Capflyer 121914

COMMENTARY Maintenance versus repair ... of our Airmen, Page 2

DCMILITARY.COM

AIR FORCE NEWS

BASE NEWS

Air Force Band kicks off Spirit of the Season, Page 3

AN INDEPENDENT PUBLICATION OF COMPRINT MILITARY PUBLICATIONS AT JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MD.

Hearts Apart supports deployed families, Page 6

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2014 | VOL. 3 NO. 48

Imagine Andrews Veterans History Project allows supports Box Tops the Veteran to tell the whole for Education

story, in their own words

BY LESLIE C. SMITH STAFF WRITER

PHOTO/BOBBY JONES

Valentina Cruz, 9, holds a baggie full of box top labels from various food products to send out to Box Tops for Education in Victor, Minn. A progress chart in the background tracks the current financial goal needed for this year.

BY BOBBY JONES

STAFF PHOTOJOURNALIST

Erin Nauman is on a mission to help provide a healthier environment for the students of Imagine Andrews Public Charter School on Joint Base Andrews. A fourth-grade Math and Science teacher at Imagine Andrews, Nauman, started collecting box tops to earn money for a much needed playground for the students at Imagine Andrews debut in 2010.

“We actually do Labels for Education, which is from Campbell’s where we earn points [then] we can buy things for our school like physical education equipment; and we do Box Tops for Education, where we get 10 cents for every

box top that is clipped off a General Mills product or Pillsbury products and sent to our school. There are actually a whole slew of products that families can buy from the commissary or any grocery store,” Nauman said. “Our goal for this year was $2000...

Currently, we have raised $1,541… earned from April until now. We’ll get a check soon – in a couple of weeks or so – and another one in April of next year.”

Nauman noted that any box tops they accumulated from April until the end of the year will carry over until the next school year.

“We are in desperate need of a playground for Imagine Andrews and

see BOX TOPS, page 5

On Dec. 4, Monica Mohindra, Head Program Coordination and Communication Veterans History Project, Library of Congress, shared the Veterans History Project with a room of interested individuals. The Interdisciplinary Student Community-Oriented Prevention Enhancement Service (ISCOPES) at George Washington University hosted a meeting for parties interested in finding out more how they can further add to the narrative of the voices already archived at the Library of Congress American Folklife Center through the Veterans History Project.

Created in 2000 by Congress, the Veterans History Project is a 15-year-old undertaking and consists of personal accounts through interviews and memoirs, correspondence, as well as visual materials such as photographs and artwork. These items create

PHOTO/LESLIE C. SMITH

The Veteran’s History Project seeks to preserve the personal narratives of battle. Monica Mohindra, Program Specialist with the Library of Congress, Veterans History Project, center, shared the purpose and path of the Project with interested participants at a gathering hosted by ISCOPES at George Washington University.

the first-hand narrative of Veterans from War World I, up to, and including the more recent conflicts. The mission of the Project is to collect, preserve, and provide access for everyone, providing the opportunity to see the human experience of battle.

The Project relies entirely on volunteers to in-

terview friends and families that were veterans.

The Project also accepts materials on behalf of deceased veterans to insure as many voices as possible are “heard.”

The Project has set a “30/20/10” guideline for all materials. Those planning to interview, it should be a minimum of

30 minutes long, memoirs a minimum of 20 pages long, and letters 10 pages long. Mohindra stressed that is the minimum and there is no maximum.

All Veterans retain copyright of any submissions.

Mohindra noted that

see HISTORY, page 4

Mission complete, partnership stronger

BY CAPT. RENEE LEE 113TH WING PUBLIC AFFAIRS

District of Columbia National Guard and Jamaican Defence Force soldiers and airmen wrapped up a weeklong subject matter expert exchange here Friday.

During the course of the week, the combined and joint team of vehicle mechanics shared best practices on wheeled vehicle maintenance.

After a daylong orientation of the JDF’s various vehicles and missions on the first day, the “Capital Guardians” rolled up their sleeves soon after and joined their Jamaican counterparts in fixing wheel bearings, adjusting alignment and using different tools and systems.

“We were here to provide our analyses and expertise to the JDF, and they provided us their expertise and knowledge,” said Chief Warrant

Officer 2 Courtney Britton, 542nd maintenance company maintenance manager.

The U.S. team was here under the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program, a security cooperation program linking the United States’ National Guard units with the armed forces of more than 70 partner nations. The D.C.. National Guard has participated in the program with the JDF since

1999 on a range of topics.

As vehicle mechanics, the Capital Guardians and JDF colleagues shared many similarities, including the goal for their vehicles to be 100 percent mission-capable at all times.

“We shared what we bring to the table and they did the same, including many similar practices,” said Senior Airman Butler, vehicle

see MISSION, page 3

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Hot tickets around town December 20

Holiday Trains and Planes College Park Aviation Museum, 1985 Cpl. Frank Scott Drive, College Park, Md. Miniature trains, villages, tunnels and depots spark the imagination and bring history to life. The National Capital Trackers brings locomotive display of model railroads.

December 20-21

Ornament Emporium Montpelier Mansion, 9650 Muirkirk Road, Laurel 20708 Montpelier hosts juried show of handmade ornaments by area artist. Shop for gifts as tea items and old-fashioned toys will also be available.

December 20-21

Holiday tea Montpelier Mansion, 9650 Muirkirk Road, Laurel 20708 Enjoy seasonal cakes and finger sandwiches, pastries along with selection of quality loose teas served on China. Tea is $29/$25 for friends of Montpelier.

Through January 1

Festival of Lights 5-9:30 p.m.

Watkins Regional Park, 301 Watkins Park Drive (Route 193), Upper Marlboro, MD 20774 Don’t miss this holiday drive-through event featuring more than one million twinkling lights. This year’s Festival features new displays.

Please bring canned goods for donation to local food banks to make a difference this holiday season.

Through January 4

Gaylord National’s ICE! 201 Waterfront Street, National Harbor, Md. A special interactive, 100-acre, walk-through holiday park featuring a winter wonderland created of 2 million pounds of ice, hand sculpted by international artisans. This year?s theme is Frosty the Snowman. Visit www.gaylordnationaltickets. com for more information

Saturdays and Sundays

Bumper Cars on Ice Tucker Road Ice Rink, 1770 Tucker Road, Fort Washington, Md. Solo riders must be ages 6 & up; riders ages 5 & under must ride with an adult. Last ride begins 10 minutes prior to the end of the session. Rides are on a first-come, first-served basis. Fees are based on 1 person per ride; each ride is 4-5 minutes in length.

COMPRINT MILITARY PUBLICATIONS 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.

Maxine Minar, president mminar@dcmilitary.com John Rives, publisher

jrives@dcmilitary.com

Deirdre Parry, page design dparry@gazette.net Leslie Smith, editor lsmith@dcmilitary.com Bobby Jones, photographer bjones@dcmilitary.com

Friday, December 19, 2014

Commentary

Maintenance versus repair ... of our Airmen which are all things the Air Force tries to mitigate. Repairs are unscheduled or unplanned events to get an item or component back to an This commentary is not about operating condition. Since it is an aircraft, vehicles, or even any me- unplanned event, we throw a great chanical components. It’s about our deal of time and resources at it.

Airmen and how we manage their Now how does that relate to our care and development throughout Airmen? their careers.

Well, maintenance of our AirThe maintenance versus repair men consists of scheduling training concept is borrowed from the main- events to take care of their careers tenance community and speaks to and professional growth. It also how maintenance managers plan, entails implementing proper shift coordinate and execute scheduled schedules for work and rest cycles, maintenance events. The goal is to along with planned regular days off. maximize the amount of time we Managing quality of life issues such can utilize the aircraft for missions as leave schedules as well as schedand minimize the down time due to uling health exams, dental exams, repairs. and gym time encapsulates mainteDo we treat our Airmen the same nance of personnel. way? I submit to you how to take Now on the flip side, the need for care of our Airmen directly and in- the repair of Airmen normally comes directly. in the form of personnel who have Maintenance of our personnel is over-extended themselves mentally, just as important as maintenance socially, physically and financially; of aircraft. Most people are saying and personnel who are experiencmaintenance and repair mean the ing family hardships due to normal same thing, but they truly don’t. life demands. In many cases these Maintenance actions are the demands can be compounded by planned events to ensure the reli- military service. Airmen in need of ability, longevity and airworthiness some repair may chronically miss of our aircraft. Maintenance is nor- appointments, have difficulty passmally done under the guise of pre- ing the fitness test or have issues use, post-use and scheduled depot coping with life. I call this burnout (major) inspections. Repair in some syndrome, when our Airmen start cases is a part of maintenance, but to have multiple issues in various in most cases repair actions nor- areas. mally come at the most inopportune Can burnout syndrome be avoidtime. ed?

When something breaks, the misYes, with a good maintenance acsion is delayed, hindered or stopped, tion plan. Some proactive methods

BY MAJ. CAMERON RICHARDSON 19TH AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE SQUADRON

include complementary shift schedules for family life, when possible, and establishing a culture of practicing resilience tactics, techniques and procedures. The resilience modules and suicide alertness and awareness training seminars provided by the Air Force truly can make a difference in the maintenance of our Airmen.

When you’re lacking a solid maintenance action plan, personnel are taken out of the normal mission rotation for extensive repair. In extreme cases, some personnel will need all of the resources provided through our medical community, and outside organizations such as Military One Source, the Airman & Family Readiness Center, and Military & Family Life Counseling before they are ready to resume normal operations.

When burnout syndrome happens, a great deal of time is required to repair, and it is costly, but our Airmen are worth it.

I want to reiterate that seeking help is the right thing to do, and we need to continue to encourage our personnel to get help prior to feeling “broken” or in disrepair. We have a host of resources that will maintain and repair our people for future use.

The bottom line is to maintain your Airmen with good scheduled events, and pay the little costs upfront. Or you will pay for the major repairs during the most inopportune time. Our mission hinges on our most valuable resource -- our Airmen.

Retiree Corner Commissary Costs Studied

There are no plans to close military commissaries, according to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey. The budget environment is forcing the department to look for savings anywhere possible, he added. The Joint Staff asked the Defense Commissary Agency for a range of options, including how the system would operate with reduced or no taxpayer subsidies. The chairman noted that military exchanges work on this system and that the same potential exists with commissaries. The commissary agency received $1.5 billion in subsidies last year. “We haven’t made any decisions,” the chairman said. “We’ve got to drive toward greater efficiencies, and this is just one of the potential areas.” The Bipartisan Budget Act alleviated some of the sequester pressure on the department through fiscal 2015. But the Budget Reduction Act of 2011 is still law, and sequester-level spending cuts will be back in play in fiscal 2016, unless Congress changes the law. “We’re well aware of the need for acquisition reform, as well as the need to reduce unnecessary

infrastructure and retire unneeded weapons systems,” Dempsey said.

Same Sex Benefits

In consultation with the Department of Justice, Veterans Affairs Funeral Assistance is providing guidance to same-sex The Department of Veterans Afmarried couples on the benefits and fairs has opened an online funeral services to which they are entitled directors resource kit. Funeral direcunder current laws and regulations. tors may use the kit when helping The Supreme Court overturned veterans and their families make that section of the Defense of Marburial arrangements in VA national cemeteries or in Arlington National riage Act which governed the definiCemetery, operated by the Depart- tions of “marriage” and “spouse” for ment of Army. The website enables federal agencies. VA has developed helps families plan burials and ap- guidance to process claims and apply for VA memorial benefits. Videos plications for same-sex married are available in English and Span- couples. It is processing all claims ish. The website is available at www. and applications involving same-sex cem.va.gov/cem/funeraldirector.asp. marriages. A new website provides VA maintains 3.2 million gravesites information to help veterans and in 131 VA national cemeteries. More beneficiaries understand the eligithan 118,000 veterans and family bility requirements under federal members were interred in fiscal year law and VA regulations. For more 2012. Information on VA burial ben- information, go to www.va.gov/opa/ efits can be obtained from national marriage or call 1 800-827-1000. cemetery offices, from the Internet The Retiree Activities Office is at www.cem.va.gov or by calling VA at 1 800 827-1000. To make burial open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday arrangements at a VA national cem- through Friday. Visit the office in etery, call the cemetery scheduling Building 1604 at California and office at 800 535-1117. For informa- Colorado Avenues or call 301 981tion about interments at Arlington 2726. Call before your visit to ensure NC – operated by the Department of a volunteer is on duty. The RAO has a website at www.andrews.af.mil. the Army – call 1 877 907-8585.

Andrews Gazette

Friday, December 19, 2014

Air Force Band kicks off Spirit of the Season

BY SENIOR AIRMAN MARIAH HADDENHAM

11TH WING PUBLIC AFFAIRS

The United States Air Force Band contributed their holiday cheer by performing “The Spirit of the Season” concert at the Daughters of the American Revolution concert hall Dec. 12 in Washington, D.C. Approximately 22 schools attended, including a school from Australia, totaling nearly 3,000 attendees.

“The concert falls under our Advancing Innovation through Music initiative,” said Senior Master Sgt. Bob Kamholz, United States Air Force Band marketing and outreach superintendent. “The AIM program identifies the needs of the schools and matches them with the correct musical performances or clinics..”

The holiday concert is the largest student outreach initiative of the year and is aimed at reaching students K-12. Home school students from Joint Base Andrews, Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling and the surrounding communities were invited to attend the concert.

“This really serves

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U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO/ SENIOR AIRMAN MARIAH HADDENHAM

Dancers from the Virginia Ballet Company perform during “The Spirit of the Season” holiday concert at the Daughters of the American Revolution concert hall Dec. 12 in Washington, D.C. The United States Air Force Band hosted the event. The show consisted of 14 songs, including selections from The Nutcracker and concluded with an audience sing-along.

as a great opportunity for the children to see us perform,” said Senior Master Sgt. Eric Sabatino, United States Air Force Band harpist. “It also allows me to explain how my harp works; not many children get the chance to see one up close.”

The show consisted of 14 songs, including selections from “The Nutcracker” featuring dancers from the Virginia Ballet Company. The performance concluded with a multi-song audience sing-along.

“I’ve been performing

at the holiday concerts for 14 years and the best part is the kid’s concert,” said Chief Master Sgt. Jebodiah Eaton, USAF Band chief of production.

“Seeing how the kids enjoy the show, interacting with them, and talking to them about our instruments is my favorite part.

The band performed once on Friday and twice on Saturday.

For more information on the Air Force Band and their performances, go to www.usafband. af.mil.

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MISSION, from page 1 mechanic of the 113th Wing.

The exchange was also an opportunity for the D.C. team to observe their JDF counterparts creatively, analytically and manually approach their work with limited equipment.

“We have less technology that forces us to do greater analyses,” said JDF Warrant Officer 1 Fitzgerald, H., JDF workshop manager. “We have a potpourri of vehicles so our skillset is very diverse and dynamic.”

“They make everything work with the minimal resources they have,” said Sgt. Girard King, vehicle mechanic, 273rd Military Police Co., whose main takeaway was being able to complete a mission without his usual resources.

“They don’t let anything go to waste and work very strategically. I learned from the JDF to think outside the box.”

In addition to learning from each other, the exchange was also an opportunity for the Capital Guardians to work in a different cultural and professional environment.

“This was a very good learning experience for me,” said Fitzgerald at the close-out briefing. “I don’t have to be in the U.S. to understand what you’re all about. Your ability to fit in and your enthusias m for trying new things

U.S. AIR NATIONAL GUARD PHOTO/CAPT. RENEE LEE

Jamaican Defence Force civilian vehicle mechanic Dean Kemp and Senior Airman Renardo Butler secures a wheel stud and lock into place on a 2.5-ton Jamaican Defence Force freightload truck. Butler, a vehicle mechanic from the 113th Wing, D.C. Air National Guard at Joint Base Andrews and Kemp are participating in a subject matter expert exchange under the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program.

were refreshing.”

“We shared different ideas on how we do things so we are always ready to serve locally and internationally,” said JDF vehicle mechanic Sgt. Beadle, C. “The U.S. team got right into it like they worked here on a normal basis.

That’s an approach we should take anywhere we go.”

For more news from other bases around the Washington, D.C. area,

visit www.dcmilitary.com.

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HISTORY, from page 1 these stories might not be things a Veteran wants to share everyday but may be more willing to share in this setting. “It’s very important to learn what the Veterans have to say…a chance to contribute to the body of understanding.”

The recommended age for interviewing is 10th grade and up, “It may be difficult for someone to look into the cherubic face of their grandchild and tell these difficult stories.” Mohindra advised that younger people can engage with other aspects of the project such as logging the interview and other items.

The Project is seeking for not only diversity – race and gender – but also experience, and branches. Monhindra pointed to the example of a collection of Chaplains in military service. “We need as many component parts as possible to tell the whole story,” Mohindra said.

The Project provides a useful “field kit” as guide providing a suggested series of themed questions.

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Friday, December 19, 2014

There may by some hesitancy when considering donating such personal items of a family’s history; Monhindra assured that when donating items each piece is treated with the upmost of respect. She shared the story of one family, which had submitted pictures and later sent a note, to not only thank them, but also shared had they not donated the items they would have been ruined in a flood during hurricane Rita.

“Our job is to make sure these items are preserved and safe for posterity.”

With recent conflicts, sometimes you don’t have the same communication used as in prior times with the evolution of modern technology, and often you don’t see the same written letters or pictures. However, printed emails are accepted as well as pictures printed from electronic communication.

Participants like Tom Bui, currently serving with the National Guard after four years active duty with the United States Marine Corp, shared the importance of this project for civilians and Veterans alike, “I think, to me, a lot of people don’t know what it’s like to be a veteran … they don’t know what that means so

I just want to tell my story – what most veterans want to do... That’s why I want to do it.”

With four deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo, and Egypt, Bui explained the importance of the personal narratives, “I think it’s important to get it from their perspective; what it’s like to be where they are now and how it was when they came back – their whole life experience. I want to get what it’s like through their eyes and compare it to mine – maybe similar, maybe different… I think every veteran connects in some way… maybe we have something in common that happened or something happened different. I want to get their story told and archived. That’s what’s important; to preserve our history because, nowadays, not a lot of people are doing that.”

A service learning program that is inter-professional, where students are studying a variety of health professions, ISCOPES students selected to be on this specific team either because they have a connection to a veteran or “just interested in the power of storytelling and what that can do for personal health and well-being. It can be a very powerful healing experience,” noted Donna Javellana, who holds a Master of Public Health and is the Community Engagement and Communication manager ISCOPES. Javellana, who has cousins that are recent conflict veterans, said, “I have a personal interest to engage them in storytelling and to hear their stories because it can be healing a way to bring families closer. I’m looking forward to connecting to family and friends in this way. Also, I want to spread awareness that this project exists – it’s free and available for anyone and everyone can be a part of it; spreading awareness, that program is out there, that’s what I’m excited about.”

Mohindra also wanted to convey that spouses make great interviewers as well as adult children.

With a mind toward the holidays, Mohindra expressed, “it’s a great way to give a gift that has so much longevity; everything is preserved for posterity at the Library of Congress. And, it’s extremely meaningful because it’s the gift of time and listening; the expenditure is from the heart and not from the wallet.”

The Veterans History Project is also looking for help from you to spread the word about the project.

Looking to ignite participation in the project around the holidays “Making It Home” is a VHP blog series on Home and Holidays. They invite everyone to share links about the Project through all their social media portals.

To find out more information about the project or to download a field kit, visit loc.gov/vets..

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BOX TOPS, from page 1 I’m trying to get the commissary to allow us to put a collection box in their store to get support from people who don’t have kids that attend Imagine Andrews that can drop off their box tops and we can pick them up earn more money for our school.”

Some of the ways that Nauman helps to promote funds is through in-house contests such as an upcoming snowball fight scheduled in January. “How it works is teachers decorate their doors with winter scenes and for every five or 10 box tops that their kids bring in, they get a snowball made out of construction paper which they put their name on and they get to throw it at other teachers’ doors,” Nauman said. “And at the end of February, the person with the least amount of snowballs wins a prize, like a pizza party or snow cone [party]. And some of that box top money goes back toward the kids or that class that brings in the most box tops.”

Nauman also solicits support from local grocery stores in the Prince George’s County community to donate lollipops or other confections for additional prize incentives.

Although Nauman’s ultimate goal is to build a play-

PHOTO/BOBBY JONES

Erin Nauman, a fourth-grade teacher at Imagine Andrews Public Charter School, displays a couple of Box Tops for Education sheets that her students colored.

ground for the school, she doesn’t rule out the possibility of funding a school library. “We already have enough money to easily purchase books for a library, but first we need to invest in a book scanner to scan the bar codes so that kids can check them out and we’ll have a filing system. The scanner is a little more money, though.”

Nauman explained that she also receives help from the student council members who

collect the box tops containers located throughout the school. “Last year, our guidance counselor and the student council counted the box tops and bagged them in bags of 50, which made it easier for them to be shipped to Box Top for Education, in Victor, Minn.

“I’m doing this for the kids, especially the primary grades who are so excited about filling out these box top sheets,” said Nauman, a box top program

sponsor at her previous school.

“I was only able to raise $200, because there wasn’t that much parent involvement at my last school; but here, the parent involvement and outreach is greater.”

Nauman uses theme-oriented coloring sheets each month to capture the children’s interest, such as October had pumpkins and November had a Thanksgiving Day theme with turkeys on it. “I can’t quite get

the middle school children as excited as the primary kids, yet; but they absolutely love the sheets.

The money has also been beneficial to students in other ways. “If we go on a field trip and a youngster can’t afford to pay it, as long as we as we use it for education and for the students, it benefits them,” noted Nauman. “The parents support what the money goes toward.”

Nauman further noted that Box Tops for Education also sponsors contests on-line where a school can register and possibly win up to 25,000 box tops. Schools may enter the Holly Jolly Sweepstakes or the Bonus Box Tops, where a school can earn an extra 1,000 box tops, which could mean earning an extra $500 to a $1,000.

“The more people who register for our school the better our chances are of winning that money. They can register at [BoxTops4Education.com].”

Since the Imagine Andrews opened its doors in 2011, the school has earned $5,710 toward making the playground a reality.

More than 90,000 K-8 schools participate nationwide since the beginning of Box Tops for Education in 1996. To date, schools nationwide have earned more than $600 million from Box Tops.

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Friday, December 19, 2014

Hearts Apart supports deployed families

The event featured face painting, care packages, a scavenger hunt, family photos, a DJ, pin the nose on Rudolph and cookie decorating after a lunch provided The 11th Force Support Squadron held their an- by the 11th Wing Chaplaincy. nual Hearts Apart Deployed Spouses Holiday Party at The party’s goal was to compensate for separation the base theater Dec. 13 on Joint Base Andrews. with holiday cheer and fun.

The holiday party brought together 22 families of “Our mission is to serve families who have a loveddeployed, remotely-located and 30-day temporary duty one away this season,” said Tech. Sgt. Amanda Mocaservice members. nu, 11th FSS readiness NCO. “It’s important for these “It’s always difficult to miss out on the traditions families to know they aren’t alone.” and bonding of the season,” said Chief Master Sgt. The party was generally well received by attendees.

Vance Kondon, 11 WG command chief master ser“We’ve never had this much support,” said Stephageant. “As an Air Force family, we can help families nie Akins, the spouse of a deployed service member. “It deal with this separation in a positive way.” gives the kids something out of the norm to do.”

BY AIRMAN 1ST CLASS J.D. MAIDENS 11TH WING PUBLIC AFFAIRS

U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO/AIRMAN 1ST CLASS J.D. MAIDENS

Attendees play freeze dance at the Hearts Apart Deployed Families Holiday Party Dec. 13 at Joint Base Andrews.

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