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JBA members benefit from Efficient Running seminar
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Civil War buffs can follow John Wilkes Booth’s escape route
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Col. Cachuela prepares to pass the guidon BY CHRIS BASHAM STAFF WRITER
As a child, Rudy Cachuela had the perfect combination of example and encouragement to help him find his path to a satisfying and significant career. “My father was a Sailor. I was a military brat. All I ever knew, growing up, was bases,” said Col. Cachuela, who serves as commander, 779th Medical Group. “My mom influenced me to medicine from the youngest age. As a typical ‘tiger mom,’ she kept putting in my head that I should be a doctor.” While pursuing an undergraduate degree in bioengineering, Cachuela realized that he actually liked the medical side of his studies. “I researched how blood flows, the mechanics of the human body,” he said. Cachuela understood that the expense of medical school would be a burden on his enlisted Navy family. He accepted a health professional scholarship and chose the Air Force because of what he’d observed about the various military branches during his childhood. “I knew I didn’t want the Army, and my dad was always off to sea. I chose the Air Force because at the time my brother was Air Force, also. At the time, we were not expeditionary. We fought from bases,” Cachuela said. “Of course, we’ve
STAFF WRITER
The Town of Morningside held elections for Mayor and several Town Council seats May 6. In a Morningside tradition, candidates gathered outside the Morningside Town Hall, sharing a relaxed, block party atmosphere behind a line of police tape intended to keep candidates separate from the Town Hall’s main parking lot. Residents of the town came by after voting to speak with the candidates. Council member Todd Mullins, a Morningside resident for nearly four years, said,” People have been trickling in all day, although I think there is a lighter turn-out than the last election.” Candidate Elizabeth Long agreed that this year’s voter turnout seemed relatively light. “Last year I ran and got 72 votes,” Long said. “I don’t think there have been that many people, this year.”
FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013 | VOL. 2 NO. 18
Youth learn about law enforcement through Explorer program
PHOTO/CHRIS BASHAM
since changed, and I’ve loved the times I’ve deployed.” When Cachuela considered his options for a medical specialty, he chose orthopedics so that he could work with fellow athletes. It turned out to be a highly valued specialty in military medicine. “We find that for the active duty population, orthopedics is really one of the biggest-utilized services. Most injuries are orthopedic, because it’s a relatively healthy population.” Col. Cachuela took command of 779th Medical Group in January 2010, at what he describes as “a very tumultuous time for the 779th Medical Group.” Armed with the Surgeon General of the Air Force’s vision for Andrews’ medical facilities, Cachuela came here determined to
see GUIDON, page 10
Town of Morningside elects new Mayor, councilmembers BY CHRIS BASHAM
LRS beats 1st AS in Intramural Playoffs
Long ran for a Town Council seat hoping to bring attention to the poor condition of streets and to the concerns of senior citizens in the town. “Streets and roads are important. Several streets here haven’t even been paved. They’re sort of like dirt. So, the council members are working on that,” Long said, mainly using funds coming from the town’s red light cameras. “I think people are mad because they think the town’s property tax rate is going up, but it hasn’t. It’s the state rate that’s been going up, and that impacts everything. A lot of the money we’re getting (for road improvements and other projects) is from red light cameras, especially along Suitland Road,” Long said. Long, who also seeks to revamp the town’s communications network, said, “I wanted to represent the seniors so they
see ELECTION, page 3
PHOTO/CHRIS BASHAM
Prince George’s County Police Department District IV Explorers practice investigating a breaking and entering scenario using the hallways and classrooms of Oxon Hill High School. The hands-on and small group learning experiences they have as members of the Explorers give these students an edge against other candidates for careers in law enforcement. BY CHRIS BASHAM STAFF WRITER
There’s a lot of talk these days about young people lacking the focus and drive to know what they want to do with their lives. For some, however, adolescence is a time to learn and prepare for the future. Prince George’s Police Department District IV Officer M.A. Owen leads 25 young people, ages 14-20, as they learn about law enforcement careers through the Law Enforcement Explorers Program. Each PGPD district has its own Explorers group, with approximately 150 students enrolled county-wide. District IV’s Explorers meet each Wednesday evening at Oxon Hill High School, although not all members of the group are enrolled there. The year-round program, a subsidiary of the Boy Scouts of America Learning for Life career training program, teaches the skills, tactics and attitude necessary to be a successful candidate for a law enforcement career. Many of today’s PGPD officers participated in the Explorer program as students. The program has been in place in the county
since the mid-1970s, and has produced county police officers and agents in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Park Police and the U.S. Marshall Service as well as other law enforcement agencies over the years. Others choose military service or college instead of enrolling in the police academy when they are old enough to qualify, at 20 and a half years old. “I just want them interested in a law enforcement career,” said Owen. “Of course, I’d like to see them join the Prince George’s Police Department.” Owen was an Explorer as a teen in Philadelphia. “Thursday was almost the only day of the week, as far as I was concerned,” Owen said of his love of the program. No matter where it is based, the format of Explorer programs is similar each week---students participate in physical training, drills and ceremony practice, and learn how to handle most of the basics of police work: bomb threats, traffic stops, legal updates, domestic conflicts, breaking and entering, active shooter scenarios, traffic accident investigations and white collar crime. Seasoned Explor-
ers who have earned the trust of Owen and other adult advisers in the program can participate in ride-alongs with PGPD officers. The students also volunteer at weekend events, take field trips throughout the department, attend a week-long Community Policing Institute course each August at the county’s police academy and can attend a national conference held in evennumbered years. The program will add teen Community Emergency Response Team training in the near future. Explorer training emphasizes unity, discipline and cooperation among the team. “When one messes up, they all mess up,” Owen said. “When you have a bad experience with me, it tarnishes all of us in uniform, so we teach them to take their training seriously.” Most students enter the program as early as age 14, but there are exceptions. “Carlos was bugging me like a tick. He was extremely persistent,” said Program Coordinator Cpl. Conrad D’Haiti, who has served as an adviser with the
see EXPLORER, page 3
Local businessman’s vision for success transcends visual disability BY BOBBY JONES
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
PHOTO/BOBBY JONES
Ron Thomas and his assistant manager Cynthia Apronti go over the Café inventory.
Ronald Thomas was born with glaucoma and cataracts that render him legally blind. Life wasn’t always successful for the native Washingtonian, now the proprietor of the Blue Wing Café on the second floor of the William I. Jones III Building on Joint Base Andrews. Thomas encountered barriers as an adolescent, but at 53 his vision for success in the business world has transcended his visual disability. Thomas’ father died when Ron was six years old, leaving his mother to raise him and five siblings. His mother worked her way up through the ranks to become head nurse at D.C. General Hospital.
“My mother made it to the top and served in that position for more than 20 years,” said Thomas. “She really worked her way through life, all while raising all of us. And it really woke me up one day,” said Thomas, crediting his mother’s achievement as his inspiration. “I said ‘If she can do it, then I can do it.’” When asked how his mother felt about his achievement as a business owner Thomas said, “My mother is retired now and residing in an assisted living home and I talk with her daily. She’s really proud of me, but I can remember for a long time I didn’t know which direction to go with my life. I was frustrated.” Thomas first attended Largo High School, enrolled in a spe-
cial education class. He knew his math and reading skills were lacking, but the Randolph-Sheppard Act, a federal law which mandates a priority to blind persons to operate vending facilities on federal property, afforded him the opportunity receive his high school diploma at the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Rehabilitation Services in Baltimore, Md. Thomas spoke fondly about opportunities he received at the DORS, an introductory, careerbuilding pathway organization which worked with people who had physical and mental disabilities, as well as diseases including cerebral palsy and heart disease.
see DISABILITY, page 8
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HOT TICKETS
Commentary
This isn’t T-ball
Around Town May 10-12
American Idiot Showtimes vary Hippodrome Theatre, 12 North Eutaw Street, FranceMerrick Performing Arts Center, Baltimore, Md. See a Broadway musical about a post-punk band. Intrigued? For information visit http://baltimore.broadway. com/.
May 11
Rome at Riversdale 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Riversdale, 4811 Riverdale Road, Riverdale Park, Md. Learn about ancient Rome through battle reenactments, catapult demonstrations, children’s activities, food, scavenger hunts and fun. For information call 301-864-0420.
May 11 - June 29
UNREAL: sculpture, ink drawings and paintings Mondays - Fridays 10 a.m -7 p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m - 4 p.m. Brentwood Arts Exchange, Gateway Arts Center, 3901 Rhode Island Avenue, Brentwood, Md. See surrealistic work by Allen Linder, Benedict Oddi and Christina Osheim, and eco-friendly glass sculpture by Washington Glass School co-founder Erwin Timmers. For information visit arts.pgparks.com.
May 11
Healthy Trails at National Harbor 5K Run/Walk 7 a.m. Woodrow Wilson Bridge Trail, 98 National Harbor Boulevard, Oxon Hill, Md. Ages 6 and up can walk or run with the whole family; all registered participants get an event T-shirt. For information call 301-627-7755.
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Andrews Gazette is published by Comprint Military Publications, 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, Md., a private firm in no way connected with the U.S. Air Force or any branch of the United States military. The appearance of advertising in these publications, including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense, the Department of the Air Force or the products and services 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, martial status, physical handicap, political affiliation or any other non merit factor of the purchases, user or patron.
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Friday, May 10, 2013
Chris Basham, editor cbasham@dcmilitary.com Deirdre Parry, page design dparry@gazette.net Bobby Jones, photographer bjones@dcmilitary.com
BY CHRIS BASHAM STAFF WRITER
Chief Master Sgt. James Cody said it, this week, and he’s right: “This isn’t T-ball, where everyone gets a trophy.” He was talking about military service, of course, but no matter what your career path or position, it’s the home truth: life is not going to just hand out meaningless awards to everyone, and it shouldn’t. For most of us, what we do actually matters. We need to “act like we know,” as an old friend’s mother used to say back in the day, and put in the effort it takes to get our jobs done, raise our families, lead our nation and change the world. We’re forgetting how to do that, I think. And maybe T-ball is the per-
fect metaphor for why that is. Growing up back in the 70s in a rural, Maryland town, we did not have “participation” awards. What we had were young people--even children--just aching for the day when we could be grown-ups. We wanted to work like Mom and Dad; learn how to do all the confusing and adult stuff they did; earn the right to say we’d done things ourselves, our way, and made a difference. We didn’t want to be children forever. We wanted to be mature, capable, glamorous and wise. I’m not sure what happened between my own childhood and my children’s, who definitely came into the world in the era of T-ball and “everyone gets a trophy.” Have you watched T-ball? Good grief, it is painful. A bunch of kids
who don’t know what they’re doing, standing around because their parents insisted, waiting for the end of the season because they’ll get a slice of pizza and a trophy which, by the time they’re 10 years old, will be a dusty embarrassment on a high, closet shelf. I’m all for getting out in the fresh air, learning a sport if that’s your thing, enjoying the camaraderie of teamwork, and patting each other on the back when credit is due, but we are raising a generation of people who think that all they need to do is check the box. “I was here. I did it.” They show up, they make minimal effort, they get their trophy, shove it in the back of the closet and move on to something else just as meaning-
tegrated military and veteran support system. Included is a revamped Transition Assistance Program, a joint electronic medical records system, joint acquisitions decisions, better access to mental health programs and disability claims, among other issues. The collaboration is not about turf, but in improving service to veterans. VA’s support of DoD’s revamped TAP will create a “seamless and productive program that provides a warm hand-off from service member to new veteran status, to ensure all who have served are prepared to transition to civilian life and have access to the VA benefits and services they’ve earned,” according to a VA spokesman. Disability claims will also become more streamlined as the two departments work together.
name formulary drugs, the cost is $12 for a 30-day supply. The cost for non-formulary drugs is $25 in both retail and Home Delivery. There is no co-payment for a 90-day supply of generic formulary drugs purchased through Home Delivery. Brand name formulary drugs through Home Delivery cost $9 for a 90- day supply. This makes the Home Delivery option the most economical for both the government and the beneficiary. If you are still using the retail pharmacy, think about it. Call 877-3631303, or go to www.express-scripts. com for assistance.
see COMMENTARY, page 5
Retiree Corner COURTESY OF THE RETIREE ACTIVITIES OFFICE
Women’s roles in combat increase
Following rescission of the 1994 Direct Ground Combat Definition and Assignment Rule for Women, DoD announced plans to remove gender-based barriers to service. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said while 99 percent of Air Force positions are currently open to women, the service will pursue opening the final one percent. He noted that this year marks the 20th anniversary of women serving as combat pilots. There are seven Air Force career fields still closed, all associated with special operations. They comprise about 3,235 positions. Women make up approximately 15 percent, or nearly 202,400, of the U.S. military’s 1.4 million active personnel. Over the past decade, more than 280,000 women have deployed in support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
VA and TAP are changing
VA is partnering to build an in-
Rx co-payments vary
TRICARE beneficiaries should consider the Home Delivery (mail order) option to avoid retail pharmacy co-payments. Generic formulary drugs at retail pharmacies cost $5 for a 30 day supply. For brand
The Retiree Activities Office is open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. Visit the office in Building 1604 at California and Colorado Avenues or call us at 301 981-2726. Our e-mail address is raoandrews.af.mil. Call the office before your visit to ensure a volunteer is on duty. The RAO has a website at www.andrews.af.mil, click on “Retirees” for a wealth of information on retiree subjects, including past copies of “Retiree Activities Corner.”
Courthouse garden created as space for crime victim remembrance BY DANIEL J. GROSS
PRINCE GEORGE’S GAZETTE
It’s been a year and a half since Paula Morris of Potomac lost her 22-year-old son in a fatal stabbing in Philadelphia. Shortly after the killing, she joined a support group with the Maryland Crime Victims Resource Center and when asked to spearhead the creation of a victims’ remembrance garden, she said she took on the task more out of obligation than anything else. “I knew nobody else in the group could do it, so I filled the gap,” said Morris, who owns a Gaithersburg-based architecture business with her husband, Bill, and has a network of landscapers for such projects. “But I ended up getting so much out of it, I can’t tell you how rewarding it was.” During an April 27 ribboncutting ceremony outside the Prince George’s County Courthouse in Upper Marlboro — the location of the new garden, which contains flowers, trees, benches and a pathway of dedicated bricks engraved with names of homicide victims — Morris said
she got into her car to leave the event when it hit her. “I saw some families standing there looking for their brick, some sitting and relaxing, some thinking and some praying,” she said. “It gave me such a good feeling that I was able to be a part of creating that for people who can enjoy it now.” The Upper Marlboro-based resource center is a crime victims’ advocacy nonprofit that leads support groups and offers resources to crime victims and victims’ families. The garden has been in the works for decades, said center founder Roberta Roper. She said the group hosts annual crime victims’ remembrance ceremonies in Upper Marlboro, but had never dedicated a space that could be used as a gathering place for crime victims’ families to find solace and grieve. She said after the Morris family joined her support group, she came to them with a sketch of her garden idea because of their architecture experience. Roper said Sheila R. Tillerson Adams, Prince George’s seventh
see GARDEN, page 6
CAPTION THIS
EXPLORER, from page 1 program since 1998. “We let him in at 13 because he wouldn’t stop calling.” That has turned out to be the right decision for Fort Washington resident Carlos Garcia, now 14. This February he was named District IV’s male Explorer of the Year. Carlos was more determined than most young people to be accepted into the program because he knew from an early age that he intends to follow his mother’s lead and become a police officer. He hopes to join her in the North Little Rock, Ark. police department when he is old enough to enroll in the police academy. “I love this department but I’d rather be with my Mom,” Carlos said. The Female Explorer of the Year for Dist. IV, 20-year-old Bria Lomax of Fort Washington joined the Explorers program at age 16 on a friend’s recommendation. “I thought I’d try it for a day or two and it became a career for me,” said Lomax, who intends to be in the police academy by next year. “Our kids do get a preference in hiring,” said D’Haiti of Explorer participants, because they already have a basic understanding of many of the lessons others would have to learn at the academy, whether classroom information, hands-on skills training or the bigger concepts of learning to be a responsible adult. “In the real world, you conform
ELECTION, from page 1
Send your silly captions for this week’s photo to cbasham@dcmilitary.com. The funniest ones will be used in a future edition of the Andrews Gazette.
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could have a voice. We used to have meetings. I want to work on getting a network,” to send email, text of phone messages to residents in case of inclement weather and other emergencies. Council members are elected to two-year terms. The Mayor is elected to a three-year term. This year, the position of Mayor and two council member seats were up for votes. “I’ve got a lot of respect and admiration for Mayor Rooker. She’s done a lot and it’s been a blessing,” said Mullins, who recently joined the Town Council when another member stepped down, and who was waiting for voting to confirm his spot on the council. Outgo-
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PHOTO/CHRIS BASHAM
From left, Prince George’s Police Department District IV Female Explorer of the year Bria Lomax, 20, of Fort Washington; Officer M.A. Owen and PGPD Dist. IV Male Explorer of the year Carlos Garcia, 14, also of Fort Washington, share a relaxed moment during a Wednesday night Law Enforcement Explorer meeting at Oxon Hill High School. Lomax and Garcia each intend to pursue careers in law enforcement as soon as they are old enough to attend the police academy.
to society,” said Owen, who at 24 admits he’s not much older than some of the Explorers he leads. “If you want to be in our program, you have to join our club--the club of the world,” which does not accept dreadlocked or other long or distracting hair styles, large “hoop” earrings, tattoos or other body modifications which can detract from an officer’s uniform appearance or even put him or her at risk. “Where the head goes, the body will follow, so we don’t allow dreads and other hairstyles that could give someone something to grab,” Owen said. It’s a matter of
preparing for the many unexpected possibilities of a not-so-typical day on the force. “There is not an ‘always’ in police work. It’s a lot like life,” said Owen. “You see the curve balls coming at you and you adapt and overcome.” For many Explorers, Owen and the other officers and civilian advisers in the Explorer program fill in the gaps where positive, male role models do not exist. “Owen’s been great for these kids. He develops some really tight relationships with them,” said D’Haiti.
ing Mayor Karen Rooker stepped down from her post after six years as mayor to be more available for family responsibilities, Mullins explained. This week’s elections are expected to bring change to the town, because of the change in leadership. “It’s gonna be a work in progress, a lot of learning, a lot of patience from everybody,” said Mullins. “It’s gonna be a huge learning curve, with a lot of new faces. But things are not going to change overnight.” “Todd is right,” said Long, who served as town clerk in 2004 and 2006. “People need to work together. People have very strong opinions and agendas, and you have to work through that.” Long said that during her time as town clerk, she was part of a
group of Morningside residents who visited wounded warriors on Joint Base Andrews. It is a volunteer effort she would like to see return to the town, to support both wounded service members and the medical staff who care for them at JBA. Mayor-Elect Kenneth “Chrys” Wade will appoint a Vice Mayor in the coming days. “I’ve been involved with the town for a long time. I lived here with my parents for 10 years, and came back myself for the past eight. It’s a chance to give back to the town,” said Wade. “There are a lot of things that need to be looked at. We’ve been making strides over the past few years. I just want to keep going with them.”
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Gun rights group fires regulation warning to Prince George’s BY TIMOTHY SANDOVAL PRINCE GEORGE’S GAZETTE
Prince George’s County and some of its municipalities have been warned by a gun rights group to change their laws regulating the carrying of firearms or face a possible lawsuit. A portion of the county code — Sec. 14-140 — prohibits the possession of loaded firearms within 1,000 feet of houses, schools, churches, parks, places of assembly and playgrounds. The Second Amendment Foundation, based in Bellevue, Wash., said the code violates Maryland law, which only permits counties to regulate firearm possession 300 feet from such areas and cannot regulate gun possession near houses or playgrounds. State laws on gun ownership, sales and possession preempt local ordinances, the letter states. The nonprofit group advocates nationally for individual gun ownership rights, said Dave Workman, a foundation spokesman. Scott Peterson, spokesman for County Executive Rushern L. Baker (D), said attorneys for the county are reviewing the group’s letter and had no further comment. Workman said the group sent similar letters to municipalities and counties in Virginia and Washington state last year as part of a pilot program aimed at letting officials know that some of their gun laws conflicted with state laws. He said the project was started for the group by a law student who lived in Virginia, which is why two Eastern states have received letters. He said the group has yet to take legal action against any local government that was sent a letter. Cheverly and Laurel officials confirmed receiving letters
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and Workman said letters were also sent to Morningside, Bladensburg, Berwyn Heights and Mount Rainier, but municipal officials said they were unaware of them. Alan Brody, spokesman for the Maryland State Attorney General’s Office, said officials there are aware of the letters, but have no legal position on them because they have not been asked for advice concerning them. He said officials are not aware of any conflicts between municipal gun laws and state law. Pete Piringer, Laurel’s director of communications and public information, said officials reviewed the letter and determined the city followed federal and state law concerning firearm regulations. In Cheverly, the gun rights group took issue with Section 20-4 of the town code, which prohibits the carrying or wearing of “dangerous or deadly weapons of any kind whatsoever.” Cheverly Mayor Michael Callahan said the town is ready to update the code if it is not in compliance with state law. “Maryland has strong gun control laws, and if we need to be in accordance with Maryland gun control laws, then fine,” Callahan said. Former councilman Micah Watson criticized the group for trying to stir up a local controversy. “The letter seems to be off base and raising an issue that is not really a relevant issue of the people of Cheverly today,” Watson said. “This seems like an outside group trying to create an issue within town that, frankly, I have not heard any resident raise.” This story originally appeared in the May 6 edition of the Prince George’s Gazette.
Friday, May 10, 2013
JBA members benefit from Efficient Running seminar
Lieutenant Col. Mark Cucuzzella, Chief Medical Consultant Air Force Marathon, center, videos Joint Base Andrews member trial runs on the East Fitness Center track to use as a visual training platform to correct running techniques.
PHOTOS/BOBBY JONES
Seminar participants perform a running warm-up at the East Fitness Center track.
BY BOBBY JONES
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Participants in a seminar held May 7-8 at the East Fitness Center received hands-on training and clinic instruction on how to run more efficiently. The topics included video gait reviews, basics of biomechanics, run form clinic demonstrations and practice, footwear basics, drills, strength, range of motion, running injury assessment and treatment and training to meet Air Force physical fitness test standards. Lt. Col. Mark Cucuzzella, professor of Family Medicine at West Virginia University School of Medicine, helped participants evaluate their running gait to improve their speed by running using the best techniques. Cucuzzella has been a competitive runner for 30 years, competing in over 80 marathons, and con-
Lieutenant Col. Mark Cucuzzella, Chief Medical Consultant Air Force Marathon, plays back videos of participants’ running gaits for clinic critique.
tinues to compete as a National level Masters runner. He is a two-time winner of the Air Force Marathon. The two-day seminar was sponsored by the Joint Base Andrews Health and Wellness Center.
Seminar participants take notes.
Friday, May 10, 2013
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Andrews Gazette
MILITARY SPOUSES ENJOY “ANDREWS IN WONDERLAND” TEA From left, Katie Green, Patty Russell, Jennifer Smith and Jen Pilcher select tea sandwiches and sweets before sitting down for tea. In honor of the Month of the Military Spouse, Joint Base Andrews Military and Family Support Center hosted an “Andrews in Wonderland” tea party for military spouses May 2 at the Air National Guard Readiness Center, with guest speaker and fellow military spouse Lt. Col. Linda Rosenmerkel. Rosenmerkel discussed the evolution of the role of military spouse over the past two decades, as well as lessons she learned as a service member and spouse.
‘Every Dollar Counts’ ushers in new savings culture for Air Force BY AIRMAN 1ST CLASS JOSHUA DEWBERRY
11TH WING PUBLIC AFFAIRS
PHOTO/CHRIS BASHAM
With budgets shrinking, Air Force leaders are calling on Airmen to share their best money-saving ideas through the Every Dollar Counts campaign. In the wake of sequestration, the initiative marks a cultural shift that empowers Airmen to find and recommend areas for savings that may be used to support readiness needs, said Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Larry Spencer. Beginning May 1, Airmen can submit their costreducing ideas via the Airmen Powered by Innovation websites while at home, the
office or on their smartphone by visiting http:// everydollar.dodlive.mil/. “The old way of meeting our fiscal demands doesn’t work anymore. Today, all of us must look at more efficient ways to safely accomplish our mission. Small changes to processes or procedures when added together can make a big difference,” said 11th Wing/Joint Base Andrews Commander Col. Bill Knight. “Through this type of focused innovation, we can leave our base, wing, and the Air Force in a better position to accomplish our mission for years to come.” Both uniformed and civilian Air Force members can participate in the month-long open call for ideas and share their creative and efficient ways to save money and time. “When things get tough, Airmen figure out a way to get it done,” Spencer said. “We have some of the most innovative folks in the world, so I know there are ideas about how we can do things better.” Spencer’s resource management and budget-related background amplifies the urgency to mine those ideas. “We stopped flying 1/3 of AF active duty combatcoded fighter squadrons in April, and we’re projected to slow down or stop the flow of aircraft and engines in the depots,” Spencer said. Furthermore, he said, the Air Force must trim about $11 billion in the last half of fiscal year 2013. Additionally, our overseas contingency operations funding is almost $2 billion short so we have to make up that difference as well. And the challenge is compounded by the sequester timeline, which officially began March 1. “We have to squeeze a year’s worth of cuts into about six months,” Spencer said of the Air Force budget. “So there’s a lot of money to be taken out of our budget in a short period of time ... I’ve never seen anything quite like it.” Airmen at every level
should feel less encumbered by perhaps dated or unnecessary Air Force Instructions or guidelines when brainstorming cost-cutting measures, the general said. “Airmen Powered by Innovation means go into that file of good ideas that were maybe ‘too hard to do,’ pull them out and submit them,” Spencer declared. “If it’s a good idea and requires an Air Force Instruction change, then we’ll see if we can do that.” Spencer wants Airmen to submit their ideas regardless of the idea’s potential savings. “Whether it’s $500, $1 million or $30 million, we want to hear it because those dollars add up,” he said. “We’re taking every angle we can to manage our money and ‘buy’ as much mission as we can,” he said. “In that sense, every Airman, whether they’re at a wing or headquarters can help.” Spencer said the Every Dollar Counts campaign does not just focus on our Wings but includes those large centrally managed accounts as well. “The Centralized Asset Management Office at Wright Patterson AFB manages the money we spend on flying hours, sustaining space operations and depot operations -- over $16 billion -- so we’re taking a close review of that account to determine how we can stretch those dollars. “This is an opportunity to not only look at homegrown ideas, but broader ideas that affect the larger Air Force as well.” The general expressed optimism in quickly finding solutions through ideas. “Innovation is what we’re all about,” Spencer said. “This is our family and we’re going to get through this because we’ve got great Airmen to help see us through this.” Amaani Lyle, Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs, contributed to this story.
11SFS Notice of light barrier change Attention Team Andrews: Headquarters Air Force is implementing a new lighting procedure to follow when entering and exiting gate barriers slated to begin July 1. Currently, vehicles go on flashing yellow and stop on red. When the change begins, vehicles will proceed through the barriers when no lights are present and they will stop on flashing yellow. Please be mindful of this change in procedure taking place in upcoming weeks.
COMMENTARY, from page 2 less. None of this prepares them for a life of significance and impact and independence. I don’t see the point. And the fact is, neither do they. People haven’t changed in their need to be significant. We’ve just forgotten to show the next generation what significance looks like. Maybe that’s because after T-ball, Mom and Dad are slacking off and doing things their own parents would have found laughably childish. It’s time for all of us to take a sober look at our lives. Who are we? Where do we make a difference? Life isn’t Tball. It’s a lot better than that.
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Andrews Gazette
Friday, May 10, 2013
Civil War buffs can follow John Wilkes Booth’s escape route BY CHRIS BASHAM STAFF WRITER
When John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln and leaped from Ford’s Theatre’s presidential box to the stage, he began a 12-day odyssey which took him from Washington, D.C. through Prince George’s County, Southern Maryland and Tidewater Virginia before he was eventually captured and killed by law enforcement officers in a barn near the town of Port Royal, Va. Booth’s plan to fracture the Union government and cause chaos in the north was only partially successful. By the time he shot Lincoln the war was nearly over, southern armies had begun to surrender and prisoner exchanges were already in play. Still, journal entries Booth wrote while on the run and statements he made as he lay paralyzed and dying on the front porch of the Garrett farm indicate that he felt that his actions were completely justified and necessary for the restoration of a country he felt President Lincoln was destroying through tyrannical acts. The assassin spent his last days hunted by the law and rejected by many of the southern sympathizers he’d expected to come to his aid. His confused search for shelter, supplies, medical care and honor among fellow Confederates led him and a companion, David Herold, to homes and businesses; through thickets, swamps and rivers; to nights spent on the run, in fitful rest in the homes of uneasy hosts, and days hidden in the woods, alternately evading capture and seeking vindication from his southern compatriots. Nearly 150 years later, history buffs from around the nation and the world remain fascinated by the events of the Lincoln assassination and Booth’s escape. The descendents of one convicted conspirator, Dr. Samuel Mudd, continue to insist upon his innocence of the plot and work to rehabilitate the reputation of the doctor who set Booth’s broken leg the night of Lincoln’s shooting. Books and movies about Lincoln, the Civil War, the assassination and the trials that followed are guaranteed favorites. And those of us willing to plan ahead can follow Booth’s escape route on a guided bus tour that starts just south of Joint Base Andrews at the Surratt House Museum in Clinton, Md. Surratt House Museum’s Surratt Society sponsors a few select bus tours each spring and fall, condensing Booth’s escape into a day-long excursion that follows his route as precisely as possible, following roads that often have not shifted from the paths they took in Booth’s time. There are stops at churches and private homes, pauses at graveyards and taverns, and time to reflect along the banks of the river Booth and Herold crossed in their efforts to escape capture. The tour starts at Surratt House Museum with a quick look at the home of Mary Surratt, the first woman ever to be executed by the U.S. government. Surratt’s parents and grandparents lived on
Surratt House docent Rick Smith ushers tour participants into the tavern and post office run by Mary Surratt’s husband before his death. PHOTOS/CHRIS BASHAM
Renee Parker displays items she and her family have found on the grounds of Cleydael, a home near Dahlgren, Va. where John Wilkes Booth stopped briefly while evading law enforcement after assassinating the president.
land which is now within the fence line of Joint Base Andrews. Costumed docents give a balanced presentation of the Surratt family’s participation in the assassination plot, without pushing any particular opinions about Mary Surratt’s conviction by a military court and execution in July 1865. Less than a year later, when her son was tried on similar charges before a civil court, he was not convicted. From there, the bus tour, led by narrators Bob Allen and John Howard after extensive research into the Lincoln assassination, heads into Washington, D.C., to Ford’s Theatre. Ford’s has been renovated over the years to create seating comfortable enough for modern tastes while preserving the appearance of the stage and the presidential box as it was the night Lincoln was shot. Visitors can look through the doorway Booth used to reach Lincoln, tour a museum in the building dedicated to Lincoln’s presidency and assassination, and see the actual singleshot Derringer pistol used in the attack, among other items. The tour then crosses the street to the Petersen House, where Lincoln was carried after the attack. Visitors see the room where Lincoln died in the company of his son, doctors and government officials, much as it was that Good Friday night. The bus pauses outside the boarding house Mary Surratt ran in what is now Chinatown. Booth had visited the house, which now houses the Wok & Roll Restaurant, early on the day of the assassina-
JBA Buzz
Sherri Weir, Booze Allen Hamilton senior consultant
Retired Tech. Sgt. Jokie Beckett
“I would make it a world where everyone would be wealthy and nobody had to struggle.”
Staff Sgt. Natasha Bradford, 11th Security Force Group anti-terrorism officer
“Whenever you go to a different country, people are recognized as the naturalized citizen of that country. For example people born in Japan are recognized as Japanese, etc. In America, even though we we’re born here, we differentiate by calling ourselves whatever our ethnic background may be. I would eliminate the division between Americans, because when you’re born in America we’re all Americans no matter what color.”
“If I had the power to change something in the world, it would be to make people help one another more, rather than step over each other to get ahead in life.”
Airman 1st Class Scott Alden, 11th Security Forces Squadron outpatient Elite Gate guard
land,” where Booth and Herold got lost in the thickets on their way to the Samuel Cox family plantation, Rich Hill, where the men rested for a few hours before being sent on their way. The less-thanfriendly reception Booth received at the Cox home, a man he remarked he had thought “was a man of southern feeling,” marked the beginning of Booth’s realization that his fellow southerners were not always going to be eager to help the man who shot the president. Cox did, however, arrange for Booth to be taken across the Potomac River into Virginia. After lunch at Captain Billy’s Crab House, a thoroughly modern restaurant in Pope’s Creek, Md., The tour stops at a place once known as Huckleberry, where Booth and Herold ate and eventually were able to cross the river, after several days’ waiting and at least one unsuccessful attempt to cross. The Huckleberry estate is now a Jesuit retreat center, making it the perfect place for quiet reflection along the riverbank. The tour passes outside Naval Support Facility Dahlgren, Va., where a heavily silted Gambo Creek is located. Booth and Herold landed at Gambo Creek after crossing the river, and then rode on to the home of Mrs. Quesenberry, known as The Cottage, where they were provided food but turned away. They (and the tour) continue on to Cleydael, the home of Dr. Stuart who also fed the men, although he refused them lodging and medical care, leading Booth to feel so insulted that he paid Stuart for their meal. Cleydael was recently purchased by Charlie and Renee Parker, who are renovating the building and welcome tour members to their home to see the work in progress as well as artifacts found on the property through the decades.
see ESCAPE, page 10
GARDEN, from page 3
How would you change the world? “If I could change one thing in the world I would remove negative discrimination. Without negative discrimination, the ability to act upon natural prejudices would be removed. A person would still be able to proceed with caution toward things they may not understand at first. But, will never be able to act upon any negative thoughts. This to me would eventually give way to a better world because no one would be able to act or speak negatively upon any irrational attitudes, beliefs or opinions.”
tion. The tour also pauses to view the Navy Yard Bridge at the foot of 11th Street, where Herold and Booth were questioned by a provost guard before leaving the city. As the president lay dying and other conspirators made unsuccessful attempts to kill several men in the direct line of succession to the presidency, Booth and his accomplice David Herold raced to Surratt House to hide their weapons and retrieve items stashed there for their escape. They then continued through the village of T.B. to Bryantown and the home of Dr. Samuel Mudd, who set Booth’s broken leg--an injury which he sustained either while leaping from the presidential box to the stage, or en route to Surratt House. The tour stops at Mudd House, now a museum furnished entirely with period pieces and items which Dr. Mudd once owned, donated by Mudd descendents. The museum’s staff and volunteers are Mudd descendents, as well, and tell a very controlled version of the story of Mudd’s involvement in the plot to assassinate Lincoln. Mudd House is a great place to envision life in Southern Maryland during the Civil War era, and contains fascinating artifacts brought back from Mudd’s incarceration in the Dry Tortugas off the coast of Florida, but it’s not a place where debate is welcome on Mudd’s involvement before the assassination, his knowledge of Booth’s identity or the circumstances of his injury or the nature of any other assistance Mudd may have provided beyond basic medical care. Save those questions for when you get back on the tour bus. The bus pauses at Bryantown Tavern, where Booth and Mudd met repeatedly before the assassination, and at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, where Mudd is buried. The tour winds along Zechiah Swamp, which Bob Allen calls “a miniature Everglades here in Southern Mary-
circuit court administrative judge, gave initial permission for the center to use the space for the garden, which borders Water Street on the south entrance of the courthouse. Roper said they chose the courthouse location for the garden since that is where victims’ families gather for court proceedings of their lost loved ones’ accused offenders. The county’s planning department agreed to maintain the garden as needed, Roper said. Four benches placed in the space were made by current county inmates and donated by the county’s corrections department. “We’re recognizing that the inmates wanted to try to repair some of the harm,” Roper said. “Obviously, you can’t restore life, but you can come to terms with the consequences of your choices, and to benefit our services was certainly a great thing.” Paula Morris said the work to create the site would have cost $75,000, but all of those involved were able to donate their effort or charge nominal fees to bring the cost down to around $9,000. Bricks can be purchased by families or friends of crime victims throughout Maryland for $125 each, and proceeds will help fund the resource center, said Pauline Mandel, the center’s director of legal services. She said the walkway contains nearly 5,000 bricks. Paula Morris said many of the crime victims’ families cannot afford their own cemetery plot markers for remembrance,
PHOTO/DANIEL J. GROSS
A new crime victims remembrance garden was created by the Maryland Crime Victims Resource Center and can be found outside the courthouse in Upper Marlboro for grieving family and friends of lost loved ones to gather.
so the garden space provides them with a place to go. She purchased two bricks for their deceased son, Evan, who was days away from graduating from Drexel University in Pennsylvania when he was killed, she said. “It’s truly a place of serenity and solace,” Roper said. “People will appreciate the serenity and beauty of the spot, and it’s fitting that it’s in that [courthouse] location. For all those reasons, I think it will be something that lives on after most of us are gone.” This story originally appeared in the May 7 edition of the Prince George’s Gazette.
For more news from other bases around the Washington, D.C. area,
visit www.dcmilitary.com.
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Andrews Gazette
Friday, May 10, 2013
LRS BEATS 1ST AS IN INTRAMURAL PLAYOFFS
PHOTOS/BOBBY JONES
Luke Muldoon, 11th Logistics Readiness Squadron team member, left, defends against Mark Cuttler, 1st Airlift Squadron during a final Volleyball Intramural Playoff game May 7 at the West Fitness Center. The 11 LRS won two the best two out of three games to win a seat in the 2013 Volleyball Championship game May 8.
First Airlift Squadron team members, right, put up a good fight against the 11th Logistics Readiness Squadron during a series of Volleyball Playoff games May 7 at the West Fitness Center.
Accokeek environmental center set to come ‘alive’
Wanted: Additional duty first sergeants BY TECH. SGT. TAMMIE MOORE AIR FORCE DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON PUBLIC AFFAIRS
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ALICE FERGUSON FOUNDATION
A digital rendering illustrates the completion of the “Moss Building,” one of Alice Ferguson Foundation’s two entirely carbon-neutral “Living Buildings” they plan to have completed by 2015. BY DANIEL J. GROSS
PRINCE GEORGE’S GAZETTE
By showing students the benefits of capturing sunlight and rainwater, an Accokeek-based environmental center will soon create new life of a sort with the construction of two “Living Buildings.” The one-story and three-story building set will feature composting toilets, rainwater collection systems, solar arrays and geothermal wells to produce enough self-sustaining energy to operate both while serving as a model for conservation and to become a new space for visiting children to stay and learn about lessening their impact on the environment, according to project leaders. Officials at the Alice Ferguson Foundation, an environmental education foundation for area students and teachers that operates the Accokeek-based Hard Bargain Farm, said the project has been in the works since 2006 as a way to replace the existing 1970s student education lodge. “I’m wildly excited. Somewhere in the middle of the seven-year process you start wondering if it’s
ever going to happen. With great leadership and making other people believe in it, it’s happening,” said Karen Jensen Lyles, AFF’s land use and facilities director. The foundation held a groundbreaking in late April to announce the approval of building permits and highlight donors who committed funding to the $15.7 million project. Completion is set for 2015. Funding came from Prince George’s County’s $3 million donation, the state of Maryland’s $5.1 million donation and other private and public investors, according to project officials. AFF executive director Lori Arguelles said she expects future donors to help fund the remaining 25 percent needed. She said the project calls for two buildings — one that houses solar panels and one that collects rainwater — that will share resources. In addition, both buildings will run off the same 20 geothermal wells installed underneath a rain garden to run heating and cooling systems. Students will be able to stay in the buildings overnight and learn about energy usage and how to benefit
from natural elements. According to project coordinators, the buildings will each have informational dashboards in them that will monitor energy levels to serve as a challenge to students as they inhabit the buildings, said Brenda Wright, AFF’s education program director. “We have been doing this with a trash-free program. When kids visit they have to see who can produce the lowest amount of trash,” Wright said. “Now, it’s the same with solar energy. It’s going to be a whole new extra curriculum.” Wright said the buildings are another hands-on way to help children understand energy sources. “So many kids today are not connected with the outdoors,” she said. “We’re trying to teach families that it’s fun to be outdoors and that by seeing and touching, it’s so much more valuable.” Arguelles said they focus on giving students the most handson, interactive and educational experience that can be offered in the area. “These buildings aren’t just buildings, they’re teaching tools,” she said.
While every Airman has an important role in the Air Force a select few have made it their mission to care for their Wingmen, day in and day out, regardless of the hour. The Joint Base Andrews first sergeants are looking for technical and master sergeants interested in joining their ranks as additional-duty first sergeants. To help these NCOs understand what the duty entails, the first sergeants are hosting the AFDW First Sergeant Seminar, May 20-23, at the JBA Smart Center. The seminar is open to National Capital Region Airmen and service members of any military branch in the grade of E6-E7. Any NCO interested in registering for the seminar must meet specific prerequisites, regardless of their branch of service. Attendees must have completed their service NCO Academy or equivalent school, be able to perform physical training, meet all service standards, and present a professional military image. This seminar is a chance for NCOs to “step into the blue” to learn tools and experience how to make a positive difference in Airmen’s lives, according to Senior Master Sgt. Johnny L. Hamm, Air Force District of Washington first sergeant. Hamm said this seminar will teach them critical tools needed to help assist Airmen in a variety of situations and make a
positive difference as a leader. Attendance is not required to become an alternate first sergeant. However, the seminar is designed to enhance NCOs’ knowledge, problem-solving techniques and critical-thinking skills. “Our goal is to deliberately develop leaders’ knowledge on supporting agencies and administrative actions, as well as procedures to enhance units’ morale, good order and discipline,” said Master Sgt. Gregory Ramacciotti, 11th Comptroller Squadron first sergeant. “In addition, we would like to plant the seed for future first sergeants to replace us and serve in this position of honor.” Being a first sergeant is not always an easy job Ramacciotti said; however, it does come with many rewards. “Reaching out to supporting agencies on and off base to help them understand the needs of your enlisted force can be challenging,” he said. “But knowing I have made a difference in someone’s life in a positive way, big or small, is something I’m proud of. A SNCO has the opportunity to be a leader, guide and inspire, especially when times get tough. This seminar could be the spark that ignites a fire within the hearts of NCOs to serve our enlisted force the way they want to be served. I hope they are up for the challenge.” The registration deadline for the class is May 10. For more information about the first sergeant seminar, contact your first sergeant.
For more news from other bases around the Washington, D.C. area,
visit www.dcmilitary.com.
8
Andrews Gazette
DISABILITY, from page 1 “It was a wonderful program. In fact, they were the ones who introduced me to so many other opportunities like taking college courses for the first time at the Maryland Business Enterprise Program for the Blind,” Thomas said. Thomas took full advantage of the program, logging hundreds of internship hours. “I trained under people who had been in the business world for 50 years or better,” said Thomas, who completed several accredited courses. “One of the most important lessons they taught me was how to just do the basics. It doesn’t matter how many computers you have, customer service is number one.” “I also learned that you should maintain a fully stocked facility. But, you don’t (randomly) stock the facility; poll your customers to see what type of items they like. I would say that 80 percent of my inventory
is based on my customer suggestions.” Thomas said that the Blue Wing Café really belongs to his customers. “When they purchase items the money is recycled back into the café and their money regenerates products and they also pay both me and my employees’ salaries. So in essence I’m a manager, working for the public.” Thomas also credits his success at Andrews to his dedicated staff. “I have employees who truly understand that their job is to please the customer and make sure that the customers that work in the building are well taken care of when they come into the café. In return, I make sure my employees are rewarded,” Thomas said. Thomas calls Cynthia Apronti, who has worked as assistant manager of the cafe for the past seven years, “my right hand.” “I love working with Ron and I’ve known him for some time and our work ethic together is good,” said Apronti. “Our working relationship is really good because he tells what he wants and how sees things. Most of the time, I’m his administrator, but I
Friday, May 10, 2013
Ron assists a patron with a purchase at the Blue Wing Café.
also assist as a cashier, food prep, stock inventory and staff supervising. My original background was some retail, but eventually I worked for the Administrative Offices of the U.S. Courts. I knew nothing about the food industry, but while I was working part-time Ron got me interested and the staff and I took our food handling license and he taught me about food prep, and that we must make sure that all food is fresh.” Apronti noted that the staff members learn people skills by watching Ron and Apronti interact with customers. “I’m still learning so much. He’s teaching me the aspect of deeper management skills. Most importantly, if you like customer service, dealing with people, it really makes a difference. Customer service goes a long way, because when you put out a product or serve someone you want them to be happy,” Apronti said. “The service at the Blue Wing Café is great! I have no complaints,” said Valerie Gaines, Air Force District Washington Contracting supervisory contracting specialist, and Enterprise Support Division chief. “Whenever they’re running out of a product, all you have to do is ask and they replenish it quick. I especially love when Ron bakes those chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin cookies,” exclaimed Gaines, a regular patron. “He always lets the customers know when he’s going to be baking them fresh and that’s just something that he does for us.” “I also like it when he plays music. I
PHOTOS/BOBBY JONES
Ronald Thomas uses his acquired business, finance, and culinary acumen to run a successful business at Joint Base Andrews.
think that is one of the things he uses to lure us into the café, because it feels like you’re at home,” said Gaines. “I think he’s trying to let everyone know, yes, he’s a businessman, but he also wants to make it feel like the café is a comfortable place, where we sit and talk.” Thomas noted that during his time at school he wasn’t sure how his life was going to turn out. “I had it in me, but didn’t know it,” said Thomas. “Even though I was close to last in my class, I realized that I had something that the others didn’t have. I knew that this was my only shot. But God told me that I was going to help and make a lot of people happy. I’m not a religious man, but I’m a spiritual man,” said Thomas. “So, I have to share what God has given me to keep my customers happy.”
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Andrews Gazette
Friday, May 10, 2013
Seventy years over Maryland The Captain in Command
The Rider in the Sky BY ANDY STEPHENS
BY ANDY STEPHENS
11TH WING PUBLIC AFFAIRS
11TH WING PUBLIC AFFAIRS
For the Army Air Force in 1943, highflying adventure came like lightning; fast and furious. On May 2, 1943, those adventures expanded to the new Army Air Field in Camp Springs, Md., with a thunderbolt, marking the start of history for the flying base that would become Joint Base Andrews. For Capt. Andrew W. “Dub” Salter, Jr., the last few weeks were intense. On April 20, 1943, General Order Number One took effect; directing the airfield to prepare for the arrival of the first tactical unit - training pilots on P-47 Republic Thunderbolts as part of President Roosevelt’s push to empower the Army Air Force with the arsenal of democracy. The first P-47 wouldn’t arrive for another two weeks, but those P-47s would also assume air patrol duties over the National Capital Region, which had been performed out of Bolling Field since Dec. 7, 1941. The Thunderbolt was an impressive fighter aircraft with eight wing-mounted 50-inch machine guns and a powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine capable of incredible powerdives that would act as the shield for the Allied soldiers on the ground - but Thunderbolts needed long runways, which Camp Springs Army Airfield had. Before 1943 ended, Roosevelt directed 125,000 new aircraft for the Army Air Force with 125,000 more for each year thereafter for the duration of the war. The nation had grown confident in the leaders of America’s flying legions, with Doolittle making a big impact the previous year and tales of flying aces thrilling the nation with admiration of the New Airman. While Congress had its concerns about budgets, they supported a nation at war on two fronts and military airfields were set up wherever the land was clear and roads, riverways or railways could facilitate supply. Setting up Camp Springs Army Air Field was the responsibility entrusted to
Frank Maxwell Andrews had to fight to be a flyer, but when he was at the controls, his peers recognized him as a born leader. The story of how a boy from Tennessee rose to be the first head of a modern Army Air Corps isn’t often heard, but on the 70th anniversary of his death, his contributions to the Air Force are celebrated. Born on Feb. 3, 1884, service and diplomacy were instilled into Andrews by his grandfather, a cavalry soldier who fought in the Civil War, and his mother, who schooled him on manners and discipline. Andrews was described as an eloquent speaker and an attentive listener. These skills worked well for him at Nashville’s Montgomery Bell Academy, where he graduated in 1901, and then the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, graduating 1902. During his early career, Andrews envisioned a flying cavalry that could protect the men in the trenches. In 1914, the Army Signal Corps was using aircraft for reconnaissance, but Andrews saw aircraft as a means to take out enemy balloons (they were used as command posts) and to even drop munitions on enemy trenches, like during the Siege of Venice in 1848. It wasn’t too long before Andrews’ vision became a reality. With American entry into World War I, Andrews finally got his wings, but never got the chance to serve in France. Instead, he became a training administrator before becoming the first air officer assigned to the Army General Staff in Washington. After the war, he succeeded Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell as Air Officer of the Army of Occupation in Germany. Andrews was the first commandant of the advanced flying school at Kelly Field, Texas, when Mitchell was court-martialed for insubordination in 1925. Mitchell had told the media that Army and Navy leaders had shown an “almost treasonable administration of national defense” for their neglect of the flying forces. In 1931, Andrews was the new Chief of
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ARMY AIR FORCE FILE PHOTO
Capt. Andrew W. Salter, Jr., the first commanding officer of what would become Joint Base Andrews, welcomes the first flying trainees at the Maryland airfield in May 1943. The base achieved full operating capability on May 2, 1943 and became a super-base controlling much of the Eastern seaboard’s military activities less than two months later.
Salter, an Oklahoma native and expert flyer for more than a decade - and only age 29. Salter had been personally chosen by Gen. Henry “Hap” Arnold to become the first commanding officer of the new Maryland airfield, functioning as a sub-base controlled by Baltimore Army Air Base until June of that year. For two months, Salter oversaw the stand-up of the 463rd Base Headquarters and Air Base squadrons, a medical detachment, and the 2031st Quartermaster Truck (Aviation) Squadron. With a much larger command structure now in place, a higher-ranking officer in charge was needed: Col. Michael E. McHugo. McHugo, recognizing talent, retained Salter as the Base Operations Officer. And as his impact at making the airfield we know today as Joint Base Andrews began with a Thunderbolt, Salter eventually graduated to command lightning of
see COMMAND, page 10
1038629B
FILE PHOTO
Maj. Gen. Frank Andrews, Commanding General of GHQ Air Force in cockpit of his C–32 command plane in 1936.
the Army Air Corps and won a powerful supporter who had also once supported Mitchell: Army Chief of Staff Gen. Douglas MacArthur. In 1935, MacArthur and his naval counterpart, Adm. William Pratt, negotiated a series of military aviation roles, including the role that all coastal air defense would be fulfilled by the Army. That March, MacArthur established a centralized air command, General Headquarters Air Force (GHQ-AF) with Andrews in command. Andrews won recognition for the Air Corps by recruiting not just talent but technology for the flying forces, but gained few allies in his fight. His advocacy of strategic bombing almost derailed his career; When Westover died in September 1938, Andrews was passed over for the position of Chief of the Air Corps. Undaunted, Andrew became a trusted mentor to Brig. Gen. George C. Marshall,
see RIDER, page 10
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Andrews Gazette
RIDER, from page 9
GUIDON, from page 1
the new deputy Chief of Staff of the Army. With President Franklin Roosevelt calling for an expansion of the Air Corps in November 1938, Andrews hoped to finally succeed in separating Air power from the Army. It was Marshall who single-handedly stepped in and saved not just Andrews’ career, but the future of the Army Air Corps. In 1939, under Marshall’s guidance, Andrews was named the Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations, responsible for preparing America’s army for World War II. When the nation was brought into World War II in December 1941, Andrews was one of the most well-traveled and well-respected generals in the military. In January 1943, he was appointed commander of all U.S. military forces in the European Theater of Operations, replacing Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower. But on May 3, 1943, a promising career was cut short when the B-24D Liberator carrying Lt. Gen. Andrews crashed near Kaladarnes, Iceland. Andrews and 13 others died in the crash. News of Andrews’ passing stunned the U.S. military leadership because so much of the Combined Bomber Offensive was dependent upon his knowledge of strengths and weaknesses in the battle plan. It was in honor of the vision and service of Lt. Gen. Frank Maxwell Andrews as well as his dedication to the spirit of an independent Air Force that Camp Springs Army Air Field was renamed Andrews Field on Feb. 7, 1945. The Andrews name continues to this day in remembrance.
make the most of Malcolm Grow Medical Center’s outpatient services, while closing the inpatient side of the facility in keeping with 2005’s Base Realignment and Closure recommendations. “(779th Medical Group) is important as a readiness platform to deploy medics, and still is a currency platform because of the TRICARE beneficiaries here, to keep staff current in their skills. It’s a training platform to train Air Force medics, medical students and nurses, and a Phase II training facility for lab techs, radiology and diagnostic imaging staff, and mental health, psychologists, social workers and psychologist nurse practitioners,” Cachuela said. “The Surgeon General of the Air Force wanted a significant footprint, and wanted to foster cooperation with JTFCAPMED’s sister facilities.” Cachuela called the 779th Medical Group’s integration into the Joint Task Force National Capital Region Medical Command “uncharted waters. No one has ever really done this, especially on this scale. We had to build a concept of operations, and partnerships,” integrating 170 medics from Malcolm Grow Medical Center into military facilities at Fort Belvoir,Va. and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. and create new partnerships with civilian health care providers such as MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center in Clinton, Md., which provides labor and delivery services for Joint Base Andrews-affiliated maternity patients, while maintaining a robust staff at MGMC for the Southern Maryland population, many of whom are retired service members and families who have relied on the health care available on Joint Base Andrews for decades. Malcolm Grow Medical Center and Outpatient Surgery eliminated inpatient care as of Sept. 2011, but continues to provide primary care for 30,000
COMMAND, from page 9 his own: leading a squadron of P-38 Lightning fighter aircraft assigned to the 546th Fighter Squadron, part of the Seattle Air Defense Wing. Salter later led a squadron of Bell P-39 Airacobras on missions in the China-Burma-India theater, leading his unit in earning the Decorated Unit Citation for China in 1944 as well as numerous campaign streamers. Salter retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel, and passed away on March 2, 1997 at the age of 82. He was laid to rest in his Oklahoma hometown. Salter’s legacy, however, lives on. His distinguished himself at Camp Springs, creating such an efficient installation that less than 45 days after he arrived it went from being a subordinate base to becoming a control base for other airfields in the region, a precursor to today’s Air Force District of Washington.
ESCAPE, from page 6 After visiting Cleydael, the tour drives through the towns of Port Conway and Port Royal. Port Royal still has many original Revolutionary War-era buildings, although not all of them are in good repair. Booth and Herold stopped at Port Royal, but were turned away by a pair of sisters unwilling to offer lodging to them without their brother in the home.
Friday, May 10, 2013
patients, while advancing the PatientCentered Medical Home model of integrated care and supporting the war directly through aeromedical services for wounded, ill and injured service members arriving several times each week from staging facilities in Germany. After settling in at Malcolm Grow, Cachuela led the 779th Medical Group through what he called “the year of the Inspection.” The facility underwent 10 major inspections in 2011, evaluating health services as military medics, as providers of safe hospital care, and accrediting the outpatient clinic just two days after closing the inpatient clinics. “We had a lot going on, when I first got here,” Cachuela said. “There was concern that we would lose significant capabilities (for patient care). I’m very proud that we closed the impatient clinics on time but the services we provide remain unchanged. We offer a full spectrum of practice to take care of patients and keep our skills up even without offering inpatient care here. That has been possible, Cachuela said, because of strong partnerships with other military branches within JTFCAPMED. “We kept six operating rooms open, so we had to increase the amount of ambulatory surgery cases (at Malcolm Grow) and had to develop a partnership in the NCR. On a typical day we might have an Air Force orthopedic surgeon in one room, in the next room an Army surgeon from Bethesda, a Navy opthalmologist, and then an Army cardiologist from Fort Belvoir. And our medics are at Fort Belvoir and Walter Reed. We’ve really accomplished a truly integrated health care, utilizing (all the facilities) as a system of hospitals like in the civilian side of the house.” Though administrative practices often differ between the different service branches, Cachuela insists that, “patient care is patient care, regardless of the uniform that you wear. You have to find common ground, and we’re doing that.
We have more road to travel, but we’re making progress in finding that common ground.” It’s an ongoing process which Cachuela says will continue as JTFCAPMED sunsets in the coming months. “Again, it’s uncharted waters, but over the past three and a half years we’ve laid a foundation,” thanks to a strong staff at 779th Medical Group. “We have a lot of talent here. It takes a team to pull this off,” said Cachuela. With the groundbreaking for Malcolm Grow Medical Center and Outpatient Surgery’s new facility slated for May 22, Cachuela said that the construction project is part of “taking Malcolm Grow to the next chapter. We’re really excited about that.” Col. Cachuela will not be on hand to see the completion of the new facility. In June, he will pass the guidon to his successor at 779th Medical Group to become Command Surgeon for U.S. Southern Command, responsible for overseeing and planning health care engagement and health services support for the entire SOUTHCOM area of support, which includes everything south of Mexico and the Caribbean. “I will not be engaged in day-to-day delivery of health care, but I will be engaged in the medical mission, supporting the priorities of the SOUTHCOM commander,” Cachuela explained of his future duty station. Looking back at the past three and a half years, Cachuela has few regrets. “Selfishly, I wish I could have seen more patients and gotten into the OR more, but I was not brought here to be an orthopedic surgeon. I was brought in to be a commander. I’ve got great orthopedic surgeons at Malcolm Grow and I need to focus on them, and on taking 779th Medical Group to that next chapter,” Cachuela said. “I’m excited about going back to Miami, but we have a great mission at 779th Medical Group and I’m kind of jealous of my replacement.”
The tour’s last stop is a surreal one--a forested median strip on Highway 301. It is the location of the Garrett Farm, where Booth and Herold were caught and where Booth was killed by federal agents. The farm has left no visible traces, but the pilgrims on the John Wilkes Booth Escape Route Tour, many of whom traveled across the nation or the world to take the tour, still file out of the bus, walk through the quiet woods, and ponder.
To get on the waiting list (and there is always a waiting list) for the next John Wilkes Booth Escape Route Tour, contact Susan Proctor at the Surratt House Museum at 301-868-1121. This summer, the Surratt House Museum is participating in the Blue Star Program, which offers free museum admission during regular museum hours for active duty military and up to five members of their family with military ID between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Religious Services on base Islamic
Prayer Room in Chapel 1 Annex Daily Prayer Monday - Friday, 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Prayer Service Friday, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Gospel Service 11:30 a.m. Tuesday Family Night at Base Theater Family meal 5 p.m. Christian Education and AWANA Kid’s Program 6 p.m.
Jewish
Roman Catholic
Kiddush/Sabbath dinner Friday, 6 p.m. All are welcome. To RSVP and for location contact: Rabbi, Capt. Schechter at 240-671-2270 or sarah.schechter@us.af.mil. You can find a complete listing of Yom Kippur services in the National Capital Region through www.jewishindc.com.
Protestant
Sunday Services Chapel 2, Traditional Service 9 a.m. Base Theater, Contemporary Service 10
Reconciliation by appointment, call 301981-2111 Daily and Saturday Mass have been temporarily suspended. Chapel 1, 1345 W. Perimeter Road. Mass Sunday, 8:30 a.m. Chapel 2, 3715 Fetchet Ave. Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) classes Monday, 6 p.m. For information, pastoral counseling and religious accommodation of all faith traditions call 301-981-2111 or visit the chapel office at 1345 W Perimeter Road.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Andrews Gazette
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Andrews Gazette
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Friday, May 10, 2013