EES roadshow visits Team Moody

by Airman 1st Class Ceaira Tinsley
23d Wing Public Affairs

7/14/2015 - MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Personnel from Headquarters Air Force and the Air Force Personnel Center visited here July 13, to share information about Enlisted Evaluation System and Weighted Airman Promotion System changes.

During the briefings, EES/WAPS subject matter experts spoke about changes that have already been implemented, those slated for implementation in the months ahead, and the reasons and philosophy behind the changes.

"This is one of the most significant changes to the enlisted evaluation and promotion system in a generation," said U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Peggy Poore, AFPC commander. "So, we feel it's important to bring this information directly to Commanders and Airmen and allow them to ask questions and get immediate answers from the experts."

The briefing team hosted an executive briefing and two all-calls to ensure all Team Moody members received the information face-to-face.

"I'm appreciative of the fact the team took time to address multiple target audiences," said Chief Master Sgt. David Kelch, 23d Wing command chief. "We've been at the forefront in this wing over the past 10 months discussing pending changes and it's good to see the products being pushed to the field."

One of the essential changes to the new system is that the evaluation will focus on an Airman's job performance.

"This new evaluation will give commanders a meaningful venue to identify those Airmen who are truly exceeding the standards and are ready for the next level," said Kelch. "Of course, this can only be successful as long as the rating chain is providing candidate feedback throughout the performance period.

"Our Airmen deserve to know where they stand to know their strengths and to be deliberately developed in areas where they struggle," Kelch added. "An important take away from yesterday's briefing is this; whether you receive a recommendation of "promote", promote now", or "must promote" you are still competitive for the next grade.  It'll be up to individual Airmen to determine their own success by how much time they spending preparing for the test....nothing beats old fashion hard work."

For more information about EES/WAPS changes, go to the myPers website at https://mypers.af.mil, select "enlisted" under the active duty, Guard or Reserve drop down menus, and then select "evaluations" in the left hand column.

Prescription drug abuse harms military careers

by Senior Airman Sam Fogleman
92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

7/13/2015 - FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- With the shifting legal statuses of various controlled substances across the nation, it may be confusing for Airmen to keep things straight when it comes to prescription medications, legalized recreational substances and outlawed drugs. Particularly with the advent of statewide marijuana legalization here in Washington state and nearby Oregon, Fairchild Airmen are required to maintain the utmost vigilance in upholding military substance use standards.

Layers of complexity are added when a prescription written by an Air Force physician contains a drug that meets Drug Enforcement Agency scheduling. Usage of such substances, even when legally prescribed, outside of mandated administration often merits the same legal response as a substance completely banned in all circumstances.

"Wrongful use amounts to taking a substance outside of prescribed limits without legal justification," said Capt. Catherine Santiago, 92nd Air Refueling Wing Judge Advocate chief of military justice. "In such instances, because one will have been shown to have abused drugs, most likely the individual will be recommended for administrative separation."

Administrative separation parameters are detailed in Air Force Instruction 36-3208, Administrative Separation of Airmen, and drug use in particular is detailed in section 5.54 of that AFI.

Article 112a of the Uniform Code of Military Justice details the specifications of court-martial eligibility for violations of the Controlled Substances Act, which a plethora of prescription medications meet for scheduling.  One could be eligible for up to a dishonorable discharge, in addition to a variety of other penalties.

For wrongful use or possession of Schedule I-, II- and III-listed substances, up to five years confinement is a possibility.  For distribution, one can encounter a confinement timeframe of 15 years.  Oxycodone, for example, a widely prescribed painkiller, is listed under Schedule II, so a prescription and proper use during the prescription timeframe is crucial.

"Proper use will be in the medical record," said Lt. Col. Michelle Anton, 92nd Medical Group chief of medical staff.  "If the medical record shows that a member is being treated for a medical condition and was given a prescription for that condition, the record documents appropriate/intended use of the medication."

Anton added, "That bottle of Hydrocodone you have in your medicine cabinet after a back strain two years ago should NOT be taken for a knee sprain now.  It should absolutely NOT be shared with a friend for their knee sprain, either."

For information on how to properly dispose of unused medications, please consult the Food and Drug Administration's website at http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm101653.htm.

For questions about the military drug policy, contact the Fairchild legal office at (509) 247-2838.

Gunfighters arrive for Red Flag 15-3

by Senior Airman Brittany A. Chase
366th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

7/14/2015 - NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- Members of the 366th Fighter Wing arrived here, July 6, to begin preparations for Red Flag 15-3.

Red Flag is a realistic combat training exercise involving the air forces of the United States.

"It's great to be here at Nellis Air Force Base," said Maj. Jonathan Hutto, 366th FW chief of wing weapons and tactics. "Being surrounded by the quality and caliber of people who are here trying to make things better for the Air Force, and the fighter and bomber community is amazing."

The exercise is just one of a series of advanced training programs administered at Nellis Air Force Base on the Nevada Test and Training Range by organizations assigned to the 414th Combat Training Squadron.

"Red Flag is an opportune environment to prepare joint operatations against any organization that could pose a threat toward the U.S.." said Senior Airman Edmund Aldridge, 391st Aircraft Maintenance Unit avionics journeyman.

For the men and women on the ground, Red Flag gives less-experienced Airmen and command leaders realistic mission training in a simulated war. It's one of the few places they can receive realistic combat training with different branches of the military.

"We're building a team here," Hutto said. "To do this, we all have to be put in these stressful situations in order to thrive."

The 414th CTS's mission is to maximize the combat readiness, capability and survivability of participating units by providing realistic training in a combined air, ground, space and electronic threat environment while providing a free exchange of ideas between forces.

"Of course the F-15E Strike Eagle is my favorite aircraft," Hutto said. "But even though I love the Strike Eagle, you have to put all the aircraft here together to accomplish the mission successfully, and Red Flag enables us to do just that."

More than 1,000 military personnel will be participating in Red Flag 15-3, which officially begins July 13 and ends July 31.

Selva Discusses Threats, Capabilities During Confirmation Hearing

By Jim Garamone

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, July 14, 2015 – Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are the nations most able to threaten the United States, according to the president’s nominee to be the next vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In his confirmation hearing today, Air Force Gen. Paul Selva told the Senate Armed Services Committee that while terror groups like al-Qaida and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have the desire and capability to attack the American homeland, they do not present an existential threat to the United States.

If confirmed by the Senate, Selva, who is currently the commander of U.S. Transportation Command, will succeed Navy Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr. to become the tenth vice chairman.

Types, Degrees of Threat

Selva hastened to add that these nations do not present a clear and present danger today. “In that order, you see the countries that are peer and near-peer competitors who are developing conventional and nuclear weapons that match our own,” he said. “You see opaque governments that have ideologies that we don’t agree with, and you see the broad base of terrorist threats that might threaten our interests abroad, our interests abroad and our homeland.”

Russia is the preeminent threat, the general said, because that nation possesses conventional and nuclear capabilities, should Russian leaders choose to use them.

Selva said the threat posed by ISIL and similar extremist organizations is one that must be dealt with, but it's regional in nature. “ISIL does not possess the tools or the capabilities to threaten the existence of the United States as we know it,” he said.

The United States is also increasingly at risk in space and across the networks of cyberspace, he added.

“Effectively confronting these threats, as diverse as they are, requires a whole-of-government approach,” Selva said. “Our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Cost Guardsmen truly are the heart and soul of our competitive advantage, and they are far more effective when the full weight of our country’s power is working in unison.”

Budget Concerns

Selva noted another direct threat to the U.S. military: sequestration -- spending caps that will take effect Oct. 1 in the absence of congressional action to change budget law.

“We see the effects of sequestration and the potential declines in the defense budget affecting readiness," he said. "They affect our ability to train those young men and women to do their work. They affect our ability to maintain and reset the equipment that they have been using for the better part of the last decade and a half in Iraq and Afghanistan. And they affect our ability to retain the best of those soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines."

Selva called overseas contingency operations funding -– money appropriated outside the DoD base budget -– “a one-year incremental fix to a long-term problem.”

The general said he is concerned about Iran and its policy of sponsoring terrorism.

With the agreement on Iran’s nuclear program finalized, “the sequential lifting of sanctions will give Iran the access to more economic assets with which to sponsor state terrorism should they chose to do so,” he said. “I think we need to be alert to that possibility, and, as the military, we have an obligation to provide the president with a full range of options to respond.”

Finally, Selva stressed the importance of military-to-military ties. “I think it is very important that our senior military leaders maintain an open dialogue with the senior military leaders of competitor nations so that we can minimize the chance of miscalculation or missteps,” he said.

“In any military operation anywhere in the world -- that goes for Russia and China, specifically, and for any other country that might wish us ill -- we need to open those dialogues to make sure that we don’t miscalculate,” the general said.

Face of Defense: All-Army Triathlete on the Road to Pro

By John Budnik

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska, July 14, 2015 – Underneath his quiet and cool demeanor, Army 1st Lt. Marcus Farris is ready to be unleashed on race days. A disciplined athlete, he has trained for many hours to represent and compete as a member of the All-Army Triathlon team.

Farris, a quality assurance representative in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Alaska District’s construction division, said he realized his passion for running in high school in Huntsville, Alabama. As a cadet in the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, he did lots of running to prepare for physical training tests. It wasn't long before he was attending Auburn University and, in his free time, participating in ultramarathons –- distances longer than the standard 26.2 miles.

Now, Farris said, his lifestyle consists of athletics and racing individually and for groups such as the All-Army Triathlon team and U.S. Military All-Endurance Sports team.

“There are some days that feel like workouts and some that feel like I am playing outside,” Farris, 25, described. “It is good to see that your training pays off now and again.”

Army Athletics

On June 7, he competed for the first time with the All-Army Triathlon team in the 2015 U.S. Armed Forces Championships hosted by the Leon’s World Fastest Triathlon at Hammond, Indiana. According to the race results, he finished 17th out of 40 male competitors from all four branches, including members from the Canadian military. Farris completed the Olympic standard triathlon distances of a 1.5 km swim, 40 km bike ride and 10 km run just under two hours.

As part of the Army’s Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation program, All-Army sports are available to active-duty, Reserve and National Guard soldiers, according to its website. Soldier-Athletes must complete an application process to be considered for each activity, and to compete at national and international levels. Some of the teams include basketball, boxing, bowling, golf, rugby, soccer, softball, triathlon, volleyball and wrestling.

Making it on a team roster can be as competitive as race day, Farris said. Specifically for triathletes in Olympic distances, male applicants must have a confirmed time of less than two hours, seven minutes; for females, it's two hours, 35 minutes. Previous experience as an armed forces team member or past collegiate racing is a bonus.

Expanding Skill Set

Farris keeps his skills sharp while contending for triathlons with the U.S. Military All-Endurance Sports team, a non-Defense Department entity. The program is a division of the nonprofit organization American Service Members Amateur Sports Inc. Its purpose is to support amateur athletes while teaching endurance sports and activities for active-duty, retired and veteran military members, he said.

“This was a team created by service members for service members,” Farris said.

It's not just natural athletic prowess that sets Farris apart from other competitors -- it's also his willingness to apply proven exercise physiology principles, said Graham Wilson, triathlon coach for the endurance sports team.

“He is a focused individual,” Wilson said. “Once he sets his mind on a goal or mission, he will do everything in his power to achieve it.”

Within the next two to three years, Farris said his objective is to continue training and competing with the best.

“I am trying to earn a pro card to race at the professional level, but I still have some work to go,” he said. “Short term, I will be racing in the International Triathlon Union’s World Triathlon in Chicago [in September]. That is my biggest race of the year, other than the All-Army sports team.”

More Than Winning

Meanwhile, Farris broke a seven-year-old record July 11 in the men’s 50-mile time trial at the 13th annual Fireweed 400, according to an Alaska Dispatch News report. In preparation for the World Triathlon, he will race in the Olympic-distance Alaska State Triathlon near Wasilla on Aug. 2.

Since moving to Alaska in 2013, Farris’ greatest challenge has been adapting to indoor training because of the long, dark and cold winters.

“It turns into a mind game of how long you can stay on your trainer [machine] without going insane, but still obtaining the miles you need to stay competitive,” he said.

Maintaining that competitive edge can pay dividends on race days, but it's not all about victories. Farris said his most memorable moment as a triathlete came when he was on stage during a ceremony that honored veterans before the Armed Forces Championships. The special moment made quite an impression.

“It was all very patriotic,” Farris said. “It was a pretty cool moment right before the race. You remember what you are representing and that it is not just a sport, but everybody you are doing it with. They are your competitors, but they are your brothers-in-arms as well.”

ONE: Zelda's tower

by Staff Sgt. Jarad A. Denton
501st Combat Support Wing Public Affairs

7/13/2015 - RAF FAIRFORD, United Kingdom -- The room began to shake.

Pens and pencils clattered along instrument panels as a dull roar drowned out all other sounds. Inside the room, a dark-haired woman stood motionless, watching the ground below from her lofty tower.

Her eyes followed as a B-52 Stratofortress sped past her window, its long wings wobbling, fighting against gravity to push the enormous hulk skyward. Still she watched, almost willing the beast to fly - as the fire behind her eyes betrayed her calm exterior.

"It's unbelievable that you can take a piece of metal and have it fly," she said, as gravity finally gave way and the B-52 ascended into the clouds above RAF Fairford, United Kingdom, June 8. "People dream of flying, but when you're in the sky, or you're in control and trying to make something work and come together - it's the most amazing feeling."

For 35 years Zelda Montoya has stood in her tower, overlooking flightlines around the world and guiding aircraft to and from home. To her, the sky is not made up of fleecy clouds and endless expanses of blue, but rather lines, grids and waypoints.

"I see a map in the sky," the retired U.S. Air Force chief master sergeant, and current air traffic manager, said. "To see that huge piece of metal actually fly and cross the Atlantic, with its global reach, is such an incredible feeling that never goes away."

That intense love for aircraft did not begin the day Montoya enlisted. It began with a little girl who was fascinated with flight.

"When I was little, I was really amazed by helicopters," she said. "It just stuck with me. It's a love for airplanes."

From those humble beginnings through her career as an Airman and beyond, Montoya was able to see the world from the window of her tower, watching as airpower developed from an abstract concept to personal mantra.

"Airpower, to me, is like having an aircraft depart from a flightline," Montoya said, motioning to her stomach with both hands. "You just feel it from the inside, and you know you're ready. You are out in front, ready anytime, anywhere."

As the air traffic manager at RAF Fairford, Montoya embodies that concept. She must be ready to turn the minimally-staffed installation into a fully-functional, active base within 48 hours. The critical capability present at RAF Fairford offers a unique and strategic role in bomber contingency operations across Europe. It takes Montoya, and a team of dedicated professionals, intense focus and dedication to ensure the installation is able to support U.S. commitment to its Allies and enhance regional security.

"When you're in the control tower, you almost have a 3-D vision in your mind," she said. "It's basically having a plan A, plan B and plan C, and seeing everything in a very different light in order to make it all work."

Montoya said experience has taught her how to manage plan A, while simultaneously coordinating plan B and C in her head. It is a skill she eagerly imparts to Airmen.

"To pass on knowledge to younger Airmen is really a humbling experience," she said. "They want to learn, they want to know, and it's really important to pass that experience along. It keeps this passion within us, and keeps it alive."

Despite the stress often associated with managing aerial operations, Montoya said her fellow controllers are part of the reason she stayed in the career field as long as she has.

"The best tool is the controllers pulling together and relying heavily on one another," she said, as emotion crept into her voice. "It's like a big family. We share the same experiences, the same feelings and we understand each other. I love them for who they are and what they do."

She paused, and looked out the window again, as a single tear welled up in her eye and trickled down her face.

"My worst day will be when I leave."

Arctic Warriors participate in annual Bear Paw festival

by Senior Airman Tammie Ramsouer
JBER Public Affairs

7/13/2015 - JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- Since the birth of the Bear Paw Festival in Eagle River since 1985, Alaskan service members have been a major part of the annual event.

The Chugiak-Eagle River Chamber of Commerce created the Bear Paw Festival to celebrate growing businesses in Eagle River and bring the community together. This year's festival was hosted July 8 through 12.

"We were a small organization when I started volunteering in 1987," said Suzie Gorski, Chugiak-Eagle River Chamber of Commerce executive director. "I inherited my current position two years later and organizing this wonderful event since."

During the five-day festival, local service members and the Alaska community participated in many attractions such as carnival rides and the 5K Bear Paw Classic through downtown Eagle River.

One day during the festival is dedicated as Military Appreciation Day.

"We have this day every year during our festival to honor our military neighbors and friends," Gorski said.

The Joint Base Against Drunk Driving and Drug Abuse Resistance Education vehicles, a Soldier marching unit from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, and the 9th Army Band from Fort Wainwright Alaska participated in this year's parade.

"The band has played at the Bear Paw Parade for many years," said Army Warrant Officer Michael Krzmarszick, 9th Army Band commander. "We love performing for the community. It's an honor for us to provide music and esprit de corps for the people of Alaska. We always appreciate the open arms from the Alaskan community, especially Anchorage and Eagle River has shown us."

Senior Airman Matthew Dunlap, 673d Security Forces Squadron armorer, said this is his first time marching in the parade.

"I think Bear Paw Festival is a great opportunity to get out in the community," Dunlap said. "As a law enforcement member, it's good to let the community know that we care about them and want to keep them safe just as much as the people we protect on base."

The new U.S. Army Alaska commander, Maj. Gen. Bryan Owens, also participated. This is Owens' first time at Bear Paw, as well as the beginning of his first tour in the 49th state.

"The community here is incredibly supportive towards the military," Owens said. "You can feel it, it's not just words. It's exciting to be here and in uniform to represent USARAK and participate in the event."

As the organizer of Bear Paw, Gorski said she designs the festival to be as inviting as possible to the local community and military.

"This festival is the best way for people to feel they are part of their community by participating in and contributing to [it]," Gorski said. "The event provides nonprofit organizations an opportunity to raise funds."

The proceeds made from those fundraisers will be donated to different charities around the community.

This is Gorski's last year organizing the Bear Paw, but she said her career as the executive director has been a fun and great opportunity.

"Alaska is often a stopping place for many people in their journey through life and the time they spend in this state," Gorski said. "We want them to feel like it is home during their time here."

F-16CM Accident Report Released

Release Number: 010715

7/13/2015 - LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. -- An F-16CM pilot's unrecognized descent led to a fatal crash in the Central Command area of responsibility on Dec. 1, 2014, according to an Air Combat Command Accident Investigation Board report released today.

Capt. William H. DuBois Jr., assigned to Shaw Air Force Base, S.C. and deployed to Southwest Asia as part of the 77th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, was the flight lead for two F-16s conducting a combat mission in support of Operation Inherent Resolve when the crash occurred.

According to the investigation report, the pilot's wingman experienced a landing gear door malfunction on takeoff which required both aircraft to return to base. The wingman landed safely, but when DuBois attempted to make his landing, he was unaware of his own rapid descent during approach procedures to the runway. This unintentional descent - coupled with the lack of time to be able to recognize and respond to the danger - led to the crash.  He did not have the opportunity to eject from the aircraft and was killed upon impact.

The loss of government property was valued at $30.8 million. The mishap caused neither civilian injuries nor damage to civilian property.