08Jan98 Air Force Weekly

[AFWEEKLY]

Celebrating the Air Force's 50th Anniversary:
The Golden Legacy, Boundless Future...
Your Nation's Air Force
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Air Force News Service Weekly Summary
Designed to provide a brief look at the past week's Air Force News
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This summary contains 17 stories:
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971643. Combat arms achieves a first
971644. AMC now largest international carrier at eastern airport
971645. Phone service expands for passenger operations at Sea-Tac IAP
971646. 634th AMSS recovers from Typhoon Paka
971647. Coast Guard, Air Force assist in ship rescue
971648. Hurlburt Field airmen fulfill Honduran orphans' Christmas wishes
971649. Bare base team beats snow, deploys power equipment to Guam
971650. Air Commando Heritage: Stray Goose S-01 remembered
971651. Air Force, Coast Guard rescue 28 people from sinking ship in
Atlantic
971652. Special Investigations Academy graduates 45 agents
971653. Officers receive awards for research
971654. New health assessment more than an exam
971655. Passenger operations at airport starts commercial phone service
971656. AMC passenger operations at Seattle-Tacoma IAP expands hours
971657. Andersen exchange weathers storm
971658. Typhoon makes Magellan Inn hot spot
971659. Military team stands up to support FEMA

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971643. Combat arms achieves a first

by 1st Lt. Wilson Camelo
Air Combat Command Public Affairs

LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (AFNS) -- Air Combat Command will achieve a
first when 140 combat arms instructors receive air base defense training
Jan. 3-17 at the Desert Warfare Training Center near Nellis Air Force
Base, Nev.

The move comes as a result of combat arms, formerly combat arms training
and maintenance, and law enforcement merging into the security forces
Air Force Specialty Code Nov. 1.

Although always a part of the security forces career field, CATM people
maintained their own Air Force Specialty Code and never received formal
air base defense training.

The course, located at Indian Springs, Nev., is called Silver Flag Alpha
and is taught by the 99th Security Forces Squadron's Ground Combat
Training Flight at Nellis.

The course provides anti-terrorism, force protection and ABD training to
improve security forces' combat preparedness to meet mission
requirements and provides weapons training for those people filling
mobility positions.
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971644. AMC now largest international carrier at eastern airport

by 2nd Lt. Daryl Eli
305th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

MCGUIRE AIR FORCE BASE, N.J. (AFNS) -- The sun broke out of the clouds
and beamed through the skylights at Maryland's Baltimore-Washington
International Airport just in time for the opening ceremony honoring the
airport's new $140 million international terminal earlier this month.

Lt. Gen. John Handy, 21st Air Force commander, and Brig. Gen. Craig
Rasmussen, 305th Air Mobility Wing commander, were present to admire Air
Mobility Command's new northeast passenger gateway which stands as BWI's
largest international carrier with nine ticket counters.

Officially opening Feb. 1, AMC's gateway has already seen off passengers
via contract carriers. The gateway has gradually increased the number
of weekly flights out of BWI since operations began there Oct. 1. Over
the next few months, the AMC gateway will drive toward processing some
200,000 passengers annually on international and domestic routes.

The northeast gateway is transferring from Philadelphia International
Airport to BWI to better serve AMC's passengers because of BWI's
proximity to several military installations in the Washington area.
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971645. Phone service expands for passenger operations at Sea-Tac IAP

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFNS) -- Air Mobility Command has
established commercial phone service at the Seattle-Tacoma International
Airport, for its northwest gateway. Travelers can call (206) 444-9096
and 444-9097 to obtain recorded flight information on Category B
(military contracted) flights.

Also, Wednesdays through Sundays, noon to 8 p.m., personnel are
available at the Sea-Tac AMC counter to offer assistance.

Passengers can currently sign up for space available travel at the
Sea-Tac AMC counter or the passenger terminal at McChord Air Force Base,
Wash. (Courtesy of AMC News Service)
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971646. 634th AMSS recovers from Typhoon Paka

by Senior Master Sgt. Patrick Dillion
634th Air Mobility Support Squadron

ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam (AFNS) -- Members of the 634th Air
Mobility Support Squadron shifted into high gear immediately following
Typhoon Paka. Although the airfield wasn't operational, there was
plenty to do.

"Most of the time our efforts are focused on or around the flightline,"
said Maj. Roger Sorrell, flight commander. "But after a storm like this
everyone has to pitch in where they can.

Squadron members divided into three teams. Two teams concentrated on
cleaning up their assigned areas of the base while the third team went
to work in base housing. Most of the damage to the Air Mobility Command
facilities were the result of the heavy rains Typhoon Paka carried with
it. The dorm suffered the most water damage, and a freight warehouse,
came in a distant second.
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971647. Coast Guard, Air Force assist in ship rescue

PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) -- The Air Force Reserve's 920th
Rescue Group and the U.S. Coast Guard are sending people and aircraft to
rescue the crew of a disabled vessel 270 miles east of Cape Canaveral,
Fla.

The British-owned vessel, the Merchant Patriot, is a 493-foot merchant
ship with a 28-person crew on board.

The Coast Guard was initially notified that the vessel had a water pipe
rupture in the engine room but the vessel's crew believed it had the
flooding under control at 3:21 a.m. Dec. 30. The Merchant Patriot
contacted the Coast Guard again at 7:30 a.m. to report the flooding was
out of control. It also reported its life raft blew off the stern of
the vessel.
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971648. Hurlburt Field airmen fulfill Honduran orphans' Christmas wishes

by Staff Sgt. Bill Seabrook
Hurlburt Field Public Affairs

LA CEIBA, Honduras (AFNS) -- It wasn't Christmas yet, but that didn't
matter to the more than 150 children at the SOS Orphanage when a
Hurlburt Field, Fla., C-130 loaded with supplies and toys landed here
Dec. 14.

An 8th Special Operations Squadron crew, and volunteers from throughout
the 16th Special Operations Wing, delivered more than 5,000 pounds of
toys, clothing, books, shoes, bikes and medical supplies.

The goods were collected by various base organizations, the Air Commando
Association and the McCoskrie Threshold Foundation for Operation
Christmas Wish.
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971649. Bare base team beats snow, deploys power equipment to Guam

by Capt. Steve Peters
49th Materiel Maintenance Support Squadron

HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFNS) -- Despite being under a blanket of
snow, sleet and ice, Holloman's "bare base" team packaged and deployed
critical power support equipment to Guam for relief operations following
Supertyphoon Paka.

The typhoon knocked out electrical power on the entire island, and
existing generators, too small to carry the load, struggled to supply
temporary power. Members of the 49th Materiel Maintenance Group
answered a Dec. 19 call from Pacific Air Forces headquarters officials
to provide critical power production support equipment for deployment to
Andersen Air Force Base.

The "bare base" team immediately began preparing 17 generators and
support equipment for shipment.
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971650. Air Commando Heritage: Stray Goose S-01 remembered

by Capt. John Paradis
Hurlburt Field Public Affairs

HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. (AFNS) -- Throughout the war in Southeast Asia, Air
Commando MC-130E Combat Talons in Vietnam would fly alone and unescorted
to drop leaflets to the enemy, insert special teams deep into North
Vietnam or conduct resupply missions.

The missions were so secret that crews flying the Operation Stray Goose
mission were immediately separated from conventional crews when they
arrived in Vietnam at their forward operating bases.

Finally, after 30 years and a recent declassification, the story of the
only Stray Goose MC-130 Combat Talon combat loss is now being told.
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971651. Air Force, Coast Guard rescue 28 people from sinking ship in
Atlantic

PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) -- U.S. Air Force Reserve and Coast
Guard rescue units safely removed the 28 crewmembers from the sinking
British cargo vessel Merchant Patriot and took them to Marsh Harbor at
Great Abaco Island, Bahamas, for evaluation. The rescue process
involved hoisting each of the Merchant Patriot's crewmembers from the
ocean into a helicopter one by one.

The last crewmember was retrieved at approximately 2:10 p.m. EST Dec.
30. All of the rescued crewmembers are reported to be in good health.

The Air Force and the Coast Guard deployed five helicopters and two
airplanes for the rescue operation which took place about 270 nautical
miles east of Cape Canaveral and about 130 nautical miles north of
Abaco.
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971652. Special Investigations Academy graduates 45 agents

ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. (AFNS) -- The Air Force Office of Special
Investigations welcomed 45 new special agents to its ranks during a
December graduation ceremony at the Air Force Special Investigations
Academy.

The ceremony culminated 12 weeks of academics, practical exercises and
firearms training for officer, enlisted and civilian agent-trainees in
the academy's basic special investigators course.

AFOSI, the Air Force's major investigative service since Aug. 1, 1948,
is responsible for providing Air Force commanders independent
professional investigative services regarding fraud, counterintelligence
and major criminal matters.
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971653. Officers receive awards for research

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFNS) -- Two captains and a retired lieutenant
colonel have been honored for superior research projects in 1997.

The officers received the awards at the fifth annual Air Force Institute
for National Security Studies Research Results Conference held here.

Capts. Stephen P. Lambert and David A. Miller received the Maj. Gen.
Robert E. Linhard Award for Outstanding Research for INSS. Their
research paper was titled, "Russia's Crumbling Tactical Nuclear Weapons
Complex: An Opportunity for Arms Control.

Retired Lt. Col. James M. Smith received the Outstanding Academy
Researcher Award for his paper titled, "Environmental Federalism and
U.S. Military Installations: A Framework for Compliance."
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971654. New health assessment more than an exam

by Master Sgt. Anita Bailey
Air Force Surgeon General Public Affairs
BOLLING AIR FORCE BASE, D.C. (AFNS) -- Air Force members will now
receive a health assessment annually as part of a new medical program to
ensure all members are ready to deploy and fight.

The new program, called Preventive Health Assessment, or PHA, changes
the way the Air Force performs periodic physical examinations from a
system based on intervention to one which stresses prevention.

The PHA was recently announced and is being implementing at bases
worldwide. The physical exams section at the medical treatment
facility, in conjunction with the unit health monitor, schedules the
PHA.
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971655. Passenger operations at airport starts commercial phone service

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFNS) -- Air Mobility Command has
established commercial phone service at the Baltimore-Washington
International Airport, Md., for its Northeast gateway.

Travelers can call (410) 691-2825 to talk to passenger operations and
(410) 691-2450 to obtain recorded flight information on Category B
(military contracted) flights. The fax number is (410) 691-2443.
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971656. AMC passenger operations at Seattle-Tacoma IAP expands hours

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFNS) -- The Air Mobility Command counter
located at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, will change its hours
starting Jan. 1.

Passenger operations personnel will be available Monday through Friday
7:30 a.m. until 4 p.m.
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971657. Andersen exchange weathers storm

by Master Sgt. Ron Hyink
36th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam (AFNS) -- Most Army and Air Force Exchange
Service facilities on base are up and running, thanks to a cadre of
dedicated workers, according to Chris Pecor, AAFES general manager for
Guam.

Virtually all AAFES outlet stores and the warehouse sustained water
damage from Supertyphoon Paka, while some facilities suffered heavy
structural damage.

The AAFES team on Andersen consists of about 350 employees, most of whom
experienced major damages to their homes.

"None of them have power, some of them don't have water, and at least 12
of them lost everything," Pecor said. "They're still coming in to work
and taking care of business here -- an absolutely phenomenal effort on
their part."
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971658. Typhoon makes Magellan Inn hot spot

by Senior Airman Deana Silvey
36th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam (AFNS) -- The Magellan Inn, Andersen's
base dining facility, seems to be the hot spot since Supertyphoon Paka
devastated this island outpost.

It could be because it is offering hot meals four times a day every
weekday, not only to military members but to their families and
Department of Defense civilians and their families.

The number of customers served has tripled since the typhoon, and more
than 1,300 meals are being served daily, but the staff size has remained
the same.
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971659. Military team stands up to support FEMA

by Staff Sgt. Julie Briggs
36th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam (AFNS) -- Nine military members from
Hawaii are here to help military organizations on Guam set up the
Defense Coordinating Element of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency.

The team arrived Dec. 27 aboard a C-5 loaded with FEMA personnel,
equipment and relief supplies, sent to help island residents recover
from Supertyphoon Paka.

"Any requirements that exceed the government of Guam's resources or
capabilities are sent to FEMA for possible support," said Col. Pete
Kippie, assistant defense coordinating officer. "FEMA evaluates all
available federal agencies for their capability to fill short-falls. The
federal agency that's best able to meet the need is then asked to fill
it. In this operation, FEMA has often dialed 911 and our armed forces
have answered magnificently."