-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a prelude to war! The secretary of the Air Force has designated AFPN 992212: "People First -- Transition Assistance Program: What does it mean to you?," a must run for base news papers in the next available issue. 992212. People First -- Transition Assistance Program: What does it mean to you? WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Service members and their spouses can make a successful transition back to civilian life through the Transition Assistance Program. The program provides pre-separation counseling services and discusses such benefits as relocation assistance, financial counseling, health and life insurance options, education benefits and career change counseling. TAP also offers a three-day employment assistance workshop which helps departing members acquire the skills needed to succeed in today's labor market. "This workshop gives departing service members an opportunity to meet potential employers and practice their interviewing skills," an Air Force official said. "In addition, they'll receive a detailed briefing on their VA benefits to include employment specifics for disabled veterans." Members should start the counseling and workshop processes at least six months prior to separation. The installation Family Support Center, which administers TAP, is equipped with the latest computers, software packages, and peripheral equipment to facilitate resume preparation and job hunting. Hard copies of local job postings are also maintained, as are the listings of other help agencies such as placement services, recruiters, etc. An up-to-date library of reference books and videos on all job search subjects is an integral part of this center. "The bottom line here is that any job seeker should be able to conduct a job search and develop job leads that will ultimately result in an interview and hopefully a dream job," the official said. TAP provides classes on resume writing, interviewing skills, self and skills assessment, and job search strategies. These classes are offered on a monthly basis and will assist members in learning to market themselves more effectively and with a resume that focuses on their talents, skills, and abilities. To provide feedback on articles or suggest future topics of interests, please email People First at [EMAIL PROTECTED] 992206. Fusion Center dress rehearsal fine tunes Y2K readiness by Staff Sgt. Beverly Isik Standard Systems Group Public Affairs MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE - GUNTER ANNEX, Ala. (AFPN) -- While Santa's been busy making his list and checking it twice, controllers in the Air Force Fusion Center were checking a few lists of their own. During their final Y2K dress rehearsal Dec. 7, controllers found that policies and procedures they've been practicing for months are working better than ever. "Our troops have trained extensively on Air Force Y2K consequence management procedures," said Maj. Kenneth Hirlinger, Fusion Center officer of the watch. "This resulted in the exercise incident entries to be processed on average 200 percent faster than previous exercises." The Air Force Y2K Consequence Management Operational Utility Evaluation III included participants from the Air Force Y2K Office, all major commands, Air Force Information Warfare Center and the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center. The first OUE concentrated specifically on Fusion Center processes. This was expanded during OUE II to include complete end-to-end testing of the Air Force Consequence Management Plan with limited external organization participation. The most recent exercise tested the Air Force's ability to identify, monitor, analyze and report early warning indicators that might forecast potential Air Force-wide problems before they occur. "This effort provides assurance that the Air Force can reduce mission impact by spreading the word about known Y2K failures," Hirlinger said. Fusion Center controllers were also tested on how quickly they identified and responded to reported incidents; how efficiently they provided rapid notification to Air Force and Department of Defense leadership of Y2K-related failures; and their capability to facilitate expeditious resumption of normal operations. Eighteen scenarios during the Y2K test generated 104 incidents reported to the Fusion Center from the various test participants. While some incidents were reported by telephone, many were introduced via electronic means such as the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network, e-mail and AUTODIN. During this 10-hour dry run, representatives from various AF organizations had the opportunity to use classified and unclassified communication procedures to report incidents to the Fusion Center. It was also the first complete evaluation of how the Fusion Center and the Air Force will handle information warfare attacks that may occur during the end-of-year rollover, according to Hirlinger, whose primary mission is chief of the Air Force Network Operations Center. "We knew that our existing Air Force Computer Emergency Response Team and AFNOC relationships work extremely well, and this exercise reinforced our day-to-day operations," Hirlinger said. The exercise was a test of organizational interaction between the Fusion Center and outside agencies to ensure the Air Force Consequence Management Plan effectively defines roles and responsibilities. The Air Force-wide dress rehearsal came off without a hitch because of valuable lessons learned from previous Y2K exercises, explained Col. Robert Glitz, chief of SSG's Software Factory Customer Support Division and the Fusion Center director. The colonel said the Air Force is confident it can handle any Y2K incidents that may arise. With consequence management processes in place and continuously exercised, he said the Fusion Center is ready to provide assistance as required without compromising the Air Force's ability to execute its national defense mission. "Three real-world operations and three exercises have proven the Air Force is capable of executing our part of the national military strategy on Jan. 1, 2000, unimpeded by date-related anomalies in our systems," Glitz said. 992208. U.S., Ukraine sign cooperation agreement by Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service BRUSSELS (AFPN) -- The U.S.-Ukraine Defense Cooperation Plan inked here recently will affect service members from all levels of the U.S. military, DOD officials said. Defense Secretary William S. Cohen and Ukrainian Defense Minister Olexander Kuzmuk signed the pact at a ceremony in NATO headquarters. The agreement covers calendar 2000 and spells out functional areas of U.S. defense cooperation with Ukraine. There are 25 separate areas of cooperation, said a senior defense official. One major aspect is DOD will continue to help Ukraine with professional military education. This includes advanced officer education and setting up an NCO academy. "At the NCO level, we're contributing a vast amount of experience and work with Ukrainians to develop the academy," the official said. Ukraine did not have a professional NCO corps when it was part of the Soviet Union. Under that system, junior officers handled the jobs normally done by NCOs in Western forces. After signing the agreement, Kuzmuk called Cohen "the father of the Ukrainian NCO Corps." He said the program is beginning to bear fruit and Ukraine is creating a professional NCO corps. The plan also covers military medical exchanges. It calls for military exchanges with Ukrainians on medical techniques for treating casualties in the field. U.S. and Ukraine forces work together in peacekeeping operations and this type of knowledge could help save lives, officials said. Another aspect of the plan calls for exercises dealing with peacekeeping in a chemical and biological environment. "This is something that will have obvious impact on the development of doctrine and the development of training modules for troops," one official said. Other portions of the plan call for continued cooperation in counterproliferation programs and for setting up a joint consultative economic system to deal with a range of defense economic issues. The system will track everything from defense budgeting to economic issues associated with base closures, officials said. DOD Public Affairs also will cooperate with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense in setting up public affairs programs. The plan is in addition to an agreement signed earlier between U.S. European Command and the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. That agreement spells out cooperation between the countries for exercises and some military-to-military contacts. 992209. Air Force awards $40.3 million contract KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFPN) -- Air Force Research Laboratory here awarded a contract for $40.3 million Dec. 7 to Maxwell Technologies Inc., based in San Diego. Under the five-year contact, Maxwell's Systems Division and approximately two dozen first-tier subcontractors on the Maxwell team will provide research and development for the laboratory's Directed Energy Directorate. "Specifically, the Maxwell contracting team will provide us with technical capabilities and technologies used in research and development programs involving directed energy, high-power microwave, pulsed power and pulsed power systems," noted Maj. Thomas Dipp, the research laboratory physicist overseeing the technical aspects of the contract award. Much of the work under the contract will be carried out by Maxwell's Research and Technical Support Group, Maxwell's subcontracting team, and small businesses located in and around the Albuquerque area. This Air Force directorate develops and incorporates directed energy technologies. This includes work in high power microwaves, lasers, adaptive optics, and imaging, including their effects on U.S. air and space systems. 992207. Clothing allowances keep pace with price hikes by Army Staff Sgt. Kathleen T. Rhem American Forces Press Service FORT BELVOIR, Va. (AFPN) -- Military members may have noticed a hike in uniform prices at the beginning of fiscal 2000 in October, but they got an increase in clothing allowances as well. Susan Fox, a Defense Logistics Agency budget analyst here, said the Oct. 1 increases allow DLA to break even. Service members shouldn't feel the pinch too much, she said, because clothing allowances are based on actual uniform costs. She said DLA manages uniform prices through the Defense Working Capital Fund. The agency receives no appropriated funds for this clothing operation and relies on sales revenue to cover expenses such as procuring, storing and distributing items, she said. DLA earns no profit. Uniform prices went up about 9 percent across the board for fiscal 2000, Fox said, but ironically, because prices went down for fiscal 1999. "Before fiscal 1999, we'd been drawing down inventories and trying to 'right size' them," she said. "We took in money but didn't need to replenish our inventories as much, so we were left with a lot of cash in our accounts. The secretary of defense instructed us to use $500,000 of it to cover fiscal 1999 costs and give customers a price break." As a result, DLA broke even last year, but the party's over. Fox said the new prices reflect undiscounted 1999 levels, plus an adjustment for inflation. In order to minimize price fluctuations, Fox said, DLA sets prices just once a year on Oct. 1. "They hold for a whole year," she said. "If there's a problem, a mistake or the economy goes haywire, we still have to wait for the next year to fix our prices accordingly." DOD clothing replacement allowances for each member are set annually based on the prices of uniform items for that year, Fox said. She explained that a team working for the undersecretary of defense of personnel and readiness determines the allowances based on the expected life span of each required item. For example, Fox said, a duffel bag costs $18.60 in fiscal 2000 and has an expected life span of 10 years. Therefore, members' clothing allowance over the year will include $1.86 for the bag -- 10 percent of its fiscal 2000 price. Enlisted members receive either "basic" or "standard" clothing replacement allowances, which differ in amount depending on service branch and gender. Members with less than three years of service receive the basic allowance while those with more than three years' service receive the standard, officials said. 992210. Air Force selects 1999 athletes of the year RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- 2nd Lt. Robert Dickie and Maj. Kimberly Markland are the 1999 Air Force Athletes of the Year. Dickie is the vehicle operations flight commander at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., and competes in track and field and cross country. He won the 1999 armed forces 5,000 meter championship and participated in the 1999 Counseil International Du Sport Militaire cross country championship. He finished second in the 1999 Armed Forces Invitational Steeple Chase and won the 1999 Aircent International Steeple Chase championship. During 1999, Dickie was selected company grade officer of the quarter and his squadron was recognized as the best vehicle operations flight in the Air Force. He also found time to serve as a volunteer coach for the University of Arkansas - Little Rock cross country and track team. Markland won the first medal for the United States at the 1999 CISM World Games in Croatia when she captured a bronze medal in the marathon against a strong international field of competitors. She also won the 1998 Marine Corps marathon, finishing first out a field of more than 4,800 women and 40th overall. Markland has already qualified for the United States 2000 olympic trials in the women's marathon and is a member of the Air Force world class athlete program, stationed at Bolling AFB. She won the 1999 Armed Forces Cross Country championship and was the first American finisher at the 1999 CISM championship. Markland is active in community affairs. During 1999, she served as a guest speaker for Drug and Alcohol Resistance Education programs, presenting sports as a positive alternative, and made a presentation during a career day at a junior high school in San Antonio. Dickie and Markland will be recognized, along with the male and female athletes from the Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy, at the United States Military Sports Association's "Pride of the Nation's Ceremony" in Arlington, Va. Jan. 14. Counseil International Du Sport Militaire was established after World War II, its purpose is to promote friendship among the international military organizations around the world. The CISM competitions are one of the preliminary competitions for military athletes preparing for the Olympics. (Courtesy of Air Force Services Agency Public Affairs) **COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. 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