Fifty enlisted and commissioned service members assigned to Naval Aviation Schools Command (NASC) volunteered, Nov. 4-5 and Nov. 8-9, to assist in setting up and tearing down booths for one of the most well-attended festivals in the Pensacola area.

The Great Gulf Coast Arts Festival, an annual three-day juried art show, attracted more than 200 of the nation's best painters, potters, sculptors, jewelers, graphic artists, craftsmen and other artists, as well as significant crowds. NASC personnel volunteered nearly 300 hours of labor in erecting booths, stages and other behind-the-scenes material necessary for the festival.

Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival Volunteer Coordinator Mike Lane said Navy volunteers have become an integral part of the annual event, providing a much-needed workforce for the nationally recognized festival.

"We are a 100 percent volunteer organization," he said. "Without the Navy volunteers we couldn't do it. The Navy provides [the] majority of the volunteers for setting up and tearing down days."

The Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival is one of the best-regarded, most popular arts festivals in the United States. It was ranked #27 in the nation by Sunshine Artist Magazine, and the American Bus Association named the festival one of the Top 100 Events in North America.

Naval Aviation Schools Command, located aboard Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., is part of the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training (CNATT). NASC courses include enlisted and commissioned training programs for aircrew, aviator, survival and prospective commanding officer training programs.

CNATT is the technical training agent for the Naval Aviation Enterprise (NAE), an organization designed to advance and sustain naval aviation warfighting capabilities at an affordable cost, and is the largest training center under the NETC.

For more news from Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training, visit http://www.navy.mil/.