Andrewsgaz 080814

AN INDEPENDENT PUBLICATION OF COMPRINTMILITARY PUBLICATIONS AT JOINT BASE ANDREWS,MD.DCMILITARY.COM FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 2014 | VOL. 3 NO. 31

AIR FORCE NEWSNew AFDW/CC renew focus, Page 6

SPORTSUpper Marlboro coach publishes

his first book, Page 5

COMMENTARYPaper size change, Page 2

BY SENIOR AIRMANMARIAH HADDENHAM

11TH WING PUBLIC AFFAIRS

At age 4, A.J. Ritterbeck startedriding up and down the dirt road byhis house in Belle Valley, Ohio, on any-thing he could find with wheels.

Those moments were just the begin-ning of a long and lasting love of rid-ing, racing, and eventually teachingmotorcycle safety to others.

“Every childhood picture usuallyconsisted of me riding anything; froma Fisher-Price Power Wheels Jeep, toan adult-size riding lawn mower,” saidRitterbeck, a Senior Airman 811th Se-curity Forces Squadron security pro-tective services specialist.

Ritterbeck began competing in mo-tor cross races at the age of 5, gain-

ing knowledge and skill in the sportby choosing to get back up every timehe fell; a mantra he carried into adult-hood.

“This was something I picked upfrom my dad,” Ritterbeck said. “Herode his motorcycle everywhere, rainor shine. I guess that’s where I get itfrom, and how I know that I will al-ways ride.”

Five years ago, Ritterbeck tran-sitioned from off-road bikes to sportbikes.

Shortly after arriving at AndrewsAir Force Base, Ritterbeck completedall necessary safety training coursesand began volunteering as a motor-cycle safety instructor and assistantsafety representative.

Andrews Airman takes an educated chance

U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO/SENIOR AIRMAN MARIAH HADDENHAM

Senior Airman A.J. Ritterbeck, 811thSecurity Forces Squadron securityprotective services specialist, rideshis newest motorcycle on a secludedcountry road near Joint Base Andrews.Ritterbeck volunteers as a motorcyclesafety instructor and assistant safetyrepresentative for his unit. see CHANCE, page 9

BY KIRSTEN PETERSENPRINCE GEORGE’S GAZETTE STAFF WRITER

Whenever Kerious, an 11-year-oldYorkshire terrier, strolled into a seniorliving home or a hospice center, resi-dents who would not normally get upto eat would rise to greet the therapydog, said his owner, Tracyi Johnson, 39,of Clinton.

“When they see Kerious they justwant to get up and pet him and hughim, and they’re already up, so nowthey can eat and go to the bathroom.It’s cool,” Johnson said.

After several years of comforting theelderly and the disabled, Kerious nowis the one in need of assistance in hisbattle against stage IV lymphoma, saidJohnson, who is trying to raise $7,000for Kerious’ chemotherapy treatments.

Although she takes Kerious - pro-nounced “curious” — to the doctorevery six months, Johnson said therewere no signs of cancer until June,when she noticed Kerious licking apelvic lymph node. She said she was indisbelief when Kerious was diagnosedwith lymphoma July 4.

“He’s such a good dog. He doesn’tdeserve cancer,” Johnson said. “I nev-er would have thought he would havecancer.”

Clinton canine fights cancerFormer therapy dog needs $7K for chemotherapy

KIRSTEN PETERSEN/THE GAZETTE

Tracyi Johnson, 39, of Clinton is raising money through the Magic Bullet Fund forher dog’s chemotherapy treatments. So far, the fund, which crowdsources dona-tions for canine cancer treatments, has garnered close to $800.see CANINE, page 2

BY KIRSTEN PETERSENPRINCE GEORGE’S GAZETTE

STAFF WRITER

With no word yet on whether thestate will help fund the PiscatawayDrive road repair, residents of theFort Washington community affect-ed by a landslide have started theirown fundraising campaign.

Heavy rain on May 4 saturateda layer of soil prone to sliding on aslope in the Piscataway Hills com-munity leading to a slope failurethat displaced five households,damaged water and sewer lines andforced 22 other families to temporar-ily evacuate their homes.

Prince George’s County officials,including County Executive Rush-ern L. Baker, III (D), have gatheredresidents for several communitymeetings to discuss proposals to fixPiscataway Drive and keep as many

Fort Washingtonneighbors “pitchin pennies” tosave homes

see SAVE, page 8

BY KATHY CANFIELD779TH MEDICAL SUPPORT SQUADRON

The first phase of construction forthe new Malcolm Grow Medical Clin-ics and Surgery Center is steadilyprogressing.

The Military Construction contrac-tor has completed support beam drill-ing operations for the future-parkinggarage that will be located adjacentto building 1075. Workers will begintesting their work on Aug. 13-14. Thetests may result in an audible “bang”as a weight is dropped into the shaft.Staff and patients may experience vi-brations and noise.

The tests do not have a firm sched-ule and will be performed throughoutthe workday on both days until com-pleted.

For questions, please contactCapt. Derek Findlay at 240-612-1159.

Constructionsite testing mayresult in noiseand vibrations

Andrews Gazette2 Friday, August 8, 2014

Andrews Gazette is published by Comprint MilitaryPublications, 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg,Md., a private firm in no way connected with the U.S.Air Force or any branch of the United States military.The appearance of advertising in these publications,

including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsementby the Department of Defense, the Department of the Air Force orthe products and services advertised.

Everything advertised in this publication shall be made available forpurchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color, religion,sex, national origin, age,martial status, physical handicap, political af-filiation or any other nonmerit factor of the purchases, user or patron.

COMPRINT MILITARY PUBLICATIONS

Maxine Minar, [email protected]

John Rives, [email protected]

Deirdre Parry, page [email protected]

Bobby Jones, [email protected]

As you have probably noticed,the Andrews Gazette now has anew format designed to make itmore reader friendly. While thesize has changed, our commitmentto publishing stories about thoseworking at Joint Base Andrews, aswell as what is going on in the sur-rounding community, has not.

We would love to hear fromyou about what you want to readabout in your newspaper. If you

have ideas for news or features, wehope you will email us at [email protected]. We acceptcalendar of events items and willinclude all that we can in the paperto keep you informed about yourworkplace and community.

Do you have a co-worker orfamily member who has a uniquehobby or a charity they work with?Has your group or unit completeda challenging activity or reached

a milestone? We want to knowall about what matters to you andyour family, so drop us a line.

We count on our readers to makethis a true community newspaperfor the base both inside and out-side the gates, and we thank youfor reading the Andrews Gazette.

Maxine MinarPresident, Comprint MilitaryPublications

CommentaryAndrews Size Change

Meet 25th Air ForceThe Air Force plans a series of

organizational reforms, designedto eliminate 3,459 positions. Costsand staff levels are expected to bereduced by 20 percent, resulting insavings of $1.6 billion across theAir Force in the next five years,according to Air Force SecretaryDeborah Lee James. The Air ForceIntelligence, Surveillance, and Re-connaissance Agency will be re-aligned under a new 25th Air Force,part of the Air Combat Command.The reorganization will enableACC to meet tactical, theater, andnational ISR requirements “moreeffectively,” said ACC boss Gen.Michael Hostage. It also providesa one-command structure for ISRairmen, which will be important asthe Air Force normalizes the ISRmission into the combat air forces,he added. The ISRA commander,Maj. Gen. Jack Shanahan, will bereassigned as commander of 25thAF. Most of the ISRA organiza-tions will become part of 25th AF.The National Air and Space Intel-ligence Center at Wright-PattersonAFB, Ohio, will remain alignedwith the Air Staff under the A-2

directorate. The new organization,slated to stand up this fall, will beheadquartered at JBSA-Lackland,Tex. Echoing previous plans to offervoluntary separation agreementsto those eligible, Secretary Jamessaid Air Force will “aggressively”pursue “reductions within the firstyear.

Obesity, TobaccoIlls Studied

The Defense Department hasteamed with the White House, in-dustry, medical communities andinstallation leaders to assess obesi-ty and tobacco programs for the to-tal workforce. During the summermonths, evaluations were madeat 13 installations to gauge theirimplementation of a healthy baseinitiative. Such factors as healthycommissary offerings, ease of ex-ercising, choices for healthy mealsand availability of healthy snacksin vending machines were consid-ered. Participating installationsin the National Capital Area wereMarine Corps Base Quantico, Va.;the Defense Logistics Agency, FortBelvoir, Va.; and Defense HealthHeadquarters, Falls Church, Va.

National obesity has spiraled since1990. In 2010 about 40 percent ofthe states were obese, with averagebody mass index of 30 percent orhigher. One of the primary reasonsfor men and women being forced toleave the military is failure to meetfitness and weight standards. To-bacco use, while on a fairly steadydecline across the United States,still costs DoD $1.6 billion in medi-cal care costs.

DFAS Phone HelpThe Defense Finance and Ac-

counting Service (DFAS) in Cleve-land has varied telephone menuoptions. If you need help with yourmilitary retired or annuity pay,choose option 1 after dialing either1 800 321-1080 or 1 888 332-7411.If inquiring about myPay, chooseoption 5.

The Retiree Activities Office isopen 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Mondaythrough Friday. Visit the office inBuilding 1604 at California andColorado Avenues or call 301 981-2726. Call before your visit to ensurea volunteer is on duty. The RAO hasa website at www.andrews.af.mil.

Retiree Corner

August 8-16Montgomery County Agricultural FairMontgomery County Fairgrounds, 16 Chestnut

St., Gaithersburg, MDThe annual fair boasts a midway, demolition der-

by, animals, agricultural-themed displays and more.For more information, visit www.mcagfair.com/.

August 8-16Prince William County FairPrince William County Fairgrounds, 10624 Dum-

fries Road, Manassas, VirginiaActive duty military admitted free everydayThe fair includes livestock exhibits, a variety of

midway shows, truck and tractor pulls, a rodeo, demo-lition derbies, baby contests, pet shows, live music andmore. For more information, visit www.pwcfair.com/.

August 9Splash Yards at Yards Park2-6 p.m.355 Water St SE, Washington, D.C. 20003The park will transform into an adult pool party

complete with giant inflatable water slides, poolsand individual motorboats, a water battle, live DJs,a concert by White Ford Bronco, plus a tiki bar rightin the center of the action. You must be 21 or over toattend. For more information, visit www.yardspark.org/.

August 9International Arts and Jerk FestivalNoon-10 p.m.Bowie Baysox Stadium, 4101 Crain Highway,

Bowie, MD 20716A family friendly Arts and Jerk Festival featuring

lots of International and local artwork, food, winetasting booth, performers will include the PanlaraSteel Band and many more. For more information,visit internationalartandjerkfestival.com/.

August 9Beach Party Family Festival11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.Smithsonian American Art Museum, Eighth and

F streets NW, Washington, D.C.The museum celebrates the intersection of land

and sea with steel drums, hula dancing and crafts.For more information, visit americanart.si.edu/cal-endar/featured/.

August 11-17DC Summer Restaurant WeekDuring restaurant week more than 200 restau-

rants in DC, Maryland and Virginia will offer 3course prix-fixe lunches and dinners for $20.14 and$35.14 respectively. For a full of participating res-taurants and more information, visit ramw.org/res-taurantweek.

HOT TICKETSAround Town

Her mother, Ella Johnson, im-mediately started researching ca-nine cancer and found the MagicBullet Fund, a website that crowd-sources donations for families thatcannot afford dog chemotherapytreatments on their own.

Laurie Kaplan, the founder ofthe Magic Bullet Fund, said thefund gives pet owners the chanceto help their dogs beat cancer.

“I have met a lot of owners whohad dogs with cancer and knewthere was treatment that couldhelp their dogs survive for a signif-icant period of time and they couldnot afford it,” Kaplan said. “It’semotionally devastating. I thinkit’s important for owners to say, ‘Ifought for my dog’s life.’”

Since the Magic Bullet Fundposted a profile for Kerious on July

29, close to $800 has been raisedfor his chemotherapy treatment.The campaign ends Aug. 29.

“Without organizations likeMagic Bullet helping us pet ownerswho love our pets, our pets woulddie,” Johnson said. “I feel bad forpeople who don’t know about Mag-ic Bullet.”

For families that have limitedInternet access but are looking forways to finance their dog’s cancertreatment, Kaplan recommendedsetting up a payment plan with thedog’s clinic or applying for a medi-cal credit card called a care credit.

Johnson, who does not have chil-dren, said she takes Kerious withher everywhere - to the movies,to church, and even on long rideswhen she worked as a tractor-trail-er driver.

“She takes good care of him,believe me,” said Carrie Blake,91, who lives with Johnson. “You

would think he’s her child insteadof a pet.”

Kaplan said lymphoma is oneof the most aggressive cancers indogs because it moves quickly, butit is also one of the most treatable- 80 percent of dogs who receivetreatment for lymphoma go intoremission, she said.

Although Kerious is movingslower than he used to, Johnsonsaid he doesn’t act his age and stillhas a lot of life in him.

“Despite his sickness, he’s try-ing to be himself,” Johnson said.“I’m not ready to give up on himbecause he’s not giving up.”

To donate to the chemothera-py fund for Kerious, visit www.themagicbulletfund.org or mail acheck to P.O. Box 2574, BriarcliffManor, NY 10510.

This story originally appearedin the Aug. 4 edition of The PrinceGeorge’s Gazette.

CANINE, from page 1

Andrews GazetteFriday, August 8, 2014 3

BY JAMIE ANFENSON-COMEAUPRINCE GEORGE’S GAZETTE STAFF WRITER

Trinity Smallwood, 11, of Landoversaid Prince George’s County’s pilotFreedom School summer enrichmentprogram has sparked her interest inreading.

“I didn’t really like to read, but whenI got here, they really got me started inliking more books,” Trinity said of thecounty’s first Freedom School, held at G.James Gholson Middle School in Lando-ver this summer.

Freedom School, which began June23, aims to provide summer enrichmentfor rising seventh- through ninth-grad-ers in high poverty areas, said programdirector Zachary Lewis.

“Our goal is to bring kids from [at-risk] communities together and givethem something positive to do duringthe summer time, to keep them off thestreets and then imparting to them alove and a passion for learning how tolove to read,” Lewis said.

The six-week program uses curricu-lum developed by theWashington, D.C.,-based youth advocacy nonprofit Chil-dren’s Defense Fund, Lewis said.

Kevin Maxwell, the county schoolsystem CEO, said one of the goals is toprovide a buffer against summer learn-ing loss, but also to provide positive rolemodels, through several college internswho assisted with the program.

“The interns were from HowardUniversity, and were all from PrinceGeorge’s County,” Maxwell said.“They’re closer to the students’ ages,and it gave them an opportunity to seeto see kids from Prince George’s Coun-ty who are in college.”

Approximately 90 children partici-pated in the pilot program, which wasa collaboration between county gov-ernment and the school system, saidChristian Rhodes, education advisorfor County Executive Rushern L. Bak-er III (D).

Each day began with “Harambee,” a30-minute affirmation of each student’s

value, which also helped put each schol-ar in the right frame of mind for thework ahead, Lewis said.

“All the scholars come together anddo cheers, chants, excitement, danceactivities and we also bring in com-munity members, so that the scholarscan understand that reading is essen-tial regardless of what career path theychoose,” Lewis said.

At the conclusion of the six-weekprogram, the participating scholars pre-sented a finale of music, dance, poetryand improvisational skits for friends,family and community members.

Jimaimah Ebiringa, 14, of Hyatts-ville, said the program was about em-powering young people of all races.

“It helps them know that they’repowerful, and to empower them to be-come something in life,” Jimaimah said.“The teachers really inspired me.”

Tabitha Graham, 14, of Landover wasanother participant in the program.

“I didn’t used to enjoy reading, butnow, after the IRC [Integrated Read-ing Curriculum], it teaches me that ev-ery time you read a book, you becomegreater. It improves your imagination,”Tabitha said.

This story originally appeared in theAug. 5 edition of The Prince George’sGazette.

Prince George’s programaims to promote reading

PHOTO BY JAMIE ANFENSON-COMEAU

Participants in the county’s pilot Freedom School sing “Hallelujah” during theirJuly 31 finale.

Participants in the county’s pilot Free-dom School summer program cele-brate during their finale on July 31.

1042611


Air Force officials announced a se-ries of sweeping changes to the Enlist-ed Evaluation System and WeightedAirman Promotion System July 31.

The changes are intended to ensurethe Air Force truly makes job perfor-mance the driving factor and will beimplemented incrementally beginningin August 2014 and continuing throughearly 2016. Additional information andin-depth articles will be made availablefor each of the major program changes,prior to implementation, ensuring Air-men are knowledgeable of and readyfor the changes.

“What gets measured gets done,”said Secretary of the Air Force Debo-rah Lee James. “We want to make sureperformance is the most importantthing in every aspect of an Airman’scareer, so the evaluation process is go-ing to measure performance, and thepromotion system is going to empha-size performance.”

Weighted AirmanPromotion System

To do this, the Air Force plans tomake several modifications to theWeighted Airman Promotion System.

The current WAPS calculation us-ing the last five enlisted performancereports will be replaced by a modelusing a maximum of the last threeEPRs, placing increased emphasis onan Airman’s most recent duty perfor-mance. Overall EPR points for WAPSwill increase while time-in-grade andtime-in-service points will be reducedgradually over the next few years withthe goal to remove them completely.Analysis at the end of each cycle willdetermine if there are any unintendedconsequences from these changes.

This same model will be applied tothe first phase of a new master ser-geant promotion process scheduled forimplementation next year. Airmen willcomplete their WAPS testing and havetheir test scores combined with theirother weighted factors, which includeEPRs, decorations, time-in-grade andtime-in-service points — until the lat-ter two are eliminated over the nextfew years. The top 60 percent of Air-men, by WAPS score within each AirForce specialty code, will move for-ward to the second phase, where theirrecords will meet an evaluation boardsimilar to the boards currently in placefor our senior NCO promotions.

Enlisted Evaluation SystemIn addition to WAPS changes, Air-

men will see new EPRs and new pro-cesses for completing those reports.The Airman Comprehensive Assess-ment introduced in July built the foun-dation for these changes by providinga tool and process to improve com-munication between supervisors andsubordinates. Three new EPR forms,which closely parallel the ACA, will beintroduced for chief master sergeants,senior NCOs and technical sergeantsand below. The latter two EPR formswill also include a section for promo-tion recommendations.

“The purpose of the enlisted evalua-tion system is to accurately documentduty performance so we can have hon-est performance-based discussionswith our Airmen,” said Air Force Chiefof Staff Gen. Mark Welsh III. “Unfor-tunately, over time the system has be-come inflated and a great majority ofAirmen have become a ‘firewall five,’which makes it very difficult to differ-entiate our very best performers.”

Chief master sergeant evaluationswill now be accomplished on a uniqueEPR form intended to capture overallperformance and provide the opportuni-ty to recommend chiefs for future roles.The new form will also serve as the se-nior rater’s process to nominate chiefmaster sergeants for the Air Force’sCommand Chief Screening Board, re-placing the current nomination process.Initially, the Chief EPR will be a testform and used only for this year’s Com-mand Chief screening board to be held

in September, with full implementationin 2015.

To complement the new forms, theAir Force will also modify EnlistedEvaluation System policy. Static, orfixed, annual closeout dates for eachrank tied to active-duty promotion eli-gibility cut-off dates will be introducedfor all Airmen starting this Novem-ber. The Air Reserve Components willfollow the same static cutoff dates asactive-duty personnel but will imple-ment changes over the next 30 monthsdue to biennial reporting require-ments. This will eliminate the need for“change of reporting official” evalua-tions which will be replaced by lettersof evaluation.

The static closeout dates also sup-port new forced distribution and seniorrater stratification restrictions. Fortechnical sergeants and below, forceddistribution will limit the number oftop promotion recommendations aunit commander is authorized to giveto promotion eligible Airmen; those noteligible for promotion will receive anassessment of performance without apromotion recommendation. For seniorNCOs, stratification restrictions willlimit the number of stratifications asenior rater may give to their mastersergeant and senior master sergeantpromotion eligible populations. Thesechanges will help curb inflation andensure accurate assessments by com-paring, and ranking, an entire groupof Airmen, by grade, at a single pointin time.

New active-duty promotion eligibil-ity cut-off dates for promotions to mas-ter sergeant and technical sergeantalong with changes to the testing win-dows for those testing for promotion tomaster sergeant will occur this fall tosupport the new master sergeant pro-motion process and the new forced dis-tribution requirements.

“This is the most comprehensiveupdate to enlisted evaluations andpromotions in nearly 45 years,” saidChief Master Sgt. of the Air ForceJames Cody. “Our enlisted leadershave worked closely with the Air Staffand (major command) commanders todesign a system that truly recognizesand rewards Airmen based firmly ontheir performance.”

While WAPS and its forthcomingchanges are exclusive to the active-du-ty component, the enlisted evaluationsystem changes are a total force initia-tive and will be incorporated into theReserve and Guard components.

Additional information and in-deptharticles on each of the major changeswill be released prior to each program’simplementation.

(Courtesy of Secretary of the AirForce Public Affairs)

Air Force to change enlisted evaluations, promotions

For more news from other bases around the Washington, D.C. area,

visit www.dcmilitary.com.1042422


BY IMAN SMITHPRINCE GEORGE’S GAZETTE

STAFF WRITER

When Archie Beslowused to take his sonsto football practice, hesaid he disliked how thecoaches would treat thechildren, saying theywould use foul languageor show favoritism to the“good players.”Beslow, 46, of Chelten-

ham said his sons’ occur-rences with poor coach-ing led him to publishinghis first book in earlyJuly titled, “The Parent.The Coach. The Mentor.”The book discusses

Beslow’s experienceswhile acting as a coachand mentor in UpperMarlboro, raising histhree sons and offerstechniques for parentsand sports instructors,he said.“The book is about em-

powering our parents andour coaches to be mindfulof their behavior on andoff the field as it relatesto our kids,” Beslow said.“When kids get out in theyouth sports arena, theyjust want to relax. Hope-fully, with the book, theparents and coaches canjust be reminded thatthey’re just kids.”Beslow began writing

his 130-page paperbackabout six years ago as ahobby, he said.Some of the book’s ref-

erences stem from hiscoaching position at thePatuxent Rhinos YouthFootball and Cheer orga-nization, a program thatpractices at James Madi-son Middle School in Up-per Marlboro, Beslow said.NaSheed Bridgeman,

16, of Washington, D.C.,said Beslow acted as hiscoach for two years.“He was always fair

and let anyone get achance,” Bridgeman said.“There was no one whodidn’t play and everyonefelt like we were a team.Everyone to him was agreat player.”Br idgeman sa id

Beslow helped him duringa pivotal time in his life.“I was struggling with

my grades and he helpedme get on the right

track,” Bridgeman said.“He cares and comesto your school to makesure you’re doing right.No other coach has donethat for me.”LaTonya Bridgeman,

NaSheed’s mother, saidBeslow didn’t just men-tor the youth — he alsomentored the parents.“He mentored me and

my husband,” LaTonyaBridgeman, 41, said. “Hehad us understand thatthey are teenage boys andthat they are going to gothrough things. He openedup our eyes to understandand raise our males.”Beslow’s book, pub-

lished by Anointed PressGraphics, Inc., in Chel-tenham, has sold 200plus copies thus far, hesaid. It is available on

paperback and Kindle.Beslow is hosting an

official book launch from5 to 8 p.m. Aug. 10 atCornerstone PeacefulBible Baptist Church inUpper Marlboro.Moshe Imel, 43, of Ow-

ings said Beslow sets a

positive example for theteam.“Arch is one of the

greats,” Imel said. “He’s anontraditional coach be-cause Arch will put a kidthat’s struggling on [thefield]. He wants the kidsto have that experience

and the opportunity tofind themselves. All thethings he talks about inthat book, I’ve watchedhim do.”

This story originallyappeared in the July 31edition of The PrinceGeorge’s Gazette.

Upper Marlboro coach publishes his first book

BILL RYAN\THE GAZETTE

Archie Beslow of Cheltenham coaching Jordon Sharp, 12, of Clinton, the quarter-back for the Patuxent Rhinos Football team on July 23 in Upper Marlboro.

Archie Beslow of Cheltenham coaching the PatuxentRhinos Football team on July 23 in Upper Marlboro.

10425911042592

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BY CHIEF MASTER SGT.JENN PAGNARD

It all started when Se-nior Master Sgt. Bill Tor-tolano, noncommissionedofficer of the Air ForceStrings, pitched the ideaof posting ringtones onour website for down-load. Giving it the clevername of “Stringtones” forthose files specific to theAir Force Strings, every-one instantly thoughtit was a great concept.Thus, another successfulBand outreach projectwas born!

Since then, Band web-master, Master Sgt. Bri-an Davis, and his collat-eral duty team have beenhard at work creatingand posting ringtones. Todate, each of the Band’smain performing groupsare represented, as wellas one of the unit’s small

groups, Celtic Aire. Infact, the ringtones were abig hit as Max Impact hitthe road on their first-ev-

er national tour this pastJune.

The free, download-able files are available

for both iPhone and An-droid phones. No sur-prise, one of the mostpopular has been “TheAir Force Song” ringtone.Since being posted onJune 26, it has more than300 downloads to date..

Lt. Shanti Nolan, of-ficer in charge of Pro-duction for The U.S. AirForce Band, is excitedabout this innovativeway to share Air Forceexcellence:

It is exciting tothrust great music fromthroughout our heritageinto the 21st centuryby having some of theworld’s best musical per-formances ‘ringing’ everyday on people’s hand-held devices. You won’tfind more polished, mu-sical sounds to alert youto a call or text anywherein the world!

Ringtones, get your ringtones

U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO BY SENIOR MASTER. SGT ROBERT KAMHOLZ

Band webmaster, Master Sgt. Brian Davis, creates aringtone from the Airmen of Note album Let’s Dance.He creatively cuts the tracks down and convertsthem into 10 to 30 second tones for Android andiPhone devices.

BY MASTER SGT.TAMMIE MOORE

AIR FORCE DISTRICTOF WASHINGTONPUBLIC AFFAIRS

Since the day he wasborn, the new Air ForceDistrict of Washingtoncommander has been partof the Air Force.

“My dad was a seniorNCO with 23 years of ser-vice, so I grew up in theAir Force,” said Maj. Gen.Darryl Burke, AFDWcommander. “I had an IDcard through college. Iwas in ROTC. Here I amwith 31 years of serviceand still part of the AirForce family. I might be alittle lost when I get out.”

The decision to servecame early for Burke.

“When I was in thetenth grade at Royal AirForce Alconbury, I usedto sit and stare out thewindow at the RF-4s thattook off throughout theday,” he said. “I remem-ber sitting there one daythinking to myself...thatis what I’m going to do. Iset that goal. I graduatedfrom college and cameright into the Air Force.”

Despite his ambitionto serve, after about adecade after joining theservice, Burke consideredseparating to pursue oth-er aspirations.

“I was a major when Iconsidered getting out, Ithink all of us go throughthat sometime in our

career,” he said. “At thetime, I happened to beworking a real-world op-eration in Panama. I wasworking eighteen hours aday for about a week.”

The stresses of theoperation—and militarylife—had begun to taketheir toll, said Burke. Butwitnessing his individualcontribution to the mis-sion proved to be a gamechanger.

“I was driving homeone night when an EP-3 passed overhead and Iknew I had done the workto task that aircraft,”Burke said. “The nextmorning my boss came in,threw a newspaper articleon my desk, and proudlysaid, ‘Here is the culmina-tion of your work.’”

That day, Burke felta connection to the mis-sion like never before anddecided to stay in the AirForce. Fostering this veryunderstanding in Airmenis one of his first goals inhis new role as AFDWcommander.

“There are critical mis-sions that we are respon-sible for in AFDW,” Burkesaid. “I’m going to workhard to get us focused soeveryone in AFDW knowswhat our missions areand how they contributeto them. We are going tofocus on that so every-body understands, nomatter what they do, theyare tied into the missionin some way.”

Setting clear priori-ties is a key part of un-derstanding the mission,Burke said.

“I have found in anorganization if you setpriorities and say, ‘Theseare the big things I’mworking on,’ then yourorganization can focus to-gether,” he said. “I thinkif you keep the prioritiesstraight, then everyoneknows what they areworking toward, and itmakes it easier to do thejob.”

Among Burke’s mostmemorable experienceswas as commander of the

380th Air ExpeditionaryWing in Southwest Asiafrom 2005 to 2006.

“This was when wewere fighting in both Af-ghanistan and Iraq,” hesaid. “There I watchedAirmen perform in waysyou would never dream.The ops tempo was at ablistering pace. Every120 days the wing woulddeploy home out and an-other group would comein. It was just amazing.”

Burke emphasized theneed for leaders to createan environment whereAirmen feel comfortablesharing their ideas.

“Our young Airmenthink differently thanthe older Airmen,” Burkesaid. “We need to let thempush up their ideas. Ithink we can all benefitfrom them. This is whyI say it is hard to win ahorse race when some-one is yelling ‘whoa.’When you don’t listen totheir ideas, the next timearound they will be lesslikely to offer somethingup. They have this greatinnovation, they can savemoney, they can savetime or just offer ways todo things smarter. Thisis why I think that ouryoung Airmen are veryexciting to watch and lis-ten to.”

Taking care of Airmenalso leads to mission suc-cess.

“I always believe thattaking care of peoplein our organization is agreat way to get the mis-sion done,” Burke said. “Ifyou take care of people,they take care of the mis-sion. If people feel likethey are valued, they arepart of the organization,and they are contributing,then they tend to meetthe goals.”

Burke’s respect for theAir Force’s ceremonialmission was cemented byan act of kindness duringa death in the family.

“My father passedaway in 1998,” he said.“The Air Force HonorGuard did the honors at

Quantico, which was myfirst interaction with theHonor Guard. I was ex-tremely impressed notonly with their profes-sionalism, but one of thelittle things they did forme afterward. They saw Iwas wearing an Air Forceuniform so they gave meseven expended shell cas-ings, which is somethingthey don’t normally do.It was a compassionatething which I’ve alwaysremembered.”

Burke felt great pridewhen he learned hewould command the unittasked not only with suchceremonial honors, butcontingency responseand operational supportfor 40,000 Airmen--10percent of the enlistedforce—worldwide.

“This is my fifth timein command and there isno better job in the AirForce,” Burke said. “Theopportunity to commandthe Air Force District ofWashington is kind of likea dream come true. Tohave the opportunity totake an organization andmove it, and shape it, forthe next couple of yearsis very exciting. You getto know people, you getto see things change. Forme there is nothing moreexhilarating than at theend of the day being ableto see the little things,the little steps that weall take to accomplish ourgoals.”

New AFDW/CC: Renewed focus on mission, priorities, people

U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO/MASTER SGT. TAMMIE MOORE

Air Force District of Washington Commander Maj.Gen. Darryl W. Burke addresses Airmen during theAFDW change of command ceremony July 22 onJoint Base Andrews.

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30


BY KIRSTEN PETERSENPRINCE GEORGE’S GAZETTE STAFF WRITER

More than 2,000 people came out toWatkins Regional Park in Upper Marl-boro for the Maryland-National CapitalPark Police community day Aug. 2, anevent celebrating the public safety agen-cies serving Prince George’s County.

From noon to 4 p.m., residents metpublic safety officers from county depart-ments and municipalities and watchedlive demonstration. Children enjoyedface painting, pony rides and games.

Lt. Brian Waters, a spokesman for thepark police, said the community day wasan opportunity for the park police to show

residents how much they appreciate themand their investment in public safety.

“I’d like to think of our community dayas a great pep rally or prelude to Nation-al Night Out,” Waters said.

Park police Capt. Stanley Johnsonsaid the department accomplished itsgoal of connecting residents with publicsafety officers in the community.

“We thought it went extremely wellbecause the people in the communitywho attended were smiling and having agreat time,” Johnson said.

This story originally appeared in theAug. 5 edition of The Prince George’s Ga-zette.

Community day celebrates public safety agencies

BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE

Cassidy Waite, 8, of Upper Marlboro, got to pet a horse during the Maryland-National Capital Park Police Community Day at Watkins Park in Upper Marl-boro on Saturday.

Sergeant Germaine Haywood complies with the children’s request, to hear the sirenon his motorcycle during the Maryland-National Capital Park Police Community Dayat Watkins Park in Upper Marlboro on Saturday.

1043274


BY MELANIE MOORE79TH MEDICAL WING PUBLIC

AFFAIRS OFFICER

Col. Mark Muth assumedcommand of the 779th Den-tal Squadron on June 16 ina ceremony officiated by Col.Thomas Cantilina, 779thMedical Group Commander.

Muth replaces Col. KevinNoall and is responsible forthe management, adminis-tration and operation of a24 dental treatment roomservice comprised of 19 den-tal officers, 44 enlisted tech-nicians and seven civilianworkers.

As the chairperson of theDental Squadron ExecutiveStaff, he advises the 779thMedical Group Commanderon all professional mattersrelated to the base dentalservice. He also serves as anadvisor to the medical groupcommander during wartimeand peacetime contingencies.The 779th Dental Squad-ron provides comprehensivedental care to approximately7,000 active duty person-nel and DoD beneficiaries atJoint Base Andrews.

Prior to his arrival, Muthserved as the Commander ofthe 60th Dental Squadron,Travis Air Force Base, Calif.from July 2011 to June 2014.Muth is a clinician with abroad range of operationaland leadership experience.This is his third squadroncommand.

“I can’t wait to get to workwith the fine dental profes-sionals at the 779th DentalSquadron and I am glad tobe a part of the 779th Medi-cal Group and the Air ForceDistrict of Washington,” saidMuth.

779th Dental Squadronwelcomes new commander

Col. Mark Muth

residents in their homes aspossible.

County spokesman ScottPeterson said the county estab-lished the Fort Washington Re-lief Fund shortly after the slopefailure to collect donations andhas received $10,000 from thePeterson Family Foundationand the Walmart Foundation.

“This is an incredibly diffi-cult and complex incident,” Pe-terson said. “The county is go-ing to continue to work throughthis issue with the same senseof urgency since its inceptiontwo months ago.”

Dawn Taylor, a resident andspokeswoman for the Pisca-taway Hills community, saidresidents decided to startraising funds after their thirdmeeting with county officials.There they determined theyneeded to hire an attorney tonegotiate with county officialsand advocate for an option thatrepairs the road and saves allof the homes, Taylor said.

Right away, residents start-ed “pitching in whatever pen-nies” they had, Taylor said.

“There were some citizenswho literally went into theirsavings and bank accounts andpockets and gave money,” Tay-lor said.

Neighbors pulled together aJuly 12 yard sale in four days

and raised more than $2,200,Taylor said.

“I was not alone in giving upthings that probably meant awhole lot more to me than whatwe sold them for, but it was al-so for the greater good of thiscommunity,” Taylor said.

Residents also launched aGoFundMe campaign, whichraised $4,805 in 26 days, andsecured nearly 2,000 signa-tures on a Change.org peti-tion. The campaign petitioncalls Gov. Martin O’Malley (D)to encourage Prince George’sCounty to fix the road and savethe homes, rather than buy outresidents.

“We have to take it fromyard sales and bake sales andchili cook-offs,” Taylor said. “Weare really going to have to for-malize a true fundraising com-mittee that will be able to bringin the dollars that may be nec-essary to help the community.”

While some of the moneyraised will go toward payingthe attorney, it would also beoffered to families to assistthem with housing payments.Taylor said some families arepaying hotel fees or rent fortemporary housing as well astheir mortgage.

“Whatever we raise we aregoing to try to put it where it’sneeded the most,” Taylor said.

Chief administrative officerNicholas Majett said the coun-ty is still having conversations

with O’Malley about whetherthe state could contributefunds to a $15.5 million roadstabilization solution, called“option five.”

Representat ives fromO’Malley’s office could not bereached by deadline.

“The county still says thecounty only has $11 million andoption five is the most afford-able option that will keep mostof us in our homes,” Taylor said.“They’re not saying we have todo it on our own. We need tocome up with $4.5 million.”

Resident John Schnizleinsaid after the meeting thatfinding and funding a solutionthat also helps the five unin-habitable homes on the slope iscritical.

“We’re still afraid of oncom-ing winter with the threat thatwe’ll be put out of our homesfor six months. I think that mo-tivates everybody,” Schnizleinsaid.

The community plans tohave another yard sale Aug. 9,but first, neighbors gatheredfor a potluck Sunday night.

“We’re trying to get normalmoments in a very abnormalsituation,” Taylor said. “We hadthis horrible thing happen tous, but we were neighbors andfriends first.”

This story originally ap-peared in the July 31 edition ofThe Prince George’s Gazette.

SAVE, from page 1

1042492

MilitaryDiscountAvailable


BY STAFF SGT. MATT DAVISAIR FORCE DISTRICT OF

WASHINGTON PUBLIC AFFAIRS

The Joint Base AndrewsFirst Sergeant Council held anEffective Bullet Writing Semi-nar July 30 at the William A.Jones III Building. The semi-nar covered helpful tips andstep-by-step instruction tobetter prepare supervisors tosupport their Airmen.

“Effective writing is one ofthe most important skills thatNCOs and SNCOs can pos-sess,” said Master Sgt. EricVillafana, 11th Wing First Ser-geant. “Effective bullet writingis what ensures that our Air-men’s performance is clearlyrepresented. It gets thempromoted, awarded and opensdoors for special duties.”

The seminar covered vari-ous topics, including sourcesfor facts, anatomy of a bullet,enlisted performance reportsand awards, leadership and ty-ing accomplishments to opera-tions and common mistakes.The seminar also providedan interactive session for su-pervisors to implement skillslearned and practice writingbullets.

“Deliberate practice in-volves more than just repeti-

tion,” said Master Sgt. AndreaCampbell, 11th Security Sup-port Squadron First Sergeant.“Professional developmentmust involve demonstrated ex-pertise in specific strategies inorder to grow our future lead-ers.”

The seminar was open forany Airman who wanted toenhance their skills as an ef-fective bullet writer and moretraining seminars will be of-fered in the future. For moreinformation, contact the JBAFirst Sergeant Council.

Effective bullet writing seminar

U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO/STAFF SGT. MATT DAVIS

Master Sgt. Eric Villafana, 11th Wing First Sergeant, provideswriting tips for Airmen during the Effective Bullet Writing SeminarJuly 30 on Joint Base Andrews. The Joint Base Andrews FirstSergeant Council held the seminar to try to better prepare super-visors to support their Airmen when writing evaluations andawards.

Despite his knowledge ofsafety, Ritterbeck was in-volved in a motorcycle acci-dent on a secluded countryroad in southern Maryland,June 14.

“It was early on a sum-mer evening, I told myselfit was a nice night to ride,”Ritterbeck said. “I was trav-eling about 55 miles per hourdown a back road, in a dense-ly wooded area, when a deerjumped out of the trees onmy right side.”

In that moment, he react-ed and decided to brake andlay his bike down on its rightside to avoid hitting the deerbroadside.

“Hitting a deer at thatspeed would have been likehitting a wall, causing meto tumble and break mul-tiple bones,” Ritterbeck said.“I remembered everythingI knew about riding, knewI was wearing all my safetygear according to Air Forceinstruction, so I decided to

chance laying my bike downinstead.”

As a result, his motorcyclewas totaled and he sustaineda bruised back and ribs, roadrash on his forearms, calves,and back.

After catching his breathand moving himself off theroad, Ritterbeck called hismother, then an ambulance.He was transported to anear-by hospital where heunderwent standard X-rays,a debridement of his wounds.He was released late thatnight.

“I absolutely believe Air-man Ritterbeck did the rightthing by laying his bikedown,” said Tech. Sgt. CurtisCockrell, 811th SFS Primaryunit motorcycle safety repre-sentative. “He made a split-second decision and hittingan object at that speed couldhave greatly increased theseverity of his injuries.”

For more information onmotorcycle safety, call theAndrews Safety office at 240-612-6380.

CHANCE, from page 1

For more news from other basesaround the Washington, D.C. area,

visit www.dcmilitary.com.

1043207


BY AIRMAN 1ST CLASSJOSHUA R. M. DEWBERRY

11TH WING PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Soaring 30,000 feet in the air, sur-rounded by 49 tons of aluminum andjet fuel, Tech Sgt. Chris McAlisterwatches the horizon curves behindhim and the earth passing below. Thisis one perk for the 756th Airlift Squad-ron boom operator.

As an in-flight refueling boom op-erator, his job is to transfer fuel fromone plane to another.

“My dad was in the Navy for 20years, always traveling around theworld, so that developed my interest inthe military early on,” he said. “Now Ihave the best office in the Air Force.”

The 756th is part of the Air ForceReserve’s 459th Air Refueling Wing,an element of the total-force com-munity here that flies and maintainsKC-135 Stratotankers for conductingair refueling missions, helping the AirForce protect and project air and spacepower.

McAlister made this mission hap-pen from the ground for years beforecross-training as a boom operator.

“I worked in aircraft maintenancefor 22 years prior to this,” said McAli-ster. “After watching these guys go upmany times, I eventually decided Iwanted to see it first-hand.”

McAlister has been a boom operatorfor approximately one year.

“Being able to do my job with theworld in view is a great feeling,” saidMcAlister.

The perks of flying drew McAlisterto the Air Force immediately.

“I joined the Air Force right out of

high school because I wanted to fly andtravel the world,” said McAlister. “I’vebeen able to do that with both the air-craft maintenance and operations as-pect of my career.”

McAlister said he has always lovedflying. This passion for aviation has ledhim to pursue his own private pilot’slicense.

“I went from fixing planes to fuel-ing them, the next step is flying them,”said McAlister.

Fix ‘em, fly ‘em, fuel ‘em

U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO/ SENIOR AIRMAN NESHA HUMES

Tech. Sgt. Chris McAlister operatesrefueling boom while in flight over Vir-ginia July 18. McAlister is an air refuel-ing technician and has been with the756th Airlift Squadron for over 23 years.

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