Helicopter pilot now at controls of NSA Naples says goal is work-life balance

NAPLES, Italy — A Navy helicopter pilot who has logged thousands of flight hours and deployed repeatedly to the Middle East during a career of 20-plus years took command this week of the Navy’s flagship base in Europe.

Capt. Benjamin Foster relieved Capt. John Randazzo of command of Naval Support Activity Naples on Thursday during a ceremony at the base’s Capodichino site attended by family members, Navy personnel and Italian military and civilian officials.

Capt. John Randazzo, left, relinquished command of Naval Support Activity Naples to Capt. Benjamin Foster during a change of command ceremony at the base’s Capodichino site on Thursday, July 23, 2026. Randazzo, who served as the base commander for three years, will next serve at Naval Region Europe, Africa, Central. (Alison Bath/Stars and Stripes)

Foster now oversees one of the service’s most important bases in the Eurasian area. NSA Naples is home to about 8,500 personnel, and among its 55 commands is U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet.

The base’s mission of serving the fleet and military families will not change, Foster said, but personnel will be challenged to follow three core tenets: learn, perform and care.

He asked sailors and civilians working at the base to adopt a learning mindset to help the organization grow and evolve while at the same time striving to improve their performance every day.

The Italian army’s 8th Reggimento Bersaglieri marching band performs its traditional running march during a change of command ceremony at U.S. Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy, July 23, 2026. (Sean Rinner/U.S. Navy)

Personnel also need to prioritize caring for themselves, their families and their community, he said.

“We will constantly balance the demands of the mission with the needs of our team,” Foster said. “There will undoubtedly be times when the mission must come first, but make no mistake, our people are our true asymmetric advantage.”

A Florida native and U.S. Naval Academy graduate, Foster was assigned to Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 6 at Naval Air Station North Island in California in 2004, deploying twice on the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in support of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, according to his official bio.

He also has served in Afghanistan and Bahrain, among operational deployments.

Randazzo’s tenure was highlighted by numerous quality-of-life and safety initiatives he spearheaded, including $500,000 in fitness center upgrades, the addition of new fire trucks and $5.5 million in facility improvements.

A fellow helicopter pilot, Randazzo had served as commander of NSA Naples since July 2023.

Capt. Andrew Olsen, commander of Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Europe, Africa, Central, left, Capt. Benjamin Foster, commander of Naval Support Activity Naples, and Capt. John Randazzo, outgoing commander of NSA Naples, speak with one another following a change of command ceremony at the base’s Capodichino site July 23, 2026. (Alison Bath/Stars and Stripes)

“I leave this command with a tremendous amount of pride in what we’ve accomplished, and even greater gratitude for the people who made it possible,” he said.

Randazzo won’t be going far for his next assignment, which is at Navy Region Europe, Africa, Central, based at NSA Naples.