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1733. CSAF: Nothing more vital than service to nation by Tech. Sgt. Tim Dougherty Air Force Print News WASHINGTON -- As the nation's military is involved in hunting down terrorists, the Air Force's chief of staff is taking steps to ensure airmen everywhere know the importance of the task at hand. In his first meeting with the Pentagon press since becoming chief of staff in September, Gen. John P. Jumper said there is nothing more vital to the nation than its men and women serving in uniform during this crucial time. "I want to make sure that our Air Force people understand that in times of crisis, the American people look to their military in uniform for strength and as role models," Jumper told reporters Nov. 27. Jumper said that one of his priorities as chief of staff is retention. The events of Sept. 11 have "mitigated" the retention problem somewhat, but it is not completely solved, he said. "Retention is very high on my list of concerns for the Air Force. The problems are caused by several factors," Jumper said. "First of all, our people are very, very busy. They are involved with families and they are gone away from home for long periods of time. These factors, combined with a robust job market outside the Air Force, pull our people away." He said that Secretary of the Air Force Dr. James Roche, who just returned from visiting troops overseas for Thanksgiving, echoes his thoughts, saying both leaders are extremely proud of their team. "I've said many times that there is nothing more satisfying than seeing our men and women in uniform doing our nation's work," Jumper said. Because of ongoing world events, the Air Force activated the Stop-Loss program in September, which indefinitely suspended all (O-6 and below) planned retirements and separations unless an approved waiver is granted. Current guidance provides liberal waiver approval unless the individual's skills are required to support America's war on terrorism. The Air Force has not established the necessary battle rhythm it needs to make any changes to the current Stop-Loss program, Jumper said. "Our people are doing a great job and I tell them all the time that there is nothing more meaningful they could be doing in their life right this minute than to be serving in uniform." 1735. Three U.S. soldiers die in 'friendly fire' accident by Army Sgt. 1st Class Kathleen T. Rhem American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Three U.S. special operations servicemembers were killed Dec. 5, and as many as 19 others were injured in a friendly fire incident north of Kandahar, Afghanistan, Defense Department officials said. A B-52 Stratofortress bomber dropped a 2,000-pound precision-guided Joint Direct Attack Munition near the troops at about 12:30 a.m. EST, Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke said. The injured Americans and an indeterminate number of wounded Afghan opposition troops were moved to a coalition-held base camp south of Kandahar. Depending on their injuries, some may be evacuated for more comprehensive medical treatment. The names of those killed and wounded are being withheld until their families are notified, Clark said. She said she had no details regarding the accident, but that U.S. Central Command officials are investigating the incident. In a separate incident Dec. 4, a U.S. servicemember was shot in the shoulder in Afghanistan and is reported to be in stable condition in a U.S. medical facility in Oman, officials said. No other information on this person was released. The department's thoughts and prayers are with the injured servicemembers and the families of those killed and wounded, Clark said. "It just underscores what we don't say often enough around here -- every single day there are men and women willing to put their necks on the line and put themselves in grave danger, and we appreciate what they do," she said. The accident is the second friendly fire incident involving U.S. troops in Afghanistan. On Nov. 25, four soldiers and an airman were injured during an air strike intended to quell a prison riot near Mazar-e Sharif. The five were evacuated to Germany for medical treatment. 1730. Readiness Challenge VIII canceled for 2002 TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFPN) -- Air Force officials have announced that Readiness Challenge VIII, a biennial multinational combat support competition, is canceled for 2002 because of current and possible future mission requirements in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Noble Eagle. The competition, scheduled for April 18 to 27, demonstrate the leadership, readiness, warfighting and contingency support capabilities of the U.S. and international teams. Teams are made up of people from the Air Force civil engineer, services and personnel career fields. They compete in real-world scenarios designed to showcase their skills in setting up and maintaining self-sufficient field operations in a bare-base environment during a deployment or contingency. The competition has been tentatively rescheduled for the Spring of 2003. "While we regret canceling the competition, the main focus of all our fighting forces is the current and future support of activities related to Operations Enduring Freedom and Noble Eagle," said Col. Bruce Barthold, commander of the Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency. "In addition, the increased operational tempo being experienced now and into the foreseeable future makes it uncertain whether appropriate personnel and resources will be available to support the competition next spring." In 1999 Readiness Challenge VII was canceled just days before it was to begin because of the U.S. military campaign in the Yugoslav region. The competition was held in 2000. Besides the U.S. teams (one from each of the major commands) five foreign teams -- Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Norway -- were scheduled to participate. Readiness Challenge draws more than 400 competitors and about 1,200 visitors. 1732. New initiatives improving maintenance productivity, efficiency by Capt. Dani Johnson U.S. Air Forces in Europe Public Affairs RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AFPN) -- U.S. Air Forces in Europe officials recently implemented two initiatives aimed at improving productivity and efficiency in the maintenance career field. USAFE introduced the initiatives, Action Workouts and Six Sigma, in fiscal 2000 and the results are promising, said Brig. Gen. Art Rooney, USAFE director of logistics. "Affordable readiness should be at the forefront of all our thoughts," Rooney said. "To maximize our limited resources, we need to provide our personnel with the tools to make fact-based decisions that deliver the greatest return on investment." Action Workouts, called AWOs, capitalize on the power of teams to reduce wait time and reorganize workspace. AWOs are often used to look at processes that are measurable and repetitive. Increasing aircraft availability in the command has been the focus for the past year, officials said. USAFE has conducted four logistics AWOs in the command since October 2000. Three of these focused on the aircraft phase/isochronal maintenance process, and the other looked at the LANTIRN targeting pod, used on the F-15 Eagle fighter jet. "Our AWO results have been impressive," said Capt. Kevin Traw, USAFE AWO and Six Sigma project officer. "The 31st Fighter Wing (based at Aviano Air Base, Italy), looked at the F-16 (Fighting Falcon) Block-40 engine phase inspection process (a combined Six Sigma and AWO project). The results were a 33-percent reduction in the length of each phase (6.2 days to 4.5 days) and a 7,000-foot reduction in (the) distance technicians walk during a phase," he said. "The capability in the phase hangar increased from two to three aircraft," he said, "and time from phase completion to first flight was reduced. Six crew chiefs were freed up to return to duty on the flightline." Building on AWO successes, officials asked their jet engine partner, General Electric, to provide training on the second initiative, Six Sigma," Rooney said. Six Sigma is a statistically driven process improvement program. It relies heavily on statistics to prove root cause and provide solutions to problems. It is a highly structured process that helps us focus on developing and delivering near-perfect products and services, said Tom Maxwell, GE F110 manager. Originally, Six Sigma was internally focused on manufacturing processes, but eventually it was moved into the office environment. USAFE officials implemented Six Sigma in October 2000 with a class of 26 logisticians. Each student attended 12 days of classroom instruction, participated in three individual mentoring sessions, presented two briefings and completed a project. The 18 projects accomplished by the Six Sigma trainees covered a wide variety of areas, from Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory research time to the Block-40 project mentioned above. "The total savings projected for these efforts are estimated at 52,000 man-hours and $1 million in cost avoidance for the command," Traw said. One project focusing on the F110-GE-100 jet engine would net estimated savings of $684,000 and 2,000 man-hours for 18 engines over three years, Traw said. "AWOs and Six Sigma are not without their pitfalls," Rooney said. "Both require a long-term commitment driven from the top and supported by the user level." USAFE logisticians are taking steps to institutionalize the program. The command's goal is to have advanced Six Sigma trained people at each base to continue the training locally. (Courtesy of USAFE News Service) 1736. Air Force approves JPATS full-rate production by Sue Baker Aeronautical Systems Center Public Affairs WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFPN) -- Air Force officials approved full-rate production of the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System. Darlene Druyun, Air Force principal deputy assistant secretary for acquisition and management, signed an Acquisition Decision Memorandum on Dec. 3 authorizing the service to procure additional T-6A Texan II aircraft and related systems, besides the 168 aircraft already ordered from prime contractor Raytheon Aircraft Co., in Wichita, Kan. The action also permits the award later this month of the follow-on contract, valued at $1.4 billion -- including options. "The T-6A Texan II aircraft is the safest, most cost-effective, joint primary pilot training tool available in the free world today," said Col. Toni Arnold, director of the flight training system program office at the Aeronautical Systems Center here. "This approval affirms that -- as well as the thousands of Air Force military and civilian and defense contractors who team together every day to produce and improve its 21st century capabilities. "We have excellent fixes in place for air conditioning and ultra-high frequency radio reception issues of the past," Arnold said. "And we're constantly working with Air Education and Training Command and the chief of naval air training to ensure that JPATS meets future training command requirements." The Air Force and Navy already have delivered 49 JPATS aircraft to Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, where they are used to train pilot instructors. On Oct. 10, AETC student pilots started training with JPATS at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. 1729. Survival students learn skills to return with honor by Master Sgt. Mary McHale 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. (AFPN) -- It is training they hope they never use for circumstances they hope they never face. But as the old adage goes -- never say never. These are students in their first day of the field-training portion of the U.S. Air Force Combat Survival Course. This portion of the 17-day course finds students deep in the mountain wilderness of Colville National Forest, north of Spokane, Wash. With conventional classroom comfort left behind, students spend six days in the wilderness learning and applying lessons that may one day literally mean the difference between life or death. "True, it's training they hope they never have to use, but the value of the course is that it not only hones combat skills but life skills as well when people may find themselves in a precarious situation," said Col. Craig Jensen, U.S. Air Force Survival School commander. During this portion of the course, students learn firsthand about building shelters, starting fires, finding or making safe food and water sources, navigation techniques and evading possible inhospitable forces. Instructors and students follow a four-step process as they learn the various skills, said Tech. Sgt. Tom Bonsant, superintendent of Charlie Flight for the 66th Training Squadron. First the instructor teaches the skill and then demonstrates it, he said. The instructor then has the students practice those skills which are then followed by a formal evaluation and critique. "These students come from all walks of life," Jensen said. "For some, these skills come naturally, for some, they don't." Success in this part of the course is a balance between teamwork and individual effort, Bonsant said. In their shelter lesson, elements of five students work together to gather the materials to make a lean-to -- in this case, several tall, thin pine logs they will lash together with parachute cord with the chute canopy creating one 'wall' of the makeshift shelter. Later in the day, during the fire craft portion, students again join together to gather the fire-making materials, but each are required to build an individual fire. "Each skill requires time to perfect," said instructor Airman 1st Class Kelly Ivey, as he observed each of his students practice wood splitting. "Notoriously, split-wood fire craft is the most difficult but students have to make the mistakes they're going to make to get a greater learning outcome." Wanting to experience as much as he can firsthand, 2nd Lt. Jesse Lamarand, a B-52 Stratofortress navigator trainee said, "You can watch it all you want, but until you experience it first hand, that's when you change your mind set." Lemarand's biggest fear and concern, he said, is being captured as a prisoner of war, where "anything can happen." But, he said, the course lessons help him calm these thoughts. "The fact that I'll be able to apply the procedures I've learned here provides me a basic confidence so that I can come home, so I can return with honor," he said. In fact, "To Return With Honor" is the motto of the Air Force survival training program. "To return with honor means having pride in yourself and in your country, knowing your country is going to do everything possible to get you home," said Staff Sgt. Barry Leland, from the 22nd Training Squadron. "It gives you motivation internally." Airman Hollis Collins, a prior-service Air Force combat controller who reentered the Air Force specifically to become a survival course instructor, is currently a student of the survival trainer course. "When I was in before, I knew people who were instructors and they really enjoyed it," Collins said. "It sparked my interest and from that point on I completely fell in love with it. It's good to know people are coming back because of what you taught them." For another student, 1st Lt. Mike Gommel, B-1B Lancer aircrew trainee, the course offers the valuable opportunity to soak up all the training and knowledge he can. "I like to treat this like a CPR course," he said. "You take what you hope you never have to use but if you do, you're full up to speed on what you need to do. Once you go through this program, you will have the tools to sustain life on the ground." Gommel said he is trying to get through this portion of the course using as many environmental resources as he can rather than relying on apportioned rations of meals ready to eat. Attesting to this desire is a canteen of pond water -- purified with iodine -- strapped to his side. "I'm trying to make it as realistic as possible," he said as he proceeded to describe some of the various flavors he had previously placed on his palate. "Worms taste like dirt, ants like lemon drops and termites are bitter." When students are not watching demonstrations or doing hands-on training, they will often find themselves in a "quad pod," an open-air, parachute-ceilinged classroom whose benches and tables are fashioned from split logs and thin pine trees lashed together in various configurations from pod to pod. In the center of each is a "fire circle" where students receive further instruction and cook their evening meal. This time of year, Bonsant said, it is critical for instructors to use the daylight hours as efficiently as possible. "You save whatever you can for the fire circle at the end of the day," Bonsant said. Everything the students use here they have either brought as equipment or make from the local environment. During the six-day period, students sleep in the shelters they built. "Equipment varies from student to student," Bonsant said. "We stress bringing the minimal amount and student packs usually average between 35 and 40 pounds." While the instructors demonstrate field techniques with specific items, such as a parachute, these items are really just representative examples of how to employ whatever resources are available, Bonsant said. If not a chute, it might be the rubber from a raft. Pine boughs stacked inside the shelter become a bed. Leland said that for him, it is a pleasure to come out to the woods, work with the students and witness their progress and sense of satisfaction. "Any time you can build something with next to nothing, it's a huge victory," he said. "My most favorite part is coming out here and getting this kind of training," Gommel said. "I don't really mind any of it, it's all valuable training -- training we might have to use some day." (Courtesy of Air Mobility Command News Service) 1731. Air Force reservist will carry Olympic torch by Staff Sgt. Bob Oldham 189th Airlift Wing Public Affairs LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. (AFPN) -- An Arkansas Air National Guard noncommissioned officer was chosen to help carry the Olympic torch through the state Dec. 14 as the torch crisscrosses the country to Salt Lake City for the 2002 Winter Olympics. Tech. Sgt. Sean O'Nale, a fuels craftsman with the 189th Logistics Squadron here was also chosen to be in a promotional video produced by NBC about people chosen to carry the torch. O'Nale will carry the flaming torch along Highway 70 in Lonoke, Ark., and is one of 7,200 torchbearers selected to carry the flame on its 65-day, 13,500-mile journey from Atlanta to Salt Lake City. Torchbearers were selected from more than 210,000 nominees. The fuels craftsman received an e-mail from an NBC official that said he was one of 65 people selected for the video. The video will be a 20-second profile on each torchbearer, O'Nale said. Besides the 7,200 torchbearers selected, 4,300 torchbearers were selected through programs involving the Olympic family, which includes sponsors, providers, Olympians and other athletes from several U.S. Olympic national governing bodies. Torchbearers were nominated by family members, friends or co-workers by writing a 50- to 100-word essay describing how the nominee embodied the Olympic spirit and inspired an individual or a community. The essays were gathered through the Salt Lake Olympic Committee, Coca-Cola and Chevrolet nomination programs during March and April. He said he was "just pumped" to find out his name was chosen. "I was kind of surprised they picked me," he said. Sean's wife, Cindy, who is also a technical sergeant in the Air Guard, e-mailed an essay describing Sean's involvement in the local community Sean said they had forgotten about the entry until late this summer. "We received a letter in late July, telling Sean that he had been nominated," Cindy said. "He had to respond to Coca-Cola, saying whether or not he would like to run. Of course, he was ecstatic and replied with a resounding 'yes.'" Cindy said her husband is on cloud nine about being selected. "When the torch run was announced on television, he mentioned to me that he has always wanted to do that," Cindy said. "He would give anything to run in the relay. When I saw the flier, I immediately sat down and started writing and editing an essay to nominate him. I wish I could describe the look on his face when he read the first letter from Coca-Cola, telling him he had been nominated and accepted to run. He started jumping around and hooping and hollering. "I was so glad I was there when he read the letter," she said. "It was worth everything just to see the excitement on his face at that moment." The Olympic flame was lit during a ceremony in Olympia, Greece, before it traveled to Atlanta -- where the flame last rested on American soil -- and started its cross-country journey through 46 states Dec. 4. An average of 180 torchbearers per day will each carry the flame approximately two-tenths of a mile. 1737. Gray beret predicts weather for Florida panhandle by Tech. Sgt. Ginger Schreitmueller Air Force Special Operations Command Public Affairs HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. (AFPN) -- With more than 10 years experience as a combat weatherman, Master Sgt. John Farris has done weather operations from mountain passes, jungle trenches and desert ravines for U.S. Army Special Operations Forces units. Now, the "gray beret" has provided vital weather forecasting to a different new group of decision makers - people living and working along Florida's panhandle. Farris was the guest weather forecaster for a local television station in Pensacola, Fla., on Nov. 30. He is the noncommissioned officer in charge of combat weather training with the 720th Special Tactics Group here. As an Air Force Special Operations Command combat weatherman, Farris is a FAA/National Weather Service certified meteorologist. "It was a great opportunity to give the community an idea of who and what combat weather is all about," Farris said. WEAR-TV 3, an ABC affiliate, is celebrating Military Appreciation Month and brought the combat weathermen in to the station to do the Friday night weekend weather report. "I always thought of meteorology and weather broadcasting synonymously," said Allen Strum, the station's weatherman. "Now I have a greater appreciation for its usefulness in special operations. Our viewers have benefited from hearing Sergeant Farris talk about combat weather, especially in the midst of current world events." People may not realize how much of an impact weather has on military operations, Farris said. Air Force combat weathermen provide vital weather data to battlefield commanders for use in planning and executing a mission. "Combat weather teams do more than predict rain," he said. "The Army uses our weather data to decide what they're going to do as far as weapons and tactics," Farris said. "Our missions turn into direct action. Napoleon and Hitler lost major battles due to the Russian winter. Weather data helped the Allies determine when to invade France, turning the tide of World War II." Forecasting the weekend weather does not have as great of an impact in Florida as it does in Afghanistan, but the parallels may help people better understand the role of combat weathermen, Farris said. "People at home watched the weather Friday night to get a glimpse on the weekend forecast," Farris said. "Almost everyone's weekend plans revolve around -- and are affected by -- the weather." Wearing the gray beret, combat weathermen are part of the AFSOC Special Tactics Team along with combat controllers and pararescuemen. They are unique within the Air Force and the Department of Defense. Combat weathermen are part of the AFSOC team actively supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. "Combat weathermen not only provide valuable weather data for battlefield commanders, they are qualified in a variety of special operations tactics -- from parachuting and survival skills, to small arms and language proficiency," said Maj. Bob Russell, 10th Combat Weather Squadron commander. "Combat weathermen are often the only source of weather information in a region. He has to provide the products to the special forces team he's sitting with and relay it back to the other decision-makers." *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. 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