Polish help wheel and tire shop keep F-16s rollin'

by Tech. Sgt. Eric Donner
31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs

10/2/2014 - LASK AIR BASE, Poland  -- The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a highly technological, maneuverable, multi-role fighter aircraft capable of reaching speeds of Mach 2 when in the air, but without wheels and tires, it is nothing more than a static display.

The Airmen of the 31st Maintenance Squadron wheel and tire shop ensure the multi-million dollar F-16s are able to taxi, take-off and land safely.

"The only way the aircraft can take off and land is with wheels and tires," said Staff Sgt. Troy Metivier, 31st MXS wheel and tire specialist. "It is just as important as any part of the aircraft."

When looking at the complexity of an aircraft, it is easy to see why the simple wheels and tires can be overlooked. However, if this simple piece of equipment fails, it can cause a lot of damage.

"Preventative maintenance makes it cheaper in the long run," said Metivier. "Like replacing the tires on your car, it helps ensure the aircraft has traction on the tarmac and avoid accidents.

"A lot of effort goes into working on the wheels and replacing the tires," added Metivier. "There is more to the process than many people think and it's not that easy."

When a tire has exceeded the max wear limit it is replaced and the wheel is thoroughly cleaned and inspected. Each part of the wheel is hand cleaned and inspected for any abnormalities that may compromise the wheel or tire.  After passing a finale inspection, the wheel is reassembled and a new tire is put on.

"The process of breakdown, cleaning and inspection takes approximately an hour," said Metivier. "There is an additional three-hour wait time to ensure the rubber expands and a 12-hour wait to ensure the tire holds air pressure."

At home station, the process is routine, although time consuming. While deployed, the back shop has to transport all of the equipment needed to change the tires and conduct the wheel inspections, which can complicate the routine process. With the partnership of the Polish air force's wheel and tire shop, Airmen here have everything they need just like at home station.

"The Polish air force has everything we need to change out a tire," said Metivier. "The only items we need to bring are the bench stock and tools. It saves a lot of room when deploying. If we couldn't use these facilities, we would have to pack an additional pallet of equipment.

"The use of Polish facilities not only enables us to work from a forward deployed location in Poland but also gives the Airmen a chance to share knowledge with each other," added Metivier.

"It is a great opportunity to see how they do their job and their process," said Senior Airman Taylor Hendricks, 31st MXS wheel and tire specialist. "Their processes may be something we can learn and take back to our shop."

As NATO allies, it is important that all facets of the mission have the ability to work together successfully. The opportunity for the maintenance Airmen to work together builds rapport and interoperability between the two Air Forces.

"Our processes are very similar, and we don't have a problem helping out," said Starszy Sierzant (Polish Staff Sgt.) Przemyslaw Dudzicki, wheel and tire shop NCO in charge. "We also have a chance to work together and practice our English."

The seven F-16s from 510th Fighter Squadron and approximately 150 support personnel from the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Base, Italy, are here conducting joint training as part of the rotation at the aviation detachment. The 31st FW is supporting NATO exercises and bi-lateral training with the Polish air force designed to increase interoperability.

Marine Wheelchair Basketball Squad Tops Army

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Oct. 2, 2014 – Powered by a strong second-half defensive performance yesterday, the Marine Corps wheelchair basketball team triumphed 42-21 over the Army squad during the 2014 Warrior Games at the United States Olympic Training Center.

The win, the first for the Marines over Army, qualified the team to compete in the gold medal round.

The Marine Corps and Army wheelchair basketball squads clashed on the hardwood in the evening’s marquee game, providing plenty of excitement for their enthusiastic fans despite nearly an hour delay before the tip-off due to an archery event requiring a shoot-off.

Hard-fought contest

Nevertheless, both services’ fans clapped, stomped and shouted encouragement to their teams as the game began. This game was a tale of two halves for both teams.

Army led by a slight margin throughout the opening half as the Marines hung with them basket-for-basket. Carried by spectators’ cheers, the teams went into halftime with the Army team leading 16-14, having the benefit of more opportunities from the free-throw line.

However, things changed very quickly in the second half as the Army turned the ball over, foreshadowing one of the issues that would plague them throughout the remainder of the game.

The Marines clearly re-grouped during the half and came out with a fierce defensive display, employing full-court, man-to-man pressure. Making the most of this strategy, the Marines forced several turnovers and tied the game almost immediately.

Marines take the lead for good

Following another Army turnover, the Marines took the lead and never looked back. The Marine squad’s plan led to some forced and unforced turnovers, multiple three-second violations and visible frustration from their Army opponents.

Despite the Army squad’s valiant efforts to stay close, the Marines poured on baskets, earning trips to the charity stripe, and enjoying their 31-16 lead.

Ultimately, the Marines earned a trip to the gold medal round while seeing their long-running quest to defeat the Army team come to fruition, 42-21.

Army coach is philosophical

After the game, Jermell Pennie, the Army team’s head basketball coach, discussed how his team can improve.

“It’s a learning experience,” he said. “We didn’t come out with the right intensity ... But then as time went on, we got a little upset at each other, pointing the fingers here and there.

“It’s sports. You’re going to have your ups and downs or whatever,” Pennie continued. “We have another game tomorrow. [If] we win that game, we’ll see them again.”

Pennie said his team lacked intensity.

“I think if we bring intensity from the get-go, I think we’ll be fine,” he said.

Staying confident despite loss

Army player retired Sgt. 1st Class Charles Armstead said he’ll make sure his team remains confident.

“Stay confident, stay calm, stay patient [and] we’ll be okay,” he said. “We got a little flustered; we got a little out of our game plan.

“If we run our game plan … we’ll be fine,” Armstead continued. “In the first half we did a much better job executing the game plan. Second half, they gave us a little pressure and we fell apart a little bit.”

Armstead said he and his team will “just forget” this game since it’s over and there’s nothing they can do about it. But, they aren’t taking this loss lightly, he added.

“We definitely plan on seeing them again,” Armstead said, “so if we play tomorrow they’re going to be in for a treat. We’re pretty ticked off right now. This is our first loss, ever, in five years now, so we’re not taking that too lightly.”

Marines respect Army basketball squad

Marine Corps Pfc. Erik Webb said in the first half his team had to get rid of its jitters.

“We haven’t beat the Army in three-plus years, so we were all a little nervous,” Webb said. “We were overthinking plays that were really simple.

“[In] the second half, we were like, ‘Hey, everybody take a breath. Shots are going to come, the defense is there, so don’t worry about it,’” he continued. “They ended up [only] scoring five points in the second half.”

Reflections after victory

Webb said his team is feeling just great after the victory.

“We’re going to the gold [medal round],” he said. “That’s what we came for, practiced for, so we’re on top of the world right now.”

Webb has a message for the Army team in the event that they meet again on the hardwood.

“Best believe, the Marine Corps is coming back,” he said. “We will beat the Army.”

6 new AF Materiel Command units to form installation and mission support center

Published October 01, 2014

JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. (AFNS) -- Six Air Force organizations moved under Air Force Materiel Command Oct. 1, in a step toward integrating and forming the foundation of the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center when the center is formally activated in 2015.

The Air Force realigned four field operating agencies -- the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, Air Force Financial Services Center, Air Force Installation Contracting Agency and Air Force Security Forces Center -- to AFMC. Two additional organizations -- the Air Force Cost Analysis Agency's Financial Management Center of Expertise and the Air Force Personnel Center's Services Directorate -- were also realigned to the command.

Activated provisionally Aug. 8, AFIMSC will be the single intermediate-level headquarters providing installation and expeditionary support for commanders at Air Force installations and major commands, said Maj. Gen. Theresa Carter, the center's provisional commander.

"Our major commands have told us they are committed to making the AFIMSC successful,” she said. “When asked to define what it means to be successful, they said it needs to be a responsive, mission-focused organization that uses transparent processes to integrate requirements and deliver support to our installations, our Airmen and their families. The six organizations joining the AFMC and AFIMSC(P) team today will help us meet those requirements, now and in the future."

The center will provide program management, resourcing and support activities in key areas previously provided by 10 MAJCOMs, two direct reporting units and multiple FOAs. AFIMSC's installation support capabilities will include security forces, civil engineering, base communications, logistics readiness, installation ministry programs, services and operational contracting.

In addition to helping the Air Force make the best use of limited resources to manage and operate its installations, the activation of AFIMSC will help the Defense Department reduce costs and management staff levels by at least 20 percent.

"Centralized management of installation support capabilities at AFIMSC affords opportunity to make strategic decisions for the Air Force on installation support, maximizing the available resources," said Gen. Janet Wolfenbarger, the AFMC commander.

The Air Force is using its standard strategic basing process to evaluate candidate locations for AFIMSC headquarters and is scheduled to select a permanent location that best serves the mission of the center in early 2015. Eventually 350 people will be assigned to the headquarters.

The 10 candidate headquarters locations are Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana.; Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota; Hurlburt Field, Florida; Joint Base Andrews, Maryland; Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia; Joint Base San Antonio, Texas; Peterson AFB, Colorado; Scott AFB, Illinois.; Tyndall AFB, Florida; and Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.

A love story: healing the wounded warrior

by Senior Airman Jette Carr
Air Force News Service

10/2/2014 - VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AFNS) -- (This feature is part of the "Through Airmen's Eyes" series on AF.mil. These stories focus on a single Airman, highlighting their Air Force story.)

He was a young Air Force officer healing from a recent trauma and she was a dedicated single mother of two. Whether it was friends or fate that first brought them together, neither would have suspected that their chance meeting in Florida would be the key to his recovery.

Their introduction to each other was unlikely - not due to the events of the day they met, but of one roughly six months earlier, when Capt. Mitch Kieffer lay in a hospital bed in Iraq about to be medically evacuated to the states. He was suffering from injuries sustained after an improvised explosive device passed through his lightly armored SUV and damaged not only his body but also his mind.

Mitch said Ana Maria deserves credit for much of his continual improvement. It is also with her support that he is currently defending the title of "Ultimate Champion," a title he earned at the 2013 Warrior Games, a Paralympic-styled event.

After his convoy was attacked, Mitch entered into a world of pain. His head hurt constantly and he began to realize the manner and speed with which he had previously communicated had changed due to a traumatic brain injury.

"My cognitive processing speed was really slow," he said. "By the time someone was saying something to me and I was breaking down the message and figuring out what I thought of it and how to respond, the moment had passed. So I became pretty quiet because I just couldn't keep up with the speed of conversations."

Mitch said he was cognizant of his mental impairment. As a math major who enjoyed analytics, he was terrified by his new reality and the possibility of a worst case scenario - that his struggle could be permanent and his previous mental capacity was forever lost.

"That was the scary thing, because I couldn't think," he said. "I was trying, but nothing came to my head and I was pretty worried and I didn't have much hope. As time went on, however, I started to notice I could pick things up a little quicker and still learn. It gave me more willpower to push harder."

But Mitch admits it was his new family and the need to learn a new language that turned the tide on his learning process.

"It wasn't until I met my future wife and my lovely two daughters now, that I actually started learning or speaking Spanish. They are from Peru originally, and that was just the mental workout I needed to help build the connections (in my brain) that I'd kind of broken."

While the couple was dating, they took a trip to Peru to visit with Ana Maria's family. Mitch said that at the time he didn't know a "lick of Spanish," but afterward, he was inspired to pick it up. He began to use a combination of Rosetta Stone, the English-Spanish dictionary and cassette tapes during his drive to and from work to learn Spanish.

Ana Maria believes it made all the difference in the world.

"I noticed that he just started picking (the language) up fast, to the point that now he can -- it's not 100 percent, but I would say that it's 90 percent -- that he can communicate with my family," Ana Maria said, adding that she saw it also helped with his memory.

Ana Maria said Mitch's struggles and setbacks weren't apparent early in their relationship and she thought he was just a regular guy. She had never heard the terms TBI or PTSD.

"He came to me and told me, 'hey this is what I have,' and to me it was like, okay, just get it over with. Don't' worry stressing about it; you understand everybody has stress in their life ... he's like, 'no, this is something different.' So he gave me a couple websites and I just started looking and researching and reading material and then talking to other people."

The PTSD manifested in Mitch's life months after the TBI and added a new challenge to the relationship. Ana Maria started to see markers of the disease after they moved in together. Mitch was in school working on his master's degree in operations research at the Air Force Institute of Technology in Ohio, and they had started to plan their wedding. Stress was high.

"You fight with your spouse or your boyfriend, but the fights that you have with people with PTSD or TBI; it's different," Ana Maria said. "It's a different concept, so that's when I (started to) notice ... When I said something to him that would not be mean (to others), but to him was such a big deal, it was a little confusing."

The relationship had strains, but Ana Maria said she has never changed her mind about marrying Mitch. She made a commitment to take the good with the bad.

After his diagnosis, both began to educate themselves and are learning how to cope with PTSD, each in their own way. For Ana Maria, she said patience and understanding are two key elements. In a given situation, she tries to take a moment to recognize if Mitch is talking or acting a certain way because of the influence of PTSD before she reacts.

Through their trials, Mitch and Ana Maria still maintain that newlywed spirit. She sees in him a driven, loving husband and a great father; and Mitch never lost that feeling he got the first time he laid eyes on her.

"To me it was like love at first sight; for her, she tells me that she thinks I was a loser," he said teasing his wife. "I continue to tell the story that, no, she was smitten the first day that she saw me.

"It was just the right fit. I wasn't looking for anything. I was (working through issues) and hurting quite a bit, (but ultimately,) there was nothing I could do. I was just hit by the love truck," he chuckled.

Ultimately, their marriage is like any other. It takes effort and patience to make it work. Though they have additional battle scars to contend with, Mitch and Ana Maria said they will continue to face recovery head-on together.