Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti speaks to sailors and civilians during a visit to Naples, Italy, Jan. 22, 2024, Listening on stage is Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy James Honea. (Almagissel Schuring/U.S. Navy)
NAPLES, Italy — The Navy’s top officer and enlisted sailor visited Naval Support Activity Naples together Monday to meet with the service’s top leadership in Europe and speak with sailors and civilians, officials said.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy James Honea toured facilities, visited commands and took questions at an all hands call, said Cmdr. Richlyn Ivey, a spokeswoman for Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet.
Franchetti and Honea met with Adm. Stuart Munsch, commander of Naval Forces Europe-Africa and Allied Joint Force Command Naples. They also recognized sailors and civilians for their work during the visit, Ivey said.
“It’s important to talk to the fleet and see what they say out here at the pointed end of the spear and then to bring that perspective with me wherever we go,” Franchetti said in a statement.
Franchetti reiterated her priorities, which were released earlier this month at the Surface Navy Association’s National Symposium, Ivey said.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti listens to Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy James Honea speak during a visit to Naples, Italy, to tour facilities and meet with sailors and civilians on Jan. 22, 2024. (Almagissel Schuring/U.S. Navy)
Among them are advancing integration with the Marine Corps and aligning efforts with the Joint Force. The Navy also will prioritize readiness and capabilities as well as education and training for sailors and civilians, according to a Jan. 9 statement.
Honea met with NAVEUR-AF Fleet Master Chief Johannes J. Gonzalez and spoke with sailors in an enlisted leadership development class.
Ivey characterized Franchetti’s and Honea’s time in Naples as a standard fleet visit, similar to a tour of Guam, Japan and South Korea in late November.
This also was a homecoming of sorts for Franchetti, who commanded U.S. 6th Fleet from 2018 to 2020.
The NAVEUR-AF/6th Fleet area of responsibility covers about half of the Atlantic Ocean, from the Arctic Ocean to the coast of Antarctica, as well as the Mediterranean Sea and other waters in Europe.
From Naples, Franchetti and Honea will visit Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily. During the visit, they will join representatives from the U.K., Canada, Norway and Germany for the first-ever P-8A Joint Exploration and Discussion Initiative Symposium.
Franchetti is the first woman to serve as the Navy’s highest officer. She was sworn in Nov. 2.
