VOL. 46 NO. 11 MARCH 17, 2006

InsideCommentary . . . . . . . . . . . Page 2

News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pages 3-13

Feature . . . . . . . . . . . Pages 14-15

Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . Pages 16-18

Community . . . . . . . . . . . Page 19

Academyreinstates

Recognition

And the winners are…

Photo by Danny Meyer

Tourney-boundFalcon guard Matt McCraw models a replica of a World Wrestling Federation championship belt Sunday betweenteammates Jacob Burtschi, left, and Antoine Hood, during a news conference at Clune Arena following AirForce’s selection to the NCAA Basketball Tournament.This is the Falcons fourth appearance in the “Big Dance,”and second in three years. They played Illinois in San Diego, Calif., on Thursday after press time. McCraw saidthe belt symbolizes the winning attitude his team is taking into the post-season. For more on the Falcons mak-ing the tournament field of 65, see Page 16.

By Wayne AmannAcademy Spirit staff

Hollywood isn’t the only place forAcademy Awards.

Sixteen of the Air Force Academy’selite performers were honored among 52nominees, Wednesday, during the 46thannual Academy Awards Banquet at theofficer’s club, before a crowd of nearly 400.

“These are many of our finest,”Academy Command Chief Master SergeantMichael Eitnier said. “Each member of theAcademy team plays a vital role in educating,training and inspiring all of our men andwomen to be Airmen of character. Thecompetition for these awards was tough.”

Each nominee was evaluated on every-thing from job knowledge to communityinvolvement.

The theme for this year’s event was“Team USAFA – Wingmen Committed toExcellence.” The idea is that traditionally,fighter pilots never fly into combat opera-tions without their wingman. The wingmanscenario, looking out for each other, appliesto today’s Air Force community.

A video, produced by Rhomann JointVenture and the 10th CommunicationSquadron, showcased Academy “wingmen”sharing their thoughts about the theme.

The evening’s host and guest speakerwas Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. JohnF. Regni.

“Excellence, service and character areall across the Academy. It makes singlingout the very best nominees a pretty hardtask,” the general said. “What sets theAcademy apart is our character development.It’s the root of our mission and vision. It’sinherent in our core values. It’s the foundationof our honor code, and woven through cadetlife. This year’s graduates wouldn’t be menand women of character without role models,mentors and living examples of how toconduct themselves. That keeps us on ourtoes because the cadets are watching us.”

General Regni and Chief Eitnier thenpresented Academy awards to:Company Grade Officer of the Year

Capt. Ronald Cheatham, USAFA/DPSenior NCO of the Year

Master Sgt. Benjamin Del Mar, 10SFS/SFTMNCO of the Year

Tech. Sgt. Tracy Jackson, 34 TRG/CS20Airman of the Year

Airman 1st Class Faris Flournoy, 10

SGS/SFOAFirst Sergeant of the Year

Senior Master Sgt. Tomas Fredricks, 34TRG/CG2Civilian of the Year

Ms. Paula Johnson, 10 MSS/DPMPSSenior Civilian of the Year

Mr. Jose Vasquez, 34 TRW/CWCLCrafts and Trades Civilian of the Year

Ms. Carla Stewart, 10 SVSProfessional Civilian of the Year

Ms. Ivajean Peters, USAFA/FMNManager/Supervisor Civilian of the Year

Mr. Mark Braley, USAFA/PLIndividual Mobilization Augmentee NCOof the Year

Staff Sgt. Kristopher Evers, 10SFS/SFOKIMA Company Grade Officer of the Year

Maj. Michael Lattanzi, USAFA/DFMSHonor Guard Airman of the Year

Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Fleischer, 10MDOS/SGOIMHonor Guard NCO of the Year

Tech. Sgt. Ricardo Russo, 10MDSS/SGSLRHonor Guard Senior NCO of the Year

Master Sgt. Vicki Seal, 10MDSS/CCFHonor Guard Company Grade Officerof the Year

Capt. Chad Carter, USAFA/DFL

By Academy Spirit staff

Recognition returned to theAcademy Thursday after a three-yearhiatus.

Recognition marks the transition ofthe fourthclassmen to upper class status.It is the ceremonial acknowledgementthat the fourth class, as a whole, hassuccessfully met the military trainingrequirements expected of it and isprepared to continue its journey throughthe rigors of Academy life.

“Recognition is the culminationof the Doolie year,” said AcademySuperintendent Lt. Gen. John Regni.“Recognition goes back to the foundingdays of the Academy. The class of 2006should be the class that reinstatesRecognition permanently. That shouldbe their legacy.”

In 2003, the decision was made toend Recognition as part of an overallculture and climate change. By profes-sionally redesigning and executing itfor the class of 2009, cadets willdevelop an overall sense of accom-plishment and pride in the achieve-ments of the cadet wing and the sharedheritage of Recognition.

In addition to challenging the classof 2009, Recognition provides the threeupper classes an opportunity to developleadership skills by exercising theirroles in relation to the OfficerDevelopment System and the PITO(personal, interpersonal, team and orga-nizational leadership) leadership model.

“Even though this event is focusedon the fourthclassmen, it’s an oppor-tunity for all classes to participate andmeet their ODS objectives,” said Cadet1st Class Edward Montgomery,Recognition commander.

Recognition consists of wing- andsquadron-run activities. Wing-levelevents include the leadership course,assault course, chutes and ladders,Academy tour course, as well as manda-tory meal formations, a motivationalspeaker and “The Run to the Rock.”Events started after classes Thursdayevening, and conclude with a celebra-tory dinner Saturday.

Academy salutes top performers

Academy SpiritMarch 17, 2006COMMENTARY2

Send submissions to: HQ USAFA/PAI, 2304Cadet Drive, Suite 318, U.S. Air Force Academy, CO80840-5016 or deliver to Suite 318 in Harmon Hall.

Deadline for free classified ads on a space-available basis is 12 noon every Tuesday for thatweek’s publication date. Paid classified advertisingis accepted by the publisher at 329-5236. The numberto call for display advertising is 634-5905.

Deadline for all stories is noon Friday, oneweek prior to the desired publication date. Referquestions to the Academy Spirit staff at 333-7557.

The staff also accepts story submissions by fax(333-4094) or by e-mail (pa.newspaper@usafa.af.mil).

The Academy Spirit is published byColorado Springs Military Newspaper Group, aprivate firm in no way connected with the U.S.Air Force, under exclusive written contract withthe U.S. Air Force Academy. This civilian enter-prise Air Force newspaper is an authorized pub-lication for members of the U.S. military ser-vices. Contents of the Academy Spirit are notnecessarily the official views of, or endorsed by,the U.S. government, the Department of Defenseor the Department of the Air Force.

The appearance of advertising in this publi-cation, including inserts or supplements, doesnot constitute endorsement by the Department ofDefense, the Department of the Air Force, orColorado Springs Military Newspaper Group, of

the products or services advertised. Everything

advertised in this publication shall be made

available for purchase, use or patronage without

regard to race, color, religion, sex, national ori-

gin, age, marital status, physical handicap, polit-

ical affiliation or any other nonmerit factor of the

purchaser, user or patron. The printer reserves

the right to reject any advertisements.

Editorial content is edited, prepared and pro-

vided by the U.S. Air Force Academy Directorate

of Public Affairs. The editor reserves the right

to edit articles to conform to Air Force policy

and Associated Press style. All photos are U.S.

Air Force photos unless otherwise indicated.

SubmissionsDirectorate of Public Affairs mission:To responsibly inform and educate the

Academy community and the public about theAir Force Academy

Lt. Gen. John Regni — Academy SuperintendentLt. Col. Laurent J. Fox — Director of Public Affairs

1st Lt. John Ross — Chief, Internal InformationStaff Sgt. Monte Volk — NCOIC, Internal Information/Editor

Butch Wehry — Senior Staff Writerwhalen.wehry@usafa.af.mil

Wayne Amann — Staff Writerwayne.amann@usafa.af.mil

Eddie Kovsky — Staff Writeredward.kovsky.ctr@usafa.af.mil

Denise Navoy — Graphic Designer

Women: Building communities, dreams By Airman 1st Class Kara Torres 1st Operations Support Group

LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (AFPN) —Since the beginning of time, women have played animportant role in human existence. We are daughters,sisters, wives, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, mentorsand teachers.

Mothers can magically heal a “boo-boo” with akiss and a bandage; they say the right things to mend abroken heart or provide a hug or a shoulder to cry on.

But women are not only emotional, loving crea-tures.

When American Soldiers were sent to the world’said in World War I, women stepped up to the plate totake care of America, rear children, take care of thehome — all while manufacturing and shipping desper-ately needed items for the war.

Passionate women have also disguised themselvesas men in order to be a part of worthy causes, such asJoan of Arc during the Hundred Years War or SarahEmma Edmondson (aka Frank Thompson) in theAmerican Civil War.

History is loaded with headlines regarding womenmaking a difference in the world and leaving theirmark in the hearts of people forever. My focus is onthe Air Force, where many firsts have been recorded in

history. According to the March 2002 issue of Airmanmagazine, the following women made great strides:

— First woman to cross Atlantic Ocean solo(1932), Amelia Earhart

— First woman in the Air Force (1948), Staff Sgt.Esther Blake

— First woman to break the sound barrier (1953),Jacqueline Cochran

— First female chief master sergeant (1960),Chief Master Sgt. Grace Peterson

— First female promoted to general (1971), Brig.Gen. Jeanne Holm

— First female chaplain (1973), 1st Lt. LorraineK. Potter

— First female test pilot (1974), Capt. Leslie H.Kenne

— Women became Basic Military TrainingInstructors (1975)

— First female Air Force Academy cadet (1976),Joan Olsen

— First women (10) graduate Air ForceUndergraduate Pilot Training, Williams Air ForceBase, Ariz. (1977)

— First Hispanic female graduates AF Academy(1980), Linda Garcia Cubero

— First secretary of the Air Force (1993), SheilaWidnall

— First female to fly combat missions (1995),Capt. Martha McSally

— First female space shuttle commander (1999),Col. Eileen Collins

— First female sniper school graduate (2001),Senior Airman Jennifer Donaldson

— First female Aerial Gunner (2003), Airman 1stClass Vanessa Dobos

— First female Thunderbird pilot (2006), Capt.Nicole Malachowski

Women need not only be recognized and honoredfor firsts, but should also be commended for theircontinuing bravery and courage and leadership.

Recently in Iraq, four women helped save aconvoy. In another part of Iraq, Capt. LeeAnn Roberts,a coalition military assistance training team leader isthe only female out of the 8,000 or so on this partic-ular base. Her job is to train Iraqi recruits to protecttheir own country.

It’s amazing how far humans have come since thebeginning of time, yet we still have so far to go. Idoubt there will ever be a day when there will nolonger be a “first” record, regardless of age, gender,religion, race or ethnicity. So I encourage each andeveryone of you — man or woman, young or old — tostrive for your dreams, accomplish your goals and bebuilders of communities and dreams!

Spring Break Travel and Return

• Commercial/Air Travel: arrive at least two hours prior to departure to allow time to get throughthe security/ticket lines.

• POV: If you are driving, abide by AFCWMAN 36-3501, para. 4.5.3, Vehicle Safety.

• Travel Attire: (Ref. AFCWM 36-3501, page 5-6, para 5.4) 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class cadets may wear civilian attire while traveling via commercial transportationbut must be in service uniform while traveling on Space Available military transportation.4th class cadets must wear service dress uniform to and from their leave location regardless of the mode of travel.

Prepare for your return to the Academy! Prepare uniforms before departing; get haircuts before returning!

The Cadet Sight Picture (Cadet Wing Manual 36-3501) provides an insight into the day-to-dayrequirements for cadets.

Academy SpiritMarch 17, 2006 NEWS 3

By Academy Spirit staff

Two aviators who brought World War II to theJapanese mainland, and the son and granddaughter ofthe mission’s leader spoke to cadets, faculty and staffTuesday evening.

Retired Cols. Bill Bower and Dick Cole, along withretired Col. John Doolittle and Jonna Doolittle Hoppes,were the speakers for a Department of History lecture.

On April 18, 1942, 80 volunteer bomber aircrewmembers, led by then-Lt. Col. James Doolittle, launched16 B-25 Mitchell medium bombers from the aircraftcarrier USS Hornet to bomb Japan.

Plans called for the B-25s to take off from the carrierwhen within 450 to 650 miles of Japan, bomb selectedtargets at such locations as Yokohama and Tokyo, andthen fly another 1,200 miles to friendly airfields onmainland China.

Unfortunately, an enemy patrol boat was sightedand, although it was sunk by U.S. gunfire, the decisionwas made to launch the planes at once in case the patrolboat had been able to radio a warning to Japan. The B-25s were launched while the task force was 800 milesfrom Japan rather than the desired 450 to 650 miles.

Colonels Cole and Doolittle were at the controls ofthe first bomber to take off from the aircraft carrier. Theirdestination was Tokyo. Doolittle and Cole dropped incen-diary bombs near an armory, then made a low-levelescape west to China. The planes began running low onfuel, and the weather was rapidly becoming worse. Thecrews realized they could not reach the Chinese airfieldsand had to bail out. They later met up with Chineseforces and returned to friendly territory.

“General Doolittle came around and told us he hada mission and needed some volunteers,” said ColonelBower. “I was already a fan, you could say. I’d beenwatching him since I was a youngster. I had no secondthoughts.”

“People growing up who were interested in aviationknew who he was,” said Col. John Doolittle. “He wasfirst to cross the United States in less than 24 hours. Firstto cross in less than 12 hours. First to do the outside loop.He was master of the calculated risk. He didn’t just goout and do something. He studied it and analyzed it, andfigured the odds, pro and con, before he went ahead anddid something.”

“We know him best now for the raid, but back in thattime he already had quite a reputation,” said JonnaDoolittle Hoppes. “He was sort of a daredevil, but thetruth was he was a scientist. He knew the science andthe mechanics behind everything he did.”

This mission was the first American strike on theJapanese mainland and showed how unprepared theJapanese were for air attacks. The Doolittle Raiders’success gave America a much-needed morale boostduring the early days of World War II.

“Nearly every plane, on its approach to Japan, has

reported the sighting of naval and merchant vessels,innumerable small fishing craft, and a number of patrolplanes,” wrote Colonel Doolittle in his post-strike report.“Yet the Japanese apparently were entirely unpreparedfor the attack. Either their dissemination of informationwas faulty or the communication system had broken downcompletely.

“As we passed over the countryside, farmers in thefield looked up and went back to work undisturbed;villagers waved from the streets; a baseball gamecontinued its play; and in the distance training planes tookoff and landed, apparently unaware of any danger present.

“The overall picture is one of inadequate defense,”wrote Doolittle. “The warning system did not appear tofunction; interception by fighters was definitely cautious;and anti-aircraft fire, responding slowly, did not reachthe intensity one would expect for so important a cityas Tokyo.”

The 12th bomber on that raid was flown by ColonelBower, and was bound for Yokohama. His crew madetheir low-level attack at 1,100 feet, bombing OguraRefinery, two factories, a factory area and then strafingan electric powerhouse. According to post-strike reports,Bower’s original target was the Yokohama dockyards, buta balloon barrage prevented this attack.

After the Yokohama strike, Bower turned hisbomber east toward China. They then strafed and sanka Japanese weather boat, crossed the China coast, ran

out of fuel and bailed out. “We just flew over it so we strafed it,” said Colonel

Bower. “Better to be shooting than to be shot at.” Local Chinese forces escorted the crew to Chuchow,

where they could eventually return home safely.Not all of the Doolittle Raiders were as fortunate as

Doolittle and Bower’s aircrews. Three were killed duringthat raid. Five were interned in Russia. Eight became pris-oners of war in Japan – three were executed by firingsquad and another died in captivity. Thirteen others diedlater in the war.

Today, only 16 of the original 80 raiders remainalive to tell their story of the first American air raid onJapan during World War II. Every year, the survivingraiders meet to commemorate their fallen comrades andtheir role in World War II.

Doolittle presented 80 silver goblets, each inscribedwith the name of one of the raiders, to the Air ForceAcademy in 1959. When the remaining raiders gather,they toast and then turn over the goblets of those whohave passed away since their last reunion.

The Doolittle Raider cups, which had been on publicdisplay at the Academy’s Arnold Hall for the last 46 years,were transferred last fall to the National Museum of theUnited States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air ForceBase, Ohio, where they continue to be displayed. TheDoolittle Raiders will have their 64th reunion at Wright-Patterson AFB, April 18-19.

Doolittle Raiders visit Academy Crewmembers and descendants discuss historic raid

Courtesy photos

One of the 16 B-25 bombers takes off from theUSS Hornet to attack Japan.The aircrew knew theywould not have enough fuel to return to the carri-er, and would have to make it all the way to Chinaafter dropping their bombs.

(Left) Some of the 80 volunteers gather for a pre-flight briefing before the air raid on Japan.

S0 GOoD YOur T0Es CURL.ACADEMY & BRIArGATE

Academy SpiritMarch 17, 20064

Digging out of energy dependency By Eddie KovskyAcademy Spirit staff

Two cadet engineers are looking forways to improve energy efficiency on theAcademy grounds.

Cadets 1st Class Brian Nagle and DavidSchill are designing a ground-source heatsystem that could replace the fossil-fuelheating system now in use.

“The ground temperature 10 feet belowthe surface is constant throughout the year,”said Cadet Nagle. “It’s essentially an infi-nite heat sync or source.”

A ground source heat pump isconstructed by drilling long holes into theground and using the ground temperatureto heat or cool a building.

The ground pump cycles fluid up anddown through 100 holes, each 200-300 feetdeep and 20 feet apart. Compared to aconventional heating system, a groundpump is massive in area, but there are fewmoving parts and most of the system isunderground.

The ground pump moves a food-gradeantifreeze through the system, which won’tfreeze in the winter. If the system everleaked, a spill would be non-toxic.

The project is the basis for a feasibilitystudy to be implemented down the road. Anychange in infrastructure would need to bebudgeted into the base’s five-year plan, soit will be several years before anythingcould be built.

The pass and registration office at thesouth gate is built with a ground source heatsystem. The base heat plant is too far awayto tie in the south gate, so alternative options

were explored. School District 11 had aground system in use already, which wasused as a working model for the Academy.

Though the ground source system lookspromising right now, the cadets are lookingat the cost of a new system versus renovatingthe current system,. The ground sourcesystem has a lower cost of operation and ismore efficient.

The 2005 Energy Policy Act requiresbase facilities to reduce energy usage by 20percent by 2015, or a 2 percent reductioneach year. The average energy use for thepass and registration office is 22 percent lessthan the average use for the rest of the base.Any new construction would require energyefficient technology to take advantage ofthese savings.

For any heating system, the efficiencycan be measured in terms of how muchenergy comes out in relation to how muchis put in. For example, the energy out toenergy in ratio for natural gas or other fossilfuels 0.9 to 1. But for a ground sourcesystem, the ratio is 3 to 1.

Last semester, the cadets looked at theheating demands at Harmon Hall and esti-mated the cost of heating the building. Thissemester, they’re doing a similar study atthe base community center. Once the energyneed is determined, they’ll examine thesize of the ground loop required.

The course is an independent study forthe two cadets. The problems they’re workingon are completely outside the course workand capstone research courses.

“It’s a very open-ended problem,”said Capt. Orval Powell, engineeringmechanics instructor. “None of this is

covered in any courses.” Both cadets are mechanical engineering

majors. Cadet Schill has been accepted tothe graduate school at the RANDCorporation, while Cadet Nagle expects towork on landing gear at Hill Air Force Base,Utah.

Their energy conservation research isa continuation of work started by cadets twoyears ago.

Cadet 1st Class (now 2nd Lt.) RossDotzlaf worked with Dr. Michael Maixnerto determine the feasibility of augmentingthe hot water plant with solar heating capa-bilities. He concluded that solar heatingaugmentation was not feasible at the time,primarily because solar heating technologywas not adequately efficient and the priceof natural gas at the time was not highenough. The augmentation would have costmore money to implement than it would

have saved, though his conclusion may notbe true today.

“Because of this collaboration withbase civil engineering and academics, maybecadets who become civil engineers willimplement the technology at other bases,”said Diana L. Dean, 10th Civil EngineerSquadron energy manager. “The Air Forcecould become more energy efficient becauseof something they learned here.”

It may have already happened. “The project was a great way for me

to link the engineering skills I was learningin class to a real-world application,” said Lt.Dotzlaf, now an engineer for the 3rd CivilEngineer Squadron at Elmendorf AFB,Alaska. “Although I haven't had the chanceto evaluate another heat plant, my ‘customer’for the project was the 10th CES; as anengineer for the 3rd CES, I routinely do thesame type of work.”

Courtesy Photo

Workers install the ground-source system at the pass and registration build-ing during construction in 2003. The completed building shows no indicationof the heating or cooling system.

Academy SpiritMarch 17, 2006 5

PleaseRecycle

Analysis of tanker fleet alternatives releasedBy Master Sgt. Mitch Gettle Air Force Print News

WASHINGTON — The RANDCorp. released an executive summaryMarch 7 detailing its findings from an

analysis of alternatives study to replacethe Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker fleet.

The report states, “A fleet of mediumto large (300,000 to 1,000,000 poundsmaximum gross takeoff weight) commer-cial derivatives is the most cost-effective

alternative for KC-135 recapitalization.” The analysis indicates there are a

number of competitive aircraft currentlyavailable in this size class. RAND alsoconcluded that the present value of alllifecycle costs of the combination of the

KC-135 fleet and its replacement is rela-tively insensitive to when recapitaliza-tion begins.

Therefore, the timing of replacing theKC-135 fleet should be based instead onthe Air Force’s degree of confidence inthe viability of the current fleet, annualbudget constraints, and the operationalrisk associated with delaying improve-ments in the capability of the currentfleet, the report said.

“We are currently working with theOffice of the Secretary of Defense staffto finalize our recapitalization strategyand timing, while taking into consider-ation the studies completed to date. Weremain dedicated to ensuring that ourwarfighters, both present and future,continue to have this critical capability,”said Lt . Gen. Donald J. Hoffman, mili-tary deputy from the office of the assis-tant secretary of the Air Force foracquisition.

Before the Air Force can begin recap-italizing the KC-135 fleet, theDepartment of Defense must find thatthe analysis of alternatives is objectiveand sufficient, and lift the pause placedon the effort.

According to Air Force officials,this analysis is one of the first steps ina transparent, competitive and cost-effec-tive plan to preserve the nation’soutstanding tanker capability.

Photo by Staff Sgt. Douglas Nicodemus

Airman 1st Class Ben Davis refuels a B-52 Stratofortress bomber from a KC-135 Stratotanker, Monday, during a mis-sion in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.The B-52 provides close air support for ground troops in Afghanistan.Airman Davis is a boom operator assigned to the 28th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron.

Academy SpiritMarch 17, 20066

Cadet Wing Media wants to be more accessible.By Butch WehryAcademy Spirit staff

A new Web site for Cadet WingMedia allows people to gain knowledgeof the off ice’s Polaris Yearbook,Graduation and Basic Cadet TrainingDVDs, and KAFA radio.

“Aside from cadets, the targetedaudience is the Academy communityand public,” said Mr. Dave West, KAFAadvisor.

“I put it together with help and inputfrom the CWM staff and assistance fromCadet 4th Class Andrew Caulk,” he said.

Among users of www.usafa.af.mil/34trw/cwmedia/ might be a grad who haslost a yearbook and would like to replaceit, parents and family members thatmight want a video of their cadet’s classgraduation, or an interested young personwho wants to see for themselves whatBCT is like and could order a videobefore arriving for the Beast, added Mr.West.

“On the KAFA Radio side of thesite we will have info on the cadet-runradio station,” said the advisor. “Fromprogramming schedules to the scoop onthe music you hear on KAFA, eventsand contests, album reviews and evendownloads of some KAFA program-ming.”

Cadet Wing Media offers two DVDproducts. The Graduation DVD and BasicCadet Training DVDs give an insidelook at life at the Academy.

Each summer, Cadet Wing Mediavidoeographers follow the new classfrom their arrival for in-processing,throughout the time at Jacks Valley, andother events involved with BCT,including taking the “Oath of Office” andshoulder board pin-ons.

The Graduation DVD covers muchmore than just the big day. Viewers willsee all of the week’s activities leading upto graduation, plus a look-back at the pastfour years leading up to graduation withinterviews and reflections from classmembers.

“We plan on keeping it fresh andupdated often.” Mr. West said.

KAFA assistant general manager,Cadet Caulk, hopes the site builds moreof a radio fan base to support and improvethe station.

“As of now, we give our programschedule and general info about ourstation and the music selection,” saidCadet Caulk, Cadet Squadron 29. “Iupdate the top tracks, albums and artists

every two weeks or so.”The site will let the community know

what is going on with the station, he said.“We plan to post events, such as

upcoming concerts and KAFA-spon-sored events,” said the assistant generalmanager.

They don’t plan on cluttering theemail boxes of Academy people.

“Die-hard listeners will get the wordout and the site will stay fairly current,which I predict will keep people comingback to check what’s new,” said the 23-year-old cadet from Cheboygan, Mich.

Tune into KAFA at 104.3, or onVBrick, where KAFA is streamed overthe intraweb.

“We are also looking to streamKAFA from the Web site, but that willtake some development,” he said.

Cadet Wing Media videos are theonly sanctioned Air Force Academycommercial videos produced for grad-uation and basic cadet training. Productsales of remembrance products help

support the entire cadet wing byproviding additional funding for cadetclubs and activities.

“We foster a creative environmentwhere cadets learn and apply oral, writtenand visual communication techniqueswhile cultivating leadership, teamworkand team building skills. We produce anon-air, college-level radio station, andmarketable print and video products thatchampion the cadet wing, Academy andAir Force community,” said CWM chiefMs. Maureen Welch.

The BCT DVD covers the entirebasic training experience. It’s a goodkeepsake for family, friends and basiccadet supporters. It also provides infor-mation for potential Academy candi-dates, parent clubs, Academy liaisonofficers and cadets participating in theGrass Roots Program.

“By stepping into the electronicmedium we hope to be more accessible andresponsive to requests for past, present andfuture product needs,” she said.

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Academy SpiritMarch 17, 2006 7

Heritage to horizons:Advice from formerchiefs spans generations By Staff Sgt. Julie Weckerlein Air Force Print News

WASHINGTON — There is onedistinct common observation mostformer chief master sergeants of the AirForce have about today’s Airmen, andthat’s the level of education and sophis-tication coming out of today’s society.

“[When] you talk about our Airmenof today, you also have to talk about theyoung citizens of today in America,”said retired Chief Master Sgt. JamesMcCoy, who served as the sixth chiefmaster sergeant of the Air Force fromAugust 1979 to July 1981. “They’rebetter educated and they’re more attunedto what’s going on because of moderncommunication.”

Chief McCoy was one of nine formertop enlisted Airmen to gather hererecently. During their visit, a number ofthem were able to share their views ona variety of topics involving the AirForce today and the Air Force past, allthe while offering a glimpse of how lifewas in Air Force past.

Retired Chief Master Sgt. RobertGaylor, who served as the fifth chiefmaster sergeant of the Air Force fromAugust 1977 to July 1979, said it’s impor-tant for Airmen today to know theirservice’s history and heritage.

“You keep from making the samemistakes more than once,” he said. “Youlearn from others. Why reinvent thewheel and make the same mistakes if youcan check back and see how someoneelse did it? You also realize how good youhave it today based on what we didn’thave years before.”

The following are some of theirreflections and observations about lead-ership, today’s pedigree of Airmen andthe Air Force culture.

Leadership “The main thing I was taught — and

I continue to teach it — probably the besttrait of any leadership is example,” ChiefMcCoy said. “By setting a properexample, like taking care of your people,by not being so difficult to get alongwith, by being fair but firm...all of thoseare attributes that go into good leader-ship qualifications.”

Retired Chief Master Sgt. GaryPfingston served as the chief mastersergeant of the Air Force from August1990 to October 1994. He agreed settinga good example is vital to good leadership.

“You manage things and you leadpeople,” he said. “You do that by beingup front, honest, sincere and visible.I’ve always felt strongly that you can’task somebody to do something that eitheryou won’t do, or that you haven’t donesomeplace along the line before. It’s not‘do as I say, not as I do’ — it just doesn’twork that way.”

Quality of Airmen Retired Chief Master Sgt. James

Binnicker served as chief master sergeantof the Air Force from July 1986 to July1990. He said he’s very proud of theAirmen he sees serving today.

“It’s safe to say (Airmen today) aremore informed, thanks to technology,”he said. “They are more motivated andit just never ceases to amaze me when Igo down to basic training and see the lookon their faces (as they graduate).”

He said the motivation and commit-ment of Airmen coming out of basictraining hasn’t changed over the years.

“When I was a chief, I had a friendwho was also a chief, and one day hecalled me about his daughter who wasattending basic training,” he said. “Myfriend was concerned about her becauseat home she was always a klutz and hecouldn’t see her in uniform. So, I wentdown to basic training and met up withher — with her not knowing her fathercontacted me.

“And afterward, I called her fatheragain,” he said. “I asked him to describehis daughter again, to make sure I hadthe right girl. He did, and it soundedabout right, but I told him I didn’t see aklutz. What I saw was a young womanwith a shiny face, bright eyes and oh, bythe way, she had a rope on her uniform,which is a sign of leadership. So, I thinkeven parents sometimes sell their kidsshort, and it’s the experience of basictraining that brings it out and they comeinto the Air Force looking for leadership.”

Air Force culture “I’m looking back at 63 years since

I enlisted in the Army Air Corps,” saidretired Chief Master Sgt. Paul Airey,who served as the f irst chief mastersergeant of the Air Force from April1967 to July 1969.

“It is impossible to compare theArmy Air Corps of yesteryear to the AirForce of today. So when we talk aboutculture and we talk about tradition andheritage, we do not have much tradi-tion, but we are rich in heritage. Andcertainly the culture of the Air Forcetoday is a far cry from what it was many,many years ago,” Chief Airey said.

Retired Chief Master Sgt. SamParish, who served as the eighth chiefmaster sergeant from August 1983 toJune 1986, agreed today’s Air Forceculture is different and evolving.

“Changing a culture is not easy inany situation,” he said, “and the cultureof the United States Air Force has under-gone transformation in the ‘50s becauseof Korea, in the ‘60s because of Vietnam,in the ‘70s and ‘80s the (Berlin) Wall felland the ‘90s was expeditionary. It’s acontinuous cultural change. And there’snothing about the United States Air Forcetoday — except the name, maybe —

that is the same as it was when I retiredjust a few short years ago.”

Past challenges, lessons learnedChief Binnicker said the force-

shaping going on in today’s Air Force isvery similar to what he experiencedduring his time as chief master sergeantof the Air Force.

“(My time) was the beginning of thedrawdown,” he said. “People think we aredrawing down now, but 20 years ago, in1986, that was the beginning of ‘We’re toobig and we’ve got to get smaller.’ I don’tthink we did it very smart back then, butwe didn’t have many choices. We sort ofgutted the senior airman corps and that leftus with a ‘bathtub’ effect, it takes aboutseven years to grow a staff sergeant, so ifyou take that chunk out from the seniorairman level, you are going to have thathole for a long time.”

He added that another issue he hadto deal with was an inflated Airmenreview process.

“We also took on the almostHerculean task of changing the APR

(Airman performance report) to theEPR,” he said. “It was ugly to say theleast, in trying to get the force to excepta new performance program. I wasconvinced that we had to do it becauseit was very difficult to differentiate, withall these great Airmen.

“Well, our problem was that we hadso few mediocre people that it’s difficultto difference between excellence, butdifference we must,” Chief Binnickersaid. “We couldn’t because it was thesame kind of reports. The records alllooked alike. I would venture to say theEPR is as inflated as the old APR was20 years ago, so maybe its time to takeanother look at it.”

More personal reflections on pastchief master sergeants of the Air Forceare available in the publicationGeneration of Chevrons, which is filledwith a brief overview of enlisted Airmenhistory, as well as personal accounts andbiographies from each of the chief mastersergeants of the Air Force. It can befound in the publications section of theWeb site, www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil.

Photo by Senior Airman Daniel R. DeCook

Former Chief Master Sergeants of the Air Force pose for a group photobefore meeting with enlisted members of the National Capital Region atBolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C., Feb. 14. From the left, front row,are Paul W. Airey, Gerald R. Murray, Robert D. Gaylor, Gary R. Pfingston,Sam E. Parish, James C. Binnicker, James M. McCoy, Frederick J. Finch andEric W. Benken. Eight of the 13 former chiefs are meeting this week in thePentagon with Chief Murray, who is the 14th chief master sergeant of theAir Force.

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By the Academy Spirit staff

Do bears sleep in the woods?Presumably, and when they come

out of hibernation in April or May, theyhopefully won’t be drawn to dumpsterson the Academy.

“There is no good way to know howmany bears might be hibernating on ornear the Academy, or if there is a ‘normal’population,” said Mr. Greg Speights,Academy Natural Resources specialist.“Bear populations are hard to estimatedue to their secretive nature, somewhatlarge home range and the availability offood.”

There have not been any bear sight-ings reported this year, but bears can beseen any time if they are disturbed duringhibernation.

What is known is that bears experi-ence “walking hibernation” for two orthree weeks after coming out of theirden. They forage on vegetation or otheravailable food, such as trash from dump-sters.

“It is important that bears do notfind that ‘trash-can food’ in the spring,”he said.

When bears find food, they will keepreturning to the same area as long asthey keep getting it.

“If we can keep bears out of thedumpsters by ensuring they are workingproperly, then we can decrease the numberof human-bear encounters,” Mr. Speightssaid.

During the first week of March, amountain lion was spotted near the base’sB-52 display. The animals are occa-sionally seen on the Academy.

The base housing office and thenatural resources office have hand-outbrochures called “Living in LionCountry.”

Mountain lions prey mostly on deer,which is very good reason not to feeddeer, especially in housing areas. Theywill also eat raccoons, mice and squir-rels. The lions have a large home range,sometimes more than 50 square miles.

“Because of increased developmentalong the Front Range, there are morechances for human and lion encounters,”said Mr. Speights. “Although attacks onhumans by lions are rare, they can occur,but there are probably more people killedby dogs each year.”

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Academy SpiritMarch 17, 200610

Big changes to military pay system on horizon

By Donna MilesAmerican Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON – A committee that’s spent the pastyear studying the military compensation system isrecommending sweeping changes that, if approved,would bring military compensation more on par withprivate-sector compensation.

The Defense Advisory Committee on MilitaryCompensation released details of its recommenda-tions today and is incorporating them in a final reportexpected to go to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeldby late April, the committee chairman told the AmericanForces Press Service.

The proposed package includes two major ideas,retired Navy Adm. Donald Pilling, former vice chiefof naval operations, explained. These include revampingthe retirement system so servicemembers receive morepay throughout their careers rather than at their comple-tion, and basing pay on performance rather thanlongevity and other factors, he said.

Mr. Pilling emphasized that any proposed changesto the compensation package would be grandfatheredin, so currently serving members would not be affected.The only exception could be in the case that currentmembers are offered the opportunity to voluntarily “optin” to the new system, he said.

In terms of retirement, the committee recom-mends:

• Vesting members at 10 rather than 20 years • Paying graduated retirement plans ranging from

25 percent of base pay at 10 years to 100 percent ofbase pay at 40 years

• Establishing a Thrift Savings Plan with govern-ment contributions of 5 to 10 percent of base pay

• Providing “gate pays” at specific service mile-stones, as determined by the individual services

• Delaying payment of the retirement annuity untilage 60.

In terms of pay for performance, the committeerecommends:

• Revising the pay charts so pay is based on timein grade rather than years of service

• Eliminating the “with dependents” and “withoutdependents” provision of basic allowance for housingso all servicemembers in the same pay grade receivethe same allowance, regardless of their family situation.

The proposed system would benefit servicemem-bers, giving them more upfront cash throughout theircareers, Mr. Pilling said. He noted that most private-sector compensation packages give 80 percent of theircash up front, deferring just 20 percent for retirement.

In contrast, the current military compensationpackage pays about one-half the total compensationup front and defers the rest.

The committee’s recommendations help updatethe current military retirement system that Mr. Pillingsaid was based on a 1940s-era model. At that time, mostmembers served 30 years, retired in their 50s and typi-cally lived into their 60s, he said. Today, it’s typical

for servicemembers to retire after 20 years of serviceto start second careers and to live longer lives.

Restructuring the compensation package willprovide more options for servicemembers, Mr. Pillingsaid. Rather than offering no retirement benefit shortof 20 years, the proposed system would offer a portableretirement system with reduced-level benefits after10 years, he explained.

Revising the pay tables to reward time in grade willensure consistent benefits for servicemembers promotedahead of their peers, Mr. Pilling said. By paying equalhousing allowances to all members of equal grade inequal locations, the proposed system will rewardpeople “for their performance, not their marital status,”he said.

While bringing the military pay system more onpar with systems in the private sector, Mr. Pilling saidthe proposal maintains sight that service in the mili-tary is unique. For example, while it calls for greatercost sharing among Tricare recipients, it continues toensure full medical care after 20 years of service, henoted.

If Secretary Rumsfeld approves the plan, it will besubject to congressional review before being introduced,he said.

The secretary established the Defense AdvisoryCommittee on Military Compensation to study thecurrent pay system and come up with ways to bring itmore in line with what servicemembers want and oper-ational needs demand.

The seven-member committee spent a yearreviewing the military pay package, holding public hear-ings and developing its recommendations.

Advisory committee sendsrecommended changesto Secretary of Defense

Academy SpiritMarch 17, 2006 11

Nutrition is more than food for thoughtBy Robin BrandimoreAcademy Fitness and Sports Center

High protein… low carb… low fat…no fat… With so much conflicting infor-mation being pushed at people, decidingwhat to eat these days can be confusing.So, start with the basics.

According to the U.S. Department ofAgriculture’s dietary guidelines, a healthydiet as one that emphasizes fruits, vegeta-bles, whole grains and fat-free or low-fatmilk and milk products; includes leanmeats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs and nuts;and is low in saturated fats, trans fats,cholesterol, salt (sodium) and added sugars.

This gives some basic information, buthow do people put it together to makehealthy choices every day? One resourcethat may be helpful is the new customizedfood pyramid found at www.my

pyramid.gov. The site uses age, sex andactivity level to determine the number oftotal daily calories and servings of eachfood group.

The MyPyramid Tracker may beuseful, too. This is an online dietary andphysical activity assessment tool thatprovides information on your diet quality,physical activity status, related nutritionmessages and links to nutrient and phys-ical activity information.

Once a person has determined whatthey should eat, they’re ready to take stepstoward more healthy eating habits.Remember, this is a process – not some-thing that will happen overnight.

Breakfast options based on theseguidelines could include a number ofchoices. Start with a whole grain cerealthat is low in sugar. Add ½ cup of skimmilk and a piece of fruit for a healthy

breakfast. For those preferring a hot break-fast, they can try oatmeal with fruit anda glass of skim milk. Add a few nuts forextra protein. On the weekend, a veggieomelet could be an option. After makinghealthy breakfast choices, move on tolunch, and beyond. There will be timeswhen people revert back to their less-healthy ways. Instead of giving up, theyshould figure out why it happened and tryto plan better next time.

Here are some tips for making thosesteps toward better eating:

Guard against those high-caloriedrinks that can sabotage efforts. The calo-ries in soda, juices, coffee, drinks andalcoholic beverages can add up veryquickly. If used with non-nutritionaloptions, a person could end up with addedweight over time.

Increase the number of fruit and

vegetable servings. These nutrient-densefoods are filling and keep people fromsnacking.

Exercise on a regular basis. It takes aperson’s mind off of eating.

Pick “discretionary calories” wisely.Chocolate lovers can treat themselves toa small amount once in a while. Bewareof chips. People who splurge should makeit worth their while and limit the quantity.

Keep a food diary. This makes peoplethink twice about what they eat. Thefeeling of success, by passing on some-thing that shouldn’t be eaten, stays muchlonger than the momentary satisfaction ofeating it.

Don’t go long periods of time withouteating. A person’s metabolism stays “fired-up” by eating small healthy meals orsnacks every few hours.

Drink water. Enough water helps allbody systems function properly and keepsaway hunger.

It takes a deficit of 3,500 calories tolose one pound. People trying to loseweight should achieve this deficit througha combination of increased activity anddecreased caloric intake. They shouldn’tcut caloric intake drastically, because theirbodies will compensate by hoarding(storing as fat) all of the calories they’regiven.

Many “diets” work by severely de-creasing the number of calories taken in.This is a temporary fix that cannot besustained. Many of the lost pounds aremuscle, and result in a lower metabolism.A better method is to try to choose healthyoptions most of the time and learn tomake eating healthy a lifestyle. The resultsare more energy and feeling great.

Robin Brandimore is an Aerobics andFitness Association of America-certifiedpersonal trainer. She’s available byappointment for individual or small-grouptraining. She’s the founder of AchievableResults Mobile Personal Training whichprovides affordable training in client’shomes. She has eight years of health andfitness experience, and works with allages and fitness levels. For an appoint-ment or more information, call her at200-8914 or e-mail her at: achievableresults@gmail.com.

Today, this family will not get enough to eat.

Forty-nine percent of householdsreceiving food assistance have to choose

between paying for utilities andpaying for groceries.

You can end it. Please help.

Care & Share Food Bank2520 Aviation Way, Ste. 130Colorado Springs, CO 80916719-528-1247 • www.careandshare.org

Academy SpiritMarch 17, 200612

“There’s no phase in an older’spersons life that Silver key cannottouch.” Lee knows from experi-ence. Legally blind, she readsthrough a magnifying machine pro-vided by Silver Key. The organiza-tion provided companions to keepher husband, who had suffered astroke, comfortable.

Lee traveled around the countrywith the Air Force and lived inMexico for 25 years. “I’ve been allover the U.S. and have never metanother organization so compas-sionate.”

United Way funding helps hun-dreds of seniors each year to livehealthy and dignified lives.

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Academy members can useYellowstone trailers

Academy members bound for Yellowstone NationalPark this summer may want to consider a few differentoptions for accommodations.

Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, has 13 trailersavailable for active-duty, retired, DoD civilians DoD andtheir families to rent at Yellowstone. This program givespark visitors the opportunity to stay in quality lodging foran economical $60 and $73 an evening.

The Outdoor Adventure office will accept telephonereservations for May and June on April 3; and will acceptreservations for July, starting May 1.

Phoned-in reservations for August and Septemberbegin June 1.

To make reservations or for more information, callOutdoor Adventure at (208)-828-6333 or DSN 728-6333.

New checklist helps expeditehiring process

RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas — The AirForce Personnel Center has created a Request for PersonnelAction checklist to help managers during the hiring process.

The RPA checklist is a valuable tool used to assistmanagers and hiring officials in managing their civilianpositions in a more efficient and timely manner. It wasdesigned to provide AFPC and civilian personnel flightswith pertinent information for all staffing actions, toinclude recruit, fill and noncompetitive actions.

The checklist also eliminates the requirement of callingand speaking to management officials every time an RPAis submitted.

When AFPC receives a recruit, fill or noncompetitiveRPA, the career field employment team will send themanager an e-mail (with a courtesy copy to the CPF), stating

the RPA was received and immediate action will begin. The enhanced checklist will provide all the required

information necessary for AFPC and civilian personnel offi-cials to begin taking immediate action.

In order to make the checklist more user-friendly andeliminate duplication, position information, such as staffingand classification, has been combined under one heading.

Several checklist items are bolded in red online witha reference to either Note 1 or Note 2. The career fieldemployment team will return RPAs and checklists withoutaction if the red bolded items are not completed.

More information and instructions on the new check-list can be found on the AFPC Web site.

Air Force introduces nextgeneration cruise missile

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. — Since the late1970s, the Department of Defense has tried and failednumerous times to give the warfighter an affordablestandoff cruise missile capable of taking out the enemy’sair defenses early in a conflict.

Fast forward to 2006, that warfighter need has finallybeen met by the Air Force’s next generation cruise missile— the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, or JASSM.

At 14 feet long and 2,250 pounds, JASSM is anautonomous, conventional munition with a standoff rangeof more than 200 nautical miles. It is designed to defeatheavily defended, high-priority enemy targets deep behindenemy lines.

JASSM can be released in virtually any type of weather,and uses its inertial navigation and global positioningsystems to find its intended target. It then uses an infraredseeker for pinpoint accuracy just before impact.

Once in the air, the stealthy cruise missile can reachhigh subsonic speeds at .85 mach. It is also equipped withan anti-jammer that keeps the enemy in its crosshairsregardless of their technology or capabilities.

As it stands right now, the Air Force currently plansto buy 2,400 JASSMs and 2,500 JASSM-ERs with produc-tion extending through 2018.

Commissaries take steps tostop counterfeit coupons

FORT LEE, Va. — Be careful how you get yourInternet coupons, say Defense Commissary Agency offi-cials.

They are alerting customers about a recent rise in theuse of fraudulent Internet or home-printed coupons andsteps the agency has taken to address the issue.

Commissaries gladly accept Internet or home-printedcoupons provided they meet these requirements: thecoupons must have “dot-scan” bars below expiration datesor bar codes with product identification numbers, or PINs,and they can’t be for free products. Legitimate Internetcoupons are featuring new dot-scan bars below their expi-ration dates. The dot-scan bars look like bar codes withbroken bar patterns.

This is an expansion of acceptance criteria for home-printed coupons because counterfeit coupons have shownup recently in commissaries and other supermarkets nation-wide. Officials are pointing to Internet trading as thesource of the counterfeit coupons.

People who purchase or trade coupons are inherentlyat risk of receiving counterfeit coupons, therefore customersshouldn’t buy or trade for coupons. The sale or transfer ofcoupons is a violation of virtually all manufacturers’coupon redemption policies, according to the CouponInformation Center — a coupon industry watchdog. Thesepolicies are printed on the coupons.

Customers can be assured they are not obtainingcounterfeits if they get their coupons directly from news-papers or magazines, directly from a manufacturer orfrom some other legitimate coupon channel includingInternet sites.

By Butch WehryAcademy Spirit staff

It is difficult to for a newly graduatedsecond lieutenant to focus on the distantfuture, said Academy Commandant Brig.Gen. Susan Desjardins.

She vividly remembers when she grad-uated from the Academy in 1980.

“I was focused on the immediate task athand: successfully completing pilottraining,” said General Desjardins. “Ifyou had asked me at that time, I probablywould have expressed my hope for afuture of equal opportunities for bothwomen and men in our Air Force, but,again, my horizon was set on being thebest pilot and air crew member I couldbe.”

The Air Force, she said, is nevercontent with its past and current

successes.“We are always focused on how we can do better, to

accomplish our missions and to move forward,” theCommandant said. “‘Excellence in All We Do,’ one of ourcore values, means never being content with the status quo andresting on our laurels. It means, as a service and as individ-uals, we are always looking for ways to improve, grow andmake things better.”

To General Desjardins, Women’s History Month is aboutcelebrating the past, present and future accomplishments andcontributions of women both in an out of the military.

“The only certain prediction one can make, is the nextgenerations of Air Force women and men will continue tomake Americans extremely proud of our Air Force’s role indefending our freedoms, and in making our nation, and therest of the world, a safer place.”

How far we’ve comeOne of the reasons Academy Dean of the Faculty, Brig.

Gen. Dana Born, attended the Academy was her belief therewere professional challenges and opportunities available towomen serving in the military not available in the civiliansector.

“Reflecting back, the thing that amazes me most is justhow many more opportunities have become available towomen since I graduated; especially within the past dozenyears when scores of military occupations specialties openedup to women,” said the 1983 graduate.

Other than a few restrictions on women serving in directground combat positions, women throughout the services nowhave equal opportunities when competing for promotion,occupational specialties, schools and professional assignments, shesaid.

“One only needs to look within each service to see how far we’vecome, since we now have women serving on combatant vessels, flyingfighter aircraft and serving in ground combat support roles,” saidGeneral Born. “No other institution in America can claim suchprogress, not only for women, but for other minorities as well.”

She quoted a saying: “To those who have been given much, muchis expected.”

“We should never be content with what has been accomplished”said the Academy Dean. “Rather, we should be continually looking atnew ways to improve on what has been achieved. This is what definesus as military professionals, since it is our very nature to continuallyset the bar higher.”

The general said it is a duty to carry on the work of forebears. “These women were the true groundbreakers and have provided

those who follow with the opportunities we enjoy today,” she said.“There is no question we have made tremendous strides and achievedgreat things in terms of equality. It is now up to us, individually andcollectively, to build upon their accomplishments, and to continue to

build a better force.”General Born predicted more changes ahead.“As women in the total force mature and gain more

operational experience, we should see more and moreserving in key positions or command,” she said. “Given theblurring of what now constitutes the combat front lines, wemay also see other military occupational specialtiesopening up to women.

“I envision a time in the not-too-distant future whenwomen serving in the military will be universally accepted,and the need for these types of recognition events are nolonger necessary.”

Time to rememberThe head of the Academy Civilian Personnel Office

takes Women’s History Month to heart.“It’s a time for us to remember our country gains its

strength from the contributions of all individuals, regard-less of gender, race or ethnic background,” said Ms. DeborahHuber, Civilian Personnel director,

She has come a long way from three decades ago.

“I feel very fortunate that I have been successful in mycivil service career and have been able to advance from aGS-2 to the position I now hold,” said Ms. Huber, fromColorado Springs. “The effort I put into night school andstriving to always do the best in every job I held has paidoff.”

To her, women holding senior positions serve as a rolemodel of what can be accomplished if people are willing tomake the commitment and work toward set goals.

“The greatest change I have seen at the Academy is theincreased number of women in leadership positions,” saidthe 46-year-old civilian personnel official.

Ms. Huber has spent 27 years at the Academy.“When I began my career, many of these career fields

were predominantly male at the higher grade levels,” shesaid. “Certainly, the most visible are our two female generalofficers and a female wing commander, but across the base,in all career fields, there are many women holding senior

positions.”One of the women who left her mark on the Academy was Col.

Sarah Gella, former 34th Support Group commander and later 10th Air

Base Wing vice commander, Ms. Huber said. “During a major snowstorm in 1997, many employees at

Mitchell Hall were unable to get to work,”said the civil service official. “Col. Gella hada snow plow pick her up at her house on-baseand take her to Mitchell Hall and, with thehelp of some cadets, she kept the food opera-tion going for two or three days until theworkers were able to get to work.

“There wasn’t a job she wouldn’t do, andher employees knew it. She impacted the

Academy mission across the base.”From her position, she said she sees

opportunities in many career fieldsdecrease as the base workforce has down-sized.

“Employees have to take more responsi-bility for planning their career and ensuringthey take advantage of all opportunitiesavailable to them to advance,” said thecivilian personnel expert.

Second, women have such a challenge in balancing theirhome life and careers.

“We’re fortunate there are now many more flexibilities inour personnel system that help us to do this with flexible workschedules and family leave programs,” she said. “Where manywomen in the past were forced to choose between family orcareer, our current benefits allow employees to better balancethe demands of both.”

March’s activities prompt Ms. Huber to offer some advice.“We have such a wealth of knowledge and resources in all

areas that many employers don’t provide,” she said. “Whether it’sassistance with personal or family problems, assistance withinterviewing skills, career planning, education programs, estab-lishing a fitness program – there’s someone that can help.”

Astronaut’s perspectiveOne Air Force officer in particular has taken women’s

history to new heights.Col. Susan Helms, astronaut, brigadier general select and a

1980 graduate, said during a recent visit that the military basi-cally led the way for society in establishing a culture of equality.

“It is really gratifying to see the change that has taken placeover the 20 some years that I have been in,” said Colonel Helms,world record holder for the longest space-walk. “It’s terrific tobe a part of one of the premiere institutions that actually helpedshow the rest of the nation what equality was all about.”

The annual Women’s History Month helps the Academy rein-force that women have and will continue to make significantcontributions to the Air Force and the country, said the 23-yearAir Force veteran.

To be taken seriouslyMaster Sgt. Minette Powell, Academy Inspector General Office’s

superintendent and congressional liaison, said there are still people inuniform that believe women should not work or be in the military.

The need for the yearly observances is not past quite yet.She said, at times, she still encounters stereotyping, “but, I realize

it, and I do not allow that to stop me from exhibiting the Air ForceCore values.”

To Sergeant Powell, the Academy provides equal opportunities andfair treatment for job advancement on both the military and civilianemployee sides.

“The greatest change at the Academy is the Sexual AssaultResponse Team program and resources,” she said.

One woman who will leave her mark at the Academy is Col.Deborah Gray, 34th Training Wing vice commander, and one of theinstitution’s first female graduates who is retiring in April, said thesenior NCO.

“She is a legend here and has progressed to a prestigious position,”said Sergeant Powell. “She is an excellent role model for the femalecadets, as well as all military women.”

15FEATURE14

Women’s History

Month thoughts,

opinions

March 17, 2006Academy Spirit

Brig. Gen. Susan Desjardins

Brig. Gen. Dana Born

Col. Susan Helms

Courtesy Photos

Academy SpiritMarch 17, 2006SPORTS16

Pounds praisedFalcon senior Dana Pounds

was named one of Colorado’stop track and field athletes by theSportswomen of Colorado,during the foundation’s annualawards banquet Sunday inDenver. Pounds won the nationaljavelin title last year, becomingthe Academy’s first femalenational champion at the DivisionI level.

Hill All-AmericanFalcon rifle team co-captain,

senior Chris Hill, was namedsecond-team smallbore All-American for the third year. Heled Air Force to several teamrecords in smallbore and air rifle.

Intramural soccer The 2006 Academy

Intramural Soccer League isforming. Letter of intent dead-line is Tuesday. The coachesmeeting is Thursday at 3:30 p.m.,in the Fitness and Sports Center.Preseason starts April 17 and theregular season April 24. For moreinformation, call Dave Castillaat 333-4078.

Falcons at homeMen’s TennisWeber State, Saturday, 9 a.m.,Tennis CourtsNorthern Colorado, Saturday, 1p.m., Tennis CourtsWomen’s Tennis Missouri, Friday, 10 a.m., TennisCourtsUCCS, Friday, 3 p.m., TennisCourtsWomen’s GymnasticsAlaska, Saturday, 6 p.m., WestGymAlaska & Denver, Monday, 7p.m., West Gym

INTERCOLLEGIATEMen’s BasketballMarch 9 at Denver, Colo.MWC TournamentWyoming 57 Falcons 55

HockeyMarch 10 at Detroit, Mich. CHA TournamentRobert Morris 4 Falcons 3

BaseballMarch 10 at Fairborn, Ohio Wright State 9 Falcons 3

March 11 at Fairborn, OhioWright State 1-9 Falcons 0-0

LacrosseMarch 4 Falcons 12 Siena 8

Men’s TennisMarch 10 at Denver, Colo.Denver 7 Falcons 0

March 12Falcons 6 UMKC 1

Arena

By Wayne AmannAcademy Spirit staff

Let the so-called experts criticize thechoice all they want – Air Force was invitedto the “Big Dance.”

Amid disbelief by many in the nationalmedia, and euphoria at the Academy, theFalcon men’s basketball team was one of 65teams chosen Sunday to play in the NCAATournament. It’s the fourth time in schoolhistory, and the second time in the last threeyears, the hoop program was picked to goto the tourney.

Air Force was seeded 13th in the 16-teamWashington, D.C., regional bracket. It openedplay Thursday in San Diego, Calif., (afterpress time) against 4th seeded Illinois, 25-6, of the Big Ten Conference. The Illini werelast year’s runner-up to national championNorth Carolina.

Air Force’s selection raised eyebrowsamong media pundits after the Falcons wereeliminated by Wyoming, 57-55, in the firstround of the Mountain West ConferenceTournament March 9. The consensus was theloss put the bluesuiters on the bubble, atbest, for making the field.

However, the NCAA TournamentSelection Committee, chaired by CraigLittlepage, viewed Air Force differently.

“The message is there’s great basket-ball played throughout the country,”Littlepage said when grilled on national TVabout the Falcons inclusion. “We looked atthis (Air Force) team as others similarly situ-ated, and felt this is an outstanding teamthat’s difficult to beat.”

Air Force’s 24-6 overall record was the

best in team history. It was what head coachJeff Bzdelik hoped the committee wouldfocus on.

“We played our worst game (theWyoming loss) at the worst time,” Bzdeliksaid during a Sunday news conference atClune Arena. “But, we were hoping onegame wasn’t going to spoil all the wonderfulthings this team has done all year long. Thecommittee did their research. They knowwe’re very deserving.”

The Falcons finished the season rankedfirst nationally in scoring defense, yieldingjust 53.8 points per game. They were fifthin fewest turnovers per outing (10.8), sixthin 3-point field goal percentage (40.5), tenthin fewest personal fouls per game (15.2),eleventh in field goal percentage (48.6),eleventh in won-lost percentage (82.8), four-teenth in 3-pointers made per game (8.9)

and nineteenth in scoring margin (10.6).“The body of work was the key,” Air

Force Director of Athletics Dr. Hans Muehsaid at the news conference. “I’m so jacked,I can’t believe it.”

Prior to Selection Sunday, Mueh sent apackage about the Air Force program to theselection committee. Included was a personalnote telling the members if there was a teamin the country that epitomizes what theNCAA would like to put on the floor in atournament of this class and magnitude, it’sthe Academy.

“(Our team) represents everything theNCAA stands for and everything theAcademy stands for,” Mueh said. “They tookthat to heart. Beyond that, you have to lookat our record. We had some great wins, inspite of what the talking heads were tellingAmerica.”

Falcon forward Jacob Burtschi echoedMueh’s view.

“People can say what they want.Everyone has an opinion,” the Chickasha,Okla., junior said. “We worked our butts offall year for this. That’s what matters. Weknow we belong in the tournament and we’llshow people we do.”

For senior guard Antoine Hood, the all-time leader in games played (117), wins asa Falcon (76) plus the team’s eighth all-timeleading scorer (1,290 points), this tournamentis his swan song.

“All you can ask for in life is an oppor-tunity,” Hood said. “We have a chance to dosomething no team has ever done here. We’vebeen the team watching everybody else inMarch. Now we can change our destiny.”

The Falcons entered their opening gameagainst Illinois as decided underdogs, whichwas all the incentive junior guard MattMcCraw needed.

“If you don’t get up for games like this,you shouldn’t be playing,” the 6-2 backcourtplayer said. “This is what you practice forevery day since you were a little kid in theback yard shooting in the rain. We’re goingto have fun and leave it all on the floor.”

Hood left everyone laughing at the post-announcement news conference when toldby a Chicago Tribune reporter he was veryquotable.

“I go to school,” Hood replied.

Falcon season earnsNCAA tourney nod

Falcon guard Antoine Hood drives to the bucket as Wyoming’s Brandon Ewing, 23,and Brad Jones look on.

Photos by Danny Meyer

Falcon guard Tim Anderson lays out to save a ball from going out of bounds dur-ing the MWC Tournament, March 9, at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

Dancin’!

Scoreboard

Academy SpiritMarch 17, 2006 17

Women’s TennisMarch 11 Falcons 6 UTEP 1Falcons 7 Metro State 0

March 12Colorado State 5 Falcons 2

Men’s GymnasticsMarch 10 Illinois-Chicago 197.450Falcons 180.500

March 12Illinois-Chcago 203.925 Falcons 183.475

Women’s GymnasticsMarch 10 at Lexington, Ky. Kentucky 194.300Ball State 189.625Falcons 178.175

Track and FieldMarch 10-11 at Fayetteville, Ark.NCAA Track and Field ChampionshipsTravis Picou, 13th, 200-meter dashBrian Walsh, 13th, heptahlon

DivingMarch 9-11 at Colorado Springs, Colo.NCAA Div. I Zone E RegionalsBrady Lindberg, 5th, men’s plat-form diving

FencingMarch 10-13 at Reno, Nev.North American Cup

Lydia Bigelow, 1st, Div. III Women’sEpee

INTRAMURALVolleyballTeam W LMDG 7 0DFL 6 1AH 6 2DFF 3 1Comm 4 2TRW 4 3DF 2 4MSS 2 4CES 1 4CE/J&J 1 5SFS 0 4LGC 0 6

March 13CE/J&J 25-25 LGC 14-15TRW 21-25-15 CE/J&J 25-15-11TRW 25-25 MSS 21-19MDG 25-25 MSS 18-22

March 14DFL 25-22-15 DFF 9-25-3DFL 25-25 DF 11-11AH 24-25-15 DF 26-9-7AH 25-25 LGC 16-15

March 15Comm 26-25 CES 24-19DFL 25-25 Comm 22-22MDG 25-25 DF 16-17MDG 22-25-15 AH 25-17-13

March 16Games played after press time.

BowlingThru March 13Team W L PinsCivilians 130 78 76379DFB #2 129 79 7635010 SVS 118 90 76113MSS 118 90 75604DFCS 117 91 76538DFB 110 98 7287410 SVS Golf 109 99 73289Comm 104 104 76132DFC #1 104 104 76033CGR 102 106 75693Pool Team 102 106 7506010 MDOS 100 108 75318LGR 97 111 7518510 MDSS 94 114 7466010 SFS 91 117 74690DFC #2 87 121 74914AH 82 126 75446MDG 78 130 74269

ScoreboardBy Wayne AmannAcademy Spirit staff

If the Air Force hockey team learnedanything from their disappointing 2005-06campaign, it’s they have to finish what theystart.

The painful lesson surfaced in theirseason finale at the College Hockey AmericaTournament March 10, at Detroit’s MichiganFairgrounds.

Air Force built a seemingly comfortable3-0 lead early in the second period of itsquarterf inal playoff game with RobertMorris, when the bluesuiters self-destructed.

The Colonials chipped away for twogoals in the second period. Then with 5:11to play in the third, they struck for twomore in a 62-second span to snatch a 4-3victory from the Falcons and end theirseason.

“I can’t believe this happened, but it iswhat it is,” Air Force head coach FrankSerratore said. “The game was ours to win.We didn’t put them away. Until this teamdevelops the killer instinct mentality, we’llwin and lose, win and lose.”

As they did in the majority of theiroutings this season, the Falcons grabbed theterritorial advantage, out shooting RobertMorris, 14-7, to take a 2-0 lead into the firstintermission.

Senior defenseman Brooks Turnquistscored his fourth goal of the season on apower play, assisted by Andrew Ramseyand Brent Olson. Forward Josh Print thenbeat Colonial goaltender Christian Boucherwith an even-strength goal, his third, at the18:16 mark of the opening stanza. JoshSchaffer and Brian Gineo assisted.

The momentum carried into the second

period as Theo Zacour lit the lamp just 1:50into it. Turnquist and Ramsey were creditedwith helpers.

At that point, Serratore maintained, hisclub had to step up.

“We needed the next goal,” the coachsaid. “Many times, especially in the play-offs, the first one to four wins. Last year wewere the first to four against Wayne State,and won in the first round. This year, we hadthe gun to their heads and didn’t pull thetrigger. We needed one of two things tohappen, the fourth goal or the next big save.We got neither.”

Kurt Wright’s 11th goal, on the powerplay at 5:54 of the second period, gaveRobert Morris life. Logan Bittle’s evenstrength marker, his seventh at 16:24, gotthe Colonials back in the game.

The Air Force defense held RobertMorris to only five shots in the third period.But Bittle, who earned the number one starof the game, solved Falcon goalie PeterFoster at 14:49. At 15:51 Tom Biondichnetted his fourth of the season to completethe comeback and send the Falcons packing.

Air Force wasted a golden opportunity11 seconds into the game when theColonials’ Sean Berkstresser was whistledfor a five-minute major penalty for checkingfrom behind. The Falcons were scorelessduring that 5-on-4 manpower advantage.

“It was a big break for us,” Serratoresaid. “But, we let them off the hook. Theydidn’t overwhelm us. We died tonight of self-inflicted wounds.”

The loss gave Air Force an overallrecord of 11-19-1. They were 8-12 in theCHA. The eight wins set a new Academyrecord while the 16 league points ties theschool record.

Forward Eric Ehn and defensemanMichael Mayra were named to the All-CHAsecond team. Mayra also landed on the All-Rookie squad while Schaffer picked up anEaston Three-Stars Award.

Off the ice, the Falcons placed anAcademy-record 11 players, nearly half theclub, on the CHA all-academic team. Thegroup included three-time selecteeTurnquist, who garnered the CHA Student-Athlete of the Year for his cumulative 3.16grade point average. The astronautical engi-neering major is carrying a 22.5 credit hourcourse load this semester.

TRW back on track after sweep By Wayne AmannAcademy Spirit staff

The 34th Training Wing is finding it’seasier to win the first title than to repeat.

After capturing the 2005 AcademyIntramural Volleyball League crown, TRWopened this season with a revamped lineup.The new faces took some time to gel. Thetrainers started the campaign just 2-3.

Monday they showed signs of returningto their championship form.

TRW erupted for a 13-0 run to seizecontrol of their second game against theMission Support Squadron en route to a 25-19 victory, completing a two-game sweep ofMSS.

TRW won the opener 25-21 at the Fitnessand Sports Center Husky Gym.

The win, coupled with a 21-25, 25-15, 15-11 verdict over Civil Engineer/J and JMaintenance earlier that night, improved thetrainers mark to 4-3 on the year and thrust themback into the playoff picture as one of sixteams with better than .500 records.

“(The wins) were huge for us,” TRWplayer/coach Tracy Sanders said. “It was theconfidence builder we needed for the rest ofthe season. Hopefully, we can keep thismomentum going.”

Sanders admitted it’s taken time for his

club’s roster to overcome some rough practices.“Now people know where to be on the

court. Chemistry is huge,” he said. “You haveto trust your teammates to play their positionsand you play yours. Once the trust is there,everything flows smooth as silk.”

Trust breeds confidence in the ability tobounce back.

After CE/J&J took a seesaw win in gameone of their match, Training Wing put its gametogether. With the second game against CE/J&Jtied 8-8, a simple flick of the wrist turned thetide in TRW’s favor.

A thunderous kill by Ray Alexander trig-gered a 17-7 run that secured the win for TRW.

“We didn’t get our shots down,” Alexanderexplained. “We went too deep in them and toohard. So, we started to breaking our wrists andgetting them down where we needed to.”

CE/J&J would go down quietly. Theymatched TRW shot for shot in the deciding thirdgame which was tied seven times before akey kill by Dennis McGowen gave the trainersan 11-10 lead they would never relinquish.

“The sets were right there,” McGowensaid. “I was on tonight finally to put themhome. If we’re not all in synch as a team,there’s no way one guy can bring it home.”

When asked to evaluate his team’schances of repeating as base champions withessentially a rebuilt roster, Sanders was

cautiously optimistic.“We’ve got a very good chance as long

as we continue team play and hit well,” he said.“The key in this league is hitting the ball.”

TRW appears to be hitting it’s stride as well.

Photo courtesy Academy Athletic Department

Falcon senior defenseman BrooksTurnquist ended his Air Force hockeycareer as a three-time CHA all-academicselection and the 2005-06 StudentAthlete of the Year.

Photo by Staff Sgt Monte Volk

TRW’s Ray Alexander takes a shot asCE/J&J’s Jeannie Duncan tries for ablock and TRW’s Robin Bridgewaterlooks on.

Skaters end season with tourney loss

Academy SpiritMarch 17, 200618

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Ultimate reaches semis in season openerBy Capt. Dan PolsgroveSpecial to the Academy Spirit

The cadet ultimate frisbee club, a.k.a. Air ForceUltimate, opened the 2006 campaign at the La ChupacabraClassic in Tucson, Ariz., March 11 and Sunday, finishing4-3. It was the first career tournament for six AFU players,who helped earn round-robin victories over NorthernArizona, Utah State, and Arizona-B.

AFU beat Arizona-B again in the first round of thesingle-elimination bracket on Sunday, but dropped a high-spirited 13-9 match to Arizona-A in the semifinals.Arizona-A lost 13-9 to New Mexico in the championshipgame.

“Our guys left their heart on the field in the semis,”Air Force Ultimate coach Tony Porter said. “I loved theintensity we showed. Arizona’s a top-tier program and westayed with them both times. I’m excited about where thisteam could go in the next year or two.”

Devoid of seniors, AFU traded points with #2 seedArizona-A through the first half. Down 12-6 after inter-mission, Ultimate put in its ’07 line, targeting AFU’sprimary deep threat, junior Matt Hought.

On AFU’s next possession, Hans Foster-Jorgensen,Robert Strzelec and team captain Kyle Krogh completeda dump and a swing before Krogh unleashed a monsterhuck. The throw floated more than Krogh intended,allowing Arizona’s two tallest defenders to converge onthe disc. The shorter Hought skied above both, stickinghis arm out of the three-man pile that ended on the turf,disc securely in hand. The ’07 line scored two moretimes before yielding 13-9. The Sunburn’s frequent substi-tutions keyed the victory in the 80-plus degree heat.

AFU manhandled Arizona-B, 13-1, in its tourneyopener. The rookie line made an impact. Freshmen Casey

Hawkins and Jake Rennebaum used their height to domi-nate in the air, while freshmen Adam Tardif, Mark Bishopand Daniel Montilla worked the frisbee into the end zonewith superior speed and disc handling skills.

In the 13-7 second round loss to New Mexico’s HantaVirus, AFU was down two points at halftime, then seizedthe momentum early in the second half. A pair of ques-tionable calls by New Mexico short-circuited the come-back. (Ultimate Frisbee is a self-officiated sport thatrelies on players calling their own fouls and rules viola-tions.) For example, freshman Evan Erickson timed a NewMexico pass perfectly and skied above his opponent,knocking the disc out of bounds for a turnover. Then, juniorMario Seville scored an apparent “Callahan,” interceptinga pass inside the opponents’end zone for a point (Callahanis named after ultimate frisbee legend Henry Callahan).Both plays were negated by fouls called by New Mexico.Hanta Virus scored during both ensuing possessions.

The third-round game against Arizona-A mirrored theNew Mexico loss, minus the phantom foul calls. Porterchallenged his players to be more aggressive in theirdefensive end zone. Sophomore John Wilder, an offen-sive handling specialist, complied. On Sunburn’s firstpossession, a floaty huck was thrown to the back cornerwhere Wilder met his opponent in the air, knocked thedisc out of bounds and the Arizona player to the ground.Krogh also helped set the tone with a defensive bid in theopen field that leveled an opponent. But, dropped passesand poor throwing decisions were the difference in the13-9 defeat.

Saturday’s final went into overtime where AFU co-captain Foster-Jorgensen went horizontal at chest heightin the defensive end zone to knock away a sure score forNorthern Arizona. That set up Mario Seville’s layout catchfor the eventual game winner. Matt McDonald was strong

on both sides of the disc. The junior threw and receivedseveral scoring plays and made key defensive stops.Sophomore defensive specialist Eric Courtois helpedblank Northern Arizona down the stretch as Air Forcesecured the 15-13 victory.

The pool play finale on Sunday against Utah Statealso needed overtime. Strzelec came alive after feelingill Saturday to deliver solid handling. Junior Pat Picardturned in the play-of-the-game with a circus catch in theend zone to tie the game at 12. AFU’s defense stiffenedafter the ensuing pull (kick-off) and turned it into an easyscore for the 13-12 win.

Patrick Ward ensured Sunday’s elimination-bracketgame against Arizona-B was no contest. The freshmancaught five passes for points in the Ultimate’s 13-2 route.

Photo by Capt. Dan Polsgrove

Sophomore John Wilder, one of AFU’s primary han-dlers, fires a low backhand past an Arizona defender.

Academy traffic delayTraffic will be delayed Saturday at the

intersection of Academy and Cadet Drivesand at Academy Drive and Dead Man(Corner) Lake, for approximately eightminutes between 12:30 and 1 p.m. whenthe cadets form up for their Run to theRock as part of Recognition activities.Traffic will also be delayed for approxi-mately eight minutes between 2:30 and3:30 p.m. when the formation returns.

Pine Valley book fairPine Valley Elementary School hosts

a Scholastic Book Fair Monday-Thursdayfrom 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Book Fair proceedswill help update computer and electronicneeds of the school. Parents and familiesare invited to help build classroom librariesthrough the Wish List Program. FamilyNight is from 4-8 p.m., Thursday. Shopperswill have a chance to win giveaways andprizes just for stopping by the fair whilesupplies last.

Walk-in legal servicesBeginning April 4, the Academy Legal

Office will offer legal assistance visitswith attorneys on a walk-in basis at the

legal office (Second floor, 10th Air BaseWing Headquarters, Building 8034Edgerton Dr.): on Tuesdays 7:30-8:30a.m. and Thursdays noon to 1 p.m. Noappointments are necessary.

All clients who signed in during thewalk-in periods will be seen that day.Wills can be drafted and signed in one visit.Priority is given to active duty membersin uniform (with or without accompa-nying dependents). Individuals who workat the Oracle building can scheduleappointments directly with attorneys at theOracle legal office. As always, deployingmembers or individuals who need imme-diate legal assistance may scheduleappointments when necessary. For moreinformation or to make an appointment,call the legal office at 333-3940.

Thrift shop closes for springbreak

The Academy Thrift Shop will closefor spring break, March 28 to April 4.

The shop will also close April 28 fora volunteer appreciation function.

Summer items will be acceptedstarting Tuesday.

For more information, call 333-4459.

Top 3 offers scholarshipsThe Academy Top 3 Council offers

four $100 scholarships to enlisted (E-1 thruE-6) Airmen and one $100 scholarship toa dependent family member.

Application deadline is April 7. Formore information and applications, callMaster Sgt. Minnette Powell at 333-4455or e-mail minnette.powell@usafa.af.mil.

PTSA Spring Carnival Come celebrate spring with Douglass

Valley Elementary School from 5-8 p.m.,April 7, during the annual Parents, Teachersand Students Associations Spring Carnival.Advanced tickets are five for $1. Ticketsat the door are four for $1.

Hometown News ReleaseProgram

The Hometown News ReleaseProgram allows cadets, military membersand civilians to get information to theirhometown newspapers, radio and news

networks about their outstanding achieve-ments or significant milestones withinthe Air Force.

To participate, people must fill out ahometown news release form, which isforwarded to the Army and Air ForceHometown News Program. The informa-tion is then distributed to local news agen-cies in the region indicated on the form.

For more information, or to fill out ahometown news release, visit the AcademyHometown News Release Program Website on the Intraweb at intraweb.usafa.af.mil/pa/hometown/indx.htm or call thepublic affairs office at 333-7731.

Community book fairDouglass Valley Elementary School

hosts a scholastic book fair from 8:15a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Monday-Wednesday;Thursday from 8:15 a.m. to 8:15 p.m. and8:15 a.m. to noon Friday. The fair helpsraise funds for content books to compli-ment the curriculum. The fair featuresspecially priced books and educationalproducts, including newly released works,award-winning titles, children’s classics,interactive software and current bestsellersfrom more than 150 publishers.

Fair attendees can help build class-room libraries by purchasing books forteachers through the Classroom Wish Listprogram. Book fair proceeds also will beused to purchase essential classroomresources and support school projects atDouglass Valley Elementary.

Tax center openThe Academy Tax Center assists in the

preparation of personal federal and statetax returns for military ID card holders.The center is open Mondays, noon to 4p.m.; Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 a.m.to 4 p.m.; and Fridays, 8 a.m. to noon. Foran appointment, call 333-3905. Clients arereminded to bring their military ID cards,social security cards for themselves andfamily members, and all relevant tax infor-mation. The center cannot file businessreturns. The tax center is in the Arnold HallFood Court next to Subway. For moreinformation on the Form 1040EZ drop-off program or the tax center, visit theAcademy Judge Advocate’s Web site onthe Intraweb, intraweb.usafa.af.mil or

Internet, www.usafa.af.mil.

TODAYEvent: St. Patrick’s Day Big Band Bashand DanceTime/Date: 8-11 p.m., todayLocation: Ute Pass Cultural Center, 210E. Midland, Woodland ParkCost: $8 per personDescription: The Woodland Park JazzEnsemble performs music of DukeEllington, Stan Kenton, Glen Miller andmore. Price includes hors d’oeuvres.Tickets are available at the door or fromWoodland Park Wind Symphony mem-bers. A cash bar is available.

Proceeds go toward purchasing musicand equipment for this non-profit orga-nization.

SATURDAYEvent: First-Time Home Buyers SeminarTime/Date: 10 a.m. to noon, SaturdayLocation: Ent Federal Credit Union,Galley Service Center, 4545 Galley Road.Cost: FreeDescription: To register, visit www.ent.com/tools/seminars.asp.

Event: Public Lecture and Book SigningTime/Date: 2 p.m., SaturdayLocation: Colorado Springs PioneersMuseumDescription: Nationally recognizedspeakers and writers James P. Ronda andJohn Logan Allen will address Pike’sWorld: Exploration and Empire in theGreater Southwest as part of CSPM’syear-long Pike Bicentennial commemo-ration. Afterwards they’ll sign and sellcopies of the Colorado Springs PioneersMuseum publication To Spare No Pains:Zebulon Montgomery Pike and HisLegacy, which includes their essays.Lecture seating limited and reservationsare required. For more information, call385-5990. www.cspm.org

Academy SpiritMarch 17, 2006 COMMUNITY 19

CADET CHAPEL

Catholic Masses:Sunday, 10 a.m.Mon., Tues., Thurs., 6:15 a.m.; Wed., 7p.m.Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament,Wed., 6 p.m.

Protestant Services:Sunday, 9 a.m. (Traditional)Sunday, 10:30 a.m. (Contemporary)Sunday, 11 a.m. (Liturgical-Multi-purposeRoom)Sunday, Noon (Inspirational)

Orthodox Sunday, 9:30 a.m

Jewish Shabbat ServicesFriday, 7 p.m.

BuddhistSunday, 9 a.m

MuslimFriday, Noon (lower level)

COMMUNITY CENTER CHAPEL

Catholic Masses:Saturday, 5 p.m.Sunday, 8 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.Religious Formation - 9:30-10:45 a.m.

Protestant Services:Sunday, 9:15 a.m. (Gospel Service,Base Auditorium)Sunday, 9:45 a.m. (Traditional Service)Religious Ed - 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

No services in the Cadet Chapel foreither the Protestant or Catholic Chapelduring spring break (March 25 to April 2)

COMMUNITY CENTER CHAPELLENT AND HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE

For information call 333-3300

Regular Weekend Worship ScheduleSaturday, 4 p.m., Confessions5 p.m., Catholic MassSunday, 8 and 11:15 a.m., Catholic Mass9:15 and 9:45 a.m., Protestant Worship

Catholic Stations of the CrossSaturday, March 25 and April 1, 6 p.m.

RCIA and Confirmation PreparationSessionsConfirming Our Baptism: Symbols SpeakMonday and April 3, 6:30-8 p.m.

Lenten Communal Penance ServiceMarch 28, 7 p.m.

HOLY WEEK

Passion Sunday with Palms, April 9Catholic Mass, 5 p.m. April 8Catholic Mass, 8 and 11:15 a.m.Protestant Worship, 9:15 and 9:45 a.m.

Holy Thursday, April 13 Solemnity of the Lord’s Supper and Washing ofFeet, 7 p.m.

Good Friday Service, April 14Solemnity of the Lord’s Passion, 7 p.m.

Holy Saturday, April 15Easter Vigil Mass, 7 p.m.

Easter Sunday, April 16Catholic Masses, 8 and 11:15 a.m.Protestant Sunrise Service, 6:30 a.m., Press Box Protestant Worship, 9:15 and 9:45 a.m

CATHOLIC CADET CHAPELLENT AND HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE

For information call 333-2636

Palm Sunday, April 9Palm Sunday Mass, 10 a.m.

Holy Thursday, April 13Holy Thursday Mass, 6 p.m. (no 6:15 a.m. DailyMass)

Good Friday, April 14Good Friday Service, 6 p.m.

Easter Sunday, April 16Easter Sunday Mass, 10 a.m.

ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN HOLY WEEKSCHEDULE

Saturday, April 15Lazarus Saturday Liturgy, 9:30 a.m.

Sunday, April 16Palm Sunday, 9:30 a.m.

Wednesday, April 19Presanctified Liturgy and Holy Unction, 6 p.m.

Thursday, April 20Footwashing and Passion Gospels, 6 p.m.

Friday, April 21Holy Friday Royal Hours and Lamentations, noon

Saturday, April 22St Basil Liturgy, 9:30 a.m.Paschal Resurrection Service, 10 p.m.

Sunday, April 23Agape Vespers, TBD

PROTESTANT CADET CHAPEL

Palm Sunday Services, April 9 (regular wor-ship schedule)Traditional Service, 9 a.m.Contemporary Service 10:30 a.m.Inspirational Service noon

Maundy Thursday Service, Apr 13Protestant Chapel, 6 p.m.

Good Friday Service, April 13Protestant Chapel, 6 p.m.

Easter Sunday Service, April 19Sunrise Service, 6 a.m.Liturgical Service, 9 a.m.Contemporary Service, 11 a.m.

Academy SpiritMarch 17, 200628