C M Y K

INSIDE TODAY

A taste of salsaPage 3

Fit to Fight Page 4

Speak outPage 15

Future weaponsPage 14

Vol. 35, No. 27 Friday, July 4, 2008

byLauren Rachal6th AMW Public Affairs intern

“The career, not a given day or a given mo-ment,” is what Chief Master Sgt. James A. Cody, command chief, 6th Air Mobility Wing said, when asked what his most rewarding ex-perience has been as an Airmen. “Where I am today, I attribute that to all the Airmen that we work with,” said Chief Cody.

MacDill will be losing a high-caliber com-mand chief come early July, as Chief Cody will embark on a new assignment to Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. He will be taking the posi-tion of command chief for the 18th Air Force. “I am very excited about the opportunity to move to numbered Air Force,” said Chief Cody.

As the command chief of 6th AMW, Chief Cody served as the liaison between the wing commander and the enlisted force assigned to the wing. He was an advisor to the commander and staff on matters that included health, wel-fare, morale, training and effective utilization of assigned enlisted personnel.

“This is just a wonderful place to be,” said Chief Cody. “You get to live the dream every day right here in Tampa, Florida.”

Col. Matthew Arens, Vice Wing Commander, 6th AMW has worked with Chief Cody since February.

“His impact can be felt throughout the wing as evidenced by numerous quality of life im-provements he has sponsored, even though he has only been here for 11 months,” said Colo-nel Arens. “Chief will be greatly missed here at MacDill, but we know great things are in store for him and the Airmen of the 18th Air Force.”

“I’m going to miss it tremendously. We’ve been blessed to come back here,” said Chief Cody, who was stationed at MacDill in 2003. Although he will miss MacDill, he knows what his duty to the Air Force is: “We’re here to serve, not decide where we want to live for-ever,” he said.

A Boston native, Chief Cody enlisted in the Air Force in 1984 after earning his high school diploma at North High School in Mas-sachusetts. He then reported to Lackland AFB, Texas for basic training. In 1985 Chief Cody graduated from the air traffic control special-

MacDill says goodbye to Chief Cody , leaving for 18th AF

See CHIEF, Page 8

File photo

Chief Master Sgt. James Cody, 6th Air Mobility Wing command chief, is moving on in his ca-reer after almost a year at MacDill. He’s taking over as command chief for the 18th Air Force. Here, he helps STEP promote then Staff Sgt. Tim Sewell, C-37 flight engineer with the 310th Airlift Squadron.

by Maj. James J. Alonzo 376th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Commander

Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan — I was recently given a 4 May 2008, article from the Washington Post Magazine by General Rich-ard Cody, Vice Chief of Staff of the US Army. Gen Cody focuses on his experience with discipline as a leader. He emphasizes that in addition to setting the example and exacting discipline, it is the leader’s job to ensure that their people do well. It is the leader’s job to set the right conditions for their peoples’ suc-cess. It is a leader’s job to equip their people for success. As a current or future leader in our Air Force, it is important for you to think about how you set the right conditions to ensure your unit’s success. Ask yourself, are you motivating your people, are you equipping them for success, and how are you achieving discipline?

First, I think it is important to note that we are an all volunteer force. According to Department of Defense media releases, the Air Force is meeting or exceeding recruiting and retention goals for this year. The vast majority of our Airmen are in our service be-cause they want to be part of the Air Force. In the cases of any who don’t want to be part of the Air Force, there is normally someone in our nation anxious to take their place. In most instances, motivation or willingness to serve is not the reason our Airmen fail to be

successful. In those cases when Airmen are not motivated, ask why? It may be because you are not equipping them for success or because you are not achieving discipline ef-fectively.

Second, it is important to look at how you equip your Airmen to succeed. Have you given them the tools they need for success? Do they have the correct training, equipment and prioritization of objectives to meet your intent? Simply put, do they know what you want and are they prepared to do it. It is nearly impossible to succeed when you don’t know what you’re doing, don’t have what you need, or don’t know where to start. The leader’s job is to make sure their people are trained, have the right tools and equipment, and understand what the most important ob-jectives are.

Finally, you should look at how you are achieving discipline. Discipline is defined as training to act in accordance with the rules. Do you view punishment, a penalty inflicted for a fault, as the route to discipline? Or do you look at failures of discipline as an oppor-tunity for corrective action? Do you punish your Airmen based on the results of their failures or when they fail do you use the op-portunity to identify what went wrong and correct the cause of the failure? If it’s the individual’s effort, figure out why they aren’t motivated and fix it. If together you can’t improve their motivation, work with them to find a career outside the Air Force. If the

individual wasn’t equipped for success, figure out why they didn’t have the right training, equipment, or priorities and how you are go-ing to correct the deficiency.

As we strive to be good leaders we should constantly evaluate the motivation of our Airmen, how well we are equipping them for success, and if our method of achieving dis-cipline is effective. With this knowledge we should take action to ensure success.

Good leaders equipped their people for success

Maj. James J. Alonzo

MacDill ThunderboltPublisher: Carla Floyd

Editor: Nick Stubbs

The MacDill Thunderbolt is published by Sunbelt Newspa-pers, Inc., a private firm in no way connected with the U.S. Air Force. This commercial enterprise newspaper is an authorized publication for distribution to members of the U.S. military services on MacDill. Contents of the MacDill Thunderbolt are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by the U.S. government, the Department of Defense, the Department of

the Air Force or the 6th Air Mobility Wing.The appearance of advertising in this publication, includ-

ing inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense, the Department of the Air Force, 6th Air Mobility Wing or Sunbelt Newspapers, Inc., of the products or service advertised.

Everything advertised in this publication shall be made available for purchase, use, or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical handicap, political affiliation or any other non-merit factor of the purchaser, user, or patron.

Advertising information may be obtained by calling 259-8104. For classified advertising call 657-4500.

News items for the MacDill Thunderbolt can be submitted to the 6th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs office, Bldg. 299, at 8208 Hangar Loop Drive, Suite 14, MacDill AFB, FL 33621, or call the MacDill Thunderbolt staff at 828-4586. Email: thunder-bolt@MacDill.af.mil.

Deadline for article submissions is noon, Thursdays to appear in the next week’s publication. Articles received after deadline may be considered for future use. All submissions are considered for publication based on news value and time-liness.

Every article and photograph is edited for accuracy, clarity, brevity, conformance with the “Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual” and Air Force Instruction 35-101.

COMMENTARY

NEWS/FEATURES

by Airman 1st Class Tania Reid 6th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

As an aide to 6th Air Mobility Wing chap-lains, the tempo of Tech. Sgt. Felipe Delarea’s day job is set by the mission, but come Friday night, he moves to a different beat — the hot Latin beat of salsa.

On the surface the world of the clergy may seem to contrast starkly with the racy Latin dance style, but Sergeant Delarea , who teach-es salsa dancing Fridays from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the base gym, believes his two passions work for the greater good.

“I learned the salsa at a very young age,” he said. “My mother was a ballroom dancer from Madrid, Spain and she taught me how to sal-sa dance. She mixed salsa with the ballroom dancing, which made a great combination. An example is Vanessa Williams in, ‘Dance with Me.’ “

Sergeant Delarea said the salsa dance has its own musical beat. It’s an eight step dance with a partner which has the dancer turning, twisting and dipping. Most times members shy away because they are afraid of failing but that’s when he can see the weakness and build from there.

At a recent class session, Sergeant Delarea showed students some salsa moves. Step by step he uncoiled and quickened his pace to match the up-tempo rhythmic mix of Latin music, keeping his students wide-eyed and at-tentive. Sergeant Delarea maintained the mo-mentum , gliding into the next routine sway-

ing and sashaying to the Spanish beat. “At times people would ask if the salsa was

a sauce and if there would be chips; I’d say it is a dance it’s a saucy dance that is red hot,” said Sergeant Delarea. “I began teaching salsa at Misawa Air Base in Japan 15 years ago.

“There wasn’t a lot going on there so I thought why not give free salsa lessons; This would help others learn a little about the Lat-in culture,” said Sergeant Delarea.

The students dancing to the salsa agree that the classes add a great groove to their Fridays.

“I’ve been in the class for three to four months; it’s exciting and a great alternative rather than running around the track,” said Staff Sgt. Raina Sewell, 6th Air Mobility Wing Equal Opportunity specialist. “He teaches a combination of moves such as the meringue and the bachata; he’s patient and makes the class fun.”

Each class has six to 14 students. They are taught step by step how to feel and enjoy the Latin grooves while doing the movements.

While the salsa may be a dance and not a physical test requirement, it’s healthy for dif-ferent reasons.

“The salsa has a lot of moves and is guar-anteed to get the blood pumping through the veins faster while adding that jolt of energy,” said Sergeant Delarea. “Doing just the Air Force physical fitness program can be a little dull, but trying other things can spice up any workout routine.”

As a chaplains’ aide, Sergeant Delarea teaches vocational bible classes, helps the chaplains with administrative duties, and up-dates the training records for the wing person-nel. It’s a job he cross-trained into from the multi-media graphics career field.

He’s been a welcome addition at the chapel.“When first meeting Sergeant Delarea he is

very jovial and cheerful, a very diligent per-son always trying to help others,” said Senior Airman Misty Edwards, 6th AMW chaplain’s

aide. “He helps to boost the morale of the ser-vicemembers and offers great advice.”

Being a chaplain’s aide and a salsa dancing teacher may seem like an unlikely pairing, but Sergeant Delarea thinks there are benefits for himself and his students.

“I enjoy being a chaplain’s aide in the Air Force it helps with the spiritual side of my life and helps nurture that side of others,” said Sergeant Delarea. “The salsa helps me to share a piece of my culture and heritage which helps the mind, body and soul.”

Chaplain’s aide serves salsa on the side

MacDill’s annual drinking water report is now available. The report, called a Consumer Confidence Report, provides information about drinking water quality on base. In addition, because MacDill obtains all of its drinking water from the City of Tampa, the report also provides information on the quality of water that the city provides to us.

We are pleased to report that our water is safe to drink, and our drinking water system meets state and federal standards. MacDill is

committed to providing a safe and dependable supply of drinking water and wants all per-sonnel to be informed about our water system and the quality of water delivered each day.

The CCR will be provided to all facility man-agers and mailed to all units on base that pur-chased water from MacDill during 2007. The report will be posted on the 6th Air Mobility Wing’s web page and the 6th Medical Group’s web page. A base wide e-mail will be sent out to inform base personnel that the report has

been published and where they can find it on the web page. Personnel without access to a computer or MacDill’s web page may obtain a copy by calling the Bioenvironmental Engi-neering Flight at 827-9570.

If you have any questions regarding drink-ing water, please contact TSgt Melody M. Bell, 6 AMDS/SGPB, at 827-9570 or Michael Har-rison, 6 CES/CEV, at 828-0458.

(Courtesy of 6 CES/CEV and 6 AMDS/SGPB)

Annual Drinking Water Quality Report now available

Photo by Senior Airman Stephenie Wade

Tech. Sgt. Felipe Delarea, 6th Air Mobility Wing chaplain assistant, demostrates to Staff Sgt. Raina Sewell, equal opportunity advisor, the proper way to salsa dance. Sgt. Delarea gives free salsa lessons at the base gym in his spare time.

“The salsa has a lot of moves and is guaranteed to get the blood pumping through the veins faster while adding that jolt of energy.”

Sgt. Felipe Delarea

NEWS/FEATURES

by Airman 1st Class Katherine B. Holt6th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

When discussing physical training, the most common expression used is “Fit to Fight.” Now, more than ever, the need to be fit is essential.

Tech. Sgt. Donald Bransford, 6th Communica-tions Squadron cable and antenna systems tech-nician, learned how important it is to stay fit. With the help of the Health and Wellness Cen-ter, he found a way that worked for him.

It started eight years ago when Sergeant Bransford had his first overseas deployment to Kuwait. During his post-deployment physical, medical complications were found and he was placed on a profile.

“Two days after my profile ended I had a PT test,” said Sergeant Bransford. “I scored a whop-ping eight points.”

Two permanent change of stations, one short tour and an ankle surgery later; he arrived here. When he settled down in his job assignment and started working regular hours, his fitness still loomed overhead.

Sergeant Bransford started going to the HAWC voluntarily and started some custom ex-ercises. His PT scores started to slowly increase. When his scores were leveling out at 70, he started attending HAWC classes officially.

“I more or less became a victim of circum-stance,” he explained when speaking on his deci-sion to change his fitness lifestyle. “The Air Force said to get fit or get out.”

He worked one-on-one with Mrs. Susan Hai-ley, HAWC dietician. Little by little he changed his eating habits. Drinking sugar-free beverages instead of soda was one of his many changes.

“I picked easy things that I could make a hab-it,” he added.

These changes became second nature to him. They became subconscious so not to interfere with his daily life.

“The hardest part was giving up candies,”

he laughed. “I went from Snickers to carrots. I went from eating Burger King three times a week to one fast food and one family restaurant a month.”

With encouraging words from Mr. Danishon Felder, HAWC technician, he got turned on to new exercises he never used before.

“MacDill HAWC is the best I have seen so far,” Sergeant Bransford added. “Words of encourage-ment came from everyone.”

After cutting down on fast food and snacks and with the help from his wife to proportion out his meals Sergeant Bransford began to change his eating habits. Eating right and exercis-ing five times a week, he went from 285 to 243 pounds in one year.

Currently, he works out three times a week and has an active after duty life.

“I play Air Soft every weekend, and I have two Pomeranians that need constant walking and attention,” he smiled.

Sergeant Bransford knew what he had to do. He had to get fit to fight. Taking the right steps and making life-long changes he is now ready to take on whatever the Air Force has to offer. His results show the determination it takes to stay in today’s Air Force.

“I probably wouldn’t have been able to do this on my own,” said Sergeant Bransford. “Pick a reason to get fit. Make it the most selfish self-centered goal. Staying in the Air Force was mine.”

Tech Sgt. is Fit to Fight

Photo by Senior Airman Nancy Hooks

Tech. Sgt. Donald Bransford, 6th Communications Squadron cable and antenna systems tech-nician, works on the roof of a house being built for Habitat for Humanity last year. It is just one of the physical after-duty activities he is involved in.

by Senior Airman Stephenie Wade6th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

Arriving in an unfamiliar place is scary, especially alone. In the Air Force, members proceed to their first duty station after techni-cal training. Because of the excessive travel-ing in the military, MacDill Airmen are able to become sponsors of inbound members with the help from their units and the Airman and Family Readiness Center.

A sponsor is someone from a member’s new unit who is assigned to assist in settling into

a new location. Members can request a spon-sor through their new unit with help from the Relocation Assistance Program or the Family Center at a new installation.

“Sponsorship is considered a special duty,” said Shirley Smith, A&FRC community readi-ness consultant. “The unit commanders are in charge of enforcing the program. But that does not mean Airman can’t volunteer to be a spon-sor through their squadrons.”

The purpose of the sponsorship program is to:• Provide a sense of belonging

• Ease the transition for inbound service members or civilians and their family members • Increase productivity • Reduce culture shock • Help newcomers make informed decisions • Cultivate new friendships • Improve morale

First-time sponsors and those who have not been trained as a sponsor during the past year must receive sponsorship training. This train-

Take the initiative; become a sponsor for new Airmen

See SPONSOR, Page 20

VoteLet your voice be heard. Is there something

you would like changed? Contact your Unit Voting Representative or Installation Voting Representative Sarah Caruso at 8-3556 or Beth McLaughlin at 8-4545 for voting infor-mation.

Looking for a few good runnersThe 12th Annual USAF Marathon will be

held September 20 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Air Mobility Command will again sponsor a team of both male & female runners. Team members will be selected based upon AF Form 303. SUBMITT COMPLETED FORMS TO THE MACDILL FITNESS CENTER JU-LY 16. Those selected will be notified by HQ AMC/A1S and placed on permissive TDY for the marathon (command funds will offset TDY expenses). Others not selected are welcomed

to compete at their own expense. For more in-formation, contact Keith Pilawski at 828-1079 at the MacDill Fitness Center.

Airman’s Attic saves Airmen moneyThe Airman’s Attic welcomes all donations

and exists to defer some cost of living expense by providing donated clothing, household and any other items without cost to eligible Air-men. It provides this service to active duty members of all branches of the U.S. military assigned to MacDill or any unit supported by MacDill. Eligibility is defined as active duty E-1 through E-6 and family members with a valid DoD ID card. Donated uniforms must have all name tags removed. The Attic needs volunteers for Tuesday, Wednesday and Fri-days. Hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.

Military Widows meetingThe Society of Military Widows meets the

first Saturday of each month. All services and ranks are welcome. For information on meet-

ings, call (813) 831-6181 or (813) 837-5065.

Official Taxi ServiceThe 6th Logistics Readiness Squadron’s Ve-

hicle Operations Flight operates a free taxi service to accomplish official business. This service is available for all military and DoD ci-vilian employees/contractors requiring trans-portation in support of official government business. Please contact 828-5281/2 to request taxi service.

GI BillNew GI Bill was added to the Emergency

Supplemental Spending Act that provides ad-ditional money for the conflicts in Iraq and Af-ghanistan. The last major overhaul to GI Bill benefits was in 1984. The new GI Bill covers tuition costs up to a state’s most expensive public university, housing, and an annual book stipend. It also gives veterans 15 years to use their benefits compared to 10 years under the current program. For more information con-tact base education center at (813) 828-3115.

NEWS/FEATURESNews Briefs

ist course at Keesler AFB, Mississippi. Throughout his career in the Air Force, Chief Cody

has filled a myriad of duties ranging from first sergeant to directorate superintendent. He has received more than 15 major awards and decorations and has amassed a number of great achievements.

Chief Cody has high expectations about his new as-signment; he knows his duties will greatly change from what they are here at the wing.

“The scope is larger, we are not a wing, it is the num-bered Air Force, where all the wings fall under,” he said. “My focus has to broaden to those things that are Gen-eral Scott’s vision; I now become an enabler or facilitator versus someone who really gets to roll up there sleeves and do it.”

When asked what kind of lasting impression he hoped to have at the wing, Chief Cody simply stated, “I just want to do right by our Airmen and Air Force.”

His advice to future Airmen was just as simple: “You work hard, you dedicate yourself to do the best you can do, always be a part of the solution, never part of the problem, and we will all be successful.”

“The people that are here really have to recognize how blessed they are to be a part of this community on the base and outside the gate,” said Chief Cody.” I’m go-ing to certainly miss the great folks that are here.” As many servicemen and women do, Chief Cody recognizes the hardships of his career; but his love for the Air Force never changes.

“I truly love what I do; there is nothing bad about what we do,” he said. “We do the greatest thing in the world for people we serve.”

chiefFrom Page 1

AMC Vision: Unrivaled Global Reach for America ... Always!

AMC Mission: Deliver Maximum War-Fighting and Humanitarian Effects for America Through Rap-id and Precise Global Air Mobility

Color Available

Base Hours for July 4th Holiday

Color Available

by Capt. Jon StockAir Mobility Command Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. — Ma-jor General Winfield W. Scott III formally as-sumed command of the 18th Air Force from Major General James A. Hawkins in a change-of-command ceremony today at the Scott Club.

“I am extremely grateful for this opportu-nity to serve and lead the men and women of 18th Air Force,” said Gen. Scott. “Air mobility plays a critical role in everything our nation does today more than ever. Whether delivering people and needed cargo directly to the theater, refueling combat aircraft, or delivering hope to those devastated by a national disaster, AMC and its warfighting command is there.”

18 AF is AMC’s sole warfighting command, charged with the tasking and execution of all air mobility missions. 18 AF oversees the 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center, two Ex-peditionary Mobility Task Forces (EMTFs), 12 wings and three stand-alone groups, a total of about 50,000 people.

The 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center serves as the command’s air operations center, planning and directing tanker and transport aircraft operations around the world. The 15th and 21st EMTFs serve as the lead agencies for conducting mobility operations worldwide.

They are the 18 AF’s key to the execution phase of warfighting, providing worldwide ex-peditionary mobility support.

During Gen. Hawkins’ tenure his leader-ship directly supported the continued success in the Global War on Terrorism with execution of more than 355,000 airlift sorties; delivery of more than 4.5 million passengers, 1.6 million tons of cargo, and offload of more than 1.2 bil-lion pounds of fuel supporting combatant com-manders worldwide.

He championed the concept of the 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center’s reach back Theater Direct Delivery Program. This effort reduced the need for highly-vulnerable ground convoys and resupply lines, keeping more than 9,000 convoy operators per month off of roads while increasing on-time delivery by more than 22 percent.

He also established operations for air direct delivery of more than 2,800 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles to Operations EN-DURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM, saving countless lives and increasing combat effectiveness for U.S. Central Command.

Gen. Hawkins commanded the 18 AF since November 2005. He will retire from active-duty service in July, Gen. Scott is the fourth commander of 18 AF since its reactivation in 2003.

Prior to this assignment, Gen. Scott served

as deputy director, Strategic Effects, Multi-Na-tional Forces-Iraq, U.S. Central Command and is the former commander, 618th Tanker Air-lift Control Center from June 2005 to January 2007. Gen. Scott is a senior pilot with more than 5,600 flying hours in the C-141, C-130, T-1, T-38, T-37 and UH-1N.

“My intention is to come into the 18th Air Force with the understanding that someday I will leave the command better than I have found it,” said Gen. Scott. “I want to thank General Hawkins for the exceptional leader-ship he provided to the largest and most di-verse Numbered Air Force in the world.”

18th Air Force welcomes new commander

Photo by Senior Airman Jonathan Lovelady

Gen. Arthur Lichte, Air Mobility Command commander (left), and Maj. Gen. James Hawkins, former 18th Air Force commander (right), congratulate Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott III at the Scott Club June 24.

AMC NEWS

Color Available

Color Available

by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Mark LogicoUSNS Mercy (T-AH 19) Public Affairs

NHA TRANG, Vietnam (NNS) — The crew aboard hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) and members of East Meets West (EMW) foundation participated in a multi-national, multi-faceted dental civic action program (DENCAP) at the Dien Khan elementary school June 25 - 28.

Pacific Partnership DENCAPs generally provide education on oral hygiene and emer-gency dental services such as tooth extrac-tions; however, working with EMW the team could do more. With its increased capability, the DENCAP at the Dien Khan site provid-ed additional dental service including teeth cleaning, fluoride treatment, sealing and fill-ing.

“East Meets West has been providing the equipment, the instruments and the peo-ple for the mission,” said U.S. Public Health Service Dental Corps Reserve Capt. Charles Craft, who is also the EMW dental director for the Dien Khan site.

“The U.S. Navy is bringing more personnel and supplies; together, we are able to increase our capacity and, of course, the patients ben-

efit by that. We are very happy to be able to partner with the U.S. Navy and the other al-lied nations, to form a true alliance.”

On June 25, the EMW team included 15 members, eight of whom were Vietnamese staff. The rest of the team was composed of volunteers from Scotland, England, Cambodia and New Zealand. The Mercy team was made up of 20 personnel from the hospital ship, vol-unteers from the University of California, San Diego Pre-dental Society and other partner nation personnel from South Korean, Canada, Australia and Singapore.

Craft referred to his team as his “United Nations dental team” because of the number of countries represented in the DENCAP.

“The biggest challenges on a joint team like this is to match up our skill sets and to form a professional group despite- our individual backgrounds and different cultures and dif-ferent educational upbringing,” said Craft.

The DENCAP treated more than 250 pa-tients as of June 25. They expected to treat more than 1,500 patients by June 28, provid-ing more than 5,000 services worth more than $250,000.

“Vietnamese in general don’t know that

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Mark Logico

East Meets West foundation Dental Direc-tor Capt. Charles Craft performs a tooth ex-traction on a Vietnamese child as part of the Pacific Partnership dental civic action pro-gram.

Mercy, Pacific partners improve, increase dental health

See DENTAL, Page 19

WASHINGTON (Army News Service) — Soldiers in Infantry Brigade Combat Teams now get the first crack at Future Combat System technology, Army officials said during a news conference at the Pentagon June 26.

That capability, initially meant to be delivered first to Heavy Bri-gade Combat teams, will now be delivered to IBCTs by fiscal year 2011 -- three years earlier than previously planned.

The changes come after Army studies showed it was infantry units who were highest in demand in Afghanistan and Iraq, and in-fantry units with the most capa-bility requests.

“As a result of capability gaps found in these IBCTs, the Army is

accelerating the FCS complemen-tary programs to provide capabil-ity to infantry units first,” said Lt. Gen. Michael A. Vane, director of the Army Capabilities Integration Center. “These capabilities will increase their capability and sur-vivability in offense, defense and stability operations.”

Included in the equipment meant to be fielded to Soldiers is the Tactical and Urban Unattend-ed Ground Sensors, the Non Line of Sight-Launch System, the Class I Unmanned Airial Vehicle, the Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle and network kits for the Humvee platform.

Also closely associated with this initial 2011 spinout of FCS equip-ment will be the Ground Soldier

Ensemble. Though the ensemble is not part of the FCS lineup, it does contribute to Soldier effectiveness, and it will be accelerated so it can coincide with the FCS spinout.

“A key part of this is enabling the Soldier, so part of this decision is to take the Ground Soldier En-semble -- the kit that enables the

U.S. Army photo

An Army Evaluation Task Force Soldier at Fort Bliss conducts training with an unattended ground sensor, or UGS. Both Tactical and Urban Unattended Ground Sensors, both part of Future Combat Systems equipment, are expected to be fielded to infantry Soldiers by 2011, as part of an FCS acceleration announced June 26 at the Pentagon.

FCS capability accelerated for infantry

See INFANTRY, Page 19

MACDILL COMMUNITY

Job Title: Retirements and Sep-arations and Specials Actions NCOIC

Home town: Montgomery, Ala-bama

Long-term goals: To complete my Bachelors in Health Services Administration and to make Chief before I retire.

Advice to others: Always show your loves ones how much they mean to you daily. Tomorrow is not promised and everyday is a gift from God.

Role model:: My Dad is my role model and biggest fan. He has al-ways enforced the high standard of being the best. He spent 26 years in the Air Force and made it to senior master sergeant.

Staff Sergeant Jawanica N. Woodard 6th Comptroller Squadron

Diamond Sharp

Speak OutDoes the 4th of

July have any spe-cial significance to you?

“I get to go to my meemaw and pawpaw…. It’s America’s birthday!-Bonnie Sopher

“It’s a representative of our fathers and four fa-thers who fought for us, and died for us in some cases.”-Corey Frances, Navy Retired

“It is basically showing our independence, saying that we as a country; we’re one family.”-Staff Sergeant Willy Wall 6th LRS

“Yes, obviously our free-dom. It makes me really think about our troops that are over there; and I’m get-ting ready to go soon. I’m sure it will hold even more significance to me when I get back.”-Master Sergeant Lisa Nash, Central Command

“I celebrate it because it is our freedom day. Free-dom is very special to me; I think it is very important.”-Neva Irish

Photo courtesy of 6th OSS

Lt. Col. Scott Gundlach (right) assumed command of the 6th Operations Sup-port Squadron Friday in hangar 3. Lt. Col. Gundlach arrived from headquarters 18th Air Force at Scott AFB, where he served as the Aide-DeCamp to the com-mander of the 18th Air Force. Col. Jon Klaus (left) did the honors of passing the flag.

by Airman 1st Class Mindy Bloem43rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs

POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. — What does the recipe for an extraordinary human feat call for? For those involved in the mission of a severely burned Iraqi woman it called for one pound of hard work, a dash of know-how and a pinch of never quit.

In the early morning hours of April 30, the flight crew of the 746th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, deployed from Pope, received word that an Iraqi woman suffering from third de-gree burns and two broken arms needed to be relocated from an air base in central Iraq to a burn center in northern Iraq.

On the way to the patient’s location, the crew stopped to pick up the Critical Care Air Transport team medics and the fly-away se-curity team. Unfortunately, due to inclem-ent weather at the patient’s location in cen-tral Iraq, the crew was instructed to cancel their last stop and redirected to pick up two non-critical care patients who initially were scheduled for pick up at a later time.

This change in plans meant the crew had to coordinate engine shut down so more fuel could be added in order to complete the rest

of the mission because none of the follow-on stops could offer fuel.

Circumstances went from bad to worse when, after shutting down the engines, the crew realized they needed a new battery be-cause theirs was dead. Luckily, a member of maintenance was able to locate a new one while the engineer refueled the aircraft. Once the go ahead to replace the battery was giv-en, the crew took off only 30 minutes behind fragment of the daily air tasking order.

“Our haste to leave this station was spurred on not only by our desire to meet the medical need of the mission, but also by the knowledge that the weather at our next destination was currently reporting one mile visibility, with a forecast of an imminent dust storm that was to reduce visibility to well below landing min-imums,” said Capt. Kenneth Hoekman, 746th EAS commander. “We did not know if we would be able to land again that day after the dust storm hit, so we were anxious to reach the airfield so that the CCATT individuals would at least be able to start preparing the patient for the flight out, if flying were again to become possible.”

“Not knowing if the patient was going to make it or not was the main concern on the

crews’ minds,” added Airman 1st Class Ed-ward Janse, a 746th EAS loadmaster. “Yes, we cared about our own safety but our mis-sion that day was just to get this patient to where she could get help.”

The crew landed successfully and prepa-rations to prepare the patient for departure immediately followed. However, the crew encountered another obstacle when a dust storm hit about one hour before the patient would be transported to the aircraft.

“It hit us like a brick wall,” Captain Hoek-man said. “In the course of 30 seconds, winds picked up considerably and visibility dropped to less than 20 feet.”

“I thought how are we going to get out of here? This situation just got a lot more in-tense, and this woman is dying; let’s get her out -- whatever it takes,” said 1st Lt. An-thony McKinney, a 746th EAS navigator. “At one point we could hardly see a light pole 30 yards from the plane.”

While the crew shutdown and sealed the aircraft, the engineer went outside to place the plugs in the engine intakes.

“For the next two hours we were pummeled

AMC NEWSFlight crew responds, comes to aid of Iraqi burn victim

See BURN, Page 18

by this storm, waiting out the thunderstorm, hail, and tornado warnings, until finally its intensity began to ebb,” Capt. Hoekman said.

“We coordinated with the medical personnel at the hospital to have the patient ready as soon as we had the visibility to takeoff. We also coordinated with our command to have our tactical duty day waived to 14 hours so that we could complete the mission as soon as the weather improved.”

The situation escalated to critically urgent, when after four hours the crew got word the patient would probably die if she wasn’t flown out within two hours.

Everyone sprung into action: the CCATT members went to bring out the patient while the engineer swept out the inch-deep layer of sand that had accumulated on the intakes in just the few minutes before they had been sealed. Visibility had increased to a quarter mile but was still below minimums.

By the time the patient was brought to the aircraft with her husband by her side, the engines were ready to go and the crew was coordinating with air traffic control.

They reached the runway just as visibility increased to the required minimums.

“We immediately took off and flew to our hospital destination, crossing our fingers that the weather there was still within the required visual flight rules,” Cap-tain Hoekman said.

“It was, barely.” When the plane landed, everyone again worked to-

gether to make sure the patient was loaded into the ambulance and taken to the hospital.

“The credit, in no small part, also goes to the Aero-medical Evacuation team, our maintenance crew and our command and control for backing us up,” said Lieu-tenant McKinney. “Our crews job knowledge and ex-perience level was key. It allowed us to keep the plane safe while pushing forward in marginal conditions.”

When the ambulance arrived back at the aircraft with the medical equipment in tow, the crew took off and was able to finally land back at their home station about 30 minutes before the expiration of their 18-hour extended duty day.

“The exhaustion felt by every member of the crew after such a long and intense mission was more than offset by the knowledge that we had saved an Iraqi woman’s life,” Captain Hoekman said. “Each one of us can now claim to have contributed our own small part to the improvement of the Iraqi people.”

“These missions are the ones that count the most,” Airman Janse said. “In many ways, we are helping oth-ers and still we are building a strong respect for our country with other countries which should pay off in the end for everyone.”

“I know there have been many critically injured Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Captain Hoekman said. “We do our utmost to bring care to these Soldiers, ensuring they receive the best possible treatment, and transporting them to hospitals either in the area of re-sponsibility or on the first leg of a trip back to Europe or the United States. However, this mission, from start to finish, was created and executed for the primary purpose of saving the life of an Iraqi woman.

burnFrom Page 16

Solder to be brought into the network -- to bring that developmental timeline in line with the FCS program,” said Lt. Gen. N. Ross Thompson III, military deputy to the acting assistant secretary of the Army for acquisi-tion, logistics and technology.

Thompson also said the change in schedule would not change FCS program costs.

Lt. Gen. Stephen M. Speakes, deputy chief of staff for programs and Army G8, said the change will have a dra-matic affect on the way Soldiers today can fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“This re-evaluation is based on seven years of sus-tained combat,” he said. “We believe that the change ma-terially improves upon the capabilities we will provide to Soldiers, and has direct relevance to the current war fight.

oral and dental care can affect the body” said EMW Viet-namese Chief Dentist Tran Thi Minh Huong, who is the dental national coordinator for EWM.

Huong also said many of the Vietnamese people, es-pecially in the rural areas, are more concerned with put-ting food in their stomachs than they are with oral hy-giene.

“The Vietnamese people here are very appreciative of the service,” said Vietnamese Army Junior Lt. Lam Xuan Hoa. “There are a lot of people from different countries to help us.”

Lam protected the dental supplies at the site. While there he also had his teeth cleaned.

Lam said this is the first time he saw so many foreign-ers. He said it was a chance for many of the Vietnamese to meet people from different countries.

“I look forward to the next time Mercy comes back,” said Lam. “We seldom get a chance like this. The chil-dren can get some tooth brushes, toys and dental treat-ment.”

East Meets West is a local non profit charitable orga-nization which has operated in Vietnam since 1988.

Vietnam is the second stop on Mercy’s five-month Pacific Partnership humanitarian civic assistance mis-sion to build friendships and professional relationships through Southeast Asia. Mercy is also scheduled to vis-it Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea and the Federated States of Micronesia.

infantryFrom Page 14

dentalFrom Page 14

ing is provided by A&FRC staff and scheduled locally. A&FRC’s will work with the unit monitors to coordinate training and make training available to meet sponsorship needs.

In the near future the A&FRC hopes to have online computer-based training for sponsorship, so keep an eye out.

“In the class, we teach sponsors how to provide a sense of belong-ing, ease the transition for inbound service members and their family members, increase productivity, and reduce culture shock among many other resourceful skills,” said Mrs. Smith.

She went on to say anyone can be a sponsor, but sponsors are en-couraged to be with an inbound member they can most relate to.

MacDill is different from other bases because there are all branches on our base. To better provide for all military member’s the A&FRC provides sponsors a folder containing information for all branches on

a disc and a welcome letter to send to the member inbound; the rest of the other information the sponsor is responsible for providing.

“A good website for branches of the military to visit and obtain infor-mation about the base they are relocating to is http://www.military-homefront.dod.mil,” said Mrs. Smith.

“My sponsor was great,” said Airman 1st Class Lauren Mcdonough 6th Communications Squadron, Voice Network Systems apprentice. “She contacted me in technical school through my superintendent.

“Upon arriving she informed my supervisor of the date I was to com-ing and found me a room. When I arrived, she took me to dinner and introduced me to the whole base so I would know where to go.”

When it comes to being a sponsor the A&FRC community readiness consultant says, “Listen and do; do not assume you know what they need.”

sponsorFrom Page 4

by Tech. Sgt. C. Chris ShermanU.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center Mobility Operations School

FORT DIX, N.J. —Here at our “center of ex-cellence,” the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center, we impart knowledge to our students so they may be better able to perform

their mission. Hopefully we are also absorbing the knowledge that is flowing all around us.

Recently, during an Air Force Week in Philadel-phia event at the Wharton Business School in Phila-delphia, a woman walked up to our Expeditionary Center booth right after we received a briefing by Gen. Norton A. Schwartz,

U.S. Transportation Com-mand commander from Scott Air Force Base, Ill.

She had submitted a question, but there wasn’t enough time for the gener-al to answer it. Normally people drop their “gotcha” question after they get you at ease, but I think this particular question was one she really was inter-

ested in having answered. She asked it to us almost immediately afterward.

Her question -- “What is the Air Force trying to do to reduce its carbon foot-print?”

Immediately after she asked this question, I saw some of my colleagues draw away which is where I decided to step in. I stepped in not because I knew more about the sub-ject than the others did, I just recognized the oppor-tunity to influence public opinion on an important subject.

Sometimes one person can be the spark that ig-nites a firestorm, either for positive or negative. With the greater cost of energy these days, it was a question we should have expected.

Initially I described to her some initiatives right here at the USAF EC. I explained the Air Mobilty Battlelab’s “Brighteye” initiative. Through this, the AMB took a light cart the size of a small vehicle and reduced it to the size of your desktop computer running on rechargeable batteries with a solar re-charging unit, and not a gas or diesel engine. We also discussed the USAF EC’s transfer of course-ware to Web-based dis-tance learning, which re-duces the need for travel and saves money, time and fuel.

Then we discussed other Air Force initiatives. I told her how the Air Force is one of the largest recyclers in the nation, refurbish-ing and reusing parts, how

When reducing energy use, knowledge is power

See ENERGY, Page 23

COMMENTARY

At the Movies

Chapel ScheduleProtestant servicesSunday - 9 a.m., Traditional Service10:30 a.m., Religious Education, Noon, Gospel ServiceTuesday -Noon, Promise Keepers6 p.m., Pioneer Club(grades 1 to 7)Thursday - 11:30 a.m., Officers’ Christian Fel-lowshipFriday - 10 a.m., Women of the Chapel

Catholic servicesSaturday - Mass, 5:30 p.m.Sunday - Mass, 10:30 a.m.Monday to Thursday: Mass, 12:10 p.m.Saturday - Sacrament of Reconciliation, 4:30 p.m., (or by appointment)

Jewish and Islamic servicesCall 828-3621 for information.

Coming Soon

Sex and the CityThe continuing adventures

of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda as they live their lives in Manhattan four years after the series ended. R

Indiana Jones and the Kingdome of the Crystal

SkullIn 1957, Indiana Jones is

thrust back in action, ventur-ing into the jungles of South America in a race against So-viet agents to find the mystical Crystal Skull. PG-13

The Strangers

Saturday 3 p.m.

The Chronicles of Nar-nia: : Prince CaspianPrince Caspian” finds

the Pevensie siblings pulled back into the land of Nar-nia, where a thousand years have passed since they left. The children are once again enlisted to join the colorful creatures of Narnia. PG

Saturday 7 p.m.

The StrangersA terrifying suspense

thriller about a couple whose remote getaway becomes a place of terror when masked strangers invade. R

The Chronicles of Narnia

Shows and times are subject to change. Call the MacDill Theater at 828-2780 for complete listings. Doors normally open 20 minutes prior to showtime, but call the theater for verification because they may open earlier. Tickets are $3.25. Children under 4 are free, unless it’s a G-rated movie. Indiana

Jones

there is Air Force research into alternative fuels for air-craft, and the use of non-traditional vehicles on base (bi-cycles on the flightline, Segways, and electric vehicles).

Someone else chimed in the discussion about how some Air Force installations act as natural safe havens for animals since hunting or fishing are restricted in these areas.

Another NCO also was able to discuss Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st century, or AFSO 21, and how it reduces waste. We discussed motion sensitive lighting and other alternative energy sources currently used in some buildings.

Our discussion was so diverse we were able to speak to this woman for more than 30 minutes on these sub-jects. Individually, we may have had trouble speaking about all this information, but together we projected great knowledge and professionalism.

I forgot to mention earlier this woman is the president of an influential architectural firm that designs govern-ment buildings, colleges and other large-scale building projects.

She thinks reducing the carbon footprint is important because that is often the first question her customers ask on new architectural proposals. Initially, she didn’t mention this until we started discussing things in de-tail.

It is the duty of all Airmen to be knowledgeable on Air Force policies and initiatives, but now more than ever that includes energy conservation. We can learn from published reports or even from our fellow wingmen.

Knowledge is the power to our minds that saves us from wasting the electrical power for our equipment and buildings. We must always stay informed on things that can make our Air Force better and energy conservation is certainly one of those areas.

The day of my discussion with the president of an ar-chitectural firm proved that.

energyFrom Page 22

Sex in the City

Two-wheelin’Master Sgt. Don Tauriello, Motorcycle Safety Foundation rider coach, instructs a basic riders course recently at MacDill. Staff Sgt. reginald Overstreet and Staff Sgt. Jonathan Vaughn, both of the 6th Security Forces squadron, partici-pate in maneuvering the safety course. The two-day course goes over various situations a rider may encounter on a day-to-day basis. The course is a require-ment for all military and civilians operating a motorcycle on and off base.

Photo by Staff Sgt. ronald Hill