“Low-Cost, High-Impact”
The cause is dear to his heart. Robert E. Wiggins, New Jersey’s longtime Thomas B. McGuire Jr. Chapter member, has been regularly donating books on airpower topics to libraries and schools. His aim has always been to promote the professional development of airmen.
On one of his recent donation drop-offs to the library at JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.—a two-hour drive from his home in Pennsylvania, by the way—he began chatting with a library staff member about the effects of sequestration. He learned that the staff worried about their ability to maintain their inventory of books on the Air Force Chief of Staff’s Reading List.
According to SMSgt. William J. Horay Jr., chapter president, Wiggins then did something typical for him: He spoke up at a chapter meeting, describing with passion the library’s need for more funds.
Horay immediately pegged Wiggins’ idea as a “low-cost, high-impact” project, quite doable. The chapter pulled together some $250, including donations from individual members.
The funds will cover one complete set of books on the 2013 Chief of Staff’s Reading List, Horay explained. It will help replace some of the books that have been on the list for several years and suffered wear and tear, and library officials said they can now invest in e-book versions that the airmen have been requesting.
For his part, Wiggins has continued to telephone military and news organizations, spreading the word about the need for books for the base libraries.
For The Next Generation of Cadets
When reveille sounded at 5 a.m., several cadets at Delaware’s AFJROTC Summer Leadership School could blame—or thankthe Delaware Galaxy Chapter.
Led by President William F. Oldham, the chapter donated funds to help eight students attend the annual school, held at the Delaware National Guard Bethany Beach Training Site. Six more chapter members stepped forward to donate additional funds to sponsor more cadets.
For the 10th year, retired Maj. John K. Murphy, Dover High School AFJROTC instructor and also the Galaxy Chapter’s treasurer, served as the leadership school’s commandant.
The seven days of training involved 115 cadets from six AFJROTC programs. Delaware Air National Guardsmen taught them land and water survival. The students also worked on academics, physical fitness, drills, and dormitory and personal inspection topics—“hospital corners on the beds,” as Murphy explained it—and the proper wearing of their uniforms.
Central East Region President Joseph L. Hardy was the reviewing official for the graduation pass in review. He pointed out that he has attended several JROTC events and has been impressed by the “number of graduates from these programs who return voluntarily, often at their own expense, to serve as cadre for the next generation of cadets.”
For this session, in fact, four of the half-dozen second lieutenants and AFROTC cadets who volunteered as Cadet Training Advisors were themselves graduates of this leadership school.
Supervised by retired Col. Mitch L. Berger of the Galaxy Chapter, the advisors trained the senior-cadet cadre and even chaperoned the students in the barracks. “We couldn’t run the school without the CTAs,” Berger commented.
The CTA volunteers (in the photo with Berger) were, left to right: 2nd Lt. Rebecca Haggerty, 2nd Lt. Steven Nardone, and 2nd Lt. Alex Williams; AFROTC cadets Amy Maycut and Dennis Wilcutts II; and West Point cadet Natalia Drew.
Anxiety, Toil, Success
Does this sound familiar
Writing about the Gen. B. A. Schriever Los Angeles Chapter’s annual Salute to Space and Missile Systems Center, Chapter President Edwin W. A. Peura described “the usual anxiety over slow table sales,” “the toil” of rounding up award nominations, and the “tough job” of evaluating them.
Hopefully, the outcome sounds familiar, too: Everything fell into place for a successful awards banquet.
Some 340 guests attended the 39th Salute to SMC, held at the LA Airport Marriott. Awards went to 13 personnel from Los Angeles Air Force Base, and the Military Satellite Communications Systems Directorate was named Outstanding Unit.
Lt. Gen. Ellen M. Pawlikowski received the chapter’s Gen. Bernard A. Schriever Space Leadership Award, recognition for her role as SMC commander for the past two years. In addition, the chapter named David W. Madden as a Gen. Bernard A. Schriever Fellow. Madden is SMC executive director and head of its Milsatcom Directorate.
Earlier that day, the chapter hosted its annual Executive Forum, with some 30 industry representatives and 20 senior leaders from SMC. Discussion centered on two themes: opportunities and challenges with satellite ground systems and how to lower indirect costs and overhead.
More Chapter News
The Eglin Chapter (Fla.) led four other organizations in carrying out a luncheon featuring US Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) at the Bob Hope Village in Shalimar. Miller chairs the Veterans’ Affairs Committee and serves on the Armed Services Committee. At the Florida gathering, he devoted most of his time fielding audience questions, reported Chapter President Shannon M. Farrell. Chapter Treasurer Steve Czonstka arranged the event, catered by a Community Partner, Classic Catering.
In Minot, N.D., the Gen. David C. Jones Chapter’s 32nd Annual Awards Banquet brought some 270 people to the Grand Hotel to celebrate outstanding performers from each group and squadron at Minot Air Force Base, plus the Civil Air Patrol, JROTC, and Air Force recruiting office—40 awardees in all. AFA Executive Vice President Richard Y. Newton was guest speaker, and staff members from the offices of US Sen. Mary Kathryn “Heidi” Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and US Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) read letters from their bosses. Paul J. Goldschmidt and Bonnie M. Goldschmidt, both members of the Gen. David C. Jones Chapter, headed the awards banquet committee.
James E. Fultz, a longtime Great Lakes Region, Indiana state, and Southern Indiana Chapter leader, died May 12. He was 81 years old. He served in the Air Force from 1954 to 1966, rising to the rank of captain. According to biographical information he provided to AFA, he considered his assignment with the 1861st AACS in Japan as the most memorable time during his years of service.
CHAPTER PHOTOS
McGuire Chapter President SMSgt. Bill Horay gives Mimi Cirillo, library director, a donation for books. This donation was the idea of Bob Wiggins, second from left. USAF photo by Russ Meseroll. |
Mike Peters and Don Steed (right) take a breather at the C. Farinha Gold Rush Chapter’s Wings of Hope Golf Classic fund-raiser in California. Photo by Duncan Waldrop.
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Retired Col. Mitch Berger (back row) of the Delaware Galaxy Chapter and Cadet Training Advisors at the AFJROTC leadership school. |
US Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) held a roundtable discussion with (l-r) Ken Fox, president of the Gen. David C. Jones Chapter; North Central Region President and State President Jim Simons; former Region President Ron Garcia; and State Treasurer Bob Herrington. Topics covered: the suicide rate of veterans, claims processing at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and lengthy travel times to reach the nearest VA Medical Center.
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Retired Gen. David C. Jones, for whom the North Dakota chapter is named, died Aug. 10 at age 92. More information will follow in Air Force Magazine’s October issue.
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Lt. Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski accepts a space leadership award from Ed Peura, the Gen. B. A. Schriever Los Angeles Area Chapter president (left), and Chapter Board Chairman Tav Taverney. Photo by Sarah Corrice |
 AFA’s Airmen and Family Programs Director Paula Roy (left) presents Stefanie Howell with an AFA Spouse Scholarship at a Donald W. Steele Sr. Memorial Chapter event. At right: Kevin Lewis, chapter VP. Howell is working on a Ph.D. at George Mason University in Virginia. AFA awarded a dozen $2,500 Spouse Scholarships for 2013. Photo by F. Gavin MacAloon
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 US Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) addresses the Eglin Professional Consortium, led by the Eglin Chapter.
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 Green Mountain Chapter’s Jamie Navarro and President Ray Tanguay (both far right) and Vermont’s Champlain Valley Union High School CyberPatriot team.
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 Genesee Valley Chapter’s Kyle Mullen (r) names Martha O’Duffy as New York State and Chapter Teacher of the Year. She teaches at School No. 39 in Rochester. Chapter President Alfred Smith is at left.
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 Lewis E. Lyle Chapter’s secretary, Morris Cash (left), and President Larry Louden (right) present Nicholas Seward with the Chapter High School Teacher of the Year award. Seward teaches computer science at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts in Hot Springs.
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 US Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon receives the Distinguished American Award at the Nation’s Capital Chapter’s dinner in July. With him are (l-r): USAF Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh III, Chapter President Kevin Jackson, and AFA President Craig McKinley.
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 At Marquette University in Milwaukee, AFROTC cadet James Fehrenbach received the AFA Sword Award from Billy Mitchell Chapter President Victor Johnson (right). Fehrenbach is now in pilot training.
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 Also at Marquette’s All-Service Awards Ceremony, Johnson presented Andrew Giaimo with an AFA Silver Medal. The award goes to the outstanding junior-year cadet in an AFROTC detachment.
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 A week later, Johnson traveled to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, to present Megan Ritzert (center) with an AFA Silver Medal and Certificate. At left is Det. 925 commander, Lt. Col. Todd Berge.
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 At the Gen. B. A. Schriever Los Angeles Area Chapter’s Salute to Space and Missile Systems Center, Col. Janet Grondin accepts the Director of the Year award. L-r: Chapter President Ed Peura, Chapter Board Chairman Tav Taverney, and SMC Commander Lt. Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski. Photo by Sarah Corrice
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Col. Xavier Chavez accepts the Unit of the Year Award for the MILSATCOM Directorate at the Gen. B. A. Schriever Los Angeles Area Chapter’s Salute to Space and Missile Systems Center. L-r: Chapter President Ed Peura, Chapter Board Chairman Tav Taverney, and SMC Commander Lt. Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski. Photo by Sarah Corrice
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Reunions 12th Tactical Fighter Wg, Vietnam, 12th Fighter Escort Wg/Strategic Fighter Wg, Korea, 12th TFW, Randolph AFB, TX, 479th & 306th Flying Tng Gp, Pensacola, FL, & 306th FTG, US Air Force Academy. April 23-26, 2014, in Pensacola. Contact: E. J. Sherwood (480-396-4681) (ej12tfw@cox.net). 40th Fighter/40th Flight Test Sq (1939-present). Oct. 3-6 at Homewood Suites in Fairborn, OH. Contact: Bill Highfield (770-229-4297) (reddevil40@bellsouth.net). 377th Security Police Sq, Tan Son Nhut AB, Vietnam. April 24-27, 2014, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Wilmington, DE. Contact: Tim Clifford (724-742-0180) (tjcliff@consolidated.net). Aviation Cadet Pilot Tng Class 55-J. Oct. 8-11 at Best Western Hondo Inn in Hondo, TX. Contacts: Tom Bailey (618-544-9599) (tomandpauline@frontier.com) or Jim Gibler (806-771-5018) (jgibler@nts-online-net). USAF Pilot Tng Class 62-A. Nov. 5-11 at the Alex Park Resort, Las Vegas. Contact: David Tippett, 227 Forest Creek Dr., Bozeman, MT 59718 (406-570-8290) (dave.tippett@gmail.com). Pilot Tng Class 70-03, Reese AFB in November 2014. Contact: Johannes Korver (exlowflyer@cox.net). UPT Class 73-09, Williams AFB, AZ, in Phoenix. Contact: Jim Evans (480-831-1364) (kc135ejim@aol.com). Unit reunion notices should be sent four months ahead of the event to reunions@afa.org, or mail notices to “Unit Reunions,” Air Force Magazine, 1501 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA 22209-1198. Please designate the unit holding the reunion, time, location, and a contact for more information. We reserve the right to condense notices.
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