NAVAIR Depot Jacksonville Receives Honorable Mention for Internal Communications
By Susan Brink, Public Affairs Specialist, NAVAIR Depot Jacksonville

On Friday, December 6, 2002, Captain Karl Yeakel, Commanding Officer (CO), Naval Air (NAVAIR) Depot Jacksonville presented the Public Affairs Support Division Director, Nancy Crook, with a letter of commendation and plaque, from the Navy’s Chief of Information, Rear Admiral S.R. Pietropaoli, in recognition of being selected for an honorable mention in the Internal Communications, Shore, (Large) category of the 2001 Rear Admiral William Thompson Awards for Excellence in Public Affairs. In this letter, Pietropaoli congratulated the CO on the award stating, “The skillful planning, thorough coordination and masterful execution of your program exemplifies the highest level of public affairs excellence. As such, your entry will be forwarded to the Defense Information School at Fort Meade, Maryland where it will serve as a prime textbook case study for the benefit of public affairs specialists to emulate throughout the Navy and the world.”

This is the second year in a row the Depot’s Public Affairs Support Division has received this recognition and the fourth time since 1993. The CO also presented a plaque, given in the name of the Navy’s Chief of Information, to each member of the NAVAIR Depot Jacksonville Public Affairs Support Division.

The Rear Admiral William Thompson Awards for Internal Communications recognize internal communications programs and the ability to successfully identify and continuously improve its program. The Public Affairs Support Division’s internal communications program assists the CO in his ability to communicate to the workforce, promote the education and morale of its employees, and formally express command policies. Communication is especially challenging in an industrial facility made up of over 3,900 civilian employees and some 52 military personnel working in 53 buildings spread over 102 acres of Naval Air Station Jacksonville. NAVAIR Depot Jacksonville employees are also employed at off-site facilities within the Jacksonville commuting area, as well as facilities in South Carolina, Virginia, and Oklahoma.

Over the years, the Public Affairs Support Division has made extensive use of various media to provide information to the workforce. This effort includes a monthly magazine, a weekly television news show, an Intranet web page, special messages, a Plan of the Week, flyers, memoranda, and bulletin boards. Together, these methods of communication keep employees informed.

Photo by Pat Davis-Williams, NAVAIR Public Affairs Specialist.

Photo Caption: (from the left) Public Affairs Support Division award recipients, Sue Brink, Public Affairs Specialist; Amy Cheshire, Public Affairs Specialist; Captain Karl Yeakel, Commanding Officer; Frank Taormina, Public Affairs Specialist; Nancy Crook, Public Affairs Support Division Director; LeeVine Everett, Audiovisual Production Assistant; Judy Hartman, Audiovisual Production Specialist (not pictured: Victor Pitts, Public Affairs Specialist; Katherine Midyette, Public Affairs Specialist; Greg Jasmin, Audiovisual Production Specialist; John Fleming III, Audiovisual Production Specialist.)

-- USN --

"NAVAIR provides advanced warfare technology through the efforts of a seamless, integrated, worldwide network of aviation technology experts. From professional training to carrier launch; from sensor data to precision targeting; from aircraft and weapons development to successful deployment; from real-time communication to aircraft recovery NAVAIR provides dominant combat effects and matchless capabilities to the American warfighter."