19dec97-afns
AFNS
Celebrating the Air Force's 50th Anniversary:
The Golden Legacy, Boundless Future...
Your Nation's Air Force
&
Air Force News Service
This file contains 4 stories and 2 image cutlines
AFNS electronic filename: 19dec97
971616. Andersen assesses impact of Supertyphoon Paka
971618. Luke secures national safety honor
971617. Commissioning opportunity exists through AECP
971619. Lodging staff provides deployment comforts
971616a,b. Andersen assesses impact of Supertyphoon Paka - cutlines
&
&
&
971616. Andersen assesses impact of Supertyphoon Paka
HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii (AFNS) -- After enduring more than 27
hours of Supertyphoon Paka, with reported wind gusts in excess of 201
mph and sea levels rising to 35 feet above normal, officials at Andersen
Air Force Base, Guam, reported no deaths and only minor injuries to base
residents.
Over the course of the storm, extreme winds and rain blowing from
various directions caused extensive damage to buildings, equipment,
automobiles and trees, according to Andersen officials.
"Trees are down all over the base," said Capt. Cathy Reardon, 36th Air
Base Wing public affairs officer. "The sheer velocity of the wind was
bad enough, but as the storm passed, the winds changed direction several
times, so there weren't many places that escaped damage."
Flying debris, including coconuts hurled by the wind, reportedly smashed
windows and caused considerable damage to automobiles and buildings.
Water damage from rain penetrated many buildings on base including
upper-level floors in the dormitories.
Master Sgt. Connie Johnson, 36th Operations Support Squadron Weather
Flight, worked the 48-hour shift as the typhoon slammed the base. She
came on shift just as the storm approached landfall and she was stuck in
the weather center until the "all clear" was sounded.
Johnson said the highest recorded winds were 205 knots, or about 236
mph.
"Our measuring equipment is rated to 150 knots," she explained. "There
is a margin of error for winds above that; however, the Doppler radar
showed indications of tornadic activity. So that 205 knots is well
within the realm of possibility."
"I had water coming in from the roof, around the doors and windows and
up through the floor," said Senior Airman Xavier Murillo, 36th Security
Forces Squadron. "The roofs on base housing are flat, so they weathered
the storm pretty well. But a lot of the buildings in the industrial
area were damaged."
Essential medical care, dining and food facilities were spared in the
storm. Running on generator power, these services, including the
commissary and the Army and Air Force Exchange Service shoppette, are
operational and open for business.
All other base facilities, including the AAFES main store, are closed
until evaluation by damage assessment teams are completed and power is
restored. Four days short of their scheduled break, Department of
Defense Education Activity schools have been closed until January.
The base is supplying electricity to the 1,400 base housing units
through generator power on a three-hour load share system. The system
supplies power for three hours to limited areas at a time.
"Our generators aren't big enough to provide power to every house around
the clock," said Tech. Sgt. Tommie Baker, the wing's chief of internal
information.
Water service is interrupted in some areas, and television signals
remain cut off.
Work to clean up Paka's trail of destruction is under way. Residents
are inspecting work and living areas to gauge the extent of the damage.
"Everyone has come together to help," Baker said.
Volunteers have formed clean-up teams to remove debris.
"Various teams are stacking the debris along the streets and others are
collecting the debris in trucks," Baker said. He said that all but two
roads on base are safe for travel. The airfield is open for daylight
approaches, officials said.
Reardon also reported that the commercial airport is also open for
daylight traffic.
Earlier, Guam Gov. Carl T. C. Gutierrez declared a local state of
emergency for the entire island and is reportedly seeking presidential
declaration of a state of emergency.
Damage to the island is estimated at more than $200 million. Gutierrez
also has mobilized the Guam National Guard and requested military
assistance, according to Ginger Cruz, spokeswoman for the governor's
office. (Courtesy of Pacific Air Forces News Service)
&
&
&
971618. Luke secures national safety honor
by Airman 1st Class Jeremy C. Tredway
56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. (AFNS) -- The National Safety Council
recently presented Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., its most prestigious
citation, the Award of Honor.
Luke was nominated for the award by Air Education and Training Command
for accomplishments in 1996, according to Senior Master Sgt. Larry
Stewart, 56th Fighter Wing Safety Office ground superintendent.
Luke was selected as one of six units to win the award from all groups,
wings and major commands eligible throughout the Air Force, said
Stewart.
The selection for eligibility is based on the organization's on-duty
composite ground mishap rate. This is derived from the total number of
civilian and military injuries and fatalities per 200,000 work hours.
To receive the highest award, an eligible unit must also achieve the
following three criteria:
-- A perfect ground mishap record or a reduction of 10 percent or more
in ground mishap rates compared to the average of the two previous
fiscal years.
-- A ground mishap rate better than the Air Force's ground mishap rate
for the fiscal award year and better than it's own rate for the previous
fiscal year.
-- Zero on-duty ground mishap fatalities, for units below command level.
In 1996, Luke's ground mishap rate was .1847 compared to the .3701
average of 1994 and 1995. This was greater than the 10-percent decrease
in ground mishap rate that was required for the award.
The second qualifying factor was Luke's ground mishap rate was
substantially lower than the Air Force's .2844 rate.
The final component in the winning formula was zero on-duty ground
mishap fatalities reported in 1996.
"I like to show people the Air Force ground mishap rate. Then I show
them ours and say, 'This is where we are.' I try to keep ours below the
Air Force's," said Stewart.
"This award is for the entire wing," he said. "The wing won this award,
not us."
"I don't just sit up here in my office and make everybody be safe," Lt.
Col. Jeffery Stambaugh, chief of safety, said. "The commanders,
supervisors and individuals are doing things the smart way and avoiding
preventable injuries."
"All we do is manage the commanders' safety programs and provide the
necessary tools for their programs to operate effectively," Stewart
said.
Some of the ways the safety office helps unit safety programs are
through education and training, safety inspections and checklists, and
identifying problems and solutions to improve them, Stewart explained.
"The commanders and unit safety advisors are coming to us for safety
information and ideas," said Stewart. "We really couldn't do it without
them. It takes the whole base doing the job right to achieve an
accomplishment like this."
The 56th Fighter Wing commander couldn't agree more. In fact, he said
the base has historically kept safety at the forefront.
"Luke's safety record is excellent and this award is proof of that,"
said Brig. Gen. Carrol Chandler. "Without each person's constant
vigilance and dedication to safety through the years we could not
accomplish what we do and maintain our fantastic record." (Courtesy of
AETC News Service)
&
&
&
971617. Commissioning opportunity exists through AECP
RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- Enlisted members interested in
becoming commissioned officers have an opportunity with the Air Force's
Airman Education and Commissioning Program.
The next AECP board meets June 23-25 to consider airmen who wish to
pursue baccalaureate degrees in meteorology, computer science, computer
engineering, electrical engineering, nursing and physical therapy.
Physical therapy applicants may also pursue a master's program.
Applicants who successfully complete their academic phase of AECP will
enter Officer Training School. Graduating nurse applicants are
commissioned after passing their National Council Licenser test and
completion of Commissioned Officer Training. Following graduation,
physical therapist applicants receive immediate commissions in the
appropriate medical service corps.
Those interested in applying must get their memorandum of academic
eligibility to the Air Force Institute of Technology by April 1. The
application deadline to Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps
headquarters is May 15. Base education offices can assist those
interested in applying with their education packages.
Selection for the AECP program is contingent on the applicants being
selected by a college or university offering the required degree program
and having an Air Force ROTC unit or educational services agreement.
Also, officials say, the annual tuition, including summer programs,
cannot exceed $4,300.
For more information about AECP, contact your base education center.
For information on academic eligibility, contact AFIT counselors via
e-mail at couns...@afit.af.mil. For details on program eligibility,
contact HQ AFROTC via e-mail at enl...@afoats.af.mil. (Courtesy of Air
Force Personnel Center News Service)
&
&
&
971619. Lodging staff provides deployment comforts
by 2nd Lt. Tara Shamhart
49th Fighter Wing Contingency Public Affairs Cell
KUWAIT (AFNS) -- After flying for several days to the Southwest Asia
area of operations, many deploying people arriving at a Kuwaiti air base
have two primary thoughts -- a shower and a bed.
Fortunately for all who come to the 4406th Operations Group
(Provisional) here, both can be found through the lodging office.
With approximately 500 room spaces to work with, bedding down people
might seem like an easy job. But factor in the constant rotation of
flying units and people through the 4406th, and lodging can quickly
become over-booked and potentially chaotic.
"Last Thursday, we were in the middle of setting up tents for an Army
unit that was moving in (more than 100 people)," explained Senior Airman
Kelly Dunn, 4406th OG(P) lodging manager. "In the middle of that, we
were told we would be getting over 200 people from Holloman (Air Force
Base, N.M.) the next day."
How did she handle the unexpected? By using every available resource
and putting the needs of the people first.
"We had to order pillows from off-base. That night, we went around and
delivered pillows to everyone who still needed one," said Dunn.
Much like the job of a flower-delivery service, it was a thankless job,
but one that brought smiles to hundreds of people that night.
The lodging office has done great with their limited resources,
according to Master Sgt. Jim Dunaway, the first sergeant for the F-117
unit from Holloman.
"Every request I've had, I've received something in a day or two --
pillows, VCRs, televisions for every tent -- which was a great morale
boost for everyone."
Not only does the lodging office coordinate where people will live, but
they also control cleaning and changing linens in rooms, and the upkeep
of the distinguished-visitor rooms. They also submit work orders to the
civil engineers when something breaks in the rooms.
Unfortunately, when the base is full, roommate problems cannot always be
solved easily.
"People will come to us either wanting their own room or wanting to move
because they don't like their roommate," said Dunn. "We usually try to
work it out with the first sergeant, but at times when there are no
rooms available, there is nothing we can do."
Dunn's supervisor, Tech. Sgt. Kem Redic, services chief, is glad to have
someone of Dunn's skill and ability working for him.
"For one so junior in grade holding a position that is probably fit for
a technical sergeant, her rank gets overlooked because the job she does
is flawles," said Redic.
Regardless of her rank, job responsibilities and challenges the lodging
office may be experiencing, Dunn always keeps a positive attitude when
doing her job.
"Not many people want to be here, so I try to make them as comfortable
as possible... and I always try to keep a smile and stay upbeat!"
(Courtesy of Air Combat Command News Service)
&
&
&
Note to editors: The images for AFNS stories are available in the news
area of Air Force Link on the World Wide Web. The address for AFLink is
http://www.af.mil. The files also are available via file transfer
protocol (FTP) from the Internet. FTP address is ftp.afnews.af.mil;
login: anonymous, password: guest; change directories to AFNS and get
the images as binary files. The files with the "gif" extension are
low-resolution preview images in GIF format. The files with the "jpg"
extension are high-resolution, print-quality images in JPEG format. Use
lower case for all alphabetic filename characters when downloading.
&
971616a,b. Andersen assesses impact of Supertyphoon Paka - cutlines
&
971616a.gif and 971616a.jpg
For more than 27 hours, people at Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, endured
Supertyphoon Paka. The typhoon brought recorded wind gusts in excess of
201 mph and sea levels rising to 35 feet above normal. Among the damage
were two trees were ripped from the ground in the housing area. (Photo
by Senior Airman Mike Dilley)
971616b.gif and 971616b.jpg
For more than 27 hours, people at Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, endured
Supertyphoon Paka. The typhoon brought recorded wind gusts in excess of
201 mph and sea levels rising to 35 feet above normal. Two heavy
equipment vehicles, a staircase truck and a flightline tug, were toppled
from high winds. (Photo by Senior Airman Mike Dilley)