The Spirit of Thomas B. McGuire arrives, McGuire receives ...

Vol. 12, No. 7, March-April 2005

Tsunami survivor givespersonal account ofnatural disaster

Dog tale - membershares story of hisflying pooch

First sergeant councilrecognition programgets underway

See Page 6See Page 5 See Page 9

The Spirit of Thomas B. McGuire arrives,

McGuire receives seventh C-17

This funded Air Force Reserve news-paper is an authorized publication formembers of the U.S. military services.Contents of the Beacon are not neces-sarily the official views of, or en-dorsed by, the U.S. Government, theDepartment of Defense or Depart-ment of the Air Force. Editorial con-tent is edited, prepared, and providedby the public affairs office of the 514thAir Mobility Wing, McGuire Air ForceBase, N.J. All photos are courtesy ofthe U.S. Air Force unless otherwisenoted.

The deadline for submittingBEACON articles is the firstday of the month for publi-cation in next month’s issue.Submit the article on disk inMicrosoft Word, and includeyour name and phone num-ber. Articles can also be

submitted via e-mail to:[email protected].

Call (609) 754-3487 formore information.

March-April 2005

EDITORIAL STAFF

Col. James N. StewartWing Commander

2nd Lt. Robert N. SperlingChief, Public Affairs

MSgt. Donna T. JeffriesEditor

SSgt. Monica DalbergStaff Writer

SrA Andre DandridgeStaff Writer

Photo Processing305th Communications Squadron

Visual Information Services

BEACON March-April 20052

EDITORIAL

BEACON Congratulations Capt. Mattingly,you’re the wing representative forthe 514th Air Mobility Wing’s annual

Air Force Assistance Fund Drive,” read thelatest addition to my rather lengthy list of in-bound e-mails. “Great,” I thought, “justwhat I need, another additional duty whileI’m trying to get checked out in a new air-craft.” All I could think of were the endlessmeetings, power point presentations, thatannoying “bong” that your Outlook calen-dar makes to remind you that you’re late forsomething, and of course countless e-mails.

I had no clue what the AFAF did, whatit was for, or even if Reservists participatedor benefited from the program. Thankfully,the AFAF took care of allthree of these questionsby enlisting the help ofmy good friend RegisPhilbin to explain theprogram to me and in-troduce several aidrecipients. Throughhis 15 -minutevideo, I learnedwhat an amazingand necessaryprogram the AFAF is formilitary families.

I realized that manybeneficiaries are part ofThe Greatest Genera-tion. They are mygrandparents and forsome of you more“senior” types outthere, they are yourparents. They aremen and women thatselflessly gave totheir country and theworld during darkdays, and becauseof vast disparities in pay duringtheir tenure, they are left in theirsenior years with very difficult financialand health problems.

Other beneficiaries are folks just likeyou and me that need aid due to a family orfinancial crisis. The AFAF steps in and of-fers confidential aid through one of four

AF Assistance Fund open toall, relieves financial woes

By Capt. Shawn MattinglyAFAF representative

“funds; The Air Force Aid Society, The AirForce Village Foundation, The Air Force En-listed Village Foundation, and the General andMrs. Curtis E. LeMay Foundation. The helpprovided runs the gamut from housing andassisted living facilities to emergency travelassistance and car repair. This Fund is anamazing example of Air Force People helpingAir Force People.

But what about reservists? I wanted toknow if they receive any of this aid. I con-tacted Mary VanderWilt in the 514th FamilySupport Center and sure enough severalmembers of our reserve family right here atMcGuire AFB have received much neededhelp. The aid received ranged from buyingairline tickets so someone could attend a fam-ily funeral to rent and mortgage assistance.These are not people in some distant landyou’ve never heard of, these are your co-workers and friends; people you see every-

day at McGuire.After all of my re-

search in preparing forthe campaign, I cansay that this Fund istruly a worthwhilecause with 95 percent

of all financescontributed go-ing directly tohelping AirForce members,including theGuard and Re-serve.

The AFAF fund-raiser ends April 24.Each squadron has apoint of contact as-signed and they willbe contacting you di-rectly. I encourageeveryone to take amoment and considera contribution.

After writing thisarticle I went back and read the e-mail again announcing my selec-

tion as the AFAF Drive Wing Rep, and I hadthe same response, “Great.” This time Imeant it.

For more information contact, Lt. Col. JimBrown at (609) 754-2503 or e-mail [email protected].

BEACON March-April 2005 3

Vol. 12, No. 7, March-April 2005

CONTENTS

On the cover

Departments

Briefs 4

Promotions 5

Air Force News 10

Features

Local Tsunami survivor 6

Team McGuire MOBEX 7

Competing Dock dog 9

Photo by Visual Information

Photo by Denise Gould

Page 7

Photo by A1C Dilshan Keragala

RETURNING HOME - A Tunner Loader removes chalks from a C-17 Globemas-ter III after returning to McGuire from a Mobility Exercise deployment onFeb. 14. More than 340 McGuire Airmen participated in the week-longMOBEX titled Crisis Look in Gulfport, Miss. The exercise tested and trainedunits in the ability to support global operations in all kinds of scenarios in-cluding humanitarian operations, surge operations and major theater war.

Page 6

Both military and civilian mem-bers of the 514th Air Mobility Wingcan direct cases of suspected fraud,waste, abuse or mismanagementthrough their chain of command orto one of the following Air Force Re-serve Command, Air Staff or Depart-ment of Defense hotlines:

� AFRC: 1-800-223-2784, ext. 7-1513 or [email protected]

� SAF: 1-800-538-8429 [email protected]

� DoD: 1-800-424-9098 [email protected].

IG hotlinesavailable

The “Spirit of Thomas B.McGuire,” the seventh C-17Globemaster III, assigned toTeam McGuire arrived fromBoeing’s depot March 8. Lt.Gen. William Welser III, com-mander, 18th Air Force was thedelivery official of the aircraft.Arrival of all 13 aircraft are ex-pected to be complete by theend of June.

A1C Dilshan Keragala, 514th Communications Squadron, and some of hisfriends delivered food and medicine to the fishing village Unawatuna in SriLanka following the December tsunami. There, the local hospital was de-stroyed by the immense tidal wave so houses were converted to temporarymedical facilities providing medical attention to the displaced villagers.


BRIEFS

TransitionsMaj. Mark Ustaszewki, accepted the chief

of safety slot in the 514th Safety Office.Leaving his civilian job at Boeing, the newwing safety officer begins his duties April 4.Maj. Ustaszewski is also a KC-10 pilot andformer member of the 78th Air RefuelingSquadron.

Lt. Col. Walter Holmes, deputy commander,514th Maintenance Group, leaves McGuire AirForce Base, May 1, to become the Deputy ofLogistics Maintenance Division at 22nd AirForce, Dobbins Air Force Base, Ga.

Lt. Col. Bruce Adams, former Chief ofHealth Services Management Branch for the622nd Regional Surgeon General, 22nd AirForce at Dobbins Air Force Base, Ga., re-places Col. Paula J. Sherman as commanderof the 714th Aeromedical Evacuation Squad-ron during a change of command ceremonyto be held April 30.

Lt. Col. Joseph Glebocki takes commandof 714th Aircraft Maintenance SquadronMay 1. He will replace Lt. Col. AnthonyEsposito who will then take over as deputycommander for the 514th MXG.

Maj. Panos Bakogiannis departs his com-mand position of the 514th Mission SupportSquadron May 1. He takes on new duties asthe wing executive officer, 913th Airlift Wingat Willow Grove Air Reserve Station, Pa.

CMSgt. LynnDeLaRoi, chief ofcustomer supportfor the 514th Mili-tary PersonnelFlight retired April 1after more than 30years of civil andmilitary service.She transitionedfrom civil service tothe Air ReserveTechnician programin 1974. The chiefrose through theranks while as-signed to the 514thAir Mobility Wingand has receivednumerous honors.Among her list ofaccolades, ChiefDeLaRoi was thefirst recipient of theMaj. Gen. JosephA. McNeil Award in2001, given to thosewho set a positivecourse for their fel-low citizens. Asshown, the chief isnoted for her ever-present hair bunwith ballpoint pen.Photo by MSgt. Donna T. Jeffries

Tax linksThe following are links to the IRS official Website on federal

income tax extensions for military members, combat zone taxexclusion, and hostile fire/imminent danger pay issues.

Access www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=101265,00.htmlfor information on filing extensions for deployed members;www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=101262,00.html for com-bat zone tax exclusion or hostile fire pay issues; andwww.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=108331,00.html#supportcovers areas which are considered combat zones.

AMDS movesWing reservists will receive health services at a new loca-

tion. The 514th Aerospace Medicine Squadron has moved itsoperations to the 108/514 Joint Medical Training Facility lo-cated next to the 305th Air Mobility Wing Health Care Cam-pus. Telephone numbers and e-mail addresses for 514thAMDS members will remain the same.

Airport gate passes availableMilitary family members can now receive a pass from par-

ticipating airlines to the gate to escort the military passengerto the gate, or meet a military passenger upon arrival. Eachairline requires that family members have photo identificationas well as the pass to get through the security checkpoint.

Free admission to adventure parksAnheuser-Busch Cos. Inc announced its “Heroes Salute”

to honor the U.S. Armed Services by offering free single-day

admission to its SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks to ac-tive duty military, active reservists, U.S. Coast Guard, Na-tional Guardsmen and as many as three direct dependentsthrough Dec. 31, 2005.

To qualify eligible military members must register eitheronline at www.herosalute.com or in the entrance plaza ofparticipating parks and show a Department of Defensephoto ID. Dependents may take advantage of the offerwithout their sponsoring servicemember, but an adult mustaccompany minor dependents. For more information, visitwww.anheuser-bush.com.

Civilian LES hard copy stoppedEffective March 31 civilian Leave and Earning

Statement hard copies will be turned off. All civilian em-ployees must request and receive a MyPay PIN to receiveany of their pay and leave information. All questions canbe addressed to the Customer Liaison Office at (609) 754-6261/1459 or at [email protected]. Main Gate Closes

The Main Gate closed Feb. 28 and will remain closed untillate summer/early fall, to continue construction. The MainGate will be closed for all inbound traffic during this time. Outbound traffic will be allowed from 6-8 a.m. Mondaythrough Friday. Gate four (off of Lancaster Ave.) will serveas a temporary main gate during this construction Mondaythrough Friday and will be open from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m.

LIVING LEGEND RETIRES


I have alwaysmaintained my healthand also kept inshape so I am able tokeep up with the“young” airmen.

At 58 years of age theFit to Fight programhas helped me in beingmore active andmaintaining my waistand muscle tone andincrease mycardiovascular level.

I got a really goodscore on the testbecause I’ve been afitness nut for years.But, I still have thisdream that somedayI’ll be skinny!

The Air Force “Fit to Fight” program has been in effect for over a year. Whilemeeting fitness requirements, what health improvements have you noticed?

SrA DeMorra Hawkins514th MOF

SSgt. Mickey C. Wilgus714th AMXS

Lt. Col. Kathrn J. Johnson514th AMXS

MSgt. Steve Brinson714th AMXS

TSgt. Adrian A. Camacho76th ARS

I have noticed adramatic change. Themuscles in my bodyare more toned anddefined, my energylevel is at an all-timehigh.

I have extra energy atmy civilian job and inmy personal life. It’shelping me preparefor old age andhopefully to live along healthy life.

VIBES:

The following wing members werepromoted during February and March.

AirmanAntonio Fonseca Jr., 514th MSGAmanda M. Malone, 35th APSJamin Pena, 514th CESRonald C. Woods, 514th AMDS

Airman First ClassRichard R. Taylor, 78th ARSNelson Villatoro, 514th MSG

Senior AirmanWilliam A. Bonifacio, 514th CESMelanie R. Caruso, 514th ASTSMaria A. Centron, 514th MXSEric A. Cobar, 714th AMXSCrystal M. Davis, 514th ASTSNikita R. Desai, 514th ASTSFernando Giglio Jr., 514th MXSJames B. Glass, 514th ASTSDarrell R. Harper, 722nd ASTSElvis J. Hernandez, 514th MXSCrystal L. Holmes, 514th AMDSElise L. Hosea, 514th AMDSKelly D. Jarossy, 714th AESOwen L. Monk, 714th AESCarleen B. Prescod, 514th ASTSScott A. Roberts, 714th AMXSVanessa Rodriguez, 514th ASTSGeorge L. Teamoh IV, 514th SFSJon Paul Terrell, 514th OSS

Staff SergeantJoseph G. Caspar Jr., 714th AMXSLaura J. Collins, 514th ASTSGregory J. Dicembri, 514th CESCarmine Giangeruso, 514th CESPeter M. Greco, 714th AMXS

PROMOTIONS

Kimberly R. Griswold, 732nd ASKhary A. Hunt, 714th AESElliot Lopez, 514th AMXSMark J. Owens, 514th MXSAdam L. Purtell, 514th SFSRobert Rodriguez, 78th ARSJustin R. Tolley, 514th SFSJose A. Velez Jr., 35th APSJames J. Viglante, 35th APS

Technical SergeantGary Adderly, 35th APSWilliam Alemstica, 514th AMXSJoseph Aviles, 514th CSChristopher L. Burress, 514th CSShannon K. Fuhrmann, 514th AMXSJames M. Greenfield, 88th APSBenjamin V. Keaton, 514th MXSBrieanne Kocak, 514th MXSHarry E. McCullough, 35th APSEdward A. Parrish, 35th APSDarryl P. Purdy, 514th CSMackie L. Rivera, 714th AESIsrael Rodriguez, 88th APSNancy E. Skidmore, 78th ARSSean M. Tierney, 514th AMXSSean G. Veerapen, 35th APSMegan E. Weinstein, 714th AMXS

Master SergeantSydney Agag, 514th AMXSLeonda R. Aponte, 35th APSRobert G. Brown, 514th CESMichael D. Jassmann, 35th APSTodd D. Jones, 514th CESCorey S. Shagg, 514th AMXSKwame A. Tawiah, 514th LRFRodric M. Thorne, 35th APSSamuel L. Vaughan, 35th APSAnthony Wilson, 514th CES

The 514th Air Mobility Wing’sFirst Sergeant Council has started anew recognition program.

Entitled the 514th AMW DiamondSharp Award Program, this venue willrecognize enlisted reservists for theirachievements, attitude and sharp mili-tary appearance and bearing.

Other areas taken into consider-ation are duty performance and com-munity contributions.

Once selected, the award will bepresented by a group of first ser-geants at commander’s calls or otherunit functions. Only council memberscan nominate and present a diamondaward. There are no limitations onthe amount of people eligible to re-ceive a Diamond Award, but awardnominees can only be nominatedonce per calendar year.

Contact SMSgt. Michael Ferraroat (609) 754-3313 for more informationon the Diamond Sharp Award Pro-gram.

First sergeantsbegin DiamondAward Program


December 26, 2004, an earthquake with a magnitude of9.0 on the Richter Scale ex-ploded in the Indian Ocean

roughly 100 miles off the NorthernSumantra. A reservist from the 514thCommunications Squadron was thereand here is his tale.

A1C Dilshan Keragala, a native ofSri Lanka, was in Colombo, a town onthe western coast of Sri Lanka, visitingwith his brother when the tsunamicrashed into the island country. A1CKeragala who became a United Statescitizen four-and-a-half years ago, is aninformation management specialist withthe 514th Communications Squadron.

“About 9:30 a.m. on December 26th,we got a phone call that water wascoming inland. We, my brother and I,

A reservist’s tale of the devastationBy 2nd Lt. Robert Sperling514th AMW Public Affairs

were curious as to what was going on atthe beach so we went to see for our-selves,” said A1C Keragala. “When wearrived, it looked like the water haddrained from the ocean!”

“As we were on the beach we saw asmall wave in the distance, but it kept get-ting bigger. We had no idea of what wasgoing on, he added.

After the first wave hit, A1C Keragalaand his brother retreated from the beach,but were able to watch the first and sec-ond waves come ashore. “A lot of peopledied because of their curiosity and had noidea of what was going on.”

After the last of the water retreated,A1C Keragala returned to the scene andhad the opportunity to speak with peoplethere. “I spoke with a woman who hadlost her mother. They were staying onthe south side of the island in a first floorroom of a hotel when water crashed

through the building. She said theyheard a loud ‘bang’ and then they were inthe water.” He described the woman asbeing cut and bruised from being thrownabout the debris while being dragged outto sea by the current.

“I was surprised when I found outabout the extent of the damage. Icouldn’t believe it until I went to see itfirsthand,” said A1C Keragala. “Thank-fully all of my family were okay.”

Later that week, A1C Keragala had res-ervations to stay at the Blue Water Hotel,one of the beach front resorts destroyedby the tsunami. The hotel had over 40 pa-trons missing after the water receded.Needless to say he never checked into thedestroyed resort.

According to the World Health Orga-nization report, the tsunami claimed thelives of more than 220,000 people in 11different Indian Ocean countries.

Surviving the tsunami

What’s left of this house in a smallfishing village along the coast ofSri Lanka is representative of manyof the beach-front homes in vil-lages along the coast that bore thebrunt of the December 2004tsunami’s force.

Photo by A1C Dilshan Keragala


Photo by SSgt. Monica L. Dalberg

February MOBEX prepares 514th for ORIBy TSgt. Brian Davidson375th AW Public Affairs

Emotions ran high for more than 340 McGuire Airmen asthey processed for deployment Feb. 19 and 20 as CrisisLook 05-03 kicked into high gear.

The exercise, Feb. 17-24 tested and trained units in the abilityto support global operations in all kinds of scenarios includinghumanitarian operations and is preparing Team McGuire for itsOperational Readiness Inspection set for October.

The exercise tasked people from McGuire, as well as geo-

graphically separated units and Airmen from Scott Air Force Base,Ill., to come together in support of simulated operations on the Ko-rean peninsula.

After mobility processing, airlift operations began, moving about750 combined Airmen and 80 short tons of cargo to the CombatReadiness Training Center in Gulfport, Miss., a facility specificallydesigned to offer a realistic training environment - keeping true tothe center’s motto, “enhancing war abilities.”

Once there the simulated games began. Airmen quickly pulled to-gether to establish work areas and shifts for 24-hour operationswhile dealing with events like hostile fire, unidentified inbound air-craft, flightline infiltration by enemy forces and attempted entry con-trol point breeches.

Establishing force protection measures, safeguarding critical as-sets and procedures for Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defensewere quickly accomplished.

“One challenge the units had was not knowing each other priorto the exercise,” said George Hancock, 305th Air Mobility Wing chiefof readiness and inspection. “By Wednesday they were working to-gether as a cohesive team.”

Following Air Force Readiness Special Plan 90-03, the Plans, Pro-grams and Readiness team develops ability to survive and operateand contingency scenarios consistent with Air Force Doctrine toensure air base operability.

“Each of the exercise events is designed to train and evaluate ourpeople and units in an integrated and realistic environment,” saidone of the deployed exercise evaluation team members. “We all takeour required annual or semiannual training classes, but the class-room only provides the basic knowledge we need. We use exerciseslike Crisis Look to develop competency in each of the aspectsneeded to survive and operate in real world operations.”

“We gave ample time between scenarios for the participants tohotwash and regroup,” said Hancock. “The unit’s teamwork wasoutstanding.”

514th Air Mobility Wing staff mem-bers prepare for the October Opera-tional Readiness Inspection by wear-ing the chemical warfare suit withgas mask during their unit trainingassembly weekends. The ORI will testmembers on how well they surviveand operate while performing mobil-ity taskings.

Cargo is unloaded from a C-17 Globemaster III follow-ing the 514th Air Mobility Wing’s return from a jointmobility exercise with active duty members fromMcGuire Air Force Base, N.J. and active and reservemembers from Scott AFB, Ill. The Operational Readi-ness Exercise was held Feb. 17-24 at the CombatReadiness Training Center, Gulfport, Miss.

Photo by Visual Information


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This model shows thecorrect placement of requiredand protective items Airmenmust wear when placed in anarea with heightened threatlevels. For more guidancesee Airman’s Manual, AF-MAN 10-100, Pages 21-31.


FEATURE

As an aeromedical technician for the 514th AeromedicalEvacuation Squadron and a flight attendant in civilianlife, MSgt. James Vicari takes flying very seriously. And so does his dog, Chulo.

Chulo, a 5-year-old Black English Labrador, participates inwhat is essentially a long-jump event for dogs called Big AirCompetitions. The contest is rooted in the sport of duck andgoose hunting. Competing dogs run the length of a 40-foot dockand jump into lakes and pools, most often after a decoy thrownby their owner or trainer, and swim back to shore. The caninewith the longest jump wins the competition.

Chulo has not always known the feeling of the wind on hisface. In 2001 MSgt. Vicari rescued him from the only space thedog knew, a crate in someone’s basement. Chulo, 1 ½ years oldat the time, had lived in the crate since he was a puppy. MSgt.Vicari, already the owner of a Golden Retriever and a DobermanPinscher, wanted to help find the animal a new home and had nointentions of keeping the neglected dog.

On their way home from picking up Chulo from his formerowner, MSgt. Vicari, his wife and their two other dogs stopped ata woody area with a streambed. The Retriever enjoyed fetchingtennis balls from the stream and so MSgt. Vicari chucked one infor him.

“The Lab, out of the blue, jumped in, flew over the Goldenand jumped on the ball. In one swoop he brought it to my feetand dropped it. And he had never been in water,” MSgt. Vicarisaid of the newly rescued dog. “We were amazed by it.” Amazedand smitten, MSgt Vicari and his wife decided to add the new dog

That dog don’t hunt,but he sure can fly

By SSgt. Monica L. Dalberg514th AMW Public Affairs

to their family.Soon after, while channel-surfing, MSgt. Vicari happened

upon the Big Air Competition on a sports channel and saw dogsjumping and flying like Chulo. He and his wife went online andfound another contest was scheduled to take place in Missoula,Mont.

“We drove, my wife and the three dogs, a total of 5,000 milesfor 5 seconds of jumping. We got the biggest kick out of it. Thefirst jump he jumped 16 feet 9 inches and placed 103rd out of 330dogs that year.”

Hundreds of dogs and their owners gather at various loca-tions throughout the country to participate in the dock-jumpingcontests. The dogs jump in divisions of Novice, Junior, Senior,Master and Elite.

“Chulo is a very consistent and solid Senior (division)jumper,” said Melanie Field, executive director of DockDogs,sponsor of the Big Air Competitions.

Senior division dogs jump between 15 feet and 19 feet 11inches. Chulo’s best official jump was 2 inches shy of the nextdivision, but MSgt. Vicari hopes to find the right conditions totrain Chulo up to the Master level.

“There have been times he’s had jumps over 20 feet but he jumpsearly, short of the dock,” said MSgt. Vicari. “I never really get to trainhim for a contest and I’d like to find a dock to train him from.”

To date, Chulo has competed in six contests and placed in thetop rankings four times. MSgt. Vicari looks forward to competingwith Chulo more this year. According to DockDogs, a portion ofall entrance fees for Big Air Competitions go to animal welfareand rescue charities.

Photo courtesy of MSgt. James Vicari

9


NEWS

WASHINGTON - The president's pro-posed defense budget for next yearseeks $3.9 billion in funding for Air ForceReserve Command and an end-strengthof 74,000 reservists.

The fiscal 2006 request covers the fis-cal year starting Oct. 1, 2005. It asks for2,100 fewer Air Force reservists than the76,100 authorized in fiscal 2005.

Senior Department of Defense officialsannounced the overall defense budgetrequest of $419.3 billion. The Air Force isto get $127.5 billion.

"This budget represents the latest in-stallment in the president's strong com-mitment to transforming this departmentto face the challenges of the 21st cen-tury," said Secretary of Defense DonaldRumsfeld in a news release Feb. 7. "Wecontinue our transition to a more agile,deployable and lethal force.

"We are a nation at war," the secre-tary added. "The president's budget, to-gether with the supplemental spendingproposals the president has made, pro-vides the men and women in uniformwhat they need to prevail."

In the president's budget, the Air ForceReserve requests funding for three sepa-rate appropriations - operation and main-tenance, reserve personnel, and militaryconstruction.

Most of the AFRC portion of the FY2006 President's Budget request - $2.5billion - is for O & M funds to train, orga-nize and administer the command. TheReserve received $2.24 billion in O & Mfunds in fiscal 2005.

President asks formore money, fewerAir Force reservists

In 2006, another $1.31 billion goes tothe reserve personnel appropriation formilitary personnel participation and train-ing requirements. This funding includes amilitary pay raise of 3.5 percent, and theaddition of 390 full-time Active Guard andReserve people. The requested reservepersonnel appropriation represents a$155.2 million decrease compared to thatreceived for the fiscal 2005 reserve per-sonnel appropriation.

Requested funding for military con-struction in FY 2006 is $79.3 million.These funds would pay for 14 majorprojects in eight states. In this fiscal 2005,the Reserve is getting $124 million formilitary construction, which includes ma-jor and minor projects, and planning anddesign. In his fiscal 2005 budget request,the president had recommended $84.6 mil-lion, but Congress added $39.4 millionmore to fund seven additional projects.

Finally, Congress added another $281million to help the Reserve in fiscal 2005 -$40 million in the National Guard and Re-serve Equipment Appropriation and $241million in aircraft procurement with theactive-duty Air Force.

Congress uses the president's budgetas a blueprint to draft appropriations leg-islation. After both houses of Congressapprove their version of the bill, the twoversions go to a joint conference commit-tee to resolve differences in the two bills.After both houses of Congress approvethe reconciled version of the bill, it goesto the president to be signed into law.(AFRC News Service)

WASHINGTON - Less than a year after its May 14 debut,the Pentagon Channel is taking to the stars — more precisely,the Pentagon Channel is taking to EchoStar Communications.

EchoStar’s Dish Network satellite TV service announced it isnow offering the Pentagon Channel to its more than 11 millionviewers. Programming will be distributed 24 hours a day, sevendays a week as part of Dish Network’s public interest channels.This means the programming will be provided at no cost to cus-tomers.

“We appreciate Dish Network’s decision to carry the newPentagon Channel on their satellite TV system,” said DefenseDepartment spokesman Larry Di Rita. “Their support helps usfulfill our mission of providing timely military news and informa-tion to the U.S. armed forces.”

Dish network brings pentagon channel to millionsDish customers will be able to keep current with military news

and information including DoD news briefings, military news, in-terviews with top defense officials and short stories about thework of military people.

The network also will include scheduled programming:“Around the Services,” a look at what’s going on at eachbranch of the military; “Studio Five,” which showcases conver-sations with DoD leaders; and “Focus on the Force,” whichhighlights military missions such as those in Iraq and Afghani-stan.

Customers unable to find the Pentagon Channel in their on-screen programming guide should call Dish Network. In somecases, a second satellite dish may be required or visit The Penta-gon Channel Website at http://www.pentagonchannel.mil/.

WASHINGTON – Health care forreservists gets a booster shot April 25.That’s when a premium-based healthcare plan starts for those activated fora contingency anytime since 9/11.

Department of Defense officials an-nounced Tricare Reserve Select at aPentagon news conference March 24.

TRS offers a bridge for reservistsentering or leaving active duty who arenot covered by a civilian employer orother health insurance plan. It’s similarto Tricare Standard and comparable tothe Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plan forfederal employees.

Monthly premiums for a reservistare $75. A reservist and family pays$233. Premiums will be adjusted annu-ally.

Air Force reservists must serve onactive duty for 90 consecutive days ormore on or after Sept. 11, 2001, in sup-port of a contingency. And, they mustenter an agreement with Air Force Re-serve Command to serve in the Se-lected Reserve for one or more yearsbefore leaving active duty. If they gotoff active duty, they have until Oct. 28to apply.

Reservists earn one year of care forevery 90 days of continuous active-duty service and every year of servicecommitment.

Coverage ends when the serviceagreement ends. It stops sooner if thereservist separates from the SelectedReserve, voluntarily withdraws fromthe program or fails to pay the monthlypremiums.

The Tricare Web site –w w w. t r i c a r e . o s d . m i l / r e s e r v e /reserveselect – will have more details.

New health planextends care foractivated reservists

10


NEWS

WASHINGTON — Air Force officials are designatingsome positions in U.S. Central Command’s area of responsi-bility as 365-day extended deployments in an effort to pro-vide stability and allow for long-term relationship buildingwith host governments

The new tour lengths will affect only about 200 key andcritical operational and joint task force staff positions, offi-cials said. People in the remaining positions will serve in thecurrent air and space expeditionary force structure.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper directed theextended tours in response to requests from joint task forcecommanders seeking continuity in selected positions, oftenwhere the local culture requires more time to establish mean-ingful ties with local people and host governments.

These key positions are an integral part of a combatantcommander’s mission and the AEF structure. No new posi-tions will be created; they will be converted from current AEFslots.

“The positions will span a wide spectrum of Air Force ca-reer fields,” said Lt. Col. James Davis, Air Force assignmentclassification, retirements and separation policy chief. “Therewill be a good mix of enlisted and officer positions, mainlymid-level and up.”

Air Force Personnel Center officials will take the lead infinding people to fill most of the slots. Air Force SeniorLeader Management Office officials will handle requirementsfor colonel and chief master sergeant positions, he said.

Colonel Davis said selections would be made during thecourse of the upcoming spring and summer assignmentcycles with all being in place by August 2005.

Volunteers will be sought first, he said. If there are notenough volunteers, AFPC officials will use modified short-

Extended deployments affect only 200By MSgt. David ByronAir Force Print News

tour criteria to fill the slots. For colonels, AFSLMO officialswill assign them through major command channels.

Although these deployments may appear to be remotetours, they are not permanent change-of-station moves. It isnot a goal to establish a permanent U.S. military presence inthe region, and there is no Status of Forces Agreement inplace covering permanent assignments, officials said. Thepositions will fall under the category of “indeterminatelength” temporary duty assignments. That category will al-low for certain entitlements to apply that are not available forstandard temporary assignments.

“Although we can’t consider them regular short-tour as-signments, they will be treated as such,” Colonel Davis said.“Lieutenant colonels and below who complete the tours willhave priority for follow-on assignments, just like any otherone-year tour.” Colonels completing the tours will be as-signed according to normal colonel assignment procedures.

Family members also may be eligible for standard short-tour benefits.

Storage of household goods is one benefit offered to Air-men serving temporary assignments of 180 days or longer.There are possible options for moving the Airman’s familywhile deployed; the availability and extent of those optionswill be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Airmen may also have the option of returning to theirformer assignment, if there is a suitable vacancy, officialssaid.

There will be career benefits for Airmen serving these ex-tended temporary assignments. Airmen serving the 365-dayTDYs will receive short-tour credit and be exempt from AEFor other contingency deployments for six months followingtheir return home. Most of the joint task force positions willearn joint-duty credit depending on actual length of rotation,officials said.

WASHINGTON-Officials from the De-partment of Defense and the Office ofPersonnel Management will publish theregulations that will govern how the newNational Security Personnel System willoperate, DoD officials said Feb. 10.

The proposed regulations appeared inthe Federal Register Feb. 14, and officialsinvite comment.

Navy Secretary Gordon England saidonce the public comment period endedMarch 16, the officials are conferring withvarious federal employee unions and thenwill give all comments “fair and full con-sideration.” Secretary England serves asthe DoD senior executive overseeing thesystem.

“Our plan, then, is to begin the imple-mentation this summer,” he said. “We’lllearn through doing, we’ll do this in

New civilian personnel rules published Feb. 14By Jim GaramoneAmerican Forces Press Service

phases, and we will progressively addmore and more employees (and) learn aswe go until completion at the end of2008.”

The publication marks the end of thefirst phase on implementing the new per-sonnel system. The system, enacted byCongress in 2003, will allow DoD officialsto better manage civilian personnel, theysaid. Once in place, DoD officials will beable to shift people among jobs, hirefaster and reward good workers.

“Now NSPS is going to replace a 50-year-old system,” Secretary Englandsaid. “We’re going to replace (the currentsystem) with a very modern system thatwe need to attract, recruit, retain, compen-sate fairly and manage our employees.”

The system will focus on performance,flexibility and accountability, the secre-tary said.

“It will be much more responsive tothe national security environment,

and…it will fully preserve our employeeprotections, our veterans preference andemployee benefits,” he said.

The first 60,000 people under theNSPS are scheduled to transfer to thesystem in July, at their current salaries.General-schedule workers will stop beingGS-designated employees and will trans-fer to pay bands. It will be a year beforethe first decisions are made on perfor-mance-based pay raises.

Dan Blair, the OPM’s acting director,said the new rules will not change merit-system protections, whistleblowers pro-tections, veterans preference, benefits,rules against prohibited practices or leaveand work schedules.

The system will change the generalschedule system and job-classificationstandards. It will give managers more flex-ibility in reassigning employees to fulfillcritical needs and more flexibility in whereemployees will work.

11

*Pay dates are subject to change. For in-formation, contact your unit pay monitor.

Pay days

* Apr. 15

* Apr. 29

DrillDates

UTA

Apr. 2-3

Apr. 16-17

MONEY

514th Air Mobility WingAir Force Reserve CommandMcGuire AFB, N.J. 08641-5218

OFFICIAL BUSINESS

PRSRT STDU.S. Postage Paid

Permit # 04517Philadelphia, PA

Retired Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Rob-ert D. Gaylor visited McGuire Air Force Base andspoke to reservists March 6. Through anecdotes andhumor Gaylor stressed the importance of all theranks and encouraged pride and ownership in beingan AF member. The Indiana native enlisted in the AFin 1948 and was assigned to the security police ca-reer field. He became the fifth chief master sergeantappointed to the top noncommissioned officer posi-tion in 1977. Gaylor retired in 1979 and began speak-ing at bases worldwide in 1996. Last year the 74-year old visited 43 bases. He enjoys staying in con-tact with today’s members and told of how he onceflew 44 hours roundtrip to Australia to speak for 30minutes. “If I thought that you would be standing atthe bottom of the ramp when I got off the plane I’ddo it again. I just want to be a part of what you’redoing,” he told his McGuire audience. Gaylor is inthe process of writing a book about his military ex-perience.

Photo By SSgt. Monica L. Dalberg

Base broadcast system sounds reveille, retreat

WISDOM

The time honored military tradition ofsounding reveille and retreat has returnedto the McGuire community.

Reveille signifies the beginning of theduty day when the American flag israised, while retreat is the end of the dutyday with the lowering of the flag.

As of February, base members are be-coming accustomed to hearing the newGiant Voice Public Address System at 7a.m. and again at 5 p.m., Monday throughFriday.

The familiar strands of the National

Anthem and Taps have not been heardsince 2000 due to auditory problems withthe public address system according tothe 305th Air Mobility Wing historian.

“Everyone, military and civilian, are re-minded to pay appropriate honors to theflag,” said Col. Robert Dubek, commander305th Mission Support Group.

The following steps outline actionsmilitary and civilians must take when theyare outside during retreat and reveille:

Those in uniform must face the flagand salute during the raising and loweringof the flag. Upon the first note of the na-tional anthem or “To the Colors,” every-one in uniform, who aren’t in formation,

By MSgt. Donna T. Jeffries514th AMW Public Affairs

will stand and face the flag or the soundof the music and salute.

Those driving vehicles will stop, turndown the sound system volume and oc-cupants will sit quietly until the musicends.

When in civilian attire, face the flag orthe sound of music and stand at attentionwith the right hand over the heart.

Security force members will stop all in-bound and outbound traffic and renderappropriate respect to the flag until themusic ends.

For more information, refer to AirForce Pamphlet 36-2241, Volume 1, July 1,2003, section 3.5.

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