Joint Base Journal Vol. 4, No. 33
August 30, 2013
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J OINT B ASE A NACOSTIA-B OLLING
www.cnic.navy.mil/jbab
Maryland senator: Getting involved the most important thing women can do BY TAMARA CALANDRA
SPECIAL TO JOINT BASE JOURNAL
U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY LT. CMDR. JIM REMINGTON
Sen. Katherine Klausmeier, a state legislator from Maryland, was the guest speaker during a Women’s Equality Day luncheon at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling Aug. 22.
WASHINGTON - A Maryland state senator told attendees at Joint Base Anacostia Bolling’s (JBAB) Women’s Equality Day luncheon that getting involved is the most important thing women can do. Sen. Katherine Klausmeier, a legislator in Maryland since 1995, said her involvement in public matters started 25 years ago, joining the local ParentTeacher Association (PTA). She quickly became the president of the organization at a time when a new school was desperately needed. As PTA president, she had the opportunity to address the Board of Education and help justify the need for the new school “I was nervous and did not want to do it,” she reflected. “I thought I signed up to sell fundraising gift wrap.” Regardless, she did do it – and was successful in getting the new school, as well as several more new schools that followed.
“I was able to pull everyone together to work as a team,” she said. “I felt really good about that.” That success and involvement lead to further endeavors. In the early 1990s, she served as vice president for the Commission for Women in Baltimore County, where she focused on issues such as domestic violence and the Family and Medical Leave Act. She described her involvement as a “domino effect,” resulting in her election to the House of Delegates in 1995. “Politics were completely new to me, Klausmeier said. “Twenty five years ago I hardly knew who our President was.” Klausmeier said she worked hard, knocking on doors, raising funds and campaigning for issues that she believed were important. “You just go out there and do what you need to do,” she emphasized. Klausmeier pointed out that women have had the right to vote for less than 100 years, and she is planning a celebration to commemorate the centennial anniversary in 2020.
Although women have come a long way, Klausmeier said they have further to go. She acknowledged she is often treated different than her male colleagues. “Sometimes you just have to keep fighting for what you believe in,” she said. The luncheon’s audience gained insight into what others before them believed in; hearing about the history of equality for women. Women’s Equality Day celebrates and recognizes the struggle for women’s rights, which dates back to 1777 when females lost the right to vote in New York. In 1848, leaders such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Staton organized and convened the first Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, NY. Anthony was arrested with some of her supporters for trying to vote and was held on a $1,000 bond. The judge
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Air Force announces PT test enhancements to start Oct. 1 BY STAFF SGT. DAVID SALINITRI SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE PUBLIC AFFAIRS
WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Air Force senior leadership announced enhancements to the Air Force’s Physical Fitness Assessment program, to be implemented Oct. 1. In a letter to Airmen Aug. 20, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III explained the results of the comprehensive review, highlighting the strength of the program and the need for slight improvements. “We have a tremendous program that has fundamentally changed the Air Force’s overall fitness level over the past few years,” Welsh said. “The PFT itself is not going to change. But even the best program can be improved upon, so we are making changes in four different areas to enhance the overall program.”
Of the changes coming Oct. 1, the most significant is to the abdominal circumference portion of the test. The AC assesses an Airman’s body composition. Since the Air Force implemented the newest fitness program guidelines in October 2010, only .03 percent of Airmen have failed the AC portion of the test and passed the other three components with a composite score of 75 or higher. “In the future, if an Airman fails the AC portion of the test, and passes each of the other three components, we’ll measure that Airman using the Body Mass Index taping guidance in DoD instructions,” Welsh said. “If the Airman meets the DoD BMI standard, they pass the PFT.” Because AC measurement is integrated into the testing procedure, the Air Force is currently the only branch of the Department of Defense not required to have a separate
U.S. AIR FORCE GRAPHIC
weight management program. The other program modifications include realigning the fitness appeal process back to
INSIDE
wing commanders, adjusting passing standards for Airmen who can only test on one component of assessment, and changing and simplifying the walk test. In addition to these efforts, senior leaders are reviewing how fitness performance is documented on performance reports as part of a larger effort to examine the performance report itself. Those results are expected in the near future. Though senior leaders are looking to improve the current fitness program, Welsh said he is proud of the Air Force program, and the physically fit culture it has helped to cultivate. “I believe we have DoD’s best designed, best run fitness program, and as a result, we have a force ready for any mission our nation asks us to execute,” he said. “I’m extremely proud of how far we’ve come with our fitness culture.”
Air Force offers potential model for future MWR programs
Savings highlight commissaries’ return to regular hours
Celebrating women’s history of equality in the Navy
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