peninsula warrior march 2, 2012 army edition

ARMY EDITION

COMMAND CHANGE53rd Transportation

Battalion— Page 3

March 2, 2012Vol. 3, No. 9

HISTORY MONTHFort Eustis celebrates

African-American History— Page 8

Publ ished in the in te res t o f personne l a t Jo in t Base Langley-Eus t is • www.pen insu lawar r io r.com

FREE GAS

Langley 1st sergeants surprise junior Airmen— 5

J O I N T B A S E L A N G L E Y - E U S T I S

WarriorTransition Unit motivatesSoldiers with ‘adaptive sports’

— Page 12

2 www.peninsulawarrior.com • The Peninsula Warrior - Army • MARCH 2, 2012

MARCH 2, 2012 • The Peninsula Warrior - Army • www.peninsulawarrior.com 3

By Sgt. 1st Class Kelly Jo Bridgwater andStaff Sgt. Ashley Hawkins7TH SUSTAINMENT BRIGADE AND 633RD AIR BASEWING PUBLIC AFFAIRS

The 53rd Transportation Battalion, 7thSustainment Brigade conducted a changeof command ceremony the morning ofFeb. 28 at Fort Eustis’ Anderson FieldHouse to officially welcome Lt. Col. Ste-phen W. Ledbetter as battalion command-er, and to bid a heartfelt farewell to outgo-ing commander, Lt. Col. Corey A. New.

“I am humbled and honored at the op-portunity to command,” said Ledbetter.“And I will do my best to care for everySoldier, civilian and family member with-in this battalion each and every day.”

Colonel Steve M. Cherry, commander,7th Sust. Bde. (Provisional), and ceremo-ny reviewing officer, addressed the crowdof Soldiers, leaders, distinguished guests,and family members sharing the numer-ous successes of the battalion to includetheir recent deployment to Joint BaseBalad, Iraq, in support of Operation NewDawn where they coordinated and exe-cuted the redeployment and reposture offorces out of Iraq.

“Under Lt. Col. New’s leadership dur-ing the past three years, his battalion’s ac-complishments are almost too numerousto name,” said Cherry. “You have made

significant contributions to your battalionand this brigade.”

He offered best wishes to him in the fu-ture, and then turned his direction to Led-better in the front row.

“Lt Col. Ledbetter, you have some bigshoes to fill, but I’m convinced that basedon your resume and reputation of doingextremely well, that you will make a tre-mendous impact on your new team. Youare inheriting a great battalion with anoutstanding reputation,” said Cherry.

Ledbetter, a native of Hendersonville,Tenn., received his commission into theTransportation Corps in December of 1993.Most recently he served as the Chief of Op-erations, 528th Sust. Bde. (Special Opera-tions) (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.

New was recently selected for thegrade of colonel, and accepted into thecommand and staff college. He said ithas been an honor to lead and serve withall Soldiers and Airmen at Fort Eustisand in Iraq.

“What we accomplished as part of alarger team was historic, and set the ex-ample for all future conflicts when itcomes to responsibly leaving a theater ofoperations,” said New.

Anative of Rumford, Maine, New attend-ed the Infantry Officer Basic Course in 1991upon his commissioning, and later trans-ferred to the Transportation Corps in 1993.

Fort Eustis now has two Installation Status hotline numbers up and running: 878-6181 and 878-6182

Photos by Sergeant 1st Class Kelly Jo Bridgwater

U.S. Army Col. Stephen Cherry IV (right), 7th Sustainment Brigade Commander, passes

the guidon to Lt. Col. Stephen W. Ledbetter, incoming commander of the 53rdTranspor-

tation Battalion, during a change of command ceremony at Anderson Field House, Fort

Eustis, Feb. 28.

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Stephen W. Ledbetter, 53rdTransportation Battalion commander, ren-

ders a salute to his battalion during the change of command ceremony. Ledbetter’s pre-

vious position was chief of operations at Fort Bragg, N.C.

“I am humbled and honoredat the opportunity to command.And I will do my best to care forevery Soldier, civilian and familymember within this battalioneach and every day.”— Lt. Col. Stephen W. Ledbetter

53rd Transportation Battalionnew commander


221ST MILITARY POLICE DETACHMENT

The most important decision a Mili-tary Police Soldier, Security Forces Air-man or civilian police officer can makeis whether or not to engage deadly forceupon a person. The 221st Military PoliceDetachment and 733rd Security Forc-es Squadron conducted TASER trainingFeb. 17-23, in order to certify their per-sonnel on the X26 TASER.

The 733rd SFS is in the process of field-ing this equipment to be used by personnelperforming law enforcement on Joint BaseLangley-Eustis. With the new, remarkableadvances in technology, the MPs and SFScan now serve and protect the JBLE com-munities with less-than-lethal means.

“We now have the technology to stopthat individual who is combat trained,mentally deranged, or under the influenceof drugs and alcohol,” said U.S. ArmyCapt. Samantha Hoxha, 221st MPD com-mander, commenting on the importance ofthe use of this new technology.

Hoxha, Mark Webb, 733rd SFS detective,and U.S. Army Sgt. Nathan Lesperance,221st MPD policeman, enlightened their

students on the details and operations ofthe TASER.

Training consisted of classroom instruc-tion, practical-application exercises andvoluntary exposure where volunteerswere afforded the opportunity to experi-ence the effects of the TASER first hand.

The X26 TASER, Electro-Muscular Dis-ruptor is a commercial device used to firetwo barbed projectiles into a target withthe purpose of delivering an electricalshock to subdue the target without harmto the target or the operator. The EMDweapons stun and override the centralnervous system causing uncontrollablecontractions of the muscle tissue.

Courtesy photo

U.S. Army Sgt. Nathaniel Lesperance (right), 221st Military Police Detachment policeman,

employs a TASER on Staff Sgt. Kyle Daun (left-center), 221st MPD policeman, during vol-

untary exposure training at Fort Eustis Feb. 17.The 221st MPD and 733rd Security Forces

Squadron conductedTASER training in order to certify their personnel on the X26TASER.

JBLE law enforcementcertified for TASER use

The X26 TASER, Electro-MuscularDisruptor is a commercial deviceused to fire two barbed projectiles

into a target with the purposeof delivering an electrical shock

to subdue the target withoutharm to the target or the operator.

Check us out online at www.peninsulawarrior.com

634 J. Clyde Morris Blvd.Newport News, Virginia 23601

(757) 595-9721

LUNCH BUFFET(11:00AM-3:30PM)$$5.995.99

VOTED BEST ASIAN BUFFET

The Virginian-Pilot READER'S CHOICE AWARD

OVER 250 ITEMS DAILY!

MONGOLIAN GRILL & SEAFOOD BUFFET

757-877-8883 • www.buffetcityofva.comHours: Monday - Sunday: 11:00am - 10:00pm

BUFFET CITYBUFFET CITY10% 10%

Active Military Active Military Discount w/IDDiscount w/ID

14346 Warwick Blvd #440 • Newport News, VA 23602

Banquet Room

Available!

2011


By Tech. Sgt. Jess D. HarveyAIR FORCE PUBLIC AFFAIRS AGENCY

Investment in space programs was a priority in thisyear’s Air Force budget, according to Undersecretary ofthe Air Force Erin Conaton.

Air Force leaders sought to sustain and modernizethe capabilities that enable the service to support theDepartment of Defense’s new strategic guidance, Cona-ton told reporters during a media roundtable Feb. 17 inthe Pentagon.

The U.S. military continues to rely heavily on Air Forcespace programs for a wide variety of activities that allowthe military to be effective on the battlefield, she said.

As the Air Force went into the current budget cycle, shesaid, Air Force leaders were committed to aligning theservice with the new DOD strategic guidance releasedJan. 5, which included protecting programs in the budgetthat support main Air Force mission areas such as space.

“You see space highlighted in a variety of parts of the(DOD) strategy as critical to the full variety of missionsthat we take on, from the counterterrorism fight on thelow end to the anti-access, area-denial challenge on thehigh end,” she said.

Conaton said that key capabilities such as missilewarning, satellite communications, launch and spacesituational awareness were protected in this year’sbudget to ensure continued support to warfighters andspace operations around the globe.

Addressing the reduction in overall funding levels for thefiscal 2013 space program budget over last year, the under-secretary explained that this was due to four reasons.

“First, a lot of our programs have moved out of thedevelopmental phase and are in production at thispoint,” Conaton said. “Obviously, that has a differentfunding profile.

“Second, our partners in Congress were incrediblygenerous in helping to robust the Wideband Global Sat-ellite communications program, which allowed us tonot have to fund additional satellites in that programthis year,” she said.

Third, Congress decided to terminate the DefenseWeather Satellite System program, so funding for thatwas no longer needed in the fiscal 2013 budget, Cona-ton said.

And lastly, she said, the Air Force had to make somehard budget decisions on what areas could be scaledback or cut from the space program.

“When we looked at things like the Satellite Modern-ization Initiative line ... we had to take some reductionsthere,” she said. “The department also decided to go adifferent path in terms of how we deal with operation-ally responsive space and to no longer use a stand-aloneORS program.”

AT&Tsalutesall thosewho let freedomring.

Limited 4G LTE availability in select markets. 4G speeds delivered by LTE, or HSPA+ with enhanced backhaul,where available. Deployment ongoing. LTE is a trademark of ETSI. Learn more at att.com/network.

FREE SHIPPING | 1.866.MOBILITY – ATT.COM – VISIT A STORE

Military personnel receive15%offmonthly qualified charges.

GETA

FREEPANTECHBURST™

New 2-yr agreement withqualifying voice and data plans required.

BUYAPANTECHELEMENT™FOR

$24999New 2-yr agreement and

qualifying data plan required.

Limited-time offer. $249.99 price requires bundle purchase (Pantech Element with 2-yr agreement and min $35/mo. data plan and Pantech Burst with 2-yr agreement and voice (min $39.99/mo.) andmonthly data plan (min $20/mo.)). If tablet is returned within 14 days or smartphone returned within 30 days of bundled purchase, you will be charged the difference between the discounted price andnondiscounted price for the device not returned. Subject to Wireless Customer Agrmt. Credit approval req’d. Activ fee $36/line. Geographic, usage, and other terms, conditions, and restrictions apply andmay result in svc termination. Coverage and svcs not avail everywhere. Taxes and other charges apply. Data (att.com/dataplans): If usage exceeds your monthly data allowance, you will automaticallybe charged overage for additional data provided. Early Termination Fee (att.com/equipmentETF): After 30 days, ETF up to $325. Restocking fee up to $35 on smartphones and up to 10% of tablet salesprice. Other Monthly Charges: Line may include a Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge (up to $1.25), a gross receipts surcharge, federal and state universal svc charges, and fees and charges for other gov’tassessments. These are not taxes or gov’t req’d charges. Visit a store or att.com/wireless to learn more about wireless devices and services from AT&T. Monthly Discount: Service discountapplies only to the monthly service charge of qualified plans and not to any other charges. See store for details. Special restrictions may apply. Screen images simulated. Pantech, Burst, and Element aretrademarks of Pantech Co., Ltd. ©2012 AT&T Intellectual Property.

Comevisit ourDevice SupportCenter locatedat5802 E VIRGINIA BEACHBLVD., SUITE 127, NORFOLK,VA 23502, (757)285-8010HOURSOFOPERATION: MON–SAT: 9AM–9PM; SUN: 10AM–7PM


By Airman 1st Class Austin C. Harvill633RD AIR BASEWING PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Tops in Blue is for the elite musiciansand entertainers of theAir Force; a oncein a lifetime opportunity... or is it?

Staff Sgt. Anthoney M. Williams, afirefighter with the 633rd Civil Engi-neer Squadron, has been selected foranother round at Lackland Air ForceBase, Texas, as a trumpeter for the expe-ditionary entertainment unit.

To enter Tops in Blue, participantsmust first submit an audition video tobe reviewed by Tops in Blue personnel.After initial cuts, the remaining hope-fuls go to a 10-day competition at Lack-land AFB. Those selected are put onthe team for that year, according to theTops in Blue official website, www.top-sinblue.com.

Williams did his first tour with Topsin Blue soon after his enlistment in Au-gust 2007. While he was in technicaltraining, he saw a flyer for Tops in Blue.As an avid trumpet player, he said hewas intrigued.

After submitting his rendition of“Don’t Know Why” by Nora Jones, theteenage trumpeter was selected, andwent to Lackland to audition for a spotin Tops in Blue, he said.

“I was beyond ecstatic,” he said, “Butalso I didn’t know what to expect.”

As a new recruit to both theAir Forceand Tops in Blue, Williams describedhis experiences as a rollercoaster ofchallenges and enjoyment. Going backtohis jobasafirefighterwasequallybit-tersweet.

“They were like family by then,” hesaid.”I was happy to be done with thework, but at the same time I knew Iwould miss it all.”

Being an active-duty firefighter was apleasant change of pace, Williams said.Tops in Blue encourages its members tocontinue training and schooling in theirrespective job fields, but Williams felthe had enough to do already as a mu-sician.

Once theyoungAirmanbecameStaffSgt. Williams, he felt it was time to lookinto the unit a second time.

Being more seasoned in both hispractice and his Air Force career, Wil-liams wanted to add a leadership ele-ment to his second tour of Tops in Blue

as a noncommissioned officer.“I was confident until I saw they ex-

pected more from me as a returningmember,” explained Williams.

The young sergeant expects they willhave him be more involved with thetechnical aspects of the tour as well.

According to the Tops in Blue web-site, the touring unit is expected to setup the 60,000 pounds of staging, light-ing and other accoutrements associatedwith any given show.

“People don’t know we did it all our-selves,” said Williams. “We are the oneswho put up the stage; no one does it forus.”

Before there was Staff Sgt. Williams,there wasAnthoney Williams from Val-dosta, Ga., who picked up the trumpetin sixth grade band class.

“My older brother played and Iwanted to be like him,” said Williams.

From that point, Williams said he fellin love with the trumpet. He played in

his church band at first, and then grad-uated to jazz and marching band whenhe entered high school.

During the summer before his ju-nior year, Williams moved to Taco-ma, Wash. He continued to play in jazzand marching band in his junior year.However he didn’t like the musical dif-ference from east to west, so he didn’tcontinue during his final year in highschool. Instead, Williams joined somefriends and played bass guitar at openmic nights.

After graduation, Williams enlist-ed in the Air Force and continued toplay trumpet at any opportunity, a hab-it which has been rewarded time andtime again.

Tops in Blue will travel around theworld in 2012 as both entertainers andambassadors of both the Air Force andthe U.S. The 2011 Tops in Blue “RhythmTour” ended Jan. 25, and the unit isgathering the members for next year.

Airman rises to the ‘Top’

Photo by Airman 1st Class Austin C. Harvill

Staff Sgt.Anthoney M.Williams, a firefighter with the 633rd Civil Engineer Squad-

ron, was selected for a second tour withTops in Blue.Williams picked up the trum-

pet in sixth grade, playing it throughout high school and hisAir Force career.

INSURANCECLAIMS HONORED

FRAME STRAIGHTENING

FIBER GLASSREPAIR

FREE ESTIMATES

24 HOUR TOWING

874-5621Open for your convenienceM-F: 8AM -6PM Sat: 8AM - 2PM

908 Lucas Creek Rd.Newport News, VA

MENTION THIS PUBLICATION FOR COMPLIMENTARY EXAM

Thomas W. Butterfoss, D.M.D., P.C.

Jennifer L. Butterfoss Barton, D.D.S., M.S.Diplomate, American Board of Orthodontics

New Patients Welcome Major Insurance Accepted • Invisalign Provider

www.drbutterfoss.com

LOCATIONS:• 4310 George Washington Memorial Highway, Grafton 898-5448

• 2111 Hartford Rd., Hampton 838-3400• 6882-A Main Street, Gloucester 804-695-2575

SPECIALISTS IN ORTHODONTICSBraces For Adults and Children

Vehicles Include Taxes, Hardplates, and Insurance.Get your base sticker NOW!

BAY AUTO WHOLESALECall for a free round-trip ride!

497-4000 or 1-800-394-3939We are an approved M.A.P.P. Dealer

CALL TOLL FREE1-877-411-1169

HARRY H. HEYSON IIIAttorney At Law

Divorce, Uncontested ................ $175Separation Agreement ................ $75

★Fault and Contested Divorces★Custody Hearings

Mariner Bldg., Suite 10312388 Warwick Blvd., N.N

FREE INITIALCONSULTATION 595-1155

from


By Tech. Sgt. Richard A. Williams Jr.AIR FORCE PUBLIC AFFAIRS AGENCY

Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley highlightedthe service’s need to continue future modernization plansduring remarks to approximately 400 Airmen, industryofficials and Air Force Association members Feb. 24 here.

Donley spoke on the second day of the Air Force Asso-ciation’s 2012 Air Warfare Symposium and TechnologyExposition, telling attendees the Air Force must recapi-talize needed capabilities despite fiscal challenges.

“Yet, the new strategic guidance also requires continu-ing modernization, both to recapitalize aging systemsand platforms and to address the proliferation of mod-ern technologies and threats,” Donley said.

To meet this requirement, the secretary said serviceleaders determined that the Air Force’s best course of ac-tion is to trade size for quality.

“We will become smaller in order to protect a high qualityand ready force, that will continue to modernize and growmore over time,” he said.“In this decision, we soughtthe proper balance betweentoday’s Air Force and meet-ing the immediate needs of combatant commanders, whilealso laying the groundwork for theAir Force our nation willneed ten years from now and beyond.”

While the fiscal 13 budget proposal slows the pace andscope of modernization,Air Force officials took measures toprotect programs that are critical to future warfighter needsas outlined in the new strategic guidance, Donley said.

He said these programs include the Long Range Strikebomber; the KC-46A refueling tanker; key space programssuch as Space-Based Infrared System and Advanced Ex-tremely High Frequency satellites, as well as follow-on GPSwork; advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnais-sance; and initiatives related to the Air-Sea Battle concept.

Building fifth-generation fighter capabilities is alsocritical, Donley. said

“We remain fully committed to the F-35 (Lightning IIjoint strike fighter),” he said. “This is the future of thefighter force, not only for the Air Force, Navy, and Ma-rine Corps, but for about eleven other air forces as well.The F-35 remains the largest single Air Force program,accounting for nearly 15 percent of our total investment.”

The secretary said that one of the keys to successful modern-ization within the Air Force is an effective acquisition process.

“Recapturing acquisition excellence has been a top priori-ty for the Air Force, and in the last few years we have madeimportant progress in....revitalizing the acquisition work-force, improving our requirements generation process, in-stilling budget and financial discipline, improving sourceselections, and establishing clear lines of authority and ac-countability within our acquisition organizations,” he said.

SecAF: Air Forcemust continueto modernize

For a longer versionof this story, visit www.peninsulawarrior.com

Give the gift of life - Please give blood


FeatureStory

By Tetaun Moffett633RD AIR BASE WING PUBLIC AFFAIRS

It was near standing room only duringthe Fort Eustis’ African-American HistoryMonth observance at Jacobs Theater Feb.24. This year’s event, sponsored by theFort Eustis Army Training Support Center,was attended by Soldiers, Airman, civil-ian employees and family members; whopacked out the theater to celebrate the leg-acy of African-American women.

According to President Barrack Obama’sNational African-American HistoryMonth proclamation for 2012, this year’stheme, “Black Women in American Cul-ture and History,” focuses on the coura-geous visionaries who led the fight to endslavery, and tenacious activists who foughtto expand basic civil rights to all Ameri-cans, African American women have longserved as champions of social and politicalchange.

During the celebration, the Hamp-ton University Department of Fine andPerforming Arts’, “Hampton Players”performed a myriad of short skits, tra-ditional dances and songs, celebrating Af-rican-American women in history.

Keynote speaker Col. Angelia D. Farnell,111th Military Intelligence Brigade com-mander at Fort Huachuca, Ariz., shared aheartfelt message reflecting on the histo-ry and accomplishments of African-Amer-

ican women.“As we all look back at what others have

done, we often need to look ahead at whatwe can do,” said Farnell. “I always triedto do what was right for all mankind, and

never focus on the color of my skin or myethnicity.”

Farnell continued by encouraging theaudience to look back over the great his-tory of notable African-American women,and how they stood up against oppression.

“Today in the military, no one thinksabout oppression. We believe we all areequal, but for us we still have short com-ings as African-American women, as wellas other minorities. We now have a voiceand an opportunity to make, not only forAfrican-American women but for every-one in our great nation,” said Farnell.

The event was capped off with a spir-ited performance by traditional and con-temporary gospel artist Melvina Harrison,who serenaded the audience with “I Lookto You” honoring the late pop-music iconWhitney Houston, who passed away Feb.11.

“This was a wonderful event. I reallyenjoyed the performances and the sing-ing,” said, Myron Tejada a family mem-ber. “It was one of the best observance cel-ebrations I’ve attend here at Fort Eustis in along time. ATSC did an exceptional job, theguest speaker was great, and so were all ofthe performances.”

Photos by Tetaun Moffett

“Today in the military, noone thinks about oppression.We believe we all are equal,but for us we still have shortcomings as African-Americanwomen, as well as other mi-norities. We now have a voiceand an opportunity to make,not only for African-Ameri-can women but for everyonein our great nation.”

— Col. Angelia D. Farnellkeynote speaker at Fort Eustis’

African-American History Monthobservance at Jacobs Theater Feb. 24

LEFT: Melvina Harrison, a traditional

and contemporary gospel artist, sere-

nades the standing-room-only crowd

during the Fort Eustis African-Ameri-

can History Month Observance at Ja-

cobs Theater on Feb. 24. This year’s

theme focused on courageous vision-

aries, tenacious activists and champi-

ons of social and political change.

RIGHT: Linzy Henderson, Hampton

University Department of Fine and

Performing Arts’, “Hampton Players”

dancer, performs an African-American

themed dance.


By Amy PerryARMY NEWS SERVICE

Twenty Soldiers are making history to-day by being the first to graduate fromthe brand new Stryker Systems Maintain-er military occupational specialty.

The Stryker, which is relatively new tothe Army, is an eight-wheeled armoredfighting vehicle. The new military occu-pational specialty, or MOS, 91 Sierra, willallow the Army to track the Soldiers whohave received training on the Stryker andsend them to the Army’s Stryker BrigadeCombat Teams, or SBCTs, said DennisWalker, Ordnance School Stryker Systemsdivision chief.

In the past, Soldiers who were trainedon the Stryker received an additional skillidentifier, known as an ASI, showing theirproficiency on the vehicle, he said. Theproblem was that it was complicated forthe Army to track these Soldiers only byASI, as the Army tracks Soldiers by theirMOS. The Army decided to make it anMOS so it could have more control overthe Soldiers who had the special training.

Before the 91S MOS was created, Sol-diers were selected from the 91 Bravo Ba-sic Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic Course to re-ceive an additional four weeks of training tobe awarded theASI of R4 - Stryker Maintain-er. This additional training consisted only ofthe automotive portion of the M11 seriesStryker vehicle. Because of the Army’s track-ing system, Soldiers who had received theASI of R4 weren’t always placed in an SBCT.

“Having Soldiers identified by the 91SMOS allows the Army to properly trackthese Soldiers and ensure that the Strykerbrigades are getting their maintainers, sav-

ing the Army time and valuable resourc-es,” Walker said. “Because of this, HumanResources Command can now track theseSoldiers upon graduation as a Stryker Sys-tems Maintainer who can go to only one ofsix duty assignments.”

Creating this new MOS will not onlyhelp the units have maintainers trainedin the various aspects of the Stryker, butit also will allow maintenance to be per-formed more efficiently in garrison and incombat environments. Previously, these ve-hicles were maintained by three differentMOSs — 91 Bravos with an ASI of R4, 91Kilos with an ASI of R4 (armament systemsmechanic), and the 91 Charlies (air condi-tioning/refrigeration mechanic) — whichcaused extended downtime for repairs.

“Instead of requiring three different me-chanics, especially 91C and 91K, which arelow-density MOSs, to repair the Stryker,you’ll need only one,” said Walker. “Sincethere aren’t many air conditioning and ar-mament mechanics, it was challenging toget repairs completed in a timely manner.”

By consolidating the three MOSs, onemaintainer can repair a piece of equip-ment in a more expedient manner.

“Having dedicated Stryker systemsmaintainers, eliminates most of the on-the-job training requirements for the dif-ferent systems,” said Sgt. 1st First ClassVito Green, Ordnance School Stryker Sys-tems chief instructor.

With the operational tempo and deploy-ment cycles, units were finding it difficultto train Soldiers on the Stryker systems,said Green. This new MOS takes the criti-cal tasks lists from three different MOSs toprepare these Soldiers for all aspects of theStryker systems.

Pvt. Feng Ni

works on re-

placing the wa-

ter pump on a

Stryker during

his Stryker Sys-

tems Maintainer

Course at Fort

Lee. In the Stryk-

er bay, there are

four stand-alone

Stryker engines

that students

work on as part

of their training.

Photo by Amy Perry

If your company would like to participate, contact Denise Wilson at 757-446-2143

& & EDUCATION EXPOEDUCATION EXPOCAREER FAIRCAREER FAIR

757-446-2143

Hilton Norfolk Airport1500 North Military Highway, Norfolk, VA 23518

Wednesday, March 7th

10:00 am - 2:00 pm

Companies At This Job Fair Will Be Hiring For:Supervisors, Recruiters, Sales Representatives, Collections Representatives, and much more!


U.S. ARMYTRAINING AND DOCTRINE COMMAND

Leadership from America's highest lev-els will attend the Sea Service LeadershipAssociation's 25th Silver AnniversaryJoint Women's Leadership Symposium,March 5-6, 2012 at the Gaylord NationalHotel and Convention Center at Nation-al Harbor, Md.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen.Martin Dempsey; Assistant to PresidentObama and Chief of Staff to First Lady Mi-chelle Obama Tina Tchen; Co-Chair on Mil-itary Issues for the Congressional Wom-en's Caucus Rep. Susan Davis; OlympicMedalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee; Former Un-der Secretary of Defense for Policy MichèleFlournoy; Secretary of the Navy Ray Ma-bus; and high ranking female military of-ficers, who have paved the way for futuregenerations, will be among the presentersat the largest gathering of women in uni-form nationwide, with an anticipated 1,500participants this year.

Taking place during Women's HistoryMonth and International Women's Week

and themed "United in Service: Our Glob-al Impact," this year's symposium willspotlight the global impact of womenmilitary leaders, and focus on profession-al growth and leadership development.All five branches of the U.S. military areparticipating in the symposium. Militaryofficers from nations across the worldwill also be in attendance.

Throughout the day on March 5, at-tendees from the five services will gath-er to hear speakers and panels includingaddresses from Tina Tchen, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Rep. Susan Davis, Gen. MartinDempsey, and Michèle Flournoy. Joyner-Kersee will be addressing female empow-erment, leadership and overcoming chal-lenges in her career.

Dempsey will offer the keynote ad-dress for the Joint Leadership AwardsLuncheon where each of the five ser-vice branches will recognize individualsfrom their respective branch for their ex-emplary leadership, ideals and dedica-tion. Navy Rear Adm. Margaret Kibben,the chaplain of the Marine Corps and

the deputy chief of chaplains of the U.S.Navy, the first female to serve either ofthe roles, will give the blessing.

Among those being recognized duringthe luncheon is George Washington Uni-versity Student Midshipman 1st ClassCharlotte Wygant, who is being honoredwith The Sea Service Leadership Associa-tion Leadership Award, granted to an out-standing NROTC senior midshipman, whois a top performer and has demonstratedsuperior leadership abilities through aca-demic accomplishments, leadership styleand community involvement. The U.S. AirForce will honor retired Brig. Gen. WilmaVaught, president of the Board of Directorsof the Women In Military Service ForAmer-ica Memorial Foundation, Inc. for her trail-blazing leadership and dedication to honor-ing all women who have served in uniform.

A Female Flag and General Officer pan-el featuring pioneering female leaders alsotakes place on March 5. Among the par-ticipants are Rear Adm. Michelle Howard,first African-American woman to com-mand a warship in the U.S. Navy; Lt. Gen.Susan Lawrence, the U.S. Army's chief in-formation officer at Headquarters, Depart-ment of the Army who has commanded atevery level from platoon to Army SignalCommand; and Brig. Gen. Loretta Reyn-olds, the first female Marine to ever hold acommand position in a battle zone and thefirst female general to command Parris Is-land, S.C. Air Force Brig. Gen. Gina Gros-so, former Joint Base and 87th Air BaseWing commander at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., the nation's first andonly tri-service joint base and Coast GuardRear Adm. Linda Fagan, first womanto command Sector New York, the larg-est operation field command in the CoastGuard are also participants.

Among the Global Impact of Women inUniform panel participants are Vice Adm.Carol Pottenger, the highest ranked femaleofficer in NATO; retired Air Marshal Pad-mavathy Bandopadhyay, the first wom-an Air Marshal in the history of the IndianAir Force; and Cmdr. Jan Dunmurray, com-mander of the Swedish Defense CommandCentre for Gender in Military Operations.The session will examine the varied ap-proaches nations are taking towards gen-der integration in their Armed Forces.

The March 6 agenda (listed at right)will include programs specific to each ser-vice branch, including remarks from highranking officers.

Navy• Presenters include Secretary of the

Navy Ray Mabus and Chief of Naval Op-

erations Adm. Jonathan Greenert.• Among the attendees of the WAVES

Luncheon will be Elizabeth Robinson, age

91; Marie Cush, age 89; and Arlene How-

ard, age 88. Among the first women toserve in the Navy, they served during WorldWar II. The WAVES were brought in duringthe war with the understanding that at itscompletion, they would not be permitted tocontinue Navy careers.

Air Force• Maj. Gen. MargaretWoodward, the

first woman to command an offensive air op-eration during the NATO mission in Libya willgive a keynote address "Be the Voice: Legacyof Courageous Leadership." Also delivering akeynote address will be the highest rank-ing woman in the Air Force Lt. Gen. Janet

Wolfenbarger, recently nominated by Presi-dent Obama for her fourth star; if confirmedby the Senate, she would be the first femalefour-star general in the Air Force.

• Maj. Allison Black, known as "TheAngel of Death," the first female AC-130HSpectre navigator to open fire in combatoperations; and former WASP Elaine

Harmon, will be panel participants on"Inspiration from Airmen." The WASPs werea trailblazing group of civilian female pilotswho were the first to fly military aircraft un-der the direction of the United States ArmyAir Forces during World War II.

Army• Maj. Gen. Marcia Anderson, deputy

chief, Army Reserve ; Office of the Chief,Army Reserve, the first African-Americanwoman to be promoted to major general inthe U.S. Army will be the keynote speaker.

• Retired Col. Nancy Jane Currie, firstfemale Army officer to become an astro-naut, will speak on the global impact ofmath, science and engineering and the gen-der divide. Additional participants includeEllen Helmerson, deputy chief of staff forpersonnel and logistics, U.S. ArmyTrain-ing and Doctrine Command; and Dr. Mary

Matiella, assistant secretary of the Armyfor Financial Management and Comptroller.

Coast Guard• Commandant of the Coast Guard

Adm. Robert J. Papp will be offering theday two keynote address.

The Marines also have a diverse selectionof speakers and panels planned.

To speak with a representative from theSea Service Leadership Association aboutthe symposium, please contact VictoriaShapiro at (216) 712-1926, (202) 414-0774 ore-mail [email protected].

Transitioning MilitarySecurity Clearance & Skilled Trade Career Event

CAREERCONNECTION PRESENTS:

DAILY IN THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT AND AT HAMPTONROADS.COM

IN PERSONWednesday, March 21st

10 a.m. – 2 p.m.Constant Convocation Center,

4320 Hampton Blvd., Norfolk, VA

LIVE ONLINE!March 14th – March 28th at

www.VirtualCareerEvent.com/CareerConnection

A

areerConnection

Free & Open to JobSeekers!


By Senior Airman Jason J. Brown633RD AIR BASE WING PUBLIC AFFAIRS

The Langley Chapel now sponsors a Wiccastudy group, adding to its robust list of supportprograms for Langley’s faithful.

The group, organized and led by distinctivefaith-group leader Staff Sgt. Catherine Quinlan,was founded to provide a community forum forWiccans, Pagans, and persons of various related“earth-based religions,” bringing like-minded wor-shippers together and educating curious visitors.

Quinlan, who serves as a biomedical-equipmenttechnician in the 633rd Medical Support Squad-ron, said she organized the group to create an en-vironment of tolerance, education, and camarade-rie among participants. In the past, similar groupshave been the target of criticism and attacks basedon misinformation and incorrect interpretation —something Quinlan hopes to change through Wic-can values and communication.

“We follow the ‘Wiccan Rede, ‘summarizedas ‘harm none, do what ye will,’ and mind the‘Three-fold Law,’ which is the belief that anyharm or good that a Wiccan does to someone elsecomes back to hurt or benefit them three times,”

she said. “Most importantly, we don’t prosely-tize, and we welcome all open-minded peoplewho want to engage and learn more.”

Group activities include discussion, readings,and hands-on practices, such as making runesand protection candles. In addition to the bi-monthly meetings, members may attend addi-tional meetings in celebration of the eight ma-jor holidays most Wiccans celebrate that coincidewith the solar and lunar calendar, as well as thefull and new moons of each month.

While Quinlan aims to bring fellow Wiccansand Pagans together, all personnel and depen-dents are welcome to attend the study group.

“I would like this group to be an opportunityto learn about other paths, and encourage opendiscourse between faiths,” Quinlan said. “This isone of the reasons I was drawn to Wicca. Thereis no wrong path, as long as you strive to em-brace the divinity within yourself and help oth-ers along their path to the divine.”

The Wicca Study Group meets at the Beth-el Chapel every first and third Saturday of eachmonth from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. For more infor-mation, contact Staff Sgt. Catherine Quinlan byemailing [email protected].

Photo by Senior Airman Jason J. Brown

A Wiccan Altar, including statuaries of the Goddess and God, a cauldron,

pentacle, stones, and books are among the materials used in the Lang-

ley Chapel’s Wicca study group, which meets every first and third Satur-

day of the month at the Bethel Chapel. According to Staff Sgt. Catherine

Quinlan, the distinctive faith-group leader, the group was founded to pro-

vide a community forum for Wiccans, Pagans, and persons of various re-

lated “earth-based religions,” bringing like-minded worshippers together

and educating curious visitors.

Regent University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award associates, baccalaureate, masters, and doctorate degrees. Contact the Commission onColleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404.679.4500 for questions about the accreditation of Regent University. Regent University admits students without discrimination on the basis of race,color, disability, gender, religion or national or ethnic origin. Regent University is certified by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to operate campuses within the Commonwealth of Virginia. UNG120060

C h r i s t i a n L e a d e r s h i p t o C h a n g e t h e W o r l d

s and Schools to award associates, baccalaureate, masters, and doctorate degrees. Contact the Commission ont the accreditation of Regent University. Regent University admits students without discrimination on the basis of race,Council of Higher Education for Virginia to operate campuses within the Commonwealth of Virginia. UNG120060

p t o C h a n g e t h e W o r l dC W

From Retired Militaryto Active Duty Student.After 20 years of service to her country, retired military veteranCarmella Murray still wants to lead and serve. She chose RegentUniversity to finish her undergraduate degree for its academicintegrity, leadership focus and values-based approach.The former Air Force recruiter says Regent’s military-friendlybenefits, tuition discounts and textbook credits make herexceptional education possible. Ready to join us?

888.718.1222regent.edu/undergrad

Associate’s • Bachelor’s • Master’s • Doctoral

On Campus | Online

Carmella Murray, Retired Military Veteran

12 www.peninsulawarrior.com • The Peninsula Warrior - Army • MARCH 2, 2012 MARCH 2, 2012 • The Peninsula Warrior - Army • www.peninsulawarrior.com 13

By Marlon J. MartinMCDONALD ARMY HEALTH CENTER

“I am a Warrior in Transition. My job isto heal as I transition back to duty, or con-tinue serving the nation as a veteran in mycommunity. This is not a status, but a mis-sion. I will succeed in this mission because Iam a warrior and I am Army strong.”

This is the Army’s creed for transi-tioning warriors. As these Soldiers fo-cus on their reconditioning efforts andthe possibility of returning to full duty,they rely on the care and support theyreceive from the Warrior Transition Unithere at McDonald Army Health Center.

The mission of the WTU is to providecommand and control, primary care andcase management for Soldiers in transi-tion to establish the conditions for theirhealing and to promote their timely re-turn to the force or transition to civilianlife. It is comprised of proud, dedicat-ed professionals who remain committedto helping wounded, ill and injured Sol-diers through their healing process.

One such individual is U.S. Army Sgt.1st Class William Lassiter, a WTU cadre.Also a platoon sergeant and the AdaptiveSports Coordinator, Lassiter was chieflyresponsible for organizing the “AdaptiveSports Day” recently held at the McClel-lan Fitness Center. In addition to plan-ning a fun-filled event, Lassiter said thesignificance of hosting such an event wasto boost unit morale and raise the com-petitiveness of the WTU Soldiers.

“My goal was to ensure that woundedSoldiers knew that there were alternativesporting events that could be adapted totheir injuries. I also wanted them to knowthat in spite of their injuries, they can stillcompete at company and higher levelswith practice,” said Lassiter, who not-ed that even more Soldiers would havecome out had they not been pulled awayby mandatory medical appointments.

The Adaptive Sports Day attracted34 participants and featured two com-petitive sports — sitting volleyball andwheelchair basketball. Lassiter dividedthe participants into four teams — HQ,

1st, 2nd, and 3rd platoons, respective-ly. Along with assistance from his fellowcadre, Lassiter then organized the com-petition into a single-elimination tourna-ment, developing the teams and bracketswhile using a scoring system that favoredeach team — win or lose. The pointsearned in the morning were added to thepoints accumulated in the afternoon. Theteam with the most points at the end ofthe day was declared the winner.

From the facial expressions of thosewho participated in these two adap-tive sports events, it was clear that itwas much harder and more physicallydemanding than one would ordinarilythink. Yet, fun was had by all who par-ticipated, and watched.

“It seemed like everyone that partic-ipated had a good time. Some familymembers got to spend the day with theirspouses and cheer for mom or dad. Thiswas a great morale booster, and it helpedbuild esprit de corps,” said Capt. J. Trav-is Robinette, WTU company commander.

The participants started the day play-ing sitting volleyball. In this game, thenet was lowered to the floor, and play-ers were only allowed to serve and vol-ley the ball from a seated position. At notime were the players permitted to risefrom the floor to hit the ball.

FollowinglunchattheSoldierandFam-ily Assistance Center,, the participants re-turned to the fitness center in the after-noon to test their agility, stamina, and ofcourse, shooting skills in four full-court,wheelchair basketball games. Whilesome of the participants proved to be bet-ter than others at this sport, it proved tobe just as challenging as the volleyballmatches. As the players wheeled them-selves back and forth across the distanceof the basketball court, many crashed intoone another or fell backward onto thecourt while either attempting to make apass or score a basket.

Despite the bumps and bruises, thisevent was deemed an overall success.In addition to the family members whocame out as spectators, the sports daywas supported by such organizations asthe McClellan Fitness Center, U.S. Para-lympics, S-FAC, and Morale, Welfareand Recreation. Along with additionalsupport from several nurse case manag-ers, Frank Howard, WTU ombudsman,was pleased to have in attendance Pa-mela Lehnert of the National Rehabili-tation Hospital Paralympic Military Pro-gram, and Dr. Lorene Petta, the unit’sComprehensive Soldier Fitness-Perfor-mance and Resilient Enhancement Pro-gram instructor, who traveled here from

Fort Bragg, NC. The event’s overall suc-cess, however, was credited to Lassit-er for hosting the event, and ensuring itwas well-organized.

“The event created team unity and co-hesion that was evident by the compet-itiveness. It allowed Soldiers with inju-ries to forget about their injuries for ashort time and allowed them to becomepart of a sports team,” said Lassiter, wholooks forward to coordinating moreevents. “I’ve had soldiers ask when thenext event will be, and what the sport-ing events will be so they can prepare.”

The Adaptive Sports Day is a “goodlead-in” for the annual Warrior Gamesheld each Spring in Colorado Springs,Colo., according to. Lehnert, a programcoordinator for the U.S. Paralympics. Al-though this event was not planned as aqualifier or selection clinic for the War-rior Games, Lehnert said sitting volley-ball and wheelchair basketball eventsare two of the sports played during theWarrior Games’ competition.

She added that these events are quiteintense, and the stands are usually filledwith huge crowds of screaming fans.Other sports hosted during WarriorGames include archery, cycling, shoot-ing, swimming, and track and field.

From the smiles displayed and inter-est shown to host more events like this,the WTU commander believes the bestis yet to come. He could see an immedi-ate rise in the competitive spirit of hisunit, as each team pushed its opponentto the limit in both events. In this firstouting, 2nd Platoon claimed victory byaccumulating the most points.

Upon accepting the WTU AdaptiveSports Competition Commanders Cup,the platoon selected star player Lau-ren Birdsong as the tournament’s MostValuable Player.

“Competition has arisen between pla-toons, which has generated excitement forthe next quarterly Adaptive Sports Day,”Robinette said. “The long term vision is tobe a sustainable event which will enhanceeach and every member of the company,Soldiers, cadre, and staff alike.”

“My goal was to ensure that wounded Soldiers knew that there werealternative sporting events that could be adapted to their injuries. I alsowanted them to know that in spite of their injuries, they can still com-pete at company and higher levels with practice.”

— U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class William LassiterWTU cadre and the Adaptive Sports Coordinator

Working to remain a Warrior

The mission of the WarriorTransition Unit is toprovide command and control, primary care and case

management for Soldiers in transition to establishthe conditions for their healing and to promote theirtimely return to the force or transition to civilian life.

Spc. Richard

get away fro

he pushes th

of theWTU’s

ness Center

Chief Warrant Officer 4 Manuel Molina (left) of 1st Platoon attempts to

block Sgt. Jason McCord of 2nd Platoon from making a pass.The mission

of theWTU is to provide care and case management for Soldiers in tran-

sition to establish the conditions for their healing, and to promote their

timely return to the force or transition to civilian life.

Sgt. Patricia Chatman of 3rd Platoon eyes the rim in her

effort to net two points during wheel-chair basketball ac-

tion of the WTU’s Adaptive Sports Day, which attracted

34 participants and featured two competitive sports: sit-

ting volleyball and wheelchair basketball.

d Shepan (center) of Headquarters Platoon manages to

om a fast-approaching Kenneth Norris of 3rd Platoon, as

he ball up the court during wheel-chair basketball action

s Adaptive Sports Day recently held at the McClellan Fit-

at Fort Eustis.

Photo by Marlon J. Martin

U.S. Army Sgt.Timothy Boyland of 1st Platoon lines up for

a shot from the outside during basketball action of theWar-

riorTransition Unit’sAdaptive Sports Day recently at the Mc-

Clellan Fitness Center at Fort Eustis.

Pho

tos

byS

elvi

nC

.Wal

ker


By Rob McIlvaineARMY NEWS SERVICE

With 10 years of war winding down,the focus is now, more than ever, on re-tention of quality Soldiers.

Beginning March 1, if a Soldier’s estimat-ed termination of service is between Oct. 1,2012 and Sept. 30, 2013, he or she can re-en-list between now and Sept 30 of this year.

Accompanying this opportunity tocontinue in the Army, new policies allowbrigade commanders to make a life-alter-ing decision without sending a recom-mendation up to the commander of Hu-man Resources Command.

“The Army instituted additional rea-sons for a mandatory bar to re-enlist-ment,” added Jim Bragg, chief of the Re-tention and Reclassification Branch atHuman Resources Command.

“We’re just reminding commandersthat they have tools out there to identi-fy sub-standard Soldiers and have the re-sponsibility to give them a road map forsuccess to stay in the Army. Commandersshould deny retention to those who failto demonstrate potential for continued

service. The Army wants commanders toidentify Soldiers who deserve the privi-lege of serving,’” Bragg said.

“For instance,” Bragg said, “if a Sol-

dier’s ETS (expiration of term of service)is 10 months from now and the com-mander says, ‘you do not show potentialfor future service’ all leaders must ensurethey outline a plan of action for that Sol-dier to overcome his/her shortcomings.”

“Just as we trust the brigade command-ers to take these Soldiers to war and exe-cute, we can trust them to make the rightdecision for the Army,” Bragg said.

On Feb. 2, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Ray-mond F. Chandler III, Army Chief of StaffGen. Raymond T. Odierno, and Secretary oftheArmy John M. McHugh signed a memothat specifically spells out these changes:

“Over the next few years, our Army willreduce its end strength and shape the forcefor future requirements. As we begin thisdeliberate process, it is imperative we re-tain those Soldiers with the greatest poten-tial for future service — ones truly deserv-ing to remain a part of our Army team.”

“To help us get to our desired endstrength,” the three Army leaders said, “wewill fundamentally change the active-com-ponent retention program. This will pro-vide our brigade-level commanders theflexibility and agility needed to retain thosewho best meet the needs of our Army.

“Tough decisions are ahead,” they said.“Some fully qualified Soldiers will be de-nied re-enlistment. Commanders mustcarefully assess their Soldiers and ensureonly (the) best are retained to meet theneeds of (the) Army.”

“Brigade commanders,” Bragg said,“have always been able to ensure they re-enlist quality by using their flagging ac-tions by saying, for instance, ‘OK, you’reoverweight, you can’t re-enlist until youmeet the weight standards,’ adding thatthis is the first time in recent history wherebrigade commanders have had the au-thority to deny re-enlistment to Soldierswho are fully qualified to re-enlist.

“Now, if the Soldier meets all the qual-ity standards that we say they have to— (such as) pass the PT test, retentioncontrol points, meet height-weight stan-dards, and all the other things a Soldier issupposed to do — if that commander stillfeels the Soldier is not deemed to have thepotential to serve after completing a qual-ity review of the “Whole Soldier,” thenthey can deny retention,” Bragg said.

Commanders have received specific

implementation guidance from the ArmyG-1, addressing Soldiers in over-strength,balanced and shortage military occupa-tional specialties, known as MOSs.

In addition, guidance has instructedcommanders to use the “Whole Soldier”concept when determining their best.This determination includes attributes,competencies, leadership potential, ad-herence to standards, duty performance,and evaluations that demonstrate abilityto serve in any MOS.

Under this guidance, some Soldierswill be required to reclassify from over-strength career fields to under-strength,or balanced ones, to meet Army require-ments. It is imperative that commandersand command sergeants majors ensureSoldiers receive performance counseling,officials said, as this will be one of the keytools of determining retention.

In this directive, specific retention poli-cy changes are:

1. Brigade/O-6 level commanders andabove have the authority to deny re-en-listment to those Soldiers not deemed bestqualified. (Previously only the HRC com-mander had this authority)

2. Increased retention standards for staffsergeant and above who have not executedan indefinite re-enlistment contract. Soldierswith the following are not eligible to re-enlistwithout an exception to policy from HRC:

■ Relief-for-Cause NCO Evaluation Report.■ “No” listed in Part IV of an NCOER.■ Senior rating of “4” or “5” in Part V of

NCOER.■ DAForm 1059 indicating failure of Non-

Commissioned Officer Education System.3. Addition of mandatory reasons to ini-

tiate a bar to re-enlistment:■ Loss of Primary Military Occupational

Specialties, or PMOS qualifications due tofault of the Soldier

■ Denied Command List Integration, orCLI, for promotion by unit commander

■ Drug/Alcohol incident within currentenlistment

■ Two or more field-grade Article 15sduring current enlistment

■ AWOL more than 96 hours during cur-rent enlistment

For more information on Army retentionpolicies and procedures, Soldiers shouldcontact their unit career counselor for pol-icy and processing guidance.

Photo by Sgt. James Sims

Capt. Michael Riha re-enlists Staff Sgt. Robby

Ragos on top of Ghar Mountain at the Kabul

MilitaryTraining Center in Kabul,Afghanistan.

Soldiers from Delta Security Force made the

early morning climb to re-enlist four Soldiers.

Check us out online at www.peninsulawarrior.com

ODU Peninsula is centrally located off the Hampton Roads Center Parkway Right Where You Are!

Meet Faculty, Program Directors, Admissions

Representatives, & learn about Graduate and Bachelor’s Degrees

CALL (757) 766-5200

VISIT www.odu.edu/peninsulaor

www.odu.edu/regionalcenters

ODU Peninsula is centrally located off the H

RepGra

CA

VI

ww

Engineering & Technology Open House

Wed., March 14,20124-6pm

600 Butler Farm Rd, Room 2235Hampton, Virginia 23666


By Tech. Sgt. Randy Redman633RD AIR BASE WING PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Airmen lined up around the block atthe gas station on base Feb. 27, waitingfor their turn to receive a free tank of gas.The First Sergeant’s Council gave away$1,000 in free fuel to junior enlisted per-sonnel as part of their Random Acts ofKindness Program.

“Free fuel? It’s the best thing thatcould happen to me,” said Senior Air-man James Walea, 1st MaintenanceSquadron mechanic.

“I think it’s amazing; especially withthe rise in gas prices,” said Senior AirmanShalayne Dulan, 1st Fighter Wing Knowl-edge Operations manager. “We really ap-preciate it.”

Master Sgt. Ryan McCauley, 633rd AirBase Wing staff agencies’ first sergeant,said the event was spearheaded conjunc-tion with the Operation Warmheart pro-gram, and the idea came about duringdiscussion about the distribution of giftcards during the holiday season.

“Rather than providing simple giftcards to members and their families,we’ve garnered support from several or-ganizations on and off base who providetoys to make the holiday season more en-joyable for our junior service members.This has freed up that money to be usedthroughout the year to provide specialgrants and loans as members encounterunplanned emergencies,” said McCau-ley. “The Random Acts of Kindness is anextension of that program, which is tar-geted at the military population that maynot require the immediate assistance, butcan certainly benefit from it.”

Operation Warmheart is a nonprofitorganization run by the First SergeantsCouncil to receive, manage and distrib-ute charitable funds to Langley fami-lies. The majority of distributions occur

during the November to December hol-iday season, but McCauley said specialgrants and loans are provided to Airmenthroughout the year in the event an un-foreseen emergency arises and Airmendo not have the financial means to sup-port their family during the emergency.

Master Sgt. Rob Mediavilla, 633rd Med-

ical Group first sergeant, said the five firstsergeants who participated gave awaynearly 300 gallons of free gas for 45 cars.

“It brings a great sense of satisfaction toknow that we are able to take care of ourAirmen who work so diligently to accom-plish the mission every day,” said Media-villa. “The demands of a high operation-

al tempo and thinning force continuallytake their toll on our Airmen. So it is niceto be able to give something tangible backto them and their families, who continueto sacrifice for our country and ask noth-ing in return.”

McCauley echoed that sentiment, add-ing that Operation Warmheart gives ev-ery single dollar received back to the Air-men of Team Langley.

“The random acts are another way wecan spread the word about the Warm-heart program while showing the peo-ple who have made contributions to theprogram some of the positive effects theirgenerous donations have made through-out the year,” said McCauley.

The random acts is not a new concept, asother First Sergeant Councils around theAir Force have hosted similar events. How-ever, this was the first time at Langley.

Photos by Tech. Sgt. Randy Redman

ABOVE:Junior enlistedAirman wait in line for a free

tank of fuel at the gas station at Langley Air Force

Base, Feb. 27. The base’s First Sergeant’s Council

pumped free fuel for junior enlisted personnel as

part of their RandomActs of Kindness Program.

RIGHT: Master Sgt. Rob Mediavilla (left), 633rd

Medical Group first sergeant, pumps a free tank

of gas for Senior Airman JamesWalea, 1st Mainte-

nance Squadron mechanic. Master Sgt. Ryan Mc-

Cauley, 633rdAir BaseWing staff agencies’ first ser-

geant, center, explains the details of the Random

Acts of Kindness Program, and why the First Ser-

geant’s Council gave away $1,000 in gas.

“It brings a great sense of satisfaction to know that we are able to takecare of our Airmen who work so diligently to accomplish the missionevery day. The demands of a high operational tempo and thinning forcecontinually take their toll on our Airmen. So it is nice to be able to givesomething tangible back to them and their families, who continue tosacrifice for our country and ask nothing in return.”

— Master Sgt. Rob Mediavilla633rd Medical Group first sergeant

757.363.7777www.autohmc.com

Looking for a

new car?

907 Big Bethel Road • Hampton, VA 23666(757) 838-5999 • www.wattsdentistry.com

Welcome Military!We accept ALL Military Insurance

• Evening Hours& Saturday Hours

• Invisalign and Bleaching Offered

• Dr. Jasper N. Watts • Dr. Kenneth Boyd• Dr. Ariel Wartofsky •Dr. Elias Llerandi

• Dr. Adam Lane • Dr. Thrya Jagger

WATTS FAMILY DENTISTRYCaring Dentistry with An Artist's Touch



For years, claims of strange sounds andeerie visions inside the 633rd ContractingSquadron’s historic headquarters on Lang-ley Air Force Base have perpetuated ghoststories shared among base personnel.

Upon learning of the paranormal lore,a team of local investigators geared upand spent a night in Building 90 in ear-ly January, hunting for evidence of spiritswho may have stayed behind in the ag-ing farmhouse.

According to Ray Savino, founder ofR.T.L. Paranormal, the non-profit investi-gation organization, reports of apparitionsand shadowy figures lurking throughoutthe building piqued his interest.

“We heard stories of an apparition bythe water fountain on the second floor, afigure in a second-floor window as peo-ple leave to go home and the smell of pas-try-baking in the mornings,” Savino said.

Chief Master Sgt. Bradley Smith, thesquadron’s superintendent, said he heardthe stories before he arrived at Langley,and hoped an investigation would vali-date the claims.

Savino, whose full-time job is workingfor Langley’s commissary, researched thehistory of the building and the surround-ing property, and found a storied past.The building was constructed as the farm-house for a local plantation, called Hem-

enway Farms. After falling under bankcontrol, a local university used the build-ing as a co-educational boarding school.

Eventually, the U.S. Army purchased theland for development into Langley Field,commissioned in 1917.

Armed with a variety of equipment, in-cluding digital and infrared cameras, full-spectrum camcorders, audio recorders,and a three-camera digital video record-er system, R.T.L. Paranormal’s 11-personteam met with 633rd CONS leadership toinvestigate overnight Jan. 6.

During the night, various investigatorsreported unusual occurrences, includingtelephones mysteriously switching theirspeakerphones on and off, and voices fromunoccupied offices. The investigators tookextra care not to “contaminate” areas un-der surveillance with foreign sounds.

“We do what we call ‘tagging.’ When weenter a room or make a sound, like a coughor sneeze, we ‘tag’ that sound by verballynoting it; for example ‘That was Ray cough-ing,’” Savino explained. “That way whenwe review audio and video, we know whatnoises are explained and what they are. Ifwe don’t tag it, we review it as possible ev-idence during our meeting.

“If we see or hear something ‘odd’ duringan investigation, we do whatever it takes tosee what could have caused it, trying to ruleout false positives,” he continued.

Upon reviewing the audio and vid-eo footage from the investigation, Savi-no and his colleagues found a wealth ofanomalies, including more than 25 in-stances of electronic voice phenomena, orEVP, and one curious piece of video evi-dence. The investigators returned to the633rd CONS Feb. 24 to reveal their find-ings to squadron leadership.

EVP is described as brief, speech-likesounds captured on audio recordings, the-orized to be paranormal in nature. Investi-gators may or may not hear these soundswhile investigating, but discover themduring playback. One of R.T.L.’s EVP find-ings was what sounded like a woman orchild humming a song, emanating from avacant hallway on the second floor.

All persons present at the investiga-tion confirmed no one was in the area atthe time the ghostly song was recorded, asmost of the team was outside on the build-ing’s wraparound porch on a break.

Additionally, night-vision DVR foot-age from the basement revealed whatlooks like a shadowy, human-shaped fig-ure “following” an investigator througha narrow passageway, appearing briefly

before dissipating into the darkness.The wealth of intriguing evidence con-

vinced the investigators that the activi-ty is paranormal, but not threatening ormalignant.

“I believe that there is a lot of stuff go-ing in this house, but nothing to be afraidof,” Savino said. “There is some sadnessin certain areas of the building, and thereis happiness and playfulness in others.”

Lt. Col. Christopher Wegner, the 633rdCONS commander, and Smith joinedR.T.L. Paranormal during the investiga-tion. Wegner said despite his initial skep-ticism, he supported the investigation be-cause he “wanted scientific answers” toprove or disprove the existence of para-normal activity in the building.

“The night was very interesting,” saidSmith, who admits to having long beeninterested in paranormal activity.

“There were a couple clear cases of thingsthat appear to be out of the norm,” the chiefsaid. “From everything I have heard anda couple instances from this investigation,the possibility that something out of the or-dinary exists is quite possible.”

“The night was very interesting.There were a couple clear casesof things that appear to be out ofthe norm. From everything I haveheard and a couple instances fromthis investigation, the possibili-ty that something out of the ordi-nary exists is quite possible.”— Chief Master Sgt. Bradley Smith

633rd Contracting Squadronsuperintentdent

Photo by Senior Airman Jason J. Brown

Lt. Col. ChristopherWegner (right), 633rd Contracting Squadron commander, reviews audio

recordings with Beth Massie, an investigator with R.T.L. Paranormal, in the squadron's con-

ference room Feb. 24.Among the evidence collected during R.T.L.'s investigation of the 633rd

CONS building recently were nearly 30 instances of what investigators dubbed electronic

voice phenomena, theorized to be paranormal in nature.

Photo by Airman 1st Class Racheal Watson

Building 90 on LangleyAir Force Base, home

to the 633rd Contracting Squadron, is said

to be haunted by the ghost of a young girl

named Natalie. People who work in the

building have reported hearing the laughter

of a child and seeing smoking apparitions.


★

★★

★

★★★

PRESENTED BY:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

CALL FOR ENTRIES!NOMINATE YOUR HERO TODAY!

DEADLINE FOR ENTRY IS MARCH 30 AT MIDNIGHT

Your Local Chevy Dealers

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

2011 Heroes at Home Military Spouse of the YearSpouse of Captain Samuel Arnett - Joint Base Langley-Eustis

SARA JANE ARNETT

Join us in honoring our unsung heroes for their sacrifices, their strengths and their commitment to our community.

NOMINATE A DESERVING SPOUSE TODAY! TO POST YOUR NOMINATIONSIMPLY LOG ON TO FLAGSHIPNEWS.COM AND CLICK ON HEROES AT HOME.All nominees will be recognized by our local business and military communities at the awards luncheon on

May 10th where we will announce the 10 finalists and the 2012 Heroes of Home Military Spouse of the Year!The Heroes at Home Military Spouse of the Year will be chosen from nominees provided by active duty personnel from

all branches of the military,spouse support groups, charitable organizations, friends and family.


EustisCommunity Submit Eustis Community announcements to [email protected]

Friday, 7 p.m.

No show

Saturday, 2 p.m.

RedTails (PG-13)

A crew of African-Amer-ican pilots in the Tuskeg-ee training program, hav-ing faced segregation whilekept mostly on the groundduring World War II, is calledinto duty under the guidanceof Col. A.J. Bullard.

Saturday, 7 p.m.

UnderworldAwakening (R)

Six months after the eventsof “Underworld: Evolution,”vampire Selene is captured byhumans during “The Purge,”a massive crusade of war toexterminate vampires and ly-cans after mankind learns oftheir existence. Humans callthem “Non-Humans” and“The infected.”

Twelve years later, humangovernments had committedgenocides to vampires and ly-cans, killing everything, surviv-ing populations were reducedto being scavengers and guer-rillas, and 90 percent of thevampire race was annihilated.Selene is freed from cryogen-ic suspension and escapesthe medical corporation Anti-gen. The corporation is tryingto make an antidote for the vi-rus that creates vampires andlycans. Selene starts to havestrange visions after her es-cape, which she follows, be-lieving them to be linked toher lover, the vampire-lycanhybrid Michael Corvin.

Sunday, 2 p.m.

No show

Movie synopsis and showtime information is available on-line at www.shopmyexchange.com/ReelTimeTheaters/Movies-Langley.htm.

JacobsTheaterSchedule

Environmental restoration

Community interviews are currently beingconducted in your neighborhood to update andfine-tune the Public Information and Communi-ty Involvement Plan for the Fort Eustis Super-fund/Environmental Restoration project.

Your input is important to us. If you are in-terested in participating, the interview ques-tionnaire can be completed by phone or on-line. Please call Sandra Chaloux at (888)612-5380 toll free, or visit website http://sur-vey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e5idb-4f1gxi1d7l7/start.

Groninger Library arts and crafts

Visit the Groninger Library and enjoy freearts and crafts Saturday from 3 to 4 p.m. Funfor all ages; materials will be provided.

The library is located at Bldg. 1313,Washing-ton Blvd. For more information, call 878-5017.

Volunteer Awards Ceremony

The annual Fort EustisVolunteer Recognitionand Awards Ceremony will be April 20 at 1 p.m.at the Fort Eustis Club. Award categories willinclude SoldierVolunteer of the year, Single Sol-dier Volunteer of the year, Family Member Vol-unteer of the year, CivilianVolunteer of the year,Youth Volunteer of the Year, Retiree Volunteerof theYear and Volunteer Family of theYear. Allvolunteer organizations and units are encour-aged to nominate volunteer for these awards.

The Commander’s Gold Award for Commu-nity Service will also be presented to a unitor organization on Fort Eustis that has contrib-uted outstanding community service for FortEustis and/or the surrounding community.

For more information on award criteria andhow to submit nominations, contact Donna Cloyat 878-3129 or email [email protected] deadline for nominations isTuesday.

AFTB events

Come join Army FamilyTeam Building on thefirst and third Wednesday of each month for aseries of discussions on various topics. Discus-sion groups will meet in the Soldier and FamilyReadiness conference room, Bldg. 650, Mon-roe Ave. Topics to be discussed in March in-clude: The Volunteer Experience, Wednesday,9 a.m. to noon; and Military Customs, March21, 9 a.m. to noon.

For more information, contact Donna Cloyat 878-3129.

Dinner for families of deployed

Military families experiencing deploymentor other duty-related separation are invited toattend a free monthly dinner sponsored bythe Fort Eustis Chapel Community on March

13 from 5:15 to 7 p.m. at the Regimental Me-morial Chapel, 923 Lee Blvd.

■ 5:15 p.m. —Welcome and dinner is served.■ 6 to 7 p.m. — Craft and game time for chil-

dren 3 and a half years and older.■ 6:10 to 7 p.m. — Adult fellowship time.Free child-watch care is available after din-

ner for kids 3 and a half years and younger.For more information, contact Carole Carkhuffat 218-0871, email [email protected] orcall the Chapel at 878-1304/1316.

Home buying and selling seminars

The Fort Eustis Housing Referral Office willhost a Home Buying Seminar on March 13, 6to 8:30 p.m. and a Home Selling Seminar onMarch 15, 6 to 8:30 p.m. Both seminars willtake place at the Civil Engineer Division confer-ence room in Bldg. 1407, Washington Blvd.

They are free and open to the public. Indus-try experts will include a realtor, mortgage lend-er, attorney and home inspector.

Please RSVP at least 3 business days pri-or to attending the seminar of your choice.Toregister, call 878-2977/5687/5579.

Relocation readiness program

■ Newcomers Briefing — Tuesday, 10 to11:30 a.m. Soldiers are highly encouraged to at-tend. Spouses and civilians are cordially invited.Come and learn essential information about in-stallation and community resources. The brief-ing will include prizes, an information fair andoptional windshield tour (when available).

■ SponsorshipTraining — March 15, 2 to 3p.m. Monthly training and information on be-coming an effective sponsor will be provided.

■ Multi-cultural Luncheon — March 15, 11a.m. to 1 p.m. Please bring your favorite potluckdish and learn how to connect families to themilitary through support and fellowship.

All events are at the Consolidated SupportCenter, Bldg. 650, Monroe Ave. For more in-formation, contact Polly Craig at 878-2563.

National Prayer Breakfast

The annual Fort Eustis National Prayer Break-fast will be March 15 from 7 to 8:30 a.m. at theFort Eustis Club. The guest speaker is retiredChaplain (Col.) David P. Peterson.

Please see your unit chaplains for tickets orcontact the Regimental Memorial Chapel at878-1316, ext. 228. Suggested donation is $5for officers and $3 for enlisted Soldiers.

Financial readiness classes

Credit Reporting, Scores, and Debt Man-agement, 1st and 3rdTuesday of the month, 9to 10 a.m.; DevelopingYour Financial Plan, 2ndand 4thTuesday of the month; Financial Read-

iness, March 16, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; Re-tirement Planning, March 20, 5 to 6 p.m.; Man-aging Your Checking Account/Online Banking,March 22, 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.; Savings and In-vestments, March 27, 5 to 6 p.m.; and HomeBuying Seminar, March 28, 4:30 to 7 p.m.

All classes are held in the Soldier and FamilyReadiness conference room, Bldg. 650, Mon-roe Ave.To register, call 878-1991/1974.

EFMP Empowerment Hour

An Exceptional Family Member ProgramEmpowerment Hour will be held March 26from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Groninger Li-brary, Bldg. 1313, Washington Blvd. Attend-ees can check-out EFMP library resourcesand participate in a special activity with the li-brarian. Carryout snacks will be provided.

To register, call 878-3638/1954 or [email protected] by 4 p.m. onMarch 22.

Marriage enrichment

“Love and Respect,” a Marriage EnrichmentProgram, is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m.Thursdaysthrough March 29 at the Fort Eustis Regimen-tal Memorial Chapel.This program is for all mar-ried couples, regardless of how long you havebeen married. It is also open to military mem-bers whose spouse is elsewhere, spouses ofdeployed/TDY military and engaged couples.Free child watch-care will be provided for chil-dren up to age 11 years old.

For more information, contact Mike & Car-ole Carkhuff at 218-1034 or email [email protected].

LENT, HolyWeek Services

LENT and Holy Week Catholic Services arescheduled as follows.

■ LentenWeekday Mass — Monday throughWednesday, 11:45 a.m.;Thursday, 5:30 p.m.; Fri-day, 11:45 a.m.

■ Stations of the Cross and Lenten Com-

munity Meal —Tonight, March 9, 16, 23, 30,6:30 p.m.

■ LENT Penance Service — March 26, 7 p.m.■ Palm Sunday Mass — April 1, 9 a.m.■ HolyThursday (Mass of the Lord’s Sup-

per) — April 5, 7 p.m.■ Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament —

April 5, 8 p.m. to midnight.■ Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion —

April 6, 7 p.m.■ Holy Saturday (Easter Vigil) — April 7,

7 p.m.■ Easter Sunday Mass (Mass of the Res-

urrection) — April 8, 9:30 a.m.For more information, call the Regimental

Memorial Chapel at 878-1316.


LAFBCommunity Submit LAFB Community announcements to [email protected]

Friday, 7 p.m.

Haywire (R)

A black ops super soldier seekspayback after she is betrayed andset up during a mission.

Saturday, 2 p.m.

RedTails (PG-13)

A crew of African-Americanpilots in the Tuskegee trainingprogram, having faced segre-gation while kept mostly on theground during World War II, arecalled into duty under the guid-ance of Col. A.J. Bullard.

Saturday, 7 p.m.

Underworld Awakening (R)

Six months after the events ofUnderworld: Evolution, vampireSelene is captured by humansduring “The Purge,” a massivecrusade of war to exterminatevampires and lycans after man-kind learns of their existence. Hu-mans call them “Non-Humans”and “The infected.”

Twelve years later, humangovernments had committedgenocides to vampires and ly-cans, killing everything, surviv-ing populations were reducedto being scavengers and guer-rillas, and 90 percent of thevampire race was annihilat-ed. Selene is freed from cryo-genic suspension and escapesthe medical corporation Anti-gen. The corporation is tryingto make an antidote for the vi-rus that creates vampires andlycans. Selene starts to havestrange visions after her es-cape, which she follows, be-lieving them to be linked to herlover, the vampire-lycan hybridMichael Corvin.

Sunday, 2 p.m.

No show

Movie synopsis and show timeinformation is available online atwww.shopmyexchange.com/ReelTi-meTheaters/Movies-Langley.htm.

LangleyTheaterSchedule

National Prayer Breakfast

Langley AFB is hosting the 59th NationalPrayer Breakfast on March 13 from 7:30 to9 a.m. at the Bayview Commonwealth Cen-ter. The featured speaker will be the MostReverend Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio,Archdiocese of Military Services.

Tickets are available at the Langley Cha-pel Annex, unit chaplains, and first sergeantuntil Tuesday. The cost is $5 for E-5 and be-low, or $10 for E-6 and above.

For more information, call the chapel at764-7847.

Healthy recipe contest

Grab your cookbooks and “Get Your Platein Shape.” Nutritional Medicine is host-ing a Healthy Recipe Contest in celebra-tion of National Nutrition Month.Your recipeshould follow these guidelines:

■ Cold dish/dessert■ No added fat or salt■ At last three grams of fiber■ And don’t forget – full of flavor!Submit your recipe to alain.dautruche@

us.af.mil for final approval no later than March9. Approved recipes will be featured at theCommunity Center March 23 at noon. Thedish earning the most votes wins a prize.

For more information, contact Senior Air-man Alain Dautruche at 764-6789.

Commissary tour

Kick off National Nutrition Month with theHealth and Wellness Center’s Langley Com-missary tour on Tuesday from 8:30 to 10a.m. Learn how to shop better, understandlabel reading, learn how to do product com-parisons, and save money.

Tour groups meet at the commissary;tour is free to all JBLE personnel, but regis-tration is required.

For more information, call the HAWC at 764-6321 for scheduling or further information.

Nutritional brown bag

To celebrate National Nutrition Month,join the Health and Wellness Center for theirBrown Bag Tuesday from 11 a.m. to noon.Learn how to fuel your body before and afteryour workout, and much more!

The event is free to all JBLE personnel,but registration is required.

For more information, call the HAWC at 764-6321 for scheduling or further information.

Marriage seminar

The Langley Chapel presents their ongo-ing marriage seminar, "A Peacemaking Mis-sion," Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the

Langley Club. Whether you have a goodmarriage that you want to make better, oryou are hanging on by a thread, this mar-riage seminar can transform your marriage.

The Chapel is sponsoring this one-dayevent at no cost toTeam JBLE and their fam-ilies. Come with or without your spouse.Lunch provided. Open to everyone. (Alter-nate Duty Location authorized for GS civil-ians.) Join us for a fun-filled one-day event toconnect with your spouse and learn effectiveways to have a thrilling marriage. You'll leavewith a fresh perspective and step by step de-tails on "A Peacemaking Mission."

Sign-up early to reserve your seat. To reg-ister, call 764-7847.

Club 5/6 meeting

Langley Club 5/6 is a professional militaryorganization for staff sergeants, includingselectees, and technical sergeants. The or-ganization serves as the voice to Langley'ssenior leadership for all junior enlisted, par-ticularly the junior NCO tier.

The club's next meeting isWednesday at 3p.m. at the Langley Club's Enlisted Lounge,Leadership Opportunities room.

For more information, email [email protected]

Young Adult Bible Study

The Langley Chapel will host a YoungAdult Bible Study and fellowship everyThursday from 9 to 11 p.m. for dependentfamily members, ages 18-25, at the Beth-el Chapel RE Center. The study will be on,"Who is God,” by Francis Chan.The RE Cen-ter is located on 1st Street across fromBethel Chapel.

For more information, call David Rasboldat 764-0992/254-2944.

ANG recruiter office relocation

The Air National Guard In-Service Re-cruiting Office has relocated from the Ca-reer Development Center to Bldg. 329 inroom 113 on Holly St. Building 329 is locat-ed across the street from the Base Civil En-gineering Complex.

For more information, contact MasterSgt. Tamika Covington at 764-9995 or [email protected].

AFAS after-hours coverage

The American Red Cross will provideemergency Air Force Aid Society after-hourscoverage. Note that this is for after-houremergencies only, and not routine daily fi-nancial assistance. The A&FRC will contin-ue to cover AFAS cases during their normal

duty hours, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.Servicemembers seeking emergency fi-

nancial assistance after duty hours are re-quired to call toll-free 1-877-272-7337, andwill be assisted by an American Red Crossrepresentative. Calls for assistance can bemade by the requesting service member orfirst sergeant/commander. After-hours AFASservices are limited to urgent situations thatcannot wait for normal duty hours such aselectronic-tickets for emergency travel.

For more information, call the A&FRC at764-3990.

Wednesday morning Bible study

Wednesday morning Bible study, spon-sored by Military Ministries, is held eachWednesday morning from 6:15 to 7:15 a.m.at the Langley Chapel Annex auditorium. En-joy great fellowship, insightful Bible topics,relevant Biblical discussion, and strength-ened Bible knowledge.

For more information, contact Joe Shirey at764-5527,William Shirey at [email protected] or Chuck Macri at 928-7220 oremail [email protected].

SBP and former spouse coverage

If you are getting ready to retire and werepreviously married, it’s a smart idea to re-view your divorce paperwork prior to mak-ing a decision concerning Survivor Bene-fit Plan, or SBP. Some former spouses willask for and be granted SBP through officialcourt orders. The language in the court or-dered divorce decree must specifically ref-erence Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) and notjust “retired pay,” as they are two separateentities. If a retiree is court-ordered to pro-vide SBP-Former Spouse coverage, then acurrent spouse cannot be covered.

To learn more about SBP and the complex-ities of Former Spouse coverage, consultwith your JBLE SBP counselor at 764-5231or visit http://militarypay.defense.gov/survi-vor/sbp/05_cost_fspouse.html (This is a .govwebsite, and will not ask for any personal in-formation.)

Earn free childcare

First Baptist Church Denbigh’s Child De-velopment Center is now accepting registra-tion, and a chance to earn free tuition. Locat-ed at 3628 Campbell Road, Newport News,Va. 23602, the CDC’s children are more than50 percent military. If you recruit for them,one enrollment earns one free week, twoenrollments receives two free weeks, andmore. For additional information, please call(757) 833-7261.


OutsideTheGate Submit OutsideThe Gate announcements to [email protected]

Historical SocietyThe Historical and Archaeological Society of Fort Monroe will meet

Monday at 11:30 a.m. at the Golden Corral, 1123W. Mercury Blvd., Hamp-ton. Guest speaker Anna Holloway of the Mariner’s Museum will providean illustrated discussion on “The Battle of the Ironclads.”

This event is in conjunction with the 150th anniversary of the famousnaval engagement in Hampton Roads. It is open to the public; reserva-tions are not required.

For more information, call David Johnson at 788-3935.

LangleyYacht Club

The Langley Yacht Club will hold its monthly meeting March 11 at 6:30p.m. at the Waters Edge Restaurant, 11 Ivory Gull Crescent, Hampton.The guest speaker will be Eric Endries, regional director of the VirginiaWounded Warrior Program-District 5. The meeting is open to all who en-joy powerboating, sailing, racing or just being on the water.

For more information, call Gary Herbert at 846-4166.

DAV 5KWalk forVeterans

The 2012 5K Walk for Disabled American Veterans will be April 28 at9 a.m. at Newport News Park, 13564 Jefferson Ave, Newport News. Allages are welcome; however, children 12 years of age and under must beaccompanied by an adult.

The registration fee is $25 for registrations received by March 28 and$40 after. Race day registration starts at 7:30 a.m. All walkers will receive ashort sleeve monogrammed shirt, goodie bag and admission to the walk.

More information is available at www.virginia.dav.org.

Peninsula Fine Arts Center

■ Free AdmissionWeekend — Pfac’s free admission week-end will take place Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundayfrom 1 to 5 p.m. ARTventure family activities are scheduled for10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday (free to Pfac members and chil-dren 3 and under). There will be a $2 activity fee for non-mem-bers ages 4 and up.

■ Pottery Party — Make simple tableware including tea bowlsor appetizer plates at this handbuilding workshop for teens (17and up) and adults on March 10 from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Noexperience is required and all materials will be furnished. Finalglaze applications will be discussed in class. The cost is $40 formembers and $45 for non-members; class size is limited to 12students.To register, call 596-8175 or visit www.pfac-va.org.

■ Art After 5 — Come out and enjoy live music, poetry, art-ist demonstrations and exhibits at Art After 5 on March 15 from5:30 to 7:30 p.m.The musical guest will be “Broken Mouth An-nie.” Admission is by donation or Pfac membership.

Pfac is located at 101 Museum Dr., in the Mariner’s MuseumPark, Newport News. The center is open Tuesday through Sat-urday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. Admission isfree the first weekend of each month. Regular admission (tick-ets valid 7 days) is $7.50 (adults); $6 (seniors, students, active-duty military and AAA members); $4 (children ages 6-12); andfree for children ages 5 and under.

For more information, call 596-8175 or visit www.pfac-va.org.

Fort Eustis now has two Installation Status hotline numbers up and running: 878-6181 and 878-6182

Military Job Fair

The Military Affairs Council of theVirginia Peninsula Chamber of Com-merce is sponsoring a Military JobFair from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 26at the Hampton Roads ConventionCenter, 1610 Coliseum Dr., Hamp-ton. The event is free and open toactive-duty military, recently sepa-rated military members, retirees,reservists, veterans, DoD civiliansand their dependents. Please bringproperly prepared resumes anddress in business attire.

The following seminars will beoffered: How to Work a Job Fair,8 and 9 a.m.; How to Negotiatea Salary, 10 a.m.; and EmployerPanel, 11 a.m.

For more information, please callCarrice White at 325-8161, [email protected] or visit www.MilitaryJobFair.org.


CloseUp www.peninsulawarrior.com

The 597th Transportation Brigade Command Sgt.

Maj. Allen B. Offord Jr., right, passes the guidon to

Col. Charles R. Brown, 597th commander, at Fort

Eustis, Feb. 24. Master Sgt. Cedric L. Richardson will

accept assumption of command at a later date, af-

ter he has gained the rank of sergeant major.

Photo by Staff Sgt. Ashley Hawkins


By Greg MuellerTRADOC

The Army is working diligently to-ward fundamentally changing the acqui-sition system, making it faster and betteraligned to warfighter needs. Using whatofficials call the “Agile Process,” the Armybelieves it will better be able to keep pacewith industry and technological advances.This would accelerate the pace of networkmodernization to a rate unachievable bytraditional acquisition strategies.

The intent of the Agile Process is to pro-cure and integrate systems that meet anoperational need or gap and demonstratesuccess, primarily through Soldier-ledevaluations during biannual Network In-tegration Evaluations, or NIEs.

U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Com-mand’s Brigade Modernization Command,in concert with Army Test and EvaluationCommand, the Assistant Secretary of theArmy for Acquisition, Logistics, and Tech-nology’s, known as ASA(ALT), System ofSystems Integration Directorate, and the2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st ArmoredDivision, are integrating and assessing de-velopmental and emerging networked andnon-networked capabilities to determinetheir implications across doctrine, organi-zation, training, materiel, leadership, edu-cation, personnel and facilities.

During the past decade, the Army hasleveraged commercial industry to achievesignificant modernization of network ca-pabilities through the wars in Iraq and Af-ghanistan using the flexibility of contin-gency funding and operational necessity.However, the challenge now is to definea process that enables success within thecurrent materiel enterprise framework.

With the NIE effort, the Army has estab-lished a similar operational environmentat Fort Bliss, Texas, and White Sands Mis-sile Range, N.M., supported by laborato-ry analysis at Aberdeen Proving Ground,Md., to institute the Agile Process that willintroduce and evaluate commercial tech-nologies in a controlled setting.

This phased Agile Process is an effort toprocure critical capabilities in a more rap-id manner, while ensuring technical matu-rity and integration synchronization. Theultimate end state of the Agile Process isthe NIE, which is designed to procure andalign systems that meet a pre-defined op-erational need or gap and demonstratesuccess through Soldier-led evaluations.

Lt. Gen. Keith Walker, director of TRA-DOC’sArmy Capabilities Integration Cen-ter, told an audience at the recent AUSAWinter Symposium and Exposition that,“Acouple years ago, General Pete Chiarel-li (former Army vice chief of staff) said wereally need to evaluate things different-ly. All the things that we need to evaluatefall into three different buckets programsof record, capabilities under developmentand what I’d call emerging capabilities un-der development. We can evaluate any ofthese three (during the NIE). It opens lotsof doors for the Army.”

Brig. Gen. Randal Dragon, command-er of TRADOC’s Brigade ModernizationCommand, agreed.

“The NIE was designed to create effi-ciencies and minimize unnecessary steps,but also to meet the requirements in the-ater as well as the rapid change in technol-ogy,” Dragon said. “It could be a systemwe’ve been developing for a while, or itcould be an emerging capability that’s re-quired to meet a Soldier’s need in Afghan-istan. This has a wide variety of applica-tions. Most importantly, it helps us keepup with the speed of changes occurringout in the technological arena.”

NIE events assess potential network ca-pabilities in a robust operational environ-ment to determine whether they performas needed, conform to the network ar-chitecture and are interoperable with ex-isting systems. The NIE ensures that thenetwork satisfies the functional require-ments of the force, and relieves the enduser, the Soldier in the field, of the tech-nology integration burden.

The most important difference of the NIEapproach is that the Army will place newand emerging technologies into the hands ofSoldiers “early and often” to guide materieldevelopment. This critical feedback is pro-

vided by Soldiers of the 2nd Brigade Com-bat Team, 1st Armored Division, assigned tothe Brigade Modernization Command.

“The new defense strategy causes us tooperate over much greater areas than we areused to now,” said Maj. Gen. Genero Del-

larocco, commander of U.S. Army Test andEvaluation Command. “What the NIE pro-vides us is an expandable structure — an af-fordable structure stateside — to test our net-work, test our goods. Even in this period ofausterity, we have to do that because that’sthe relevance that we owe to the fight.”

The NIE structure also allows for pro-gram adjustments or elimination mid-stream, which not only produces morerelevant end products for the Soldier, butsaves experiment funds.

“We went and adjusted (a particular) pro-gram after an NIE, because this just didn’tmake sense,” said Col. Daniel Hughes, di-rector of Systems of Systems Integration.“We did this on two other programs at a sav-ings in (the billions of dollars). So with ourreturn on investment for the NIEs, we canprobably run years of NIEs based on whatwe’ve already adjusted in the programs.”

Photo by Staff Sgt. Dana Hill

“The NIE was designed to createefficiencies and minimize unneces-sary steps, but also to meet the re-quirements in theater as well as therapid change in technology.”

— Brig. Gen. Randal Dragoncommander of TRADOC’s Brigade

Modernization Command


Air Combat Command’s Interna-tional Affairs Directorate will host theJoint Military Intelligence Training Cen-ter’s Afghanistan-Pakistan FoundationCourse March 5 through 9 at LangleyAir Force Base.

The AfPak Foundation Course is anunclassified course designed to providea basic overview of history, religion, cul-ture and social customs, economics, gov-ernance, and security for both Afghan-istan and Pakistan. The course seeks tostrengthen the participants’ ability to ap-ply cultural factors and critical thinkingto analysis, thereby enhancing the stu-dent's inputs to decision-makers.

According to U.S. Army Lt. Col.Frederick Gottschalk, AfPak Hands di-vision chief on the Joint Staff, the goalis for students, known as “hands,” tobe able to develop close working rela-tionships with Afghan and Pakistanicounterparts and determine how theircountries operate.

“AirForcehandswillattendthecourseas well as Navy hands, all of whom have

recently returned from a year-long de-ployment in either Afghanistan or Pak-istan,” said Lt. Col. Cheryl Garner, ACCAfPAK Hands Program Manager. “Ad-ditionally, other personnel from with-in Air Combat Command and the 1stFighter Wing will attend.

“Priority is given to those deployingdownrange, so this is a great training op-portunity for all, wherein hands recentlyreturned from deployment can meet andshare their experiences with those head-ing to theater soon,” she added.

The AfPak Hands program stood upin September 2009 to develop a cadre ofmilitary and senior civilian experts spe-cializing in the complexities of Afghan-istan and Pakistan — the language, cul-ture, processes and challenges.

The Foundation Course is part of theJoint Military Intelligence Center’s Af-Pak Regional Expertise Program, whichoffers seminars on AfPAK culture andcustoms, governance, justice and poli-tics, infrastructure and development,and security issues and military orga-nizations. Garner said ACC hopes tohost additional program courses laterthis spring and summer.


DEADLINE:Reader & Display

Thursday 5:00 p.m. (week prior)Classifi edsMILITARY NEWSPAPERS OF VIRGINIA

TO PLACE AN AD... BY PHONE: BY FAX: BY MAIL: BY EMAIL:

[email protected] WARRIOR CLASSIFIEDS

150 W. Brambleton Ave.Norfolk, VA 23510

(757) 853-1634Call: (757) 222-3990Monday - Friday

8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Call 222-3990today!

Fitness/Spas Help Wanted For Rent Seasonal/VacationJewelry & Watches For Rent-House (All)

LITTLE CREEK FT LEE LANGLEYFT STORY FT MONROE OCEANA LITTLE CREEKOCEANA FT EUSTIS DAM NECK FT MONROELITTLE CREEK FT LEE LANGLEYFT STORY FT MONROE OCEANA LITTLE CREEKOCEANA FT EUSTIS DAM NECK FT MONROE



We cover the bases.Call 222-3990 to advertise.

Center4massagetherapy.comHampton and Newport News

Call 757-723-3829

OBX Rent large 2BR watersideSunday May 6 May 13 $750 firm

Call 871-9676

2CT Engagement Ring - Gorgeous Princess cutround baguette 14k yellow gold, size 7.Store warranty incl. w/purchase - $1500.

757-270-7988

Newport News va., denbigh, 3 bedroom 1.5 bath1200 square ft ready april 1 7578766266SAVE A LIFE - Make A Difference

DONATE LIFE SAVING PLASMA &RECEIVE $145 Compensation

Within FOUR Donations

BIOMAT PLASMACall for information757-726-0501

15 W Mercury Blvd, Hampton VAAccepting New Donors Mon- Sat

NN-Steeplechase, 3BR,2BA ranch,2 car gar, fencedyd, patio deck & shed, new granite countertops,$1300/mo, avail now. By appt call 757-593-4181Help Wanted For Sale-Home (All)Articles For Sale

DIRECTOR OF FIELD OPERATIONS (FT)Peninsula Cleaning Service is seeking anenergetic, passionate and career-minded

Director of Field Operations. The successfulcandidate will provide leadership, directionand management for continuous improve-

ment of the standard operating model. Col-lege degree preferred, minimum of 10 yrs ofmanagement experience working in a Health-

care or Commercial Cleaning environment withhigh customer/client contact required. ValidDL req', drug screening and acceptable crimi-

nal background check. Salary Range:$45-55K Fax Resume to 1-866-408-8912

www.peninsulacleaning.com

Poquoson Beauty!5 BR/4.5BA. 4144SF. Built in 2001.

Pool. Waterview.$515,000. Gina Black, RE/MAX

757-927-5005

WWII Relics. Retired Vet seeks WWII helmets,medals, daggers, etc. 757-869-1739 For Rent-House (All)

Williamsburg Bluffs, 3BR, 2BA Ranch Home. $1450month. Call Angela @ Bull Island Realty757-768-2712.

The Raleigh Police Departmentis currently accepting applications for theupcoming basic police academy that istentatively scheduled for July 16, 2012.

Individuals who are interested in applying cango online at www.joinraleighpd.org to findmore information about the Raleigh PoliceDepartment’s hiring process, as well as

download the application which can be maileddirectly to the Recruiting Office.

Campers/RVsFurniture-Household2009 Toy Hauler Raptor RV. MUST SELL...In excel-lent condition, sleeps 8 adults and 4 children. Ste-reo/DVD player, 2 Slide outs, Generator, tie downtracks, washer/dryer combo. 39,000K OBO830-734-1783

Coffee Table, Haverty's, Elegant, Brand New,Never used, tags still on table, 60'L x 34" W glasstop. $300.00, Call 201-803-3482

For Rent-RoomsHampton, , Lg rm for rent.Single professional mili-tary female.$650/mo 757-826-0143

• For active-duty, retired military, their eligible family members and active or retired civil service employees If you are retired military or retired DOD civilian, include current employer and work phone number on the application.

• Only 5 ads per week, per household• Renewals, corrections and cancellations cannot be taken

by phone and must be resubmitted• Illegible, too long or otherwise do not conform

to instructions will not be published and must be resubmitted for the next issue

• Automotive ads must begin with make, model and year• Real estate ads must begin with name of city,

neighborhood and must be your primary residence.• Ads will not be accepted via offi cial mailing channels

such as guard mail or postage and fees paid indicia.• Free ads cannot be of a commercial nature (i. e., business

opportunities, help wanted, etc) and must be personal property of the eligible member. Should not represent a sustained income or business or listed through agents or representatives.

• When advertising a home for rent or home for sale, the home must be THE PRIMARY RESIDENCE. (All rental properties are considered paid ads.)

Get online!Get online!Submit your classifi ed ad and advertise for FREERestrictions do apply see below for details

WE DO NOT ACCEPT CALLS FOR FREE CLASSIFIED ADS

Deadline Thursday, 5 p.m. for the following week’s publications

Qualifi cations:

Restrictions:

Free!

Submit online at:Submit online at:www.forteustiswheel.com/free www.forteustiswheel.com/free

Fast!

Easy!

Brand New Layaway Available

Can deliver. 877-2075

MATTRESS SETSFull- $99, Queen- $129, King- $169

40% Military Discounton all other sets!

JANITORIAL OPERATIONS MANAGER (PT)Peninsula Area-Peninsula Cleaning Service isseeking an Operations Manager to join our

team. The incumbent will manage corporateand small healthcare accounts. Ideal candi-dates will have at least 5 yrs of management

experience directly relating to commercialcleaning of facility management. Ability to

maintain customer satisfaction and good pub-lic relations. Valid DL req', drug screeningand acceptable criminal background check.

Shift: 5:30p-10:30p Fax Resume to1-866-408-8912 or Call 757-833-1603

www.peninsulacleaning.com

Babysitting & ChildcareAffordable, caring, dependable child care

Ft. Eustis/Denbigh area. Army wife, bilingual, expd,excellent references, nights avail 757-320-0189

Denbigh area, off Harpersville Rd. In home child-care avail, Mon-Fri, 6am-6pm, accepting newborns-5 yrs, activities included, $100/wk. 757-596-1728

ADVERTISERS Buy 4 wks get a 5th wk FREE$6.09/line – 3 lines min.

5 Weeks only $73.08. A Savings of $18.27

Classifi eds deadline: Thursday, 5 pm, Call us for additional details and specials

׀ 757-222-3982 757-222-3983

Stay Informed!www.militarynews.com


TIRES AND RIMSSPECIAL PRICING! See store for details

COMPUTERS

$9$17starting atstarting atGAMING SYSTEMS

Samsung, Toshiba, Asus, Apple, HP PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, XBOX 360

Twice Monthly* Twice Monthly*

$34 $26 ½ CT. T.W. Three Stone DiamondBridal Ring**

1 CT. T.W. Diamond FlowerEarrings**

WHY RENT WHEN YOU CAN OWN? SUPERIOR CUSTOMER SERVICE • QUALITY MERCHANDISE • IMMEDIATE DELIVERY • PAYROLL AND ALLOTMENT EXPERTS • POWER OF ATTORNEY ACCEPTED

NO CREDIT? NEED CREDIT?NO PROBLEM!

VIRGINIA BEACH - 3320 HOLLAND RD. 757-368-1800 / 1-866-705-6767 / NORFOLK - 7734 HAMPTON BLVD. 757-451-1100 / 1-800-825-3080NEWPORT NEWS - 451 ORIANA RD. 757-877-8577 / 1-866-877-2877

SPECIAL BUY55” LCD HD TV

MARCHSLAM DUNK

$394-PIECE BEDROOM SET“CONTEMPO”$33Includes queen bed, dresser, mirror and nightstand.

peninsula warrior march 2, 2012 army edition

Documents