNECTION APRIL 2018

5 Fort Hamilton Announcements Day of Remembrance celebration Fort Hamilton will hosts its annual Holocaust Day of Remembrance April 12 from 11 a.m. 1 p.m. at the community club. The internationally recognized date for Holocaust Remembrance Day corresponds to the 27th day of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar. It marks the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. In Hebrew, Holocaust Remembrance Day is called Yom Hashoah. When the actual date of Yom Hashoah falls on a Friday, the state of Israel observes Yom Hashoah on the preceding Thursday. When it falls on a Sunday, Yom Hashoah is observed on the following Monday. For more information, call Volunteer Recognition Ceremony Army Community Services will host its annual Volunteer Appreciation Ceremony May 17 from 11 a.m. 1 p.m. at the community club. For more information, call DES Wreath Laying ceremony The Directorate of Emergency Services will host annual Wreath Laying ceremony in remembrance of fallen police officers May 18 from 10:30 a.m. noon at building 406. For more information, call MOMC talent show The Fort Hamilton Child and Youth Center will host the Month of the Military Child Talent Show April 20 from 4 6 p.m. at the youth center, building 412. For more information, call Color fun run The Fort Hamilton Child and Youth Center is having a Family Color Fun Run on April 28 starting at the Youth School Services at 10 a.m. with registrations. Warm-ups start at 10:20 a.m., and the race begins at 10:30 a.m. For more information, call /4518. Quarterly honorees Members of Fort Hamilton's workforce were honored at the U.S. Army Garrison quarterly recognition award ceremony March 3 at the community club. Awards from certificates of appreciation to achievement were presented to several employees, as well as the professional of the year award. Agatha is Missing Ace Detective, Miss Clarissa Marbles interrogates the audience as she tries to get to the bottom of the real-life disappearance of Agatha Christie in The interactive murder mystery starts at 7 p.m. at the community club. Doors open at 6 p.m. For more information, call /4772. Celebrity Softball game The WFAN Sport Radio celebrity softball game will return to Fort Hamilton for its second year where radio personalities former NFL football player Boomer Esiason and Gregg Giannotti and the All Stars will play a rematch game with the Fort Hamilton All Stars at Taylor Sports Field May 16 at 6:30 p.m. The game is open to the public with registration at For more information, call Have a story idea for the Connection? Call or Hometown: Woodbridge Township, N.J. Service: I have been a PCS counselor for three years. Family: Husband, Tony, of 20 years, who also works on US- AG Fort Hamilton. my son Christopher, 20, and my daughter Deanna, 18. Biggest Accomplishment: Raising good children. It took a lot of hard work. Last movie watched: Manchester By the Sea Why I do what I do: I take pride in assuring a smooth PCS for our Military Families. Words to live by: Life is only as good as your mindset. Meet Donna Nieves Compiled by Trevor Loew APRIL 2018 THE HAMILTON CONNECTION PAGE 5