Pittsburgh named best command installation

by Staff Sgt.Jonathan Hehnly
911th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

11/3/2014 - PITTSBURGH  -- Cheers erupted from the crowd as the 911th Airlift Wing commander delivered the news to more than 1,200 Airmen gathered for a commander's call Nov. 1.

Col. Jeffrey A. Van Dootingh enthusiastically announced that Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station was the Air Force Reserve Command's pick for the 2015 Commander-in-Chief's Annual Award for Installation Excellence.

"This is phenomenal," said Van Dootingh. "It's great to have the base and its outstanding Airmen get credit and recognition for what we knew all long. It takes a complete wing-wide effort to accomplish the mission."

The annual award recognizes the top five military installations that are the most effective at using their available resources to accomplish their mission and have demonstrated innovative progress in successful installation operations.

Every year, the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Defense Logistics Agency nominate their "best of the best" installation to be recognized by the president and the secretary of defense.

Pittsburgh ARS has represented the command four times in the Air Force competition. Pittsburgh competed against four other AFRC host installations and won $100,000.

Pittsburgh distinguished itself in each of the graded categories that measured installation management.efficiency and effectiveness. The award focused heavily on mission support group functions, encompassing 12 out of 18 graded categories.

"Reading through the award proposal I could not imagine anyone beating us," said Van Dootingh. "Every possible section was covered and the numbers were outstanding. The efficiencies that we gain here I think could be benchmarked throughout the Air Force."

The award proposal package highlighted the air reserve station's efficiency across all facets of the installation.

Setting itself apart from other installations, Pittsburgh ARS turns a profit for the Air Force through strategic partnerships with the community, to include a joint use agreement with Pittsburgh International Airport.

Construction of a new lodging and Navy facility won the installation Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold awards. Pittsburgh became a joint service installation with the construction of  the Navy Operational Support Center.

"We have so many accolades already from the past year that we have received, which made it relatively easy to put the package together and win," said Col. Stacey Scarisbrick, 911th Mission Support Group commander. "We won multiple AFRC awards and individual awards throughout the year."

Pittsburgh will now compete against active-duty bases for the distinction as the top Air Force installation and for the top prize of $1 million to be used for morale, welfare and recreation purposes.

Installation Excellence review committees will visit and inspect the top three installations.

"Competition is tough," said Van Dootingh. "We will be up against the best from each major command. I look at us as a David in comparison to some of the active-duty Goliaths. They have larger bases and a lot more resources, but as I recall David won in the end; so I think our chances are good."

Face of Defense: Sailors’ Artwork Showcases the Navy

By Navy Seaman Everett Allen

USS George Washington

WATERS NEAR GUAM, Nov. 4, 2014 – For more than 20 years, sailors have painted bulkheads, angle irons and decks on the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington. But for a talented group of artists aboard the vessel, painting is a pastime, a bonding experience and a unique way of telling the Navy’s story.

In October 2014, Aerographer’s Mate 3rd Class Kristena Huck, from Deming, Washington, and Machinist’s Mate Fireman Elizabeth Bowmer, from Astoria, Oregon, completed the painting of two large-scale murals on the ship’s aft mess decks.

One mural depicts USS George Washington “crossing the line,” and the other displays the diversity of sailors through the depiction of various “faces of the Navy.”

Artwork Features Members of Crew

“Four of the five faces are actually based on people around the ship,” Huck said. “It was fun to do because a variety of sailors volunteered to have a character in the painting modeled after their face, which allowed the mural to reflect some of the Navy’s ethnic diversity.”

Each mural spans more than 136 square feet. Although several sailors helped throughout the process of creating the murals, only two remained to see the project through to completion.

“There was a small group of us that were actively working on the murals at the beginning,” Huck said. “By the end, it was just Bowmer and I pushing each other to get the project done. We both have similar artistic styles, so the murals really blended together easily.”

Determined to Complete Work

Sometimes finding the time to work together on the mural became a challenge, but Bowmer and Huck were determined to finish.

“Since we have two different rates, we didn’t get to work on the project together very often,” Bowmer said. “But we did try to schedule it so that we worked at the same time, so that we could bounce ideas off of each other.”

According to Bowmer, they share a commonality in their artistic passion and skill, and their completion of the murals means the beginning of new painting endeavors.

“Even outside of this mural, Huck and I work on paintings pretty regularly,” Bowmer said. “We live in the same berthing, so we get to sit down in the lounge and work on artwork together.”

According to Bowmer, her desire to keep painting and designing will never wane.

“I plan to continue with this hobby,” she said. “Whether we’re underway or in port, I try to practice as much as I can to sharpen my skills. I plan on becoming a concept artist and art designer for video games after my enlistment in the Navy.”

Homestead pioneers emergency communications kits, joint exercise

by Senior Airman Jaimi L. Upthegrove
482nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs

11/3/2014 - HOMESTEAD AIR RESERVE BASE, Fla.  -- The 482nd Communications Squadron here pioneered a joint base recovery exercise designed to shape the way  communications squadrons throughout the Air Force Reserve respond during emergencies.

"We're really proud to be the first base to plan and hold a joint base recovery exercise. We want to show AFRC that we're serious about how we operate this program," said Maj. Michael Wells, 482nd CS commander.

Five Air Force Reserve units from across the nation came here Oct. 18-26 to practice setting up Joint Incident Site Communications Capability kits and develop kit operating instructions.

"We all came together as a way to improve our knowledge and abilities for when we're called to deploy in support of a natural disaster," said Capt. Ryan Liss, 482nd CS cyber transport systems officer in charge here. "This exercise is about learning from one another so we can demonstrate air superiority during outages."

Each kit is catered to the needs of the base and local area, but in essence each kit contains telephones, land mobile radios, a satellite dish, laptops, and network connection equipment. All the tools necessary to keep key leaders informed of what is happening in and around the base during an outage.

"With this kit we can sync our radio frequencies with the responding local authorities so we can coordinate our efforts during emergencies," said Liss. "Being able to communicate is crucial to successfully handling any emergency and ours is specifically designed to hold that function at any military installation between the Keys and Tampa."

Participating units included the 452nd Communications Squadron, March Air Reserve Base, California, 440th Communications Flight, Pope Army Airfield, North Carolina, 914th Communications Squadron, Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, New York, and the 94th Communications Squadron, Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia.

"The exercise allowed us to network with our sister squadrons at the hands-on level," said Wells. "We glean operating and repair information you can't obtain anywhere else."

With hurricane season at its peak, the timing was right for a practice run.

"During the response to the 9/11 attacks, inter-agency first responders weren't able to effectively communicate with one another which brought the concept of these kits into the minds of the emergency management community," said 1st Lt. J. Anthony Rubio, 482nd CS cyber systems operations officer in charge. "The concept became a reality when the issue arose again during the response to Hurricane Katrina, and the kits were put together shortly after."

Rubio said there was currently no standardization among the kits or instructions on how they should be used. He said the base recovery exercise mainly focused on what worked and what didn't so the teams could start drafting instructions to ensure efficient utilization of the kits.

The units spent most of the week setting up and tearing down the kits provided by the 482nd and 914th CS so that when disaster knocks on their door, they'll be ready.

"We were able to let some of our new technicians touch every piece of the JISCC operation. That isn't usually possible during a busy UTA," said Wells. "Working together with the other units has been great. They've come up with some really creative ideas that we can use here."

Once the manual labor was completed, the units started the process of tailoring comprehensive operating instructions to meet the needs of each distinct unit.
Meanwhile, members of the 482nd CS put themselves to the test while wing inspection team members inspected them as part of the ongoing Unit Effectiveness Inspection cycle Oct. 23.

"For the first of its kind, this inspection was a success," said Liss. "The members performed very well, mistakes were made, but nothing critical that can't be fixed with time, training, or a baseline operating instruction."

Representatives from the Army, Navy, and Broward county emergency management office came out to watch as the members demonstrated their proficiency during the inspection.

"We received a positive reaction from the guests that came out during the inspection," said Liss. "We were able to develop some potential future exercises from this and incorporate some of the local emergency response teams."

The operating instruction drafts will be sent to the units that weren't present for review and then package everything for Air Force Reserve Command headquarters to review and potentially implement.

"This was a big step forward in standardizing how we provide emergency communications support, and we look forward to this being an annual event that rotates between AFRC bases," said Wells.

815th AS provides support for Operation Southern Strike

by Master Sgt. Brian Lamar
403rd Wing Public Affairs

10/31/2014 - KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- A large mechanical whir fills the back of the C-130J as the back ramp doors begin to slowly open like a pair of iron jaws. Chief Master Sgt. Troy Peltier, a loadmaster with the 815th Airlift Squadron at Keesler, turns to the 25 paratroopers from the Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment as they peer into the coal-black night, and signals for them to get ready to plunge into darkness.

It's time to jump

A dim green glow fills the cargo bay of the C-130J. All white light sources have been switched to a type of lighting that helps the paratrooper's eyes adjust to the night as they prepare to jump. Screams of commands like, "Stand Up, Hook Up," fill the bay as the first load of paratroopers hook their parachute equipment to a long cable called a static line which will pull their parachute from their packs when they exit the aircraft. With the doors open and the cool, but humid night air churning in the plane, the signal to go is screamed and without hesitation, the first six men step off the end of the ramp one-by-one.

At 1,250 feet, it will take a handful of seconds for the troops to reach the ground as they jump into the night sky at 150 miles per hour. The jump is a small part of a large-scale two-week training exercise called Operation Southern Strike 15, which is taking place over most of South Mississippi and involves more than 50 separate military units.

According to Army 1st Sgt. Shawn Ludwig, a paratrooper with the 160th headquartered at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, only about six paratroopers can jump at one time due to the smallness of the drop zone so the plane made several passes to safely drop all 25 soldiers on target. Making repeated passes over the same area can be a dangerous assignment for aircrew in an active combat zone.

Tactical Insertion

According to the exercise scenario, the 815thAirlift Squadron's task was to take the 160th paratroopers to a specific location over the fictitious country of the People's Bayou Republic, which in reality is the Camp Shelby, National Guard Training Center, to establish and secure a Forward Armed Refueling Point for helicopters to land and fill their fuel tanks during one of the many scenarios of the operation.

"This is great practice. Anytime you jump at night, it refines your capabilities and is extremely worthwhile," said Ludwig, as he checked the troop next to him for deficiencies in his equipment.

The 160th SOAR is an Army special operations unit also known as the Night Stalkers. The 160th provides helicopter aviation support for general purpose forces and special operations forces. Its missions include attack, assault, and reconnaissance, and are usually conducted at night, at high speeds, low altitudes, and on short notice.

According to Maj. William Miller, 815th AS aircraft commander, the mission was considered a success as all 25 special-forces paratroopers safely exited the C-130J and were tactical inserted into the battlefield with no damage to the aircraft.

The 815th mission is to support theater commanders with the ability to resupply the forces, provide airlift requirements within the combat zone or forward areas and provide aeromedical evacuation. The unit performs precision air drop of supplies and paratroopers in all weather conditions either day or night and can perform day or night airlift capabilities in hostile areas.

"You can't measure success [in training] by how things went. Success, in my opinion, is measured on what you learn, and how you are able to implement what you learn from a training mission," said Miller.

Training how you fight

The purpose for Operation Southern Strike is to test the participating Active Army and Air Force Units, as well as, Army and Air National Guard and Reserve unit's ability to Provide cost effective and realistic combat training in a Joint and Multi-national environment.

This exercise provides units with practice in close air support, en-route casualty care, combat search and rescue, special operations forces and suppression/destruction of enemy air defenses in a counter-insurgency scenario.

The goal of the exercise is to provide training opportunities to maintain top combat readiness in all assigned unit tasking code specialties, said Col. Craig Ziemba, the Southern Strike Exercise director with the Mississippi Air National Guard Joint Forces Headquarters in Jackson, Mississippi.

The exercise is designed to use scenarios to simulate what is happening in Russia and Ukraine, said Ziemba.

"What's happening right here on the coast would be similar to if Russia suddenly decided to take some more land space and declare a 'no-fly zone' over it and say, 'it's ours,'" said Ziemba.

The 815th also supported the exercise by flying an aeromedical evacuation mission Oct. 30, to test the en-route patient care methods and technology on the battlefield by transforming their C-130J into a flying hospital.

While, the 815th crew handled their part of the mission of flying injured troops to a medical staging area, the medical personnel in the back of the plane, simulated life-saving techniques used in areas of operation like Afghanistan.

"This was a great opportunity to demonstrate and test our capability," said Lt. Col. Robert Stanton, the 403rd Operations Group deputy commander.

McConnell Airman nominated for Robbie Risner Award

by Airman 1st Class Tara Fadenrecht
22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

10/31/2014 - MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. -- After surpassing both the wing and Air Mobility Command levels, McConnell's Maj. Derrick Baker, 22nd Operations Support Squadron wing tactics officer, is now in the running to receive the Air Force 2013 Robbie Risner Award.

The award is named after Brig. General Robinson "Robbie" Risner, a highly decorated combat veteran held as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam for more than seven years.

It annually recognizes the outstanding U.S. Air Force Weapons School graduate based on performance as a weapons officer following graduation.

Nominees must show excellence in areas of leadership, instructor ability and programs.

Baker attended the USAFWS Jan. 7 through June 1, 2013 and immediately began to put his training to use.

His accomplishments include becoming the aircraft commander for the first ever aerial refueling on multilateral training missions into Jordan and developing a new training program for command and control systems used on deployed KC-135R Stratotankers. His innovation brought the mission effectiveness of the systems up to 99 percent.

"Maj. Baker is a good leader because his focus is on instruction and the development of his students," said Lt. Col. Brian Backman, 22nd Operations Support Squadron commander and Baker's supervisor. "His critical thinking skills have helped him to identify problems, analyze situations and develop solutions, producing meaningful programs for aircrew instruction."

Baker attributed much of his success to the support from his KC-135 instructor community.

"It's very humbling," said Baker. "Individual awards are never possible without an outstanding team supporting each other. I'd like to thank everyone I've worked with at McConnell Air Force Base and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base over the past year."

The 2013 Risner winner will be announced and awarded at the class 14B graduation Dec. 13, 2014.

Organization Honors Community Members for Troop Support

By Shannon Collins

DoD News Features, Defense Media Activity

FORT MEADE, Md., Nov. 3, 2014 – Three individuals and a couple in the national capital region received the 2014 Military Officer Association of America Community Heroes Awards recently for their efforts to support service members, military families and veterans.

“We are privileged to recognize some of the outstanding members of the Washington, D.C., metro area -- military and civilian communities who devote their time and energy to helping wounded service members,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Norb Ryan, MOAA’s president.

This year’s winners are Leah Hernandez, Kristen Querriera, Brendan O’Toole and retired Navy Master Chief Petty Officer Ken Falke and his wife, Julia.

Leah Hernandez

Growing up with a dad who served in the Army for 20 years, Hernandez said, she saw her mom as a superwoman who held everybody and everything together. So when her husband came back from his third deployment to Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder, her mother was her role model, and Hernandez was there not only for her husband, but for others as well.

“Many of the soldiers in the Warrior Transition Unit were no different than my husband, but they didn’t have the same support,” she said. “These soldiers only had each other while they battled through their PTSD and other problems. It’s only in my nature to help others. I enjoy making other people feel good. Who better to make smile and feel good then the ones who have involuntary disconnected from feeling any emotion due to their medical issues?”

Hernandez has devoted more than 2,500 hours caring for her husband and other soldiers who suffer from combat injuries and are assigned to the Warrior Transition Unit at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. In addition to being her husband’s main caretaker, she cares for other wounded warriors by reminding them of their medical appointments, providing transportation to appointments when needed, providing wake-up calls in the morning, cooking and delivering dinners, ensuring barracks rooms are clean and calling to make sure they are feeling well after a procedure or surgery.

She has taken several wounded warriors under her wing, providing them comfort, lending an ear, a shoulder to cry on, and checking in multiple times during bad days to see if they are in good spirits. She regularly organizes activities specific to soldiers suffering from PTSD, including fishing, going to the movies, going to restaurants and taking bike rides. She also assists them with integrating back into society.

She said she is honored with the award and for representing caregivers.

“These soldiers have given their all. Everybody needs somebody, even if they say they don’t. It doesn’t feel like I should be awarded for helping soldiers in need because I would only hope that if my husband was geographically separated from us, that someone would look out for him the say way,” Hernandez said.

Kristen Querriera

Querriera is the founder, CEO and chair of the board of Operation Troop Appreciation, a Pittsburgh-based all-volunteer organization whose mission is to build and sustain the morale of deployed troops, enabling them to complete their missions with the assurance the American public supports and appreciates their selfless service and daily sacrifices, she said.

For more than 10 years, OTA has solicited monetary and in-kind donations exceeding $1 million, with 98 cents of every dollar donated going directly to fund projects that support service members, such as ballistic eyeglasses, fire-retardant work gloves, sports equipment and musical instruments. The items were shipped to Iraq, Afghanistan and throughout the Middle East during operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

At the beginning of 2014, OTA launched a “Welcome Home” program that helps at-risk veterans and their families with a fresh start in a new home. The organization provides them with beds, mattresses, bedding, kitchen supplies and other household items to get them started in a new home.

Querriera said she founded OTA to help those who serve.

“Wanting to do something to serve those who spend so much time and energy serving us is what drives me to continue our mission,” she said. “It’s important to have organizations supporting our military so our troops know they aren’t alone, that they know there are people back home remembering, supporting and loving them while they are so far away. They give so much of themselves, work so hard and so long, and just knowing and seeing that people are tangibly supporting them makes a huge difference in their morale.

“The response we receive from our deployed troops is overwhelming,” she continued. “Their emails and letters fill our eyes with happy tears, and the smiles in their pictures are the best paychecks we could ever get. No one at OTA receives compensation -- from the board members to the officers to the volunteers. No one receives a dime for their work. But knowing and seeing the difference we make in our troops’ lives is the best kind of compensation.”

She said she is humbled by the award and encourages others to volunteer.

“I am thrilled and honored to be named a 2014 MOAA Community Hero,” Querriera said. “It’s humbling to be in this lineup of amazing patriotic Americans.

“It’s so important for everyone to do some sort of volunteer or outreach activity, whether it’s for the military, a school, church or charity,” she added. “With a young family myself, I know how important it is to model that kind of behavior to our young children. And the smallest act can mean the world to someone on the receiving end. Whether it’s taking a meal to a disabled veteran, or writing letters to deployed troops, or simply saying ‘Thank you’ to a military member in uniform, it’s vitally important that as civilian Americans, we show our support, love and appreciation to our military.”

Brendan O’Toole

A 25-year-old former Marine Corps sergeant, O’Toole has dedicated himself to increasing public awareness of veterans’ struggles and their incredible strength. After a fellow Marine and friend committed suicide and while struggling with his own transition to civilian life, he said, he decided to make a difference.

With only $500 between him and his friends from T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia, O’Toole created The Run for Veterans, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to honor the men and women who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq. He has run cross-country to raise awareness and money to support veterans and their families. To create awareness in local communities, he has spoken with community leaders and citizens across America about how they could make a difference for transitioning veterans.

His organization has raised more than $500,000, which has been donated to three nonprofit organizations that provide mental, physical and social well-being programs for veterans and their families.

Retired Navy Master Chief Petty Officer Ken Falke and Julia Falke

Falke served in explosive ordnance disposal for 21 years in the Navy. When he retired, he created his own company, and when he and his wife, Julia, began to visit combat-injured explosive ordnance disposal service members in the hospital, they were surprised by how few services were available to wounded veteran families. So the Falkes often would pay to fly family members to Washington to be with their service members. To ensure there was a sustainable organization to support and provide for these service members and their families, they began their nonprofit organization, EOD Warrior Foundation.

They also created the Boulder Crest Retreat for Military and Veteran Wellness, donating 37 acres of their 200-acre estate in Bluemont, Virginia, and giving $1 million of their own money to start the project. Boulder Crest Retreat’s mission is to provide a free, first-class rural wellness retreat dedicated to helping America’s military members and veterans and their families recover from visible and invisible wounds by providing rest and reconnection time, reintegration training and nontraditional and recreational therapies.

Falke said he and his wife donate both time and money to both foundations to ensure they will be around for the future. He also said they receive positive responses from those they help.

“The responses we get from those we help are amazing,” he added. “We also provide emergency financial relief and scholarships. All of this programming is so needed that it is simply is indescribable on the reactions and gratitude we receive from our guests.”

Though they are honored to receive the community hero award, Falke said, he and Julia don’t feel like heroes.

“We do what we do because we love those that we serve,” he added. “We have never wanted any awards or recognition for our work, but we are so appreciative.”

Falke said he encourages others to consider volunteering in their communities.

“Helping out in your community is the second most important thing you can do after firstly, taking care of your family,” he said. “We can solve so many problems at the community level. Get involved in efforts where you can really see that your efforts impact those in need.”

He also encourages volunteering to help veterans.

“I grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, during and after the Vietnam War,” he said. “I remember very clearly how poorly our Vietnam veterans were welcomed home. This has been the longest war in the history of the United States, and our volunteer military is the best in our history. We must take better care of our warfighters than we have in the past. It is our duty as citizens whether we wear the uniform or not.”