North Dakota
Officials at Minot Air Force Base will admit the northern-tier base poses several inherent challenges for the Airmen stationed there. Its high-tempo nuclear mission coupled with the base’s isolated location and large population of young Airmen test the resiliency of its members. Base leaders have adapted several programs to teach the Airmen there how to adequately deal with these issues and other stressors of life.
Florida
While celebrating each F-35 Lightning II arrival at Eglin Air Force Base, the integrated joint strike fighter training team also recently opened the doors for the first Air Force certification courses on the logistical support behind the nation’s newest weapons platform. The 33rd Fighter Wing has eight basic familiarization courses now in session at the academic training center.
Kyrgyzstan
Not everyone has the pleasure of saying they were on deployment with their family, but Airman 1st Class Marita McCoy, 376th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron traffic management office, does. Her father and stepmother are both contract employees who live in Kyrgyzstan and work at the Transit Center at Manas.
Southwest Asia
Tech. Sgt. Wayne Jenderny, 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron assistant chief of fire training, helped bring awareness to and raise money for a fellow firefighter by running 100 miles in a day. Master Sgt. Pete Soergel, 171st Air Refueling Wing, has a daughter who was diagnosed with a painful nerve disorder that requires extensive physical therapy sessions.
Space Command officials eliminate flight suit, jackets
Air Force Space Command officials announced April 13 that Airmen assigned to the command will cease wearing flight suits, the green flight jacket and the A-2 leather jacket by the end of the fiscal year.
Directed by Gen. William Shelton, the AFSPC commander, the move is designed to standardize uniform wear across Space Command in a resource-constrained environment. AFSPC officials stopped purchasing flight duty uniforms, desert flight duty uniforms, A-2 leather jackets and associated patches for space operators March 14.
“We want to create synergy among all personnel across the command,†Shelton said. “When personnel wear the same uniform, it has a unifying effect toward mission accomplishment. Standardization among the entire command prevents the perception of a ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ situation; the very meaning of the word ‘uniform’ should drive us toward standardization.â€
This policy change was presented to AFSPC leadership from personnel within the command during an effort to identify command-wide efficiency opportunities. The policy affects approximately 1,800 Airmen in the space systems operations and space and missile operations career fields. It will save an estimated $670,000 per year during a time of fiscal constraint throughout the Air Force.
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123298140
