TIME TO SPRING FORWARD, CHECK BATTERIES!
Be sure to set your clocks an hour ahead when you go to bed Saturday night, March 7th. It is also a good time to test your smoke detectors and check the batteries. Safety first!
THE A&FRC CHANGES OFFICE HOURS
The Airman and Family Readiness Center’s hours of operation have changes. Beginning this month, they will be closed on Thursdays. All other weekdays’ hours are 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
THE A&FRC TO HOST BUDGETING WORKSHOP
Bring your lunch and learn some great budgeting tips Tuesday, March 17, 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m., Bldg 2313, Rm. 6. The building is the 452nd Mission Support Group (conference room) at 1261 Graeber Street. All base personnel are welcome to attend. Pre-registration is required by calling 951-655-5350.
SIGN UP FOR BUNDLES FOR BABIES WORKSHOP
The Airman & Family Readiness Center will hold its next Bundles for Babies Workshop Tuesday, March 17 (St. Patrick’s Day), 1- 3 p.m., in the Mission Support Group Conference Room, Bldg. 2313. The workshop is for all base personnel who are expecting or for those with a newborn. Pre-registration is required by calling the A&FRC at 951-655-5350. Be sure to wear green that day so you don’t get pinched!
DEERS ID OFFICE IS MOVING
The March DEERS ID office will be moving to a new location. The move is scheduled to be March 23-27, 2015. They will be closed during that week to move to Building 441, Room 6. The DEERS ID office will re-open on March 30th. Watch “The Beacon” or the wing’s social media at www.facebook.com/TeamMarch for changes and/or updates.
FREE NATIONAL PARKS PASS
U.S. military members and dependents of deployed military members qualify to receive a free annual pass to our national parks. The pass covers entrance to Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service sites that charge entrance fees, and standard amenity fees at Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation sites. For more details, visit http://store.usgs.gov/pass/military.html.
MARCH HAS NEW YELLOW RIBBON REP
The new 452 AMW Yellow Ribbon Representative is 2nd Lt Shelley Lawrence. She can be reached at shelley.lawrence@us.af.mil or 951-655-4615. The Yellow Ribbon office is now located in Bldg. 2240 in the 452 OSS section. SMSgt Jo Carrillo’s Yellow Ribbon tour has come to a successful close. We wish her well as she continues in her military career.
APRIL YELLOW RIBBON EVENT
The Air Force Reserve Command Yellow Ribbon Program invites you to a Regional Yellow Ribbon Training event to be held in Orange County, California, April 24-26. This event will include activities, referral information, education, vendor booths and interactive breakout sessions that span the concerns and issues faced by reservists and their loved ones before and after a deployment, including: Tricare, Airmen & Family Readiness, ESGR, legal assistance for wills & powers of attorney, Military Family Life Consultants, Personal Financial Consultants, and more. For information on the event and the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program, contact the 452 AMW Yellow Ribbon Representative, 2nd Lt Shelley Lawrence at 951-655-4615 or shelley.lawrence@us.af.mil.
FITNESS CENTER NEWS
Weekly Battles Ropes circuit at 12:30 and 5:30 p.m.
March 13, Annual Golf Tournament
April – Mud Run
For more information, visit the Fitness Center or call 951-655-2284.
2015 CIVILIAN TSP CONTRIBUTION LIMITS
Calendar year 2015 has 27 pay periods since the last pay day falls on Jan. 1, 2016 (a Federal holiday), which means you will be paid one day earlier on Dec. 31, 2015.
If you are under the Federal Employees Retirement System and you wish to receive the maximum agency matching contributions for 2015, you must ensure you do not reach the $18,000 contribution limit before the last pay day of the year. If you reach the contribution limit before the last pay period you will not receive matching contribution for the pay period (s) that no contributions were made.
If you want to distribute your TSP contributions over the remaining pay periods in 2015, update your election in the Employee Benefits Information System (EBIS). If you decide to change your election, take into consideration the effective date of your election and how many pay periods remain in the year.
For additional information on contribution limits and effective dates, visit the MyPers website and search “Thrift Savings Plan contribution limit”.
FY15 UTA RESCHEDULE GUIDELINES
Col. Muncy has determined that the following FY 15 Unit Training Assemblies may only be rescheduled if the reschedule date is for the alternate UTA during the same month of the A and B UTAs for the months of May and August 2015. The wing commander will authorize reschedules outside of the same month, if absolutely necessary, on a case-by-case basis.
TAP VIRTUAL CURRICULUM POLICY
Implementation of the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) Act of 2011, under H.R. 2433, and the Veterans Employment Initiative (VEI) under Executive Order 13518, has driven a host of new requirements for transitioning personnel. The VOW Act made service-member participation in the re-designed TAP program mandatory as of Nov. 21, 2012. This re-designed program expands counseling and guidance for active and Reserve members separating from the military after serving at least 180 days on active duty. Reservists going on or coming off of 180 consecutive days of orders due to school, BMT, deployments, TDY’s, etc. are required to comply with the following requirements: pre-separation counseling at the A&FRC, VA Benefits briefing (parts I and II), CAPSTONE (DD Form 2958) and five-day TAP workshop.
The VA Benefits brief can be completed in person at March ARB or online, You can attend the five-day TAP workshop at any active duty installation, or online (it takes four days and includes the VA Benefits briefing). For more information please contact the Airman and Family Readiness Center at 655-5350.
