15dec97 AFNS

[AFNS]

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
This file contains 5 stories and 6 image cutlines
AFNS electronic filename: 15dec97
971591. CMSAF Benken opens web site
971590. People First: Housing allowance questions, answers - MUST RUN
971589. Conseil International Du Sport Militaire lays memorial wreath
at Lackland
971587. Air Force scientist in Iraq meets the challenge as a U.N.
weapon
971588. The U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home Represents 150 Years of
Military Support
971587a,b. Air Force scientist in Iraq meets the challenge as a U.N.
weapon - cutlines
971588a,b,c,d. The U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home Represents 150
Years of Military Support - cutlines
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971591. CMSAF Benken opens web site

WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- The chief master sergeant of the Air Force is now
in cyberspace.

The Air Force has launched on the World Wide Web the Air Force senior
enlisted leader's home page at http://www.af.mil/lib/cmsaf/. The
website is an effort by Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Eric W.
Benken get more information to Air Force enlisted men and women all over
the world.

The site includes information about the chief, the Office of the Chief
Master Sergeant of the Air Force, his current issues, speeches and his
office staff. The site will be updated regularly by Benken with his
thoughts and ideas on issues affecting the enlisted force.
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971590. People First: Housing allowance questions, answers - MUST RUN
Note to Editors: SAF/PA has designated this story a must run for base
newspapers.

A new housing allowance system called the basic allowance for housing
takes effect Jan. 1 as part of the 1998 National Defense Authorization
Act. BAH is a monthly housing payment, replacing the current basic
allowance for quarters and variable housing allowance.

The intent of the new allowance is to provide uniformed service members
with housing compensation based on comparable civilian housing costs.
BAH rates take into consideration rank, dependency status (with or
without dependents) and location. The rates are based on housing costs
for civilians with comparable income levels residing in the same area.

Question: Why do we need a new housing allowance system?

Answer: The old housing allowance system couldn't keep up with rising
housing costs, and members were being forced to pay more out-of-pocket
money than originally intended. Congress intended that 15 percent of
housing costs come out of pocket (not covered by a housing allowance).
Current out-of-pocket costs have increased to about 20 percent. Changes
to BAH are tied to housing costs growth, thus protecting people from
further out-of-pocket increases over time.

Question: Will I see a big change in my housing allowance Jan. 1?

Answer: No. Most people will not see dramatic increases or decreases in
housing allowances because changes will be phased in over six years.
This transition period was set up to keep reductions gradual. Compared
to the current BAQ plus VHA, the new housing allowances will increase in
expensive housing locations around the nation and decrease in medium- to
low-cost housing areas.

One good point is that junior enlisted people are expected to receive
increases at most locations. A grandfathering provision, known as rate
protection, will prevent reductions in housing allowances as long as
airmen remain at their current duty station and have no change in their
dependency status.

Question: How do I know the new BAH rates will be fair?

Answer: The new BAH is designed to ensure service people of the same
grade and dependency status can afford the same level of housing with
the same monthly out-of-pocket expense at any location.

For example, if the out-of-pocket cost for a typical staff sergeant with
dependents is $100, noncommissioned officers of that grade can expect to
pay $100 out of pocket for similar housing no matter where assigned
(high-, medium- or low-cost housing location). BAH is designed so lower
pay grades will have lower out-of-pocket costs than senior grades.

For a given person, the actual out-of-pocket expense will be greater or
lower than the typical $100 in the example, based on their actual choice
of housing. For example, if a member chooses a bigger or more expensive
residence than is typical for their civilian counterpart with comparable
salary at that location, that person may have larger out-of-pocket
expenses. The opposite is true for individuals who choose to occupy
smaller or less expensive residences.

On average, the out-of-pocket expense will be the same for similar
housing for a given pay grade and dependency status at any location in
the United States.

The next edition of People First will address methods used to determine
BAH for each location and the rate protection feature of BAH. For more
information about BAH, contact your financial services office.
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971589. Conseil International Du Sport Militaire lays memorial wreath
at Lackland

LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- Gen. Lloyd "Fig" Newton, Air
Education and Training Command commander, and Col. L.A. Motlhatlhedi
from Botswana laid a memorial wreath at Lackland's Medal of Honor
monument on behalf of the Conseil International Du Sport Militaire
boxing competition's Chiefs of Mission.

The solemn ceremony took place at the Lackland parade grounds Dec. 10.

Since CISM's inception in 1948, the wreath-laying ceremony has been a
tradition at every competition to recognize and honor all the military
who have died while serving in the defense of their respective
countries. The event included comments by Newton and Motlhatlhedi, the
wreath laying, full military honors by Lackland's Honor Guard, and the
playing of "Taps."

Motlhatlhedi is the official CISM representative to the 43rd World
Boxing Championships. The attending Chiefs of Mission are the senior
country representatives. Thirteen countries are participating in the
week-long competition, including Algeria, Egypt, India, Italy,
Kazakstan, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, South Africa, Russia, France, Greece,
Ukraine and the United States.

CISM is the second largest amateur sports organization, second only to
the Olympics. The CISM competitions are one of the preliminary
competitions for military athletes preparing for the Olympics.
(Courtesy of AETC News Service)
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971587. Air Force scientist in Iraq meets the challenge as a U.N.
weapon inspector
2nd Lt. Mike Nachshen
Air Force News Service

BROOKS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- When Maj. (Dr.) Eric Holwitt volunteered
to go to Baghdad, Iraq, and serve as a United Nation's Special
Commission weapons inspector, he knew he was in for an unusual
deployment. But what had initially seemed like an opportunity to travel
to a country most Americans associate with the Persian Gulf War quickly
turned into front-page news when the Iraqi government refused to let him
and other Americans onto inspection sites.

Before Holwitt would return to San Antonio from his 89 day deployment he
would find himself repeatedly barred from weapon inspection sites,
called "incompetent" and a "spy" by Iraqi officials, and expelled from
Iraq in the middle of the night. He would also sip tea within miles of
a possible chemical weapons facility and arrange for a United Nations
tow truck to assist an official Iraqi vehicle.

"I really thought it was an important job that had to be done. Iraq had
promised to destroy its chemical weapons " said Holwitt, a biochemist
stationed here. "Our team was there to ensure they had."

Holwitt wasn't the only one who thought Iraq should get rid of weapons
of mass destruction. In 1991, the United Nations Security Council
passed resolution 687, which the United States and other members of the
international community signed. The resolution stated Iraq should open
to inspection and destruction, sites where nuclear, chemical and
biological weapons or components could be manufactured or stored.

"One of the key elements of (the resolution) was that Iraq should get
rid of its weapons of mass destruction, and there be a monitoring system
to be sure that Iraq doesn't reconstitute this program," said Charles
Duelfer, Deputy Executive Chairman of UNSCOM. "Our task is to account
for all of these elements of the weapons program and to ensure that they
are either destroyed, removed, or rendered harmless."

Initially, Holwitt said, the deployment went according to plan. With
the cooperation of the Iraqi government, he was able to perform his
mission: Collect and analyze air samples for chemical agents that are
off-limits to Iraq.

In fact, said Holwitt, who served as laboratory chief of the Baghdad
Monitoring and Verification Center, the only difficulties he encountered
prior to Oct. 29 occurred when the clutch of his UN vehicle burned out
some 132 miles north of Baghdad.

The Iraqi officials monitoring the UN delegation towed Holwitt and the
two other members of his team to a nearby gas station. Because Holwitt
was the new person on the team, he waited at the gas station for the UN
tow-truck, while the other inspectors rode with the Iraqi "minders" to
the nearby inspection site.

"The other two people went on, completed the mission, came back and sat
at the gas station," said Holwitt. " The Iraqis were extremely
hospitable at the gas station. They continuously served me hot tea and
dates."

Once the tow truck arrived, the minders began their trip back to
Baghdad. But a few miles down the road, their car broke down. This
time, it was the UN's turn to lend a hand.

"They were leaking water like a sieve," said the Plainfield, N.J.
native. "We must have given them 15 liters of drinking water for their
car. We instructed the driver of the UN tow truck to either tow them or
follow them to make sure they got back safely."

The cooperative relationship also carried over into the actual
inspections. On a normal day, the minders would follow the inspectors
to a site, then pull around in front of the UN car and talk to the gate
guards. But that changed after Oct. 29th.

"They would pull around in front of us and stop. They'd get out of
their car and we'd get out of our car and they'd say 'I'm sorry, you're
not allowed to enter because you're an American,' " said Holwitt.
"They were polite but insistent."

The Iraqis offered to let the other inspectors onto the site, Holwitt
said, but UNSCOM's policy was all or none. At this point, Holwitt said,
he would let headquarters in Baghdad know that his team was unable to
complete its mission, and turn around.

Holwitt said he wasn't worried or afraid for his safety during these
exchanges, but his wife, Dara, who watched the events of her husband's
deployment unfold on CNN, was.

"My first thought was (for him to) get on a plane and get out of there,"
she said. "Every time he mentioned how he was always being escorted,
guarded by Iraqi soldiers, I was afraid."

Dara Holwitt's wish came true, although not in a way she expected, on
Nov. 13, when the Iraqi government expelled Holwitt and the five other
American inspectors from Iraq late at night.

"I was upset. I had come there to do a job, and I wanted to finish my
mission," said Holwitt. "The other thing that upset me was the senior
ranking Iraqi officials. They challenged the competency of most of the
inspectors -- and that we really didn't know what we were doing --
because they claimed we were there as intelligence people rather than as
people who knew about missiles and knew about chemistry and knew about
biology."

The Iraqi government was so eager to see them go, it wouldn't let them
wait until the next day for a UN plane. At 11 p.m. that evening,
Holwitt and the five other American members of UNSCOM got into three
cars, and flanked by two Iraqi cars filled with soldiers, began driving
to the Jordanian border.

"The news said it was an arduous drive through the desert, but it was no
more arduous than driving from San Antonio to El Paso," said Holwitt.

The Americans arrived safely in Jordan, and a few weeks later returned
to Iraq. However, Holwitt didn't go with them -- he only had four days
left in his rotation, and UNSCOM decided to send him home. Holwitt said
he was disappointed, but once he saw his wife and children, he was happy
to be back.

"I think it's a really important job," said Holwitt. "I'm happy to be
back with my family, but I know I did the right thing when I volunteered
to participate in this important UN mission and help reduce the threat
of chemical and biological weapons."
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971588. The U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home Represents 150 Years of
Military Support
by Kerri Childress
USSAH Public Affairs Officer

BOLLING AIR FORCE BASE, D.C. (AFNS) -- Ask retired Air Force Master Sgt.
William "Mac" McLaughlin if he ever thought as a young Marine and later
airman that he would eventually be living at the U.S. Soldiers' and
Airmen's Home in Washington, D.C., and he is quick to reply, "Good
heavens, no. None of us ever thought we'd be here. But I will tell you
it is my home now, and I am eternally grateful to have it."

McLaughlin was at Pearl Harbor when Japan devastated the island and the
American fleet. He went on to fight in three island battles as a
Marine, including Iwo Jima. After the war, he got out of the military
only to reenlist in the U.S. Air Force. A Korean War veteran as well,
McLaughlin served his country "with pride and honor" for more than 20
years.

McLaughlin's story is only one of more than 1,400 here. Stories of
wartime heroism that covers the gamut from World War I through Vietnam.
The sign at the gate tells visitors this home is "for distinguished
veterans;" the residents' military records attest to that.

Like active duty men and women, these veterans come from different walks
of life, and every state in the union. More than 93 percent served in
combat, many in two and three conflicts. Some were prisoners of war in
Germany and Japan; some survived the Bataan Death March.

There are residents that landed at Normandy on D-Day, survived the
bombings on Pearl Harbor, freed Nazi-run concentration camps and
torpedoed Japanese ships from submerged submarines.

They served in the trenches of France, in the bitter cold of Korea and
in the jungles of Vietnam. Many of them are true heroes in the
narrowest sense or the word. All gave part of their lives in support of
freedom. They are, in short, men and women who have earned the right to
live out their lives in dignity.

Established nearly 150 years ago, the home was originally called the
U.S. Soldiers' Home. Soldiers made an average of $11 a month, and from
that, the Army deducted 25 cents from their monthly pay to fund the
newly established "asylum for old and disabled soldiers." The funding
system, which also included fines and forfeitures, continues today.
The home has never received taxpayers' dollars -- it is one the very
best examples of the Army, and later the Air Force, taking care of their
own.

Today, nearly half the home's residents are retired from the Air Force,
and many of them began service in the Army Air Corps in World War II.
After a separate Air Force was formed in 1947, Air Force enlisted people
continued to reside at the home because they had earned the right and
had helped pay for it while serving in the Army. Some years later, the
home's name changed to the U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home.

Nestled in the heart of our Nation's Capitol on 320-acres of secure,
park-like setting, the USSAH is a thriving community that offers Air
Force retirees and certain veterans a haven of retreat. Whereas
veterans once lived in eight-man squad rooms, all of today's residents
have private rooms and many have private baths. Health care services
range from community nursing and assisted living in the dormitories, to
primary, intermediate and skilled care at the King Health center. This
well-equipped, 220-bed, long-term care facility received its second
three-year accreditation with commendation from the Joint Commission on
Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.

Unfortunately, with increased health care costs the current 50 cents a
month deducted from the active duty, the fines and forfeitures, and
increased resident fees are not enough to keep the home running.
Military downsizing has had its impact, particularly in the realm of
fines and forfeitures, which dropped substantially as the quality of
troops increased.

The Air Force Sergeants Association has come to the home's aid by
forming the Armed Forces Retirement Home Foundation, which should be
listed with the Combined Federal Campaign next year. Furthermore,
retirees can now make voluntary allotments directly from their
paychecks. The Secretary of Defense is considering a proposal to
increase the monthly withholding to $1, which the Air Force, Army and
Marine Corps support.
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971587a,b. Air Force scientist in Iraq meets the challenge as a U.N.
weapon - cutlines
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971587a.gif and 971587a.jpg
Maj. (Dr.) Eric Holwitt, an Air Force biochemist, transfers a chemical
reagent from a pipette to a test tube in his lab at Brooks Air Force
Base, Texas. Holwitt, who served on a United Nations weapon inspection
team for 89 days, was one of six American inspectors recently expelled
from Iraq. They were enforcing UN resolution 687, which prohibits Iraq
from possessing or manufacturing weapons of mass destruction. (USAF
photo by 2nd Lt. Mike Nachshen)
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971587b.gif and 971587b.jpg
Maj. (Dr.) Eric Holwitt (right) takes chemical samples to verify Iraqi
compliance with United Nations resolution 687 which ordered Iraq to
destroy its weapons of mass destruction. Holwitt, who served on a UN
weapon inspection team for 89 days, was one of six American inspectors
recently expelled from Iraq. (Photo courtesy of Maj. Eric Holwitt)
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971588a,b,c,d. The U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home Represents 150
Years of Military Support - cutlines
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971588a.gif and 971588a.jpg
The LaGarde Building houses nearly 200 residents in a long-term care
setting. The facility recently was awarded accreditation with
commendation by the Joint Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations,
placing it among the top healthcare facilities in the nation. (Courtesy
photo by Bill Jackson, USSAH resident)
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971588b.gif and 971588b.jpg
Retired Air Force Master Sgt. William "Mac" McLaughlin takes daily walks
around the 320 acres that make up the U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home.
(Courtesy photo by Bill Jackson, USSAH resident)
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971588c.gif and 971588c.jpg
Retired Air Force Master Sgt. Stanley Filipek has won numerous artistic
awards and his paintings hang throughout the home. Filipek is a combat
veteran of World War II and Korea, serving more than 20 years on active
duty. (Courtesy photo by Bill Jackson, USSAH resident)
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971588d.gif and 971588d.jpg
Retired Air Force lieutenant George Clark talks about his military
experiences with a local high school student. Clark was a 15-year-old
Marine in the trenches during World War I, he served in the Army during
World War II, and was recalled to active duty -- this time the Air Force
-- during the Korean Conflict. (Courtesy photo by Bill Jackson, USSAH
resident)