Commander's Corner
First let me start by congratulating the American High School Section of the SHAPE International School on their victory in the recent USA European Schools Basketball Tournament. All the players deserve a “well done” and a pat on the back as the competition was fierce and the Spartans fought hard to defeat some other talented teams. True to SHAPE’s international composition, the Tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) was Spartan point guard, Michael Konidaris, from Greece. It seems Michael is continuing the tradition of quality play displayed by Greece during last November’s SHAPE Invitational Basketball Tournament!
The Morale and Welfare Branch is working to expand service hours at the SHAPE Club into the weekend as requested by the National Military Representatives, as well as to open an NCO Bar there. When ready we’ll test the concept for several months and see how it goes. If patronage is sufficient we’ll seek to continue those services by finding offsets elsewhere in other Morale and Welfare programmes and activities.
The pedestrian EXIT at Luxembourg Gate is now open. This allows those who live in the immediate area to walk home when the gate is closed to vehicle traffic. Obviously you won’t be able to ENTER through the gate due to security requirements. A similar gate will also be installed at the Ottawa Gate very soon.
You may have seen some “All User Messages” on the various computer networks lately concerning recent thefts in the local areas. While it does not appear that Shapians are being targeted, we are also not being avoided! Please consider contacting the International Military Police for a security survey of your residence. Meanwhile, lock your car and residence doors, whether at home or not, and do not leave items like cell phones, car keys, wallets and purses where they can be quickly grabbed should someone enter your home.
The SHAPE International Military Police will also be working with our host nation to increase use of drug and explosive detection dogs throughout the base. This serves a detection as well as prevention function as we continue efforts to deter any terrorist or criminal activity at our installation. You can help by being observant and IMMEDIATELY reporting any suspicious activity to the SHAPE Internal Military Police at 065/44.33.33.
I hope you are planning to enjoy some of the many activities coming soon to the SHAPE Community. As the weather starts to warm more runners are out preparing for the 1st Annual SHAPE Half-Marathon on 12 April – which is a good training event for the annual 24 hour Make-a-Wish event on 30/31 May. We also have a plethora of other events including bazaars, brunches and theatre productions. If your family missed seeing “INTO THE WOODS” which just closed, please go and enjoy The SHAPE Players perform in Neil Simon’s “FOOLS” at the SHAPE Performing Arts Centre (you can’t miss it, it’s the building with the large banner on the front and a brand new lobby!)