Naval Station Rota families packed the David Glasgow Farragut Multipurpose Room to see their favorite Sesame Street characters sing and dance while delivering a very important message, Nov. 3.

In collaboration with Sesame Workshop, the USO brought popular Sesame Street characters Elmo, Grover, Cookie Monster and Rosita to perform their new show about helping children cope with transitioning to the civilian world after their parent's military career is over. The show also starred Katie, a new character that was created specifically for this show because she is a military child going through the transition.

"The show acts as a jumping off point," said Betty Naylor, USO tour manager and producer. "The families can see the show and then any questions that may come up about transition, they can hopefully reach back and use some of the tools they saw in the show. It's meant to be fun, entertaining and interactive."

The USO started hosting Sesame Street shows in June 2008. What started out as a few concept shows turned into the most popular USO entertainment performance. It continues to be a tool for military families to use when they speak with their children about transitioning and changing to a new base and it's all portrayed by the characters they know and love. The show teaches children how to cope with the transition from military life to civilian life through the songs and dance of the lovable characters they see on TV. It teaches strength and confidence to the children.

It was easy to see that the show brought comfort and laughter to the hundreds in attendance. Kids sang and danced along with their favorite Sesame Street characters and were overjoyed with the prizes that were given away during the performance.

"Elmo is my favorite but I really like Katie because she is a military kid like me," said Emily, a preschooler at DGF Elementary.

This was the final performance of the two-month tour, which brought their important message throughout the European theater including Italy, Germany, Belgium and the United Kingdom.

Naval Station Rota, which is part of Navy Region Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia (EURAFSWA), provides operational platforms ashore that enable U.S., allied and partner nation forces to be where they are needed, when they are needed, to ensure security and stability in Europe, Africa and Southwest Asia.

Just as ships perform lines of operation that provide a capability, Navy Region EURAFSWA bases perform the same eight lines of operation to provide capability to the fleet, joint and allied forces. These eight lines of operation are air operations; port operations; safety; security; housing; Morale, Welfare and Recreation; fleet and family services; and what is called the core: the fuels, water and power that keep the bases running. Through these lines of operation, the installations are force multipliers that maximize combat capability of operational units.

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