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Ten ways to help kids conquer military life challenges

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U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Ashley J. Thum

We often say that military kids face “unique challenges,” but what does that really mean? Military children grow up fast. They know firsthand what big change feels like, from saying goodbye to friends to learning new languages and customs. They learn terms like “PCS,” “period of adjustment,” and “deployment,” sometimes before they can even spell their last names.

Currently, about 1.88 million military children experience a different set of obstacles than their non-military peers. They don’t have to face the challenges of military life alone. Many great resources, created specifically for military children of all ages, are designed to help teach, inspire, encourage and comfort through the good and the more difficult times.

These 10 tips, adapted from afterdeployment.org, may help you and your child adjust and thrive during military life changes:

1. Encourage connections. It’s easy to feel isolated when you move around a lot. Connecting with others is very important. Military Kids Connect provides a safe, online space for military kids to connect with one another and share experiences. Military families can also get tips on how to stay connected to parents throughout deployment.

2. Help others.  Show children how giving your time to others can be both empowering and rewarding. From volunteering at a school event to finding opportunities in your local community, there are many ways your family can get involved.

3. Establish routines. Sticking to a routine can offer children a sense of safety and stability.

4. Take a break, have some fun. Life can be hard. Sometimes we just need a break. Teach your children to make time for fun. If you need help finding something uplifting to do in your area, try using the Positive Activity Jackpot mobile application.

5. Teach your child self-care. It’s important for the family to eat right, exercise and get enough sleep. The Army Medicine Performance Triad has great information for the whole family!

6. Set goals. Teach your children to set reasonable goals and then to move toward them one step at a time. This can help build the resilience to move forward in the face of challenges.

7. Encourage your children to see themselves positively.  In addition to celebrating the successes of a good grade in school or other accomplishment, it can be helpful to look back with your child to a time when he or she overcame something difficult. This can develop their sense of strength and self-esteem for the next challenge.

8. Keep things in perspective and stay hopeful. It’s not always easy to stay positive when things are tough, but you can be a great example to your kids. Real Warriors offers six ways to think positively – try implementing them in your own life as an example to your kids.

9. Look for opportunities for self-discovery. FOCUS on the Go mobile application helps kids learn coping skills, identify feelings, share their stories and play games. Military Families Near and Far teaches children of all ages to understand their feelings and how to express them.

10. Accept that change is part of living. Change can be scary at all ages, but it is a constant in life. Talking about change can help military kids learn to accept and understand what is going on.

Want more useful parenting skills and tips? Parenting for Service Members and Veterans is a free online course available to all service members and veterans. The DCoE Outreach Center is also always on standby to answer your questions and direct you to resources: call 866-966-1020, email resources@DCoEoutreach.org or live chat at realwarriors.net/livechat.

922nd Civil Engineer Flight, small unit, worldwide impact

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U.S. Air Force photo/Capt. Jason Saberin

The 922nd Civil Engineer Squadron’s Staff Augmentation Team (S-Team) continues to proudly represent March Air Reserve Base with worldwide engineering successes. As one of three Air Force Reserve S-Teams, the 922nd provides staff augmentation to combatant commands in the form of engineering management, planning and Command and Control (C2) services. The 922 CEF is a small unit with a big mission whose reach is truly worldwide, from the most active Area of Responsibilities, such as U.S. Central Command, to engineering planning and exercise execution in Korea to its home state of California. The 922 CEF is assigned primarily to Pacific Air Forces but is active at many additional commands and regions. Assigned projects support international and local communities and help manage facility construction. This type of mission requires a unit with members versed in a diversity of capabilities and backgrounds.

Members of 922 CEF successfully concluded a multi-year U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) deployment cycle, with a total of 13 members deployed since Jan. 1, 2013. That may seem like a small number at first glance, but this amounts to approximately half of the unit. Their last member to return home, Lt. Col. Anthony Chin, contributed a great deal to the CE mission in CENTCOM. While deployed, Chin, serving as the deputy commander of the 577th Expeditionary Prime Beef Squadron, oversaw three construction teams at more than 29 locations in nine different countries. His teams completed in excess of $2.2 million in construction projects and managed an additional $2 million worth of projects awaiting construction. One of his teams, the 577th Expeditionary Prime BEEF Squadron, J2 retrograded various tension-fabric shelters throughout the Area of Operations and saved the Air Force more than $17 million in material and contract costs.

Several other recent 922 CEF deployed members contributed significantly to combat missions during the past year, one of whom is Maj. Jack Barnett. He deployed to Afghanistan and served as the construction operations lead with his Army counterparts monitoring ongoing construction projects throughout Afghanistan.

“Don’t get caught up in your own service mentality. Be open to the joint environment, sharing knowledge and culture as routinely as possible,” Barnett said, stressing the importance of working as a team with the Army.

Additionally, Capt. Justin Eise was instrumental in CENTCOM success, leading engineer forces in transforming a caretaker base to combat operations located within a coalition country’s borders.   

The 922 CEF S-Team also has significant presence in Pacific Command (PACOM).  This summer, the 922 CEF is leading collocated operating base site surveys on the Korean peninsula, while also playing important roles in the KEY RESOLVE and ULCHI FREEDOM GUARDIAN exercises.   

Currently the unit is supporting the Defense Department’s Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) program, providing technical engineering resources as well as construction management assistance to the IRT program managers and lead RED HORSE squadrons for two regional IRT projects.

The first clears decades of debris from the Santa Rosa Dam site located near Hemet, to help the tribal sponsor restore operating conditions. The second, near San Marcos, Air Force Reserve engineers are clearing the site and performing initial construction for the 20-acre Training, Education, Research and Innovation (TERI) campus of life, where the goal is to improve the quality of life for children and adults with developmental and learning disabilities such as autism.

For both projects, the 922 CEF is providing support with safety, quality and construction management plans, recurring site visits and technical engineering resources. For example, the TERI site required special attention to geotechnical and surface soil conditions, for which the S-Team helped effectively plan. 

The 922 CEF also acknowledges the importance of training with sister services such as the Army and Navy. In February, a groundbreaking training event took place when March’s S-Team hosted the Army Corps of Engineers Northwest Division Field Engineer Support Team (FEST-A). The S-Team and FEST-A conducted a four-day joint engineer training which included overviews of Army and Air Force capabilities and doctrines. Team March provided great support, including allowance to orient Army personnel to features of the active runway like runway lighting, pavements and aircraft arresting systems, as well as an outstanding overview of Bare Base Assets at the California Air National Guard Regional Training Site. The week concluded with a capstone, joint exercise where joint force engineers prepared a base for the reception of kinetic airpower and Army Stryker Brigade Combat Team missions.

The seven-hour exercise was highly realistic, testing the joint team’s ability to integrate, plan for incoming forces, develop logistics, manage construction, design new facilities and effectively develop a Reception, Staging and Onward Integration bed-down location. The exercise out brief was received by senior Army, Navy and Air Force engineers who provided superb joint perspective to the exercise participants. 

This type of cross-service integration is lauded by Air Force Reserve Civil Engineer leadership and is expected to be implemented in S-Team training Air Force wide. Additionally, the training was singled out as a superb joint engineer event to the senior DOD engineer, Army Lt. Gen. Tom Bostick.

“This was a great chance to exercise as the joint team,” said Col. John Buck, Seattle district commander and the senior Army engineer to receive the out brief.

It is important to exercise cross-service integration and training to increase synergetic capabilities, said Col. Mark Slominski, 922 CEF commander. He believes that more exercises like this need to be performed, not only with Army counterparts but, with the Navy and across government agencies as well.

“I expect our members to be accountable as ready engineers, supervisors and program managers to perform our duty in support of the military engineer mission, anytime, anywhere.”

AF sexual assault prevention: moving in the right direction

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“I was raised in a household where you take responsibility for your own actions and don’t blame others for your downfalls,” said Tech. Sgt. Kathleen Thorburn. “Instead of seeing a crime that had occurred, all I could see were my mistakes. Why did I go to that party? Why did I accept the drink? Why did I laugh at their jokes? Why didn’t I scream?”

Thorburn was sexually assaulted by a co-worker she trusted shortly after joining the Air Force. She’d been invited to a party by one of her instructors and encouraged to drink and take shots of alcohol, even though she was underage. Though she can’t remember all the details from the night, she clearly remembers her ride leaving, being led into a bedroom and waking up with someone on top of her.

“The next day I woke up in a haze … confused by missing clothes, where I was, and what had happened,” she said. “Although, I was very aware of the fact that someone had been inside of me and it hurt down there.”

She was convinced by a friend to report the incident to her chain of command, which ultimately resulted in an investigation by Air Force Office of Special Investigations and a Letter of Reprimand for underage drinking. This was before the SAPR program had really been implemented, so after the paperwork, she was switched to a new team and no one spoke with her about the incident again.

“At the time, that’s what I wanted,” she said. “I was a brand new Airman. I had only been in the shop for a couple of weeks and I just wanted this to go away. Sometimes when I think about it, I feel guilty that I didn’t do more and ‘let’ him walk away, because who knows if he might have done the same thing to someone else.”

Shortly after this incident, the options of restricted and non-restricted reporting of sexual assaults were introduced to the Air Force; a concept Thorburn believes really helped change the way the service deals with victims and sexual assault for the better.

“After that happened to me, not one person asked if I needed to talk to a counselor … not one person suggested I go to medical for a checkup, but that was fine with me because at the time I just wanted it to go away,” she said. “But two months later, they announced restricted and non-restricted reporting and I thought, ‘That would have been helpful a few months ago.’ I think going restricted would have been a good option for me.”

She said the changes in reporting protocols also came with additional training and education about how to assist victims, which she believes helped change the culture.

“When I think about my leadership at the time and how little training and experience they must have had dealing with sexual assault and how much training everyone receives today … I think today we are much better equipped to deal with it,” she said. “There is a greater understanding of sexual assault.”

Thorburn said the culture at the time made it easy for her to pretend her assault didn’t happen, which is what she tried to do.

Hurt, angry, frustrated and confused, following the assault, she said she began to try to move on with her life. It wasn’t until she was approached by her new supervisor offering moral support and empathy that Thorburn realized what had happened to her was wrong, but that she could rise above it.

“It took me a long time to even admit to myself or agree with the fact that I had been raped,” she said. “I could agree verbally, but I could not fully accept it. Years went by and it was constantly in the back of my mind, yet I was always ignoring it and pretending it didn’t happen. Slowly, but surely, I began to come to terms with what happened.”

Right around that time, the Sexual Assault Response Coordinator began to look for victim advocates (VA) to support the new program and assist in victim recovery, and Thorburn took her first step toward recovery.

“No one was really there for me when I needed help, and a VA may have been just the person that could have helped me,” she said. “I wanted to take what I learned and gained from this horrific event in my life and help someone else.”

Before she would be able to fully help someone else, she knew she would need to face her own past head on.

“I’m not very good at journaling, but I do believe in spoken word,” she said. “I no longer fully believed that it was my fault, but I knew I that I could never help someone else if I could not admit what happened to me. I was a seeing a counselor at the time, and one day I just sat down in her office and explained my story from beginning to end — it was liberating. I told a couple of my best friends and it was even more liberating. No longer did I have this secret to hide.”

After that defining point in her life, Thorburn joined the Sexual Assault and Prevention Response Program and became an active participant.

“With each new event I became more and more confident in myself,” she said. “I think the feelings I have, I will have for the rest of my life, but it gets better.”

As part of her work as an advocate against sexual assault, she speaks out against myths regarding alcohol use and sexual assault.

“Sexual assault is not a side effect of drinking,” she said. “Just because you’ve been drinking does not equal rape. Dizziness, headaches and nausea are all side effects of drinking, but rape is not one of them.”

Thorburn said it’s important to teach Airmen about responsible drinking practices and being good wingmen, but it’s just as important, if not more so, to talk to them about sexual assault and respecting other people.

“Air Force training has become more assailant based and it’s great that it’s shifted focus from victim blaming,” she said. “Assailant based training, I think, addresses so many questions about what happens to people after the assault and what happens to the assailant and I think that’s a good way to go. We’re moving in the right direction, working toward prevention and not just response.”

News Briefs 04/17/2015

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CONSTRUCTION AT CACTUS AVE AND RIVERSIDE DR

The City of Moreno Valley has removed the “No Right Turn” sign at Cactus/Riverside (east bound) and will see how it goes. They warned that during construction, the turn radius is not enough for tractor trailer/delivery trucks and it will be a problem for those vehicles. Please have your delivery trucks use the Heacock/Meyers entrance to the area to avoid problems with the construction crew. If a problem arises with the vehicle traffic while the construction crew is relocating the traffic signal and installing traffic modifications at the Riverside/Cactus intersection the “No Right Turn” sign will be put up again and enforced. Hopefully this will make things easier for all while the street widening project is going on. If you have any questions contact the March Community Planner and Liaison at 951-655-2236.

FREE RESILIENCY/BULLY PROOFING TRAINING

The Airman and Family Readiness Center, through the Military Child Education Coalition, will host a free U.S. Air Force Resilience and Bully Proofing Webinar Wednesday, April 29, 8 a.m. for all DOD personnel assigned to Air Force installations and their family members.

The training will help parents understand the importance of raising resilient children and how to help children cope effectively with new challenges. Parents will learn more about what to do to promote social skills, values and behaviors that “bully proof” children. To register for remote viewing, go to https://cc.readytalk.com/r/5kvplz51xshp&eom.

GRAND OPENING AT MARCH MAIN EXCHANGE

The March main Exchange is celebrating its new Garden Center and Outdoor Living section with a grand opening on Saturday, April 18. There will be Early Bird specials from 9 – 9:30 a.m. There will also be giveaways, a Kingsford charcoal grill and AAFES gift cards.

BE PART OF AMERICA’S PREPARATHON!

Be prepared when disaster strikes. Join America’s Preparathon to learn how. March’s point of contact for the national emergency preparedness program is Senior Airman Jennifer King at 951-655-3024 or jennifer.king.20@us.af.mil.

COMMISSARY CASE LOT SALE MAY 1 – 4

The March Commissary’s next case lot sale is scheduled for May 1 – 4. Sale hours will be Friday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Sunday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.; and Monday 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Save the dates and stay tuned for more details as they become available.

452 FSS UPDATES SOCIAL MEDIA

The 452nd Force Support Squadron has updated and merged its Facebook page and combined all upcoming events into one, easy-to-find location. Visit them at www.facebook.com/MarchFSS or search “MarchFSS” on your mobile device to keep up on events and outings.

FINANCIAL WORKSHOP OFFERED APR 21

The Airman and Family Readiness office is hosting a Financial Workshop Lunch and Learn on Tuesday, April 21, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in Bldg. 2313, Rm. 6 (the 452nd Mission Support Group conference room), 1261 Graeber St. All base personnel are welcome to attend but pre-registration is required by calling 951-655-5350. Bring your lunch and learn how the Thrift Savings Plan can improve your net worth by paying yourself first!

NEED VOLUNTEERS TO PACE RUNNERS

The Rising 6 is looking for volunteers to be part of its Fit to Fight Pacing Program for Airmen. Their mission is to help people improve F2F test run times. To volunteer you must score 90 percent or better on your last two F2F tests and have the confidence to pace at the desired time requested by the tester. You don’t have to be a fast runner to be a pacer. For more information or to volunteer, contact Tech. Sgt. Ygnacio Garcia at ygnacio.garcia04@gmail.com or 714-721-7683.

E-MAGAZINE FREE TO MILITARY, FAMILIES

Chronicling Greatness has just finalized its first issue of an E-Magazine, “The American Heroes of War World War II History From Those Who Lived It.” In conjunction with the non-profit International Urban Exchange Center (IUEC), they are offering the E-Magazine to all military personnel and their families for free. This E-Magazine presents first-person accounts from veterans and civilians who lived during, and participated in, the most monumental event of the 20th century, World War II. The accounts are from personal interviews by Adam P. Kennedy. You can access the EMagazine by visiting http://online.3dpageflip.com/wjhm/oxhr.

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 Orlando, Fla., May 15-17. 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

The March Fitness Center has received the Wellbeats Virtual Group Fitness Kiosk. This kiosk allows members to participate in virtual fitness classes. The first class scheduled is a virtual spin class at 12:15 p.m. on Wednesdays. Contact the Fitness Center at 951-655-2292 for a schedule of upcoming classes or more information.

April’s Fitness Schedule is:

Mondays: 6 a.m. – Virtual Fusion Yoga; 10:30 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. – Intro TRX; 11 a.m. – Virtual Spin

Tuesdays: 11 a.m. – Virtual Strength “Fit for Duty;” 12:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. – Circuit Training

Wednesdays: 6 a.m. – Virtual Fusion Yoga; 11 a.m. – Zumba; 12:15 p.m. – Virtual Fusion Yoga; 12:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. – Battle Ropes Circuit Training

Thursdays: 11 a.m. – Virtual Spin; 12:15 p.m. – Virtual Strength “Fit for Duty;” 12:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. – Circuit Training

Fridays: 10 a.m. – Zumba; 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. – Intermediate TRX; 11:15 a.m. – Virtual Cardio

UTA Saturdays: “A” UTA – 5 p.m. – Virtual Strength “Fit for Duty;” B UTA – 5-7 p.m. Pick up Basketball

Other activities include: 

April – Extramural golf begins, Gen. Olds Golf Course

May 7 – May Fitness Month 5K Run/walk 7 a.m., base track

May 8 – May Fitness Month 5×5 Basketball Tournament, Fitness Center, 5 p.m.

May 8 – May Fitness Month Zumbathon, Fitness Center, 10 a.m. – noon

May 12 – Intramural softball begins (letters of intent available at the Fitness Center)

May 27 – May Fitness Month Racquetball Tournament, 5, single elimination

For more information, visit the Fitness Center or call 951-655-2284.

NOTIFICATION OF DEATH

Colonel Russell A. Muncy, 452nd Air Mobility Wing commander, regretfully announces the death of Senior Airman Travis Pettit, 336th Air Refueling Squadron. Anyone having claims against or indebtedness to the estate of Senior Airman Pettit should contact Maj Brian Weaver, brian.weaver.1@us.af.mil or 951-655-2166.

NOTIFICATION OF DEATH

Colonel Russell A. Muncy, 452nd Air Mobility Wing commander, regretfully announces the death of Tech. Sgt. Anthony E. Salazar, 452nd Civil Engineer Squadron.  Anyone having claims against or indebtedness to the estate of Tech. Sgt. Salazar should contact Maj. Tricia Betts at tricia.betts@us.af.mil or 951-655-6786.

Master Sgt. Bode named AFRC’s 2014 Crew Chief of the Year

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U.S. Air Force photo/Capt. Perry Covington

Master Sgt. James Bode, Air Reserve Technician (ART) and dedicated crew chief, 752nd Aerospace Maintenance Squadron (AMXS), was recently selected to receive the 2014 Chief Master Sgt. Thomas N. Barnes Award as the Crew Chief of the Year by Air Force Reserve Command.

His nomination was submitted to AFRC earlier in the year, he said, and last Thursday people were asking him about his selection and congratulating him.

“Swing shift got notified before I was told, and I was dumbfounded that I could make it to AFRC,” he said. “There are a lot of crew chiefs out there, and just doing my job doesn’t seem like that sets me apart.”

But, contrary to his beliefs, ‘just doing his job’ goes above and beyond the job description for the 36-year-old aircraft mechanic and dedicated crew chief. Bode doesn’t just fix airplanes.

“He makes things easier for supervisors and reservists,” said Senior Master Sgt. Jeremy Knox, ART and section chief, 752 AMXS.

As ARTs, Knox said their main goal is to train traditional reservists (TRs). Bode has a crew of TRs that he helps manage by providing flightline training, as well as helping with orders and lodging issues. He keeps in contact with them, Knox said.

“We have 14 crews. With him leading one of them it helps. He’s an expert on the flightline as well. He does all kinds of stuff over and above the other lead crew chiefs,” Knox said.

Bode has sustained his job performance by taking pride in ownership in his KC-135 Stratotanker, aircraft 61-0324, with the perfect execution of 135 flights and 631 flying hours. This garnered his seven-man team the AFRC 2014 Crew of the Year award.

Bode, a Chico, California native, enlisted in October 1998 and has served at March Field for almost seven years. Given the opportunity from a recruiter to be an aircraft mechanic was sort of a dream, he said.

“I’ve always liked jets, since I was little boy. I didn’t know I wanted to work on them, I just wanted to be around them,” Bode said. I didn’t know I’d like it as much until after I left active duty as a crew chief. That’s when I really missed it. I still love my job,” he said. “I get to deal with machinery and not people. It doesn’t talk back. It’s always there when I need it. It waits for me.”

Bode said the biggest perk as a crew chief is that he gets to travel with his aircraft.

“I get to impact the mission right then and there. I get to see my work and the end result in the same day,” he said. “It’s more rewarding than I ever thought it would be.”

Another reason he loves his job is his drive to keep learning. Bode said he always wants to learn new things and constantly wants to fix the broken ways of the system. So he took action.

About 11 years ago, while on active duty, Bode wrote his first Technical Order (TO) to try to make the job less complicated. He was inspired to help maintainers do their jobs without all of the unnecessary jargon that was mixed in with the TO, that was either outdated or unnecessary. His goal was to keep safety first while making the job easier. Since then he has authored 15 TOs, which were all approved, allowing the Total Force of Air Force mechanics to do their jobs quicker and more efficiently, saving the Air Force as a whole time and money.

Five years ago, while working in Quality Assurance, Knox heard about Bode.

“When I came here as assistant section chief, I knew right away he was one of my go-to guys when I needed assistance,” Knox said. “I was new to the squadron and he was a lot of help. He cares about his job, is doing it and doing it well,” he added. “He’s dependable and a recognized expert. He doesn’t just help locally,” Knox said. “He’s fixing stuff Air Force wide.”

A lot of the changes that had previously been made in TOs were dead ends and didn’t allow you to fix anything, Bode said. Worst one of all when launching a plane, in order to do maintenance on it, they would have to pull several circuit breakers to make the systems safe to work on. Then they had to write up each circuit breaker that was pulled, and sign off on it when the breaker was re-engaged.

“It was just a vicious cycle of writing things up, locking them out and then re-engaging just to turn power on,” Bode said.

Thanks to his expertise and the approval of one of his TOs, that job has been streamlined.

“Now, when an aircraft lands, the checklist mandates that the circuit breakers are automatically pulled to make the systems safe for maintenance to work on them (the aircraft),” Bode said. “That doesn’t have to be written up or signed off on later, which allows more time to actually do necessary work.”

His intentions are simply to give other mechanics the ability perform their jobs smarter, not

Harder, and to maximize safety without degrading their ability to repair their aircraft, Bode said. The old procedures had maintainers performing each step every time power was turned on. Now it’s only performed when the plane lands and then not again until it’s launched.

Having been an aircraft mechanic for more than 16 years, Bode said early on in his career he was told it will get better, that he just needed to put his time in. He wants young Airmen to understand how true this was for him.

“You just need to put your time in. You don’t get the huge responsibilities until you earn them and the payoff will be huge,” Bode said. “I truly care about maintaining our jets and keeping them in the fight. These aircraft are very old and taking care of old things requires steady hands and a lot of pride,” Bode said. “It is quite literally an art form, when it is all put into motion.”

Retired reservist finds inspiration through loss

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(Final in a three-part series chronicling Angela Alexander’s incredible story which led to a book, a ministry and now, a documentary.)

Following the untimely death of her two sons in a car crash, Angela Alexander, a retired Air Force Reservist, faced the challenge of sharing her story with the world.

She knew God wanted her to share what happened but she insisted to herself she couldn’t. She didn’t think she could handle such an assignment, didn’t want to mess it up and talking about it hurt too much.

“I rehearsed and nursed why I couldn’t do it,” Alexander said. “I owned all those negative thoughts and why I wouldn’t do it, but I was in agony.”

She could barely eat or sleep and kept trying to renegotiate her orders until the discomfort was too much. She realized she was uncomfortable because she was walking in disobedience and as she had before, she gave in.

For the next two years she wrote and created a daily prayer asking God to bring people into her life who will help spread His testimony and that she was His vessel, but it was His business, she said.

“I’m telling God’s story and sharing the legacy my sons left behind,” Alexander said. “They had a mission here to learn to read and write, leave their message and they were gone, their purpose was complete.”

Alexander’s purpose was just beginning. Her first speaking engagement was at her church, in uniform, during a military holiday, and as she spoke she realized how it all tied together; her military service, the letters, her faith and thus began her mission of searching for the miracles.

“I asked God for a letter from a dead person and I got it,” Alexander said. “I had to make a decision whether I was going to walk the talk or walk away from the talk, she said.

It took her two years to write her book, “Miracles in Action,” and since then she has traveled throughout California and the world to share her message on multi-levels with the book, radio shows, written interviews, the documentary and her speaking events.

It was after one of her speaking engagements, when a producer emailed her asking if he could turn her book into a documentary, she said. While she always felt the book would be made into a movie, she never considered turning her story into a documentary and was reluctant.

“A movie, is me watching actors and actresses act it out, but a documentary is all me, she said.” 

She fell back into disobedience briefly, but the pain was too much and again she surrendered. The documentary premiered at the Grove in Riverside, California on February 13, 2015, was recently screened in Pomona, and will be featured at the Cayman Islands International Film Festival later this spring.

Alexander feels the film festival will lead to a motion picture, and she continues to help people cope with their challenges by sharing her story.

“It doesn’t matter what that pain is, we want to turn your pain into power and grief into peace,” she said. “My whole ministry, my whole message is to search for the miracles.”

Acting under secretary of the Air Force appointed

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Official Photo- SES Lisa Disbrow (U.S. Air Force Photo by Michael J Pausic)

WASHINGTON (AFNS) —  President Barack Obama appointed Lisa S. Disbrow to serve as the acting under secretary of the Air Force March 30.

Disbrow will take over for Eric Fanning who was recently appointed as chief of staff for Secretary of Defense Ash Carter.

“Lisa Disbrow is already a tremendous asset to our Air Force leadership team and is perfectly suited to be the acting under secretary of the Air Force,” said Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James. “Her experience within our financial management division combined with her expertise on the joint staff and her time as an active-duty Airman provides a broad range of capability that is instrumental in how we continue to move forward.”

Her appointment as acting USecAF is effective immediately.

“I’m excited to continue the great work that under secretary Fanning started in this position,” Disbrow said. “Serving our Airmen alongside great leaders like secretary James and general Welsh is an honor.”

Disbrow will continue to serve as the assistant secretary of the Air Force for financial management and comptroller. She has been in that position since 2014.

AF Smart Operations of the 21st Century Training Course

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Students feverishly poured over charts and graphs as they worked their way through the presented problem at March Air Reserve Base, Calif., during a five-day, Air Force Smart Operations of the 21st Century (AFSO21) Green Belt Training Course from March 22nd  to March 27th, 2015.

A gathering of both enlisted and officers alike, the group utilized tools and principles taught during the course to approach operational concerns to ensure continuous improvement across a spectrum of Air Force issues. The goal for AFSO21 training is to be a guide for improvement initiatives to contribute to the demands of the warfighter at every Air Force level.

Lt. Col. Scipiaruth Curtis, 452nd Air Mobility Wing, wing process manager, lead the training course zeroing in on the core issues of the wing and applying the AFSO21 eight-step problem solving model directly to those problems.

“These are real world mission problems that my students are looking at,” Curtis said. “When they finish here they will be able to take the solutions they come up with and directly brief their commanders on their findings.”

The training course is offered to both the enlisted and officer corps in an attempt to create a force that approaches any given problem in a systematic and standardized way.  The blending of the work force in the training allows for a unified perspective.

“It was really nice to go through this course with the officers. I felt like I was able to gain some insight in the decision-making process which is great for me as an Airman,” said Senior Airman Raelynne Hughey, medical technician, 452nd Aeromedical Staging Squadron. “This course has enlightened me to everything that goes on in our unit. The biggest takeaway is the streamlining. We are removing wasted effort during a problem solving process.”

The AFSO21 training is offered here on a bi-annual basis. Commitment to improvement is the unified war cry of the Air Force as of late and AFSO21 is a program leading the way to ensure problems and situations are approached in the most effective and efficient manner.

Earth Day 2015 Recycling Facts

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– Recycling just 48 cans is the energy equivalent of conserving one gallon of gas

– Since 1990, the paper recovered through U.S. recycling efforts would fill 200 football stadiums to a height of 100 feet

– The most recycled consumer product in America is the automobile, with 26 cars being recycled every minute

– Every ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees and 462 gallons of oil

One pound of newspaper can be recycled into 6 cereal boxes or egg cartons

– In the U.S., we toss more than 100 million cell phones in the trash every year 

– EPA reports that over 112,000 computers are discarded every single day, in the U.S. alone. That’s 41.1 million desktops and laptop computers per year!   

Only 30% of electronic waste is disposed of and recycled properly

– Recycling just one aluminum beverage can saves enough energy to run a 100-watt bulb for 20 hours, a computer for 3 hours or a TV for 2 hours 

– Recycling 125 aluminum cans saves enough energy to power one home for a day

– Recycling one ton of cardboard:

– Saves 390 kWh of energy

– Saves 1.1 barrels (46 gallons) of oil

– Saves 6.6 million BTUs of energy.

– If everyone in the U.S. was able to reduce their 10.8 pieces of junk mail received each week, we could save nearly 100 million trees each year.

– If every household in the U.S. replaced one roll of non-recycled paper towels with a roll of 100% recycled paper towels, we would save 864,000 trees and 3.4 million cubic feet of landfill space.

– If 10,000 people switched from zero to 100% post-consumer recycled office paper for a year, the collective annual impact is equivalent to taking 230 cars off the road for a year

– A typical disposable lunch, with items like single-serve yogurt, Ziploc bags and juice boxes, creates 4 to 8 oz. of garbage every day. In a year, this could generate up to 67 pounds of waste!

– Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, Americans throw away one million extra tons of garbage every week

– The average U.S. citizen uses 200 pounds of plastic per year and only 3% is recycled. Glass makes up 6% of all the items in a landfill and it takes over 1 million years to decompose

 An average of 220 tons of computers and other e-waste is dumped annually

For more information on the Air Force’s Earth Day efforts, visit http://www.afcec.af.mil/news/earthday

Induction ceremony recognizes NCO/SNCO accomplishments

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U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Russell McMillan

Airmen being inducted into the NCO and SNCO ranks sit in the Cultural Resource Center April 11, 2015, during the induction ceremony. The ceremony recognizes and applauds the accomplishments of those March Airmen who were promoted to those ranks within the last two years.