-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! 1103. Flight test center winning civilian engineer recruiting battle by Leigh Anne Bierstine Air Force Flight Test Center Public Affairs EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFPN) -- Last year a team of engineers at the Air Force Flight Test Center here began working on a solution to a challenging yet different kind of equation. Many of their co-workers were leaving civil service, but their positions were increasingly going unfilled. Today, the team is seeing evidence that its actions are making a difference. In the first months of 2000 the attrition rate of the center's experienced electrical engineers was more than 20 percent annually -- an all time high. The needs of the center's avionics division skyrocketed from an average of 20 engineers to more than 50. "At this rate, we had to ask 'where are we going to be 10 years from now and what is the impact to our country?'" said Paul Tierney, chief of the avionics systems integration division here. Realizing that engineers alone were not going to find the solution, Tierney established the Engineering Careers Roundtable to gain expertise across organizational lines. Working with civilian personnel, information technology and public affairs experts, the group began making unprecedented changes in the way the center recruited new engineers. The roundtable laid the groundwork to re-establish the center's recruitment office. Today, the office has three full-time personnel experts headed by Jan Taylor of civilian personnel here. Taylor and Tierney said they agree the payoffs are tremendous. "Two years ago we were in a negative slide and losing people faster than we could bring them in," Tierney said. "Now, we are learning to successfully manage our attrition rate." However, Edwards and the Air Force are not the only institutions with high attrition rates, Tierney said. The difference is that in the past private industry had been better at managing its attrition rates. With changes in place, the center now has a better grip on balancing its attrition rate with its hiring rate. Today the center's attrition rate is met with an aggressive 20 percent hiring rate. Highlighting the roundtable's marketing efforts is the careers@edwards Web site at http://careers.edwards.af.mil/, which advertises Edwards' vacancies internet-wide. The state-of-the-art interactive site helps candidates learn about the mission here and makes it easy for them to submit a resume. With Tierney's guidance, the group was responsible for arranging first-ever recruitment bonuses, college loan retention allowance reimbursements, moving expenses for first-time employment candidates and competitive salaries through effective use of the Personnel Acquisition Demonstration Project. In addition, invitational orders are being brought back to life to bring the most highly qualified candidates to Edwards for first-hand looks at test and evaluation facilities. Since the roundtable's efforts began, Tierney said many employees from across the base have volunteered to help with the recruiting effort. He also found several engineers who were new to the center were more than happy to volunteer their expertise. Andrew Stryker, a flight test engineer with the 412th Test Wing here, had been out of college for about two years when Tierney asked for his advice. "I remembered what it was like to apply for a job," Stryker said. "I knew that a cumbersome application and hiring process would deter new college graduates from applying to the center." Stryker assisted his colleagues Steve Martin and Mike Bonner, both flight test engineers at the 412th Test Wing, in designing the concept for the Edwards career Web site. Their mission was to help bring the center's career Web site in-line with industry recruiting tactics. "Today on our site, those interested in career opportunities at Edwards can find information -- not just words," Stryker said. The roundtable is building on its recruiting successes by moving ahead to the retention phase of the effort. The acquisition demonstration project is helping in this arena by steadily pushing salaries at the center closer to those found in the private sector. However, retention is not all about money. "Too often when a new person comes in we use the four-inch fire hose treatment," Tierney said. "Even after six months a new person is still struggling to understand the mission." The Avionics Division is developing training programs that show new engineers where they fit into the mission and how they will contribute. "We are trying to get through to our new people in the early stages and tell them what is exciting about workin1g at Edwards," Tierney said. "We want to bring recruiting and retention back to where they were 15 years ago when people said 'wow, that's the place I want to be.'" 1102. Equipment transfer aids university research by Rex Swenson Air Force Research Laboratory Public Affairs EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFPN) -- The saying, "One man's trash is another man's treasure," proved true recently as Air Force Research Laboratory officials here donated surplus scientific equipment to the University of West Florida, saving the school between $150,000 and $175,000. AFRL's munitions directorate donated a scanning electron microscope, infrared spectrometer and other equipment which "is tremendously useful and will broaden the horizons in not only student research, but research performed by faculty members as well," said Dr. George Stewart, chairman of the UWF biology department. The donation idea came about during a Gulf Coast Alliance for Technology Transfer quarterly board of directors meeting a few months back, said Paulette Risher, munitions directorate business development branch chief. Risher and Dr. William Huth, associate vice president for research and graduate studies at UWF, discussed different technology transfer mechanisms. "I'd been made aware of some laboratory equipment that was going to be sent to the Defense Reutilization Marketing Office, where it probably would be sold off as scrap," Risher said. Using the Education Partnership Agreement. Risher was able to offer Huth the equpment. According to the Educational Partnerships portion of the U.S. Code, "Under a partnership agreement with an educational institution, the director of a defense laboratory may provide assistance to the educational institution by transferring to the institution defense laboratory equipment determined by the director to be surplus." With the path cleared, Allen Geohagan, a support contractor with the munitions directorate, worked the equipment transfer for the Air Force. "I contacted Huth and worked out the details between the munitions directorate, the university and the Logistics Material Control Agency within the (munitions directorate)," Goehagan said. Once the transfer was completed the university hospital, a tour of its science department, showing the equipment in action. After the tour Huth showed Geohagan a thesis paper he was reviewing that morning. "One of our students recently did a paper on AIDS research and had to go off-campus to get the scanning electron microscope images for his research," Geohagan said. "Now our students will be able to do this same kind of research work right here. This donation is very valuable to both our students' and instructors' research." (Courtesy of Air Force Materiel Command News Service) 1104. Service animals -- not the average pet by Staff Sgt. Amy Parr Air Force Print News WASHINGTON -- After watching someone pull into a handicapped parking spot, and then walk into a store unhindered, people may question whether that person needed that spot. Or when seeing someone with a dog -- clearly not a seeing-eye dog -- while shopping in a store or eating at a restaurant, people may have questioned that person's integrity. These assumptions, while common, are oftentimes wrong, says Bob Cook, Air Force Equal Opportunity Policy chief at the Pentagon. "Part of the problem is that people are not aware of the various impairments a person may have," he said. "People know about vision impairments, but many disabled people appear totally healthy. Some don't have full use of their hands; others only have one kidney. There are a lot of conditions where 'service animals' are required, and people need to be more sensitive." Service animals can look like the average pet, but they have been trained to perform special duties for their owners. The Americans with Disabilities Act defines service animals as any guide dog, signal dog or other animal trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability. These animals perform functions and tasks that people with disabilities cannot perform. Some common service animals include seeing eye dogs, signal dogs, seizure-response dogs and emotional-support dogs. Seeing-eye dogs, the most-known service animal, act as the eyes of a blind person. Signal dogs alert people with hearing impairments to specific sounds, such as fire alarms, knocks at the door, telephone calls and alarm clocks. Seizure-response dogs assist people during seizures. Some of their tasks include alerting help or providing comfort during seizures. Emotional-support dogs help some people function in public, providing a degree of stability. Although there are many types of service animals, not all are licensed or certified, Cook said. While this is not required, he said many service animals wear special collars and harnesses. "It's important that people are aware that these animals are allowed anywhere their owners go," Cook said. They are allowed in aircraft cabins, without cages; any morale, welfare and recreation event; the Air Mobility Command terminal; base exchange; commissary; and billeting. Per the ADA, these animals are restricted only as any customer would be, allowed to go to all facility areas where customers are normally allowed. Segregation of people with service animals is prohibited. If there is any doubt as to whether or not an animal is a service animal, Cook said, just ask. "You never know just looking at a person," he said. "You may question why they park in a handicap spot or why they have an animal accompanying them. Disabilities are not always obvious." Some people don't always carry around paperwork documenting their medical condition or disability, but Cook said it is not required. "The bottom line is if there's any doubt, check with (Defense Department Directive 1020.1, "Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Handicap in Programs and Activities Assisted or Conducted by the Department of Defense," or DOD Regulation 4515.13-R, "Air Transportation Eligibility")," Cook said, "because there's a fine line between doing your job and doing your job right." More information can also be found at www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm. 1109. Teenagers learn about academy life COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AFPN) -- Teenagers from Air Force families around the world recently learned what it is like to be an Air Force Academy cadet during Teen Aviation Camp here. Bridget Kieschnick, a youth specialist for the Air Force Services Agency in San Antonio, said the weeklong stay introduced 39 high-school students with an interest in aviation to the academy. "It gave an insight into what academy life is like," Kieschnick said. "It shows what the environment is like, what the facilities are like, what opportunities exist." Campers participated in numerous activities including flights with aero club pilots, orienteering inside a forest retreat and meeting world-class athletes. Social interaction among the teens was key to the experience. Services selected the youth from a pool of 144 applicants. Bonding occurred quickly. "I think I made a couple of friends that I'm going to see again through the Air Force," said Cynthia McDermott from Bolling AFB, D.C. "I'm blown away by how close you can become in a week doing these activities." And while the annual camp provided youngsters a first-hand look at the academy, it also recognized their important role in today's armed services, said Dr. Beverly Schmalzried, chief of Family Member Programs for Air Force Directorate of Services in Washington. "Our overriding goal is that they will find military life satisfying as a teenager," she said. "We're well aware that family members feeling good about their parent or spouse being in the Air Force is directly tied to recruitment and retention. It's the family that makes long-term retention decisions." The next Teen Aviation Camp will be held June 2 to 7. Base youth centers or aero clubs have more information on eligibility requirements and application procedures. 4035. Commentary: Great minds think alike by Master Sgt. Rick Burnham Air Force Print News Washington -- The recent decision by the National Archives and Records Administration to remove the original Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution from public display because of a renovation project really hit home with me. Being a new resident of the National Capital Region, I had listed that location as a "must see" during my tour at the Pentagon, along with the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial. To the average American, these documents provide a glimpse of the brilliance our forefathers demonstrated in laying the blueprint for our country. That we have become, in a relatively short period of time, the greatest nation in the history of the Earth only serves to validate that brilliance. But to the bluesuiter, those of us who defend the words of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, these documents say so much more. They outline not only the duties and responsibilities we have as Americans, but also the manner in which they are conducted. They guarantee all the rights and privileges associated with being free men and women, but stress that integrity should be the guide in all we do. Great minds think alike. It is unlikely that Jefferson, or Adams, or Franklin could have envisioned a U.S. Air Force of 2001. Stealth technology, air-to-air refueling and the C-17 Globemaster III would have been significant leaps of faith, considering the Wright brothers' historical flight was still more than a century away. Still, it is truly amazing how the key concepts of today's Air Force -- our core values -- are laced throughout the Declaration, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. Although you won't find the words Integrity First, Service Before Self and Excellence In All We Do anywhere in them, the ideas behind them are consistently on display in these documents. Take, for example, the Declaration of Independence. Written by Jefferson over a 17-day period in mid-June 1776, the document includes some of the most famous words ever penned by a human being: "All men are created equal,...endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it." In other words, so as to not impose upon the rights of their fellow citizens, the men and women empowered to any government office, including the military, should let integrity lead the way. Integrity first and always. In Amendment III to the Constitution, part of the Bill of Rights, our forefathers said, "No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be described by law." Obviously, those of us in uniform should not use our status as members of the militia to obtain special privileges. To do so would very quickly undermine our credibility with the general public. They would doubt our integrity, and think of us as putting self interests before the country's. By outlawing this type of activity, our forefathers ensured we place Service Before Self. Another example can be found in Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution. It states: "No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States, and no person holding any office...shall accept any present, emolument, office or title...from any king, prince, or foreign state." In other words, we must not use our status as government officials for personal gain. Together, the Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights serve to ensure we live and work in an atmosphere conducive to living our lives to the fullest. Instead of worrying about whether our personal beliefs will be accepted by those in power, we can concentrate on more important things: our families, our careers, and our dreams. Success, accomplishment, excellence in all we do. We can speak our minds without worrying about retribution. We can assemble, and do it with the confidence that we can and will make a difference. So we owe thanks to Messrs. Jefferson, Adams and Franklin. Thanks for showing us the way. While they couldn't have imagined it then, their forethought helped shape the greatest Air Force in the world, America's Air Force -- No one comes close! *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? 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