Wright Flyer June 06.indd - 916th Air Refueling Wing

Page 4 NewsWright Flyer s June 2006 Wright Flyer s June 2006 NewsPage 5News BriefsFY 06-07 TrainingScheduleMo Sat SunMAY 6 7JUNE 10 11JULY 8 9AUG 5 6SEPT 9 10OCT 21 22NOV 4 5DEC 2 3JAN 6 7FEB 10 11MARCH 10 11APR 14 15MAY 5 6JUNE 9 10JULY 21 22AUG 4 5SEPT 8 9Command emphasisAir Force Reserve Commandsenior leaders wantreservists to know about theimportance of Servicemembers’Group Life Insurance.A recent tragedy involvinga reservist who declinedSGLI coverage prompted acall for this benefit to receivemore emphasis.In addition to requiringreservists to report to theirmilitary personnel flight todecline coverage in person,command officials are lookingat adding squadronlevelcounseling by the firstsergeant or commander.Changes to SGLIPresident Bush signedinto law May 11 an $82 billionsupplemental legislationraising the maximumServicemembers’ Group LifeInsurance coverage from$250,000 to $400,000 andproviding payouts of up to$100,000 for people withtraumatic injuries.In a new twist introducedthrough the legislation,troops with dependents mustget their spouse’s approval topurchase less than the fullamount of SGLI coverage.If a person is not married,the designated beneficiarywill receive notice when theperson purchases less thanthe maximum coverage.The increased SGLI coveragewill start Sept. 1, andthe so-called “traumaticSGLI” benefit will beginDec. 1. The legislation directsthat both benefitsIt’s a wing thingThese issues highlightinformation aboutthe wing’s upcomingORI scheduled for July29-Aug 5, 2006.Each month the LRSwill be retroactive to Oct.7, 2001.Traumatic SGLI benefitswill be retroactive for troopswho have lost limbs, eyesightor speech or receivedother traumatic injuries asa direct results of injuriesreceived during OperationIraqi Freedom or OperationEnduring Freedom. Thebenefit does not apply to peoplesuffering from disease.One stop for TricareThe Air Force ReserveContact Center in Denver isthe sole point of contact forAir Force reservists to enrollin Tricare Reserve Select.This is the first time theAir Reserve Personnel Centerhas been able to providea service to all reservistsunder the Air Force PersonnelService Delivery TransformationShared ServicesOrganization model, a centralizedpersonnel service.The Fiscal 2005 NationalDefense Authorization Actestablished Tricare ReserveSelect for reservists whoserved on active duty in supportof a contingency anytimesince Sept. 11, 2001.The Tricare Web site –www.tricare.osd.mil/reserve/reserveselect– has furtherdetails.will post information hereabout activities happeningduring the drill weekendsto prepare for theseimportant deployments toAlpena.Civilian employmentinfo requiredTime is running out forabout 15,000 Air Forcereservists in the SelectedReserve to comply with aDepartment of Defense directive.Oct. 31 is the deadlinefor reservists to registerinformation about their civilianplace of employment.Some 60,000 of these Airmen,roughly 80 percent ofthe Selected Reserve, providedthat information asof May. Command officialsurge reservists to registeronline as soon as possibleby going to http://www.afrc.af.mil/reserveInfo.htm andclicking on Civilian EmploymentInfo Program.On-line serviceLast year Air ReservePersonnel Center customersused a telephone or e-mailto request copies of a performancereport, update theirmailing address or replacea lost record.Now they can go on-lineat http://arpc.afrc.af.mil/ toask for the same thing fromthe Air Force Reserve ContactCenter in Denver. TheWeb-based service directsthe customers to input necessaryinformation, so customerservice representativeshave everything theyneed to serve the customer.“We used to use e-mail,but you’d be going back andforth with the customer tomake sure you had all theirinformation,” said Maj. DougOttinger, deputy director ofthe center’s Personnel DeliveryService. “With Webrequests it guides customersthrough the process,provides customers immediateconfirmation that wereceived their requests viaJuneHotwash may tabletopexerciseEOC meetingPrepare for ORI,July 29-Aug 5e-mail and automatically assignsan issue managementnumber for their referenceand the customer servicerepresentatives’ reference.”Dependent selectedfor academyEric Andrew JorgensenJr., son of Lt. Col. Eric Jorgensenhas received a fullyqualified offer of appointmentto the United States AirForce Academy for the classentering July 2006. ColonelJorgensen is 916th Air RefuelingWing Plans, chief.NewcomersTech. Sgt. Robert Ewest916th AMXSStaff Sgt. Jordan L.Flores916th MXSStaff Sgt. Michael E.Harger II916th AMXSStaff Sgt. Alfred WilliamsJr.916th MXSSenior Airman DanielleC. Fuoss916th CESSenior Airman MatthewJ. Moorman916th ARWSenior Airman JustinW. Pierce916th CFSenior Airman ValerieK. Wells916th SVFPromotionsMaj. Heather Bridges77th ARSMaj. Wendy Gresis916th ARWSenior Master Sgt.Kenny Smith916th MXGMaster Sgt. John D.Hahn716th CFMaster Sgt. Robert J.Stephens916th CESMaster Sgt. Randall M.Whitfield916th CESTech. Sgt. Angela D.Chambers916th LRSTech. Sgt. Anthony M.Diggs916th MXSTech. Sgt. Brian Dodge916th MXSTech. Sgt. Adrienne M.Ellington916th ARWTech. Sgt. Robert E. FoxJr.916th AMXSStaff Sgt. Katherine A.Farrow916th AMXSStaff Sgt. Rabecca A.Frederici916th AMXSStaff Sgt. Anna Marie L.T. Beckles916th AMDFStaff Sgt. Holly J. Potter916th MXSStaff Sgt. Tonya E. Williams916th ARWSenior Airman Ruffin D.Bowman916th LRSSenior Airman StephenC. Delossantos916th AMXSAwardsSenior NCO of the Quarter(January – March 2006)Senior Master Sgt. JudyToner716th CFNCO of the Quarter (January– March 2006)Staff Sgt. Leory E. Mc-Cardell716th CFAirman of the Quarter(January – March 2006)Senior Airman CharlesP. Armstrong916th LRSAFSA division travels to D.C.,washes Vietnam MemorialSenior Airman J.G.BuzanowskiAir Force Print NewsWASHINGTON - Fortyyears ago, troops in Vietnamwere issued rifles,ponchos and helmets. Lastweekend, members fromthe Air Force SergeantsAssociation were armedwith brooms, soap bucketsand hoses.About 140 AFSA membersand some of their familymembers traveled fromsix Mid-Atlantic region basesto Washington, D.C., toclean the Vietnam VeteransMemorial wall.“I’ve done this six timesnow and every time it makesme proud,” said Tech. Sgt.Kim Browne, who, as theDivision 3 Airman ActivitiesCoordinator, organized thevisit. “This year we invitedmore junior enlisted Airmenfrom other bases and it’samazing how many of themcame with us. For most ofthem, this was their firsttime here.”To make the trip to thenation’s capitol, the Airmenhad to pay out of pocketand came from far away asSouth Carolina, said SergeantBrowne, who herselfdrove with her daughterfrom Seymour Johnson AirForce Base, N.C.“This has been an amazingevent and totally worthcoming here,” said MasterSgt. Dave Stinard, theCharleston AFB, S.C., chapterpresident. Sergeant Stinardand his chapter raisedfunds to afford the ninehourdrive by doing carwashes and bake sales.The experience beganearly that morning beforethe usual throngs of touristsarrive to pay their respects.A park ranger met the groupand passed out the toolsthey’d need to wash awaythe dirt and grime that hadbuilt up in the names etchedinto the memorial.For military members,cleaning the wall gives thema connection to those whoserved before them, saidAirman 1st Class JackieVanWagner, which is whyshe made the drive fromLangley AFB, Va.The park staff relies onvolunteers to keep the wallclean. While groups regularlyoffer their time to help keepthe memorial clean, theyusually number between50-70 people, said U.S. ParkService ranger Terry Brown.The Air Force showed upwith twice as many.Although they can onlymake the trip once a year,Sergeant Browne is happyto continue organizing theevent and will bring peopleto wash the wall for as longas she can.Chaplain services during UTAs• Services will be held every Saturday of the unittraining assembly starting in January 2006916th Air Refueling Wing Bolen Room - 6 p.m.• Every Sunday of the UTA916th Civil Engineer Squadron - 7:45 a.m.77th Air Refueling Squadron Tigertorium- 11:15 a.m.