Operation Dragon Foundation - Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson

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B-4 Arctic Warrior April 8, 2011 Engineers hammer airlifters in intramural competition By Airman 1st Class Jack Sanders JBER PAO Last year’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson intramural volleyball season winners, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are still a force to be reckoned with. The USACE squad destroyed the 517th Airlift Squadron’s volleyball team this season in their April 1 game, with a score of 25 to 17 in the first match and 25 to 15 in the second. The first match started off close with both teams keeping the game tied. The USACE team jumped ahead after their first time-out with a 10-point run to pull their lead to 20-to-13. “We absolutely have every intention of repeating (last years victory),” said Mark Viotto, USACE team member after the game. Unable to come back from the spike in both points and volleys, the 5 1 7 t h t e a m w a s d e - feated after a short rally, bringing the score of the first game to 25 to 17. With the momentum on their side, the USACE team continued to spike and ace their way ahead in the second matchup. The 517th team failed to return several serves from USACE players and found themselves quickly on the wrong side of the 25-to-15 score. “We did pretty well,” said Allison Snow, 517th team member. “We held our own. We’re always up a g a i n s t different t e a m s and our team – always h a s d i f - ferent people c o m - i n g i n and out but overall we did pretty good,” said. The USACE team was all smiles at the end of the second match. “We were rusty this game,” Viotto said. “A lot of us had gone on vacation, so we hadn’t played together for a while.” Snow said although their team lost they would still keep playing and, “try and have a little more fun instead of all the seriousness.” The USACE coach said his team has yet to show its full promise. “We’re shaking off the rust but we’ll get there,” Viotto said. Left: A member of the 517th Airlift Squadron intramural volleyball team spikes as a defender on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers team defends during a game April 1. Above: April Labrecque sets for a fellow U.S. Army Corps of Engineers team member to spike on the awaiting 517th Airlift Squadron team members. The USACE volleyball team won last year’s JBER volleyball tournament. (Photos by Airman 1st Class Jack Sanders/ JBER PAO) Being the new kid on the block can be tough Commentary by Air Force Staff Sgt. Jeremy Larlee JBER PAO One of the hardest things I had to deal with as a child was moving to a new town when I was seven. There is probably no feeling more awkward than entering a classroom, while everybody’s eyes bore a hole into you. I was naturally shy then, so making new friends wasn’t easy for me. After joining the military, I got to replicate that feeling with each change of station. I’m no longer shy, so it’s not as traumatic an experience as it was before. The seemingly never-ending stream of new faces and handshakes can be tiring, though. Something of a similar nature happens in professional sports quite often. Athletes are constantly moving to new teams and sometimes even burning bridges behind them as they go. There are multiple motivations for athletes to move on. In my opinion, even though most athletes will deny it, the most common reason is money. I’m not judging them; the possibility of making millions of dollars more at a new location would probably dominate my mind too if I was in their shoes. In some cases, and especially with athletes who are entering the twilight of their careers, the motivation is going to an organization that gives them the best chance to win a title. Sometimes it’s about the new location they are moving to and what that means for their career after sports. Carmelo Anthony leaving the Denver Nuggets for the New York Knicks was a good example of this. The Nuggets have been a perennial playoff team the last couple years while the a new player can help that organization ascend further – or make it blow apart Knicks have been a train wreck. This offseason in the NBA there was more movem e n t t h a n usual and it has made for an entertaining season. One of the things that fascinates me about basketball is how the chemistry of a winning team has to be done just right. Players have to complement each other on the court. Putting five great players together is no guarantee of a winning season. On successful teams, a new player can help that organization ascend further – or make it blow apart like a failed science experiment. I often learn a lot about an athlete by how they deal with being on a new team. Do they take a look around and try to change to fit in? Or do they act like it is business as usual and just go about things the way they always have? As members of the military we are part of a team that has been kicking butt and taking names for years. When you get to a new work center, how do you approach it? Do you try to change everything right off the bat or do you take time to see if things are done a certain way for a reason? Kicking holes into processes your new coworkers have had for years may not be the best way to start off – not to say that change shouldn’t be made when it’s needed. The good news about frequent military moves is all you have to do is wait a few months and somebody else can be the new kid in town. Bear aware Bears and trash a bad combination By Alaska Department Fish and Game, Division of Wildlife Conservation Bears that become attracted to garbage, pet food and birdseed can become public safety hazards. Keeping bears away from human food is perhaps the most important thing we can do to prevent conflicts and confrontations between bears and people. It is against the law to feed bears – no matter what. The law states, “A person may not intentionally feed a moose, deer, elk, bear, wolf, coyote, fox or wolverine, or negligently leave human food, animal food, or garbage in a manner that attracts these animals.” It is also against the law to kill a bear you have attracted by improperly storing human food, animal food or garbage. A fed bear is a dead bear. Bad habits are hard to break, and bears are creatures of habit. Bears seek out the same wild foods in the same places year after year. Bears conditioned to eating human food behave the same way. They keep returning to the same neighborhoods, campgrounds and dumpsters, until food is no longer available or until they are killed. Food-conditioned bears can be aggressive. A person who allows bears to feed on improperly stored food or garbage may well be putting other people at risk with their behavior. Bears like garbage. Garbage is both nutritious and available, which makes it ideal bear food. Negligently leaving unsecured garbage in a manner that attracts a bear is punishable with up to a $310 fine, and feeding bears, intentionally or negligently, is against the law. What we can do around our homes and cabins. Preventing bear problems is everyone’s responsibility. Work within your neighborhood and community to encourage others to manage their garbage, dog food, birdseed — anything that might attract a bear. Encourage your neighbors not to put out garbage for pickup the night before. If there is a bear in the neighborhood, let people know. Work together to protect your neighborhood and to conserve bears. Store garbage and animal feed inside secure buildings or in bearproof containers. Keep your garbage secured File photo until just before scheduled pickup. If you take your garbage to a collection site, do so regularly. Make sure to place it in the dumpster and close the lid. These collection sites attract bears. Pack your garbage out. At your weekend cabin, keep your garbage in a bear-proof container, such as a steel drum fitted with a locking lid, and take it home with you. If you bury or burn your garbage, it may still attract bears. Bears like to eat pet food, horse feed, meat scraps and fish. Keep these items in a secure place. Barbecues can also be powerful attractants. Storing grills and smokers in a protected place and burning off grease after each meal helps to discourage bears. Be smart about pets and bird feeding Domestic animals draw bears. Keep them where they are safe. Chickens and rabbits kept in outside pens are easy and attractive prey. Bears, especially black bears, like birdseed and suet, so don’t feed birds between early April and late October when bears are out foraging. Clean up uneaten food and seed hulls each spring when you put your feeders away. For more information about coexisting with bears, go to www. wildelife.alaska.gov and click on the link for Alaska’s bears.
April 8, 2011 Arctic Warrior B-5 Face to face, even in the midst of troubles Commentary by Chaplain (Maj.) Mike Shannon 673d ABW Do you ever feel as though you are alone, in the dark, depressed, overwhelmed – sometimes up at night, unable to sleep, wondering if anyone out there really cares? We know faith and spirituality is important to many warriors we encounter. There was one ancient warrior who wrote a psalm at one point that seemed to feel the same way as described in my opening sentence. At one point he even states that he is not alone in these feelings, “There are many who say, ‘Who will show us some good?’” (Psalms 4:6) This is a great question, is it not? Who will show us good? Who does care? This warrior knew where to turn in such times and responds, “Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!” and continues, “You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” (Psalms 4:6-8). The ultimate blessing this warrior needed and desired in order to have peace and to sleep at night is to have God’s face shine upon him. Recently I have had to walk with some people through grief as a result of some tragic and difficult events such as death and divorce. When faced with such things anyone can wonder, “Who will show us good?” Several years ago I read a book by James W. Moore, “When Grief Breaks Your Heart.” Moore tells a great story of a father and son. “A young man’s wife died, leaving him with a small son. After returning from the cemetery, they went to bed as soon as it was dark, because there was nothing else the father could bear to do. As he lay there in the darkness – brokenhearted, grief-stricken, numb with sorrow – the boy broke the stillness from his little bed with a disturbing question: ‘Daddy, where is Mommy?’ The father tried to get the boy to go to sleep, but the questions kept coming from his confused, childish mind. After a while, the father got up and brought the boy to bed with him. But the child was still disturbed and restless, and occasionally would ask a probing, heartbreaking question. Finally, the boy reached out in the darkness and placed his hand on his father’s face, asking, ‘Daddy is your face toward me?’ Assured by his father’s words, and by his own touch, that his father’s face was indeed toward him, the boy said, ‘If your face is toward me, I think I can go to sleep.’ And in a little while, he was quiet. The father lay there in the darkness and, with childlike faith, lifted up his own needy heart to his Father in heaven. He prayed something like this: ‘O God, the way is dark, and I confess that I do not see my way through right now. But if your face is toward me, somehow I think I can make it.’” In the midst of such troubled times, many warriors have learned the importance of going to God and clinging to their faith, that someone greater than themselves exist and cares for them. Here’s my prayer for you, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26). Autism From page B-1 requirements – many times unseen to your peers since you try to not bring issues to work with you. It has taken a toll on finances, family and career. That’s reality, but as a military family you get over it and press on. Having a child with autism changes you in so many ways, but strengthens you in ways you could never imagine. This strength becomes an asset for the realities of service. Military life can be particularly difficult for children with autism and their families. Children with autism need structure in their lives, and while the military focuses on structure and order for mission accomplishment, this doesn’t always translate to the home front. Stressors the general public typically don’t have to deal with such as deployments, temporary duty assignments, permanent change of station assignments every few years or less, exercises and so many other requirements can take a toll on these families, since autistic kids have such a hard time adapting to change. When we moved last fall it was our fourth move in just over five years. The military stresses providing a unit support system, when you have a special needs child it creates challenges for people who want to be supportive; not knowing how to approach parents and exactly what support to offer can act as a buffer against such volunteerism. This is where communicating these special family needs and helping people understand can pay dividends. Talking with leaders in your organization might seem difficult, but is necessary to help communicate concerns. If they aren’t aware, they can’t help you. For commanders and supervisors, better understanding of autism’s impact can potentially reduce or eliminate domestic issues affecting the unit. Get informed Education is one of the most important aspects of being a parent of a special-needs child. Learning about the signs, symptoms and options will be integral to your child’s recovery. In learning about and experiencing my son’s condition, I’ve been exposed to a great number of scientific topics, from chelation to sensory issues to oxalates and yeast. I never realized the impact of diet and therapies, and understanding challenges such as gastrointestinal problems, food sensitivities or sensory issues leading to what are called meltdowns. These may not be readily apparent to most people, but learning how the smallest thing impacts your child gives you a new perspective. Surrounding yourself with people going through the same thing can have a profound impact on the type of care you give your child. Online forums, local support groups and base resources provide a great means to talk about your issues, learn new options, and information. On Facebook, a quick search for “military autism” can help find a support group. With April also being recognized as the Month of the Military Child and National Autism Awareness Month, it’s especially important to recognize the challenges our children face; the sacrifices of our warriors: the mothers, fathers, family members and supporters of these special children; and the hope that we will one day recover all our children from this pervasive disorder. Our heroes deserve no less.
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