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TOP PRIORITY

channels to ensure the item is of good quality and is not made products will have a hologram or hangtag that identifies their
in a sweatshop or factory with safety violations,” Santiago authenticity as officially-licensed merchandise.
noted. “Plus, you can feel good that a portion of the proceeds And for Santiago, it is these licensees — the ones that go
go back to the Navy through the MWR program.” through the proper channels — that help her office succeed
MWR is not the only Navy program to profit from the in protecting the rich history and heritage of the Navy.
trademark office. The Navy Wounded Warrior-Safe Harbor
program also benefits in another form. According to Santiago, MILLIONS FOR MWR
product samples that are not requested to be sent back to While the Navy has transferred more than $3.2 million
the licensees are inventoried and transferred to the Wounded to MWR over the years, it should also be noted that each
Warrior-Safe Harbor program. That program then distributes military service has a trademark licensing program office
the items to warfighters enrolled in the program at Warrior that manages its trademarks.
Games or at medical treatment facilities. As a whole, the Department of Defense (DoD) trademark
“When we let licensees know what will be done with their program offices have transferred more than $24 million to MWR
samples, they typically don’t request the items back,” Santiago programs for support of the nation’s warfighters and families.
explained. To find out more about the Navy’s trademark licensing
The NTLO has more than 250 licensees. Navy-licensed program, please visit https://www.navy.mil/trademarks.
products are available globally, including in major retailers Story by Sierra Jones, a contractor for the Office of Naval
and a variety of e-commerce websites. All officially-licensed Research Corporate Strategic Communications.

HALLOWEEN

In the Horn of Africa

ervicemembers and other base personnel at Camp
SLemonnier took part in a Halloween-themed bingo
game and costume contest, held on Oct. 27 at the Djibouti
installation’s base multipurpose facility.
In the first photo (at right), “legendary” masked wres-
tlers prevail at the facility, while in the second photo, the
“Ghostbusters” squad pursues one of the base’s “ghosts”
in the food court. In the third photo, zombie-like creatures
fill out their cards in an “eerie” bingo game.
Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) events are
one aspect of quality-of-life activities in support of the
region’s focus on six lines of effort, which also include
air operations, port operations, safety, security and core
services.

PHOTOS: MASS COMMUNICATION
SPECIALIST 1ST CLASS JOE RULLO, USN

8 MILITARY CLUB & HOSPITALITY | DECEMBER 2018