Subic bay news vol 10 no 17 15.00

see , US AID, page 2

see , GORDON opens PRC ... , page 3

Red Cross opens training center in Subic

Freeport

Fruit bats roost on trees at the Subic Bay Freeport, a leading eco-tourism destination in the country today, which will host the 2017 Subic Ecotourism Festival on May 29-June 1.

USAID & Philippine Partners Celebrate Marine Biodiversity Program AchievementsManila — Officials from the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines joined Philippine government and project partners to cel-ebrate the conclusion of the United States Agency for Inter-national Development’s (USAID) Ecosystems Improved for Sus-tainable Fisheries (ECOFISH) Project. For the past five years, the Php 800 million ECOFISH project has successfully worked with national and local governments, the private sector, and local communities to conserve marine biodiversity, enhance ecosystem productivity, and improve fisheries and livelihoods in the Philippines. USAID worked with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), local government units, civil society organi-zations, and the private sector to improve fisheries manage-ment and combat illegal fishing practices that threaten ecosys-tems and local economies. Among the project’s achievements, the USAID ECOFISH project improved the management of more than 800,000 hectares of marine waters in 40 municipalities of the Philippines. “In partnership with the Philippine government, the ECOFISH project improved biodiversity conservation in eight critical locations, ensuring that Filipinos, both today and in the

U.S. Embassy Chargé ďaffaires Michael Klecheski, Vice President Leni Robredo, and United States Agency for Inter-national Development (USAID) Mission Director Dr. Susan Brems together with USAID’s Ocean Champions. Ocean Champions are individuals who substantially contributed to the successful operations of high-impact marine conser-vation actions, working side-by-side with USAID in implementing the ECOFISH project, facilitating solutions to address operational challenges, and helping mobilize human and financial resources to achieve the goals of the project.

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – Senator Richard Gordon presided over the inauguration here on Sunday of a training center that would provide vocational education to residents from disaster-stricken areas in the country. Gordon, who is also chairman of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), said the training center is a joint undertaking of PRC and the Kingdom of Bahrain’s Royal Charity Organization (RCO). Gordon, along with RCO Secre-tary General H.E. Dr. Mustafa Alsayed, led the ribbon-cutting and turnover ceremo-ny for the facility located at the former Naval Magazine area of this free port. The PRC has previously estab-lished its logistics center for local and in-ternational disaster-response operations in the same area. According to Gordon, the voca-tional training center will help ensure sustainable growth through education to victims of disaster-stricken areas in the country. “The center will provide people with market-driven skills and training so they can secure steady, well-paying jobs,” Gordon said. He added that the center is part of the recovery projects that Bahrain’s RCO had promised to fund to help im-prove the lives of victims of Typhoon Haiyan, locally known as Yolanda, which devastated several parts of the country in Officials of the Philippine Red Cross headed by Sen. Richard Gordon, and the Royal Charity Organization (RCO) of the Kingdom of

Bahrain headed by Dr. Mustafa Alsayed, link arms in a symbol of unity following the recent inauguration and turnover ceremony of the Philippine Red Cross Training Center in the Subic Bay Freeport, which was financed by the RCO.

SEASON 25. Another batch of students of all ages completed violin, cello and other lessons in the latest Summer Camp of CASA San Miguel Center for the Arts in San Antonio, Zambales. (far left photo) Subic Bay News publisher Vic V. Vizcocho, Jr. and kid Vittorio “Da Vince” G. Vizcocho V pose with CASA San Miguel Founder & Director Alfon-so “Coke” C. Bolipata (right) after their recital at CASA’s Ramon Corpus Hall. (left photo) Bolipata, a steemed violin virtuoso here & abroad, with the rest of the students who performed at the Saturday recital. As the eldest student of violin ever at CASA San Miguel, Viz-cocho said that while he has no illu-sions of turning into a virtuoso, “it is never too late to learn.” He said play-ing simple songs on the violin at home with Da Vince “is the ultimate bonding. We can do it for years, if not, hopefully, decades to come.” He added that hav-ing one-on-one violin lessons with the master violinist Coke Bolipata “is an honor and privilege” open to everyone interested. SubicBayNews photo by Louella G. Vizcocho

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NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC Notice is hereby given to the public that an EX-TRA JUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE OF THE DE-CEASED AMONG HEIRS WITH WAIVER was made and executed by the surviving heirs of the late CONSTANCIO B. MARQUEZ AND ESTELLA G. MARQUEZ, who died on DECEMBER 3, 1991 in Manila and January 2, 2017 in Olongapo City, respectively and a Deed of Waiver by the undersigned heirs of the deceased to waive, transfer and relnquish their respective rights, share and ownership participation and interest over a portion of said parcel of residencial land, in favor of KAREN R. PEÑERA as per Doc no 207 Page No 43 Book No.VIII Series of 2017 in the Notarial Registry of Atty. PORFIRIO AGUILON AGUILA. All interested parties, creditors,and persons having money claims against the decedent are hereby required to file their claims with the court appointed ex-ecutor of their estate.

Notice is hereby given to the public that the estate of the late CORAZON ISIDRO SUMAOANG who died in-testate on February 20,2015 at San Marcelino, Zambales leaving a house and lot covered by TCT No P-29497, with lot No 180, BLK 06 survey No. 4671-part located at #45Udan St., Brgy Burgos, San Marcelino, Zambales has been the subject of a document entitled “EXTRA-JUDI-CIAL SETTLEMENT with CONDITIONAL CONTRACT TO SELL OF REAL ESTATE” executed by the heirs bearing Doc no 266 Page No 55 Book No.XXXV Series of 2017 before Notary Public Atty. Deo Amor Almazan David at Castillejos, Zambales. Notice is hereby given to the public that a EX-TRA-JUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE OF THE DECEASED AMONG HEIRS WITH WAIVER was made and executed by the surviving heirs of DOMINADOR FERRER REBULTAN who died intestate on February 28, 2009 in Virginia Beach USA as per Doc no 326 Page No 67 Book No.IX Series of 2017 in the Notarial Registry of Atty. Porfirio Aguilon Aguila. All interested parties, creditors,and persons having money claims against the decedent are hereby required to file their claims with the court appointed ex-ecutor of their estate.

US AID............................................................ from page 1

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with Underwriters Laboratories, a global safety science company, launched the third an-nual ASEAN-U.S. Science Prize for Women this month. This year’s theme is urban resilience, with a fo-cus on health, transportation, infrastructure, and work-force safety. In the wake of rapid urbanization, many ASEAN cities are faced with increased pressure on infra-structure, public services, and health systems. Addition-ally, urban poverty and shocks resulting from natural disasters are on the rise. The 2017 ASEAN-U.S. Science Prize for Women is looking to reward young women who are successfully using applied sciences to solve these challenges. The winner will receive a $20,000 award and recognition during the 2017 ASEAN ministerial meet-ing on science and technology, to be held in Myanmar in November 2017. Candidates must be 40 years of age or younger at the time of submission, and have a background in an area of expertise related to the year’s theme. Applications and nominations will be accepted at http://bit.ly/sprules until June 23, 2017. Last year, Dr. Kathleen Aviso, associate profes-sor of chemical engineering at De La Salle University, was a finalist for the 2016 ASEAN-U.S. Science Prize for Women on Energy Research for her work on mathemati-cal models that inform environmental decision-making in the Philippines. The U.S. government works with ASEAN to foster prosperity and security internationally, support economic integration, expand maritime cooperation, cultivate emerging leaders, promote opportunity for women, and address transnational challenges. The U.S. and ASEAN celebrate 40 years of partnership in 2017, marking a deepened cooperation under the U.S.-ASEAN Strategic Partnership. For more information, visit the U.S. Mission to ASEAN (http://asean.usmission.gov).

ASEAN-U.S. Science Prize for Women 2017

future, benefit from productive fisheries and the robust ecosystem services that healthy marine environments provide,” said U.S. Embassy Chargé ďAffaires Michael Klecheski in his remarks during the closing ceremony. In her keynote speech, Vice President Leni Ro-bredo noted the partnership of the United States and the Philippines in protecting marine biodiversity and the sus-tainability of fisherfolks’ way of life. “As stewards of this planet, we must ensure that our natural resources are efficiently managed for future generations. This includes the conservation and protection of our waters and ma-rine life,” Vice President Robredo said. In partnership with BFAR, USAID’s ECOFISH pro-ject leaves a legacy of positive change that will foster future initiatives for the conservation, protection, and sustainable management of Philippine coastal and ocean resources.

(L-R) USAID ECOFISH Chief of Party Nygiel Armada, Chargé ďaffaires Michael Klecheski, and USAID Mission Director Dr. Susan Brems congratulate Dr. Geoffry Tilan for being one of USAID’s Ocean Champions.

A woman drying barungoy or flying fish in Sipalay, Negros Occidental. Barungoy is abundant in Sipalay and "pagdadaing" or fish drying, is one of the major sources of income for fisherfolk in the province. USAID partnered with local NGOs to assist community organi-zations in creating alternative livelihood options, such as producing dried or bottled barungoy. These conser-vation enterprises are intended to increase income and provide fishers with the motivation and ability to fish less and thus put less pressure on their resources.

Notice is hereby given to the public that an EXTRA-JUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE WITH AGREEMENT TO SELL was made and executed by the surviving heirs of REBECCA LACTAOTAO LONZANIDA who died intestate on September 1, 2008 at San Antonio, Zambales as per Doc no 322 Page No 66 Book No.V Series of 2017 in the Notarial Registry of Atty. K.C.F. Gonzales-Camarao. All interested parties, creditors,and persons having money claims against the decedent are hereby required to file their claims with the court appointed ex-ecutor of their estate.

Notice is hereby given to the public that an EX-TRA-JUDICIAL SETTLEMENT AMONG HEIRS OF SR. AVELINA P. BINARAO WITH WAIVER OF RIGHTS IN FAVOR OF PANTALEON BRIOSO BINARAO AND THE DISCALCED CARMELITE NUNS OF CARMEL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, INC. was made and executed by the sur-viving heirs of SISTER AVELINA PALERMO BINARAO who died intestate on April 5, 2017 in Olongapo City as per Doc no 306 Page No 63 Book No.V Series of 2017 in the Notarial Registry of Atty. K.C.F. Gonzales-Camarao. All interested parties, creditors,and persons having money claims against the decedent are hereby required to file their claims with the court appointed ex-ecutor of their estate.

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga -- The 11 towns and two cities of Pampanga will accept premium payments from the members of Philippine Health Insurance Cor-poration (Philhealth). This came after the provincial mayors and the Philhealth represented by Regional Office III OIC-vice president Walter Bacareza signed a collection and remit-tance agreement during the Pampanga Mayors League (PML) meeting held at the Executive House, Capitol building on Friday. Bacareza said the agreement allows the LGUs to act as collecting agents of Philhealth by accepting pre-mium contributions from the private and government sectors, owners of micro enterprises, owners of small and medium enterprises, household helpers and family drivers. He said the LGUs could also accept premium contributions from indigent and sponsored sectors. The PhilHealth regional vice president said he was impressed with the province-wide signing as it was the first in Luzon and Mindanao. “I’m so impressed because the entire Pampanga talaga is now signing the agreement. Therefore, the con-stituents of Pampanga will not have a hard time paying their premiums,” Bacareza said. "The problem with paying premiums for Phil-health is actually the convenience. The transaction cost is high. What we did, together with Gov. Lilia Pineda and PML president Mylyn Pineda-Cayabyab, we bring Phil-health to the people,” he added. Bacareza said he was confident that the other provinces would follow suit. Pineda-Cayabyab, meanwhile, requested the Philhealth Regional Office to conduct awareness cam-paigns in the different LGUs to inform their members about their new collecting partners. (PNA)

LGUs to accept Philhealth contributions

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BALITA SA WIKANG PINOY

AROUND CENTRAL LUZON

November 2013. Alsayed, meanwhile, was ecstatic over the opening of the Subic vocation training center and expressed hope that it will produce students who will use their education to uplift their calamity-stricken community. Gordon and Alsayed also inaugu-rated a similar vocational training center in Tacloban City a day before the Subic launch. Tacloban was the community worst-hit by Haiyan. Gordon said these centers will offer training courses in electrical instal-lation and maintenance, plumbing tech-nology, carpentry, masonry, commercial cooking, bread and pastry production, seafarers rating, and a finishing course for call center agents. The training centers each have four rooms that consist of two workshop

Sen. Richard Gordon, chairman of the Philippine Red Cross, receives a symbolic key to the PRC Training Center in the Subic Bay Freeport from Dr. Mustafa Alsayed, secretary general of the Royal Charity Organization (ROC) of the Kingdom of Bahrain, during the recent inauguration and turnover ceremony of the facility that was financed by the RCO.

rooms, an equipment storage area and one administration office. They both have a capacity to seat 30 to 40 students at a time, or from 15 to 20 students for labo-ratory sessions. According to PRC Secretary Gen-eral Oscar Palabyab, the Technical Edu-cation and Skills Development Authority will also play a big role on the project, since the agency will be accrediting the students who will graduate from the vo-cational courses. “This is also an expansion of our humanitarian service, as well as our re-lationship with different partners,” Pala-byab added. Palabyab said the PRC training center in the Subic Bay Freeport was con-structed at around P7.8 million, while the facility in Tacloban costs around P5.3 mil-lion.

GORDON opens PRC training......................................................................... from page 1

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Around 800 to 1,000 bikers and bike en-thusiast will gather as the Department of Tourism (DOT) Central Luzon will again spearhead its 2nd Bike Tour Expo in Clark on May 27-28. Said event aims to promote trav-el and tourism to various destinations using the most environmentally sustain-able mode of transportation and leisure travel. “We choose Clark as the venue for this activity because we want to help promote it as a bicycle-friendly com-munity while at the same time creating awareness on the importance of health and wellness as a lifestyle,” DOT 3 Re-gional Director Ronaldo Tiotuico said. He explained that for the bike tour which is set on May 27, participat-ing cyclists will visit 18 designated stops which are considered to be tourist attrac-tions and establishments in the Freeport zone. They will be given the entire day to finish all stations at their own pace. Aside from the tour, there will also be bike expo on May 27-28, where

2nd Bike Tour Expo in Clarkdifferent bike companies, apparels, acces-sories and gears will be exhibited. “Prominent people from the bik-ing community are expected to grace the event to talk about relevant biking-related issues and conduct free hands-on demo of their bicycles. Plus, a bike fashion show will also be held on the 27th,” the director said. In addition, to add fun to the event, Tiotuico said that participating ex-hibitors and sponsors will be giving away road bikes, bike ecotour certificates, hotel accommodation vouchers, helmets and lots of other products. The event is in partnership with Clark Development Corporation (CDC), Tourism Infrastructure Enterprise Zone Au-thority (TIEZA), Tourism Promotion Board (TPB) and Royce Hotel. It is co-sponsored by Manila North Tollways Corporation, Eurotel Hotel, Taisho Pharma Inc., Smart Telecom, Tern Bicycles, Aleoca Bicycle, and Fox Head Philippines. Interested participants may reg-ister at https://www.facebook.com/Bike-TourExpo/. (PIA 3)

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, -- In time for the opening of classes on June 5, Department of Trade and Indus-try (DTI) released the Suggested Retail Price Tables (SRP) of various school sup-plies. DTI Regional Director Judith An-geles said this SRP table would guide consumers in buying various school sup-plies such as notebooks, writing pads, crayons, ballpens, pencils, erasers, and sharpeners. Angeles said that the price of an 80-page composition notebook range between Php12.50 to Php15.75, while spiral notebooks range from Php13.75 to Php15.75. Pad papers for Grade 1-4 cost Php9.00 to Php12.00 while intermedi-ate pad papers range from Php14.00 to Php25.00. Prices of ballpens range from Php4.00 to Php22.75 per piece, while a three-pack set of ballpens have SRP ranging from Php13.75 to Php30.75. Similarly, a pack of pencil may cost Php10.50 to Php37.50, depending on the hardness and brand. For crayons, a box of eight-

SRP of school supplies in CLrange from Php12.00 t0 Php34.75 while a 24-piece box has prices ranging from Php37.75 to Php49.25. Prices of erasers range from Php5.75 to Php12.75; sharpeners—Php5.75 to Php17.75; 6-inch ruler – Php9.75 to Php19.75; and 12-inch ruler—Php14.75 to Php29.75 each. SRP will serve as guide to consum-ers in comparing different brands and will also serve as a deterrent for over-pricing. Angeles also reminded consumers to carefully read the labels of products to check if the school supplies have toxic or hazardous ingredients. “Labeling regulations require markings like number of pages, weight, size, hardness (for pencils), type classifica-tion (for ballpens), brand name, trademark manufacturer’s name and address,” she said. She furthered that as part of their initiatives to help parents avail of discount-ed prices, DTI-3 partnered with suppliers in setting up Diskwento Caravans in all prov-inces of the region. Complete SRP list for school sup-plies may be accessed online at www.dti.gov.ph/e-presyo. (PIA 3)

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, -- Department of Agriculture (DA) officials recently graced the opening of the San Juan-Villa Joson-Porais farm to market road (FMR) in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija which was funded under the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP). “This 5.17 kilometer FMR is the first completed infrastructure subproject of PRDP in Central Luzon. It will support the implementation of the Sikkap San Jose Ampalaya Enterprise, another PRDP subproject that will be managed by three proponent groups that have merged and formed a cooperative called SIKKAP,” PRDP Regional Project Coordination Office 3 Focal Person and DA Regional Technical Director Crispulo Bautista said. The activity also marked the start of the construction of the ampalaya

Farm to Market Road in Nueva Ecija openspacking building, which will be used for the post-harvest production of SIKKAP. During the event, Provincial Agri-culturist Serafin Santos recalled the hard-ship that they went through in order to get the approval of the FMR and ampalaya packing house. “This FMR is the fruit of our hard work and determination in getting this project. I hope that the three cooperatives will enrich the project given to them by the PRDP. You should work together and be transparent to one another,” Santos said. The completion of the FMR will result to reduce travel time from farms to markets in barangays San Juan, Villa Joson and Porais. It will also reduce input and output hauling cost and expand production areas of ampalaya. (PIA 3)

LUNGSOD NG CABANATUAN-- Isinu-sulong ng pamahalaang nasyonal ang ligtas at matiwasay na paghahanapbu-hay ng mga mamamahayag sa bansa. Ayon kay Presidential Task Force on Media Security Executive Di-rector Undersecretary Joel Egco, ang tanggapang pinamumunuan ngayon ay sadyang binuo ng pamahalaang nasyonal sa pamamagitan ng Admin-istrative Order No. 1 na nilagdaan ng Pangulong Rodrigo Roa Duterte upang malayang nakatutupad sa tungkulin ng mga kababayang tagapagbalita. Aniya, sa pagsisiwalat ng ka-totohanan ay hindi maiiwasang may masagasaang personalidad kaya’t nakagabay ang task force upang pro-tektahan ang mga media workers na

Kaligtasan ng mga mamamahayag, babantayan ng pamahalaan

katuwang sa pagpapalawak ng mga makatotohanang impormasyon. Pahayag pa ni Egco, layunin ng tanggapan na agad maresolba ang si-galot o hindi pagkakaunawaang sang-kot ang mga kabarong mamamahay-ag. Gayundin ay bibigyang pan-sin ng tanggapan ang pag-ungkat sa 159 kasong naging biktima ang mga mamamahayag upang ilabas ang ka-totohanan at mapanagot ang mga may sala. Nakapaloob rito ang tat-long kaso ng pamamaslang sa mga mamamahayag sa Nueva Ecija na kinabibilangan nila: Carmelo Mark Palacios, Edilberto Cruz, Julius Ceasar Cauzo. (PIA 3)

LUNGSOD NG CABANATUAN) -- Ipin-aunawa sa mga mamamahayag mula sa Nueva Ecija at Aurora ang kahalaga-han ng pagpapatupad ng Freedom of Information o FOI at ang pagkakaroon ng ligtas na hanapbuhay. Ito ay idinaos kamakailan sa isi-nagawang seminar ng Nueva Ecija- Au-rora Energy Press Corps sa lungsod ng Cabanatuan sa patnubay ng National Grid Corporation of the Philippines o NGCP. Ayon kay NGCP Regional Cor-porate Communications Officer Er-nest Lorenz Vidal, layon nitong gawing pamilyar ang mga mamamahayag sa mga programa ng gobyerno upang sila ay maprotektahan at masuportahan tungo sa mas matapang at responsa-bleng pagbabalita. Aniya, bilang mga panguna-hing katuwang sa pagpapadaloy ng impormasyon sa publiko ay nakasu-

Kahalagahan ng FOI, Media Security tinalakay sa Nueva Ecija, Aurora

porta ang tanggapan sa samahan sa kanilang pagtupad ng kanilang tungki-lin sa pamamahayag. Dito ay nagsilbing panauhing tagapagsalita sina Presidential Task Force on Media Security Executive Di-rector Undersecretary Joel Egco at si FOI Engagement Lead Michelle Man-za ng Presidential Communications Operations Office. Pagbibigay linaw ni Manza, ang FOI ay ang malayang pagkuha ng impormasyon sa gobyerno na maka-tutulong sa pagdedesisyon ng ordi-naryong Pilipino gayundin ay magaga-mit sa pang-araw araw ng buhay. Kaugnay nito ay ipinahayag naman ni Egco na nakagabay ang Task Force sa mga mamamahayag sa ka-nilang paghanap ng katotohanan at pagkuha ng mga mahahalagang im-pormasyon. (PIA 3)

LUBAO, Pampanga, May 26--The Munici-pal Disaster Risk Reduction and Manage-ment Council (MDRRMC) here on Friday conducted an inspection on government-owned structures for any possible damage brought by an earthquake that struck Lu-zon late Thursday evening. The Philippine Institute of Volcan-ology and Seismology said the epicenter of the earthquake was recorded in San Marcelino, Zambales at magnitude 5.5. The inspection team was led by the Municipal Engineering Office headed by Engineer Francisco Waje, Lubao Disas-ter Risk Reduction and Management of-ficer Edgar Dabu, and Fire Senior Inspector Edwin Dela Fuente of the Bureau of Fire Protection. Town Mayor Mylyn Pineda-Cayab-yab said the inspection was to ensure the integrity of the structures and these were not adversely affected by the earthquake . "We cannot leave the safety of the public to chances. If we find any significant damage in any of the properties this early, we can make precautions to avoid putting

Quake aftermath: Government-owned structures undergo inspection

the lives and limbs of our kabalen in danger," Cayabyab said. The inspection team assessed the Lubao municipal hall, Sta. Cruz public mar-ket, Escolastica Romero District Hospital, Lubao municipal gym and the town's trading post in Barangay Sto. Tomas. "There is no significant damage on inspected properties was reported but thor-ough structural assessment will continue," the mayor said. The MDRRMC and Philippine Na-tional Police regularly holds earthquake and emergency response drills to increase the readiness of the public in case the feared "Big One" happens. The municipal government likewise participated in the nationwide quake drill dubbed "Oplan Pagyanig" with a simulation of emergency evacuation and response dur-ing and after an earthquake. Cayabyab has also instructed the MDRRM to raise preparedness of the public should there be emergencies like fire, flood, and earthquake. (PNA)

IN THE NAVY

(L) A Certificate of Appreciation was given to SM Olongapo for supporting Brigada Esk-wela. (R) With Gordon Heights II Elem. School teachers, Dang Lo (right),HR manager of SM and Ana Lorraine Azucena (2nd from R).

SM Brigada Eskwela at Gordon Hgts. II Elem School

Future USS Gerald R. Ford Underway for Acceptance TrialsWASHINGTON (NNS) -- The future USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) departed Naval Station Norfolk for its second set of sea trials, known as acceptance trials (AT) May 24. Acceptance Trials demonstrate to the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) the ship's ability to conduct operations at sea and that the ship is constructed in accordance with contract specifications. Over the next several days, CVN 78 Sailors will operate many of the ship's key systems and technologies, overseen by INSURV and the Navy's Supervisor of Shipbuild-ing, Conversion and Repair and accompanied by shipbuilders from Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding. (From Naval Sea Systems Command Public Af-fairs)

Official U.S. Navy file photo of PCU Gerald R. Ford, April 14, 2017.

Parade of Ships Kicks off 2017 Fleet Week New York

NEW YORK (NNS) -- U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hamilton held a salute to the participating ships of 2017 Fleet Week New York (FWNY) during the official Parade of Ships kickoff May 24. Amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) rendered a seven-gun salute with U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hamilton, with Fort Hamilton providing a 15-gun salute in return. "New York has always had a close relationship with the military," said Anthony Giovinco, U.S. Navy Vietnam veteran and chief of staff and secretary of the United Mili-tary Veterans of Kings County Memorial Day Parade. "The Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen are treated very well here. This is a tradition that is important to me. It brings back fond memories of the years I spent in the military." In addition to Kearsarge, USCGC Hamilton (WMSL 753), Kingston-class coastal defence vessel HMCS Glace Bay (MM 701), Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Lassen (DDG 82), Ticonderoga-class cruisers USS Monterey (CG 61) and USS San Jacinto (CG 56), Oceanographic research ship RV Neil Armstrong (AGOR 27), Cyclone-class patrol coastal ship USS Zephyr (PC 8), Spearhead-class expeditionary fast trans-port USNS Yuma (EPF 8) and U.S. Naval Academy yard patrol boats participated in the Parade of Ships. FWNY offers Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen an official opportunity to participate in community relations projects, parades, re-enlistments and school out-reach. It also exposes the general public to various military careers, ships and the ser-vices they represent. Students from the area will have the chance to learn about military aircraft, military careers, and interact with Sailors and Marines throughout the week. During FWNY, general ship tours will be conducted in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island. Visitors will learn about the latest capabilities and technologies of today's mari-time sea services, such as job specialties, firefighting techniques, environmental safety, energy awareness and damage control aboard ships. There will also be the opportunity to see and interact with aviation static displays. "Fleet Week New York is a way for the general public to view and experience the maritime sea services while allowing us to show our appreciation for our Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen," said U.S. Army Spc. Tanner Butler, currently assigned to U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hamilton. "I feel, that since 9/11, it is really important for the people of New York to experience these things and to remember that our fellow Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen are there for us." FWNY, now in its 29th year, is the city's time-honored celebration of the sea services. It is an unparalleled opportunity for the citizens of New York and the sur-rounding tri-state area to meet Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, as well as wit-ness firsthand the latest capabilities of today's maritime services. The weeklong cele-bration has been held nearly every year since 1984. By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Kristin M. Schuster, Navy Public Affairs Support Element East

NEW YORK (May 24, 2017) Sailors and Marines man the rails of the amphibious as-sault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) as it passes the Statue of Liberty during the 29th annual Fleet Week New York's Parade of Ships. Fleet Week New York is an unparal-leled opportunity for the citizens of New York and the surrounding tri-state area to meet Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, as well as witness firsthand the latest capabilities of today's military. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Spe-cialist Travis Simmons)