UMA Newsle er
Quarterly Newsle er for USPTO Veterans and Families March 2013, Volume 1, Number 1
this issue
THIS ISSUE
HR and Veteran’s Benefits Corner
Did you know ?
Current Events So What is the UMA? UMA Fitness Deployments At the UMA, or USPTO Military Associa on, we do the following: UMA Classifieds Support and promote the diversity goals of the USPTO Veteran Profiles of 2012
Serve as a resource for hiring and retaining Veterans UMA POC Help educate the USPTO community about the valuable service Veter‐
ans have rendered to the United States and how Veterans contribute to President Joe Hirl
the USPTO workplace and community Vice President Brent Howard
Support USPTO employees and their families during mes of recall to Treasurer Aretha Grayson ac ve duty Secretary April Blair Representa ves at Large: Cul vate a network of people and resources devoted to Veterans issues Eric Atkisson Stuart Snyder and concerns, and in all endeavors, exert appropriate proac ve ini a‐ Asghar Bilgrami Kacy Verdi ves that strive to provide well‐being support and guidance to Veterans Sieg Chencinski Kat Wyrozebski Anhthuan Nguyen and their families.
HR Veterans Benefits Corner
Military Service: Is it Creditable Towards Civilian Re rement? by Anthony Henderson
o you have prior military service? period of war; or Have you considered combining ● Under provisions of 10 U.S.C. 12731‐ D your ac ve military service me 12739 (re red pay under Chapter 1223 for with your civilian service re rement benefit? members of the reserves). HR Point of Contact In some cases your ac ve military service If you have prior military service and would may count towards your civilian re rement like more informa on regarding combining computa on. For example, employees cov‐ your military service me with your civilian HR Representa ve for UMA and all ered under the Federal Employees Re re‐ service for re rement, please contact the USPTO Veterans: ment System (FERS) may receive credit for Compensa on and Benefits Division at 571‐ post‐1956 military service only if they depos‐ 272‐6209 to schedule an appointment with it with the employing agency a sum equal to our re rement counselor. 3 percent of the military basic pay they Anthony Henderson 571‐272‐6160 earned during their period of military ser‐ [email protected] vice, plus interest. Current Events New civilian employees with ac ve‐duty service have three years to buy back their Wounded Warrior Events me without interest. However, an im‐ HR Compensa on and Benefits portant decision needs to be made between The UMA is in the process of organizing Division 571‐272‐6209 the following two re rement op ons: small volunteer pizza par es and events 1. Combine military and civilian careers for wounded soldiers who are currently into one civilian re rement and forfeit mili‐ Classifieds located at Fort Belvoir and Bethesda tary re rement. This decision also requires Photo contest: Please submit any military hospitals. If you are interested making a military service credit deposit of 3 photos you have of you and your percent of military base pay (Federal Em‐ in par cipa ng in one of these future family with a military theme. Top 3 ployees Re rement System) or 7 percent of events, please no fy Brent Howard of military base pay (Civil Service Re rement winners will be included in the next System) plus interest on military service your desire to join this team at issue of the newsle er. If you would credit deposits. UMA@uspto,gov. Dates of events will like to post classifieds, please write 2. Re re from CSRS or FERS using only civil‐ be TBD un l the teams are formed. ian federal service and con nue receiving a separate military re rement benefit. Editors The decision to combine careers into one Career Q&A for Veterans and Editor‐in‐Chief, Kat Wyrozebski re rement also would not alter other mili‐ their families at USPTO tary re rement benefits such as health care Asst Editor, Eric Atkisson and commissary privileges. Addi onally, a Asst Editor, Brent Howard This will be a lunch me event, a Q&A decision to use military service toward a civilian re rement would not affect Social session during which USPTO Veterans Looking for contributors. If you Security re rement benefits. (especially those new in their federal would like to consider wri ng for the Generally, an employee must waive mili‐ careers) and Veteran spouses can ask UMA Newsle er, please email us at tary re red pay in order to receive credit for [email protected]. military service in the computa on of the more experienced Veterans and drilling CSRS or FERS annuity, unless he or she is: reservists how they became successful at For more details, please contact Kat 1. Re red from civilian service a er Sept. the USPTO. Think of it as professional at 571‐272‐1127 or 30, 1982, and has military service that was [email protected] not used in the computa on of military re‐ Development. Date: April 9, from 11:30 red pay ‐‐ for example, four years at one of un l 1 pm , 1st floor Conference Center, Employer Support of the Guard and the service academies such as West Point or Jefferson BLDG. the Naval Academy in Annapolis. Reserve (ESGR) 2. Receiving military re red pay awarded: UMA members volunteer with ESGR in Fundraisers On account of a service‐connected organizing H2H Events that teach current disability incurred in combat with an enemy The UMA is always looking for ways to of the United States; Veterans how to write effec ve resumes raise our funding. If you have any ideas or On account of a service‐connected and how to gain proper interview skills. disability caused by an instrumentality of would like to help, please contact us at For more informa on, please contact Kat war and incurred in the line of duty during a [email protected]. Wyrozebski or Lawana Hixon.
Volume 1, Number 1 ‐ Page 2 Family Group POC
April Blair 571‐270‐1014
Margaret Squalls
DID YOU KNOW?
The USPTO Military Associa on (UMA) has VETERANS AND FAMILY SUPPORT GROUPS formed a new Military Family Group. Military One Source 1‐800‐342‐9647 If you are a spouse, parent, child or family Deployments Offers non‐medical counseling for returning member of a service member, you are invit‐ warriors and their family members in areas ed and encouraged to join. The group’s focus such as health, wellness, and financial solu‐ Seenam Agbe afan will be deploying is suppor ng and mentoring military family ons. It also provides informa on and re‐ to Afghanistan on Mar. 4, 2013. members, especially during the deployment sources to help deal with unique challenges UMA sponsored a Pizza lunch for of a loved one, and member are commi ed of military life. examiner Agbe afan for Feb. 19, to promo ng friendship through social ac vi‐ 2013. es. Stay safe, Seenam! The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides support as well. Please WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT visit h p://www.hhs.gov/children/ UMA members can support the Wounded supportmilitaryfamilies.html. Warrior project by par cipa ng with Fitness
Group and Tough Mudder run (please see UMA Fitness). To date Tough Mudder par c‐ ipants have raised approximately $3 million to support thousands of warriors returning UMA Fitness from ba lefield. Money raised provides combat stress recovery programs, adap ve We stay fit. If you would like to join us, here is a good star ng point: sports programs, counseling and employ‐ Scuba Diving — POC Albert Gagliardi ment services. A team of Wounded Warriors is hosted by every Tough Mudder event just Gym Workouts, Basketball/pick up games — POC Marta Dulko and Margaret Squalls to remind everyone about our heroes. For Tough Mudder run —POC Marta Dulko and Kat Wyrozebski every par cipant that raises $150 or more, Sky Diving and other exhilara ng special events —POC Brent Howard Tough Mudder will donate $25 to the Wounded Warrior Project. For more infor‐ Game/sports watching events — Basketball, Soccer, College Football, and Monday Night NFL football if anyone is interested. ma on, visit h p://toughmudder.com/ wounded‐warrior‐project/. Fitness challenge — Gym workout team challenges you to a end total body condi on‐ ing class with Drew on Mondays at 4 p.m. It is a good prepara on for Tough Mudder. Can you outlast Kat and Marta?
Volume 1, Number 1 ‐ Page 3 Veteran Profiles of 2012—A look back Veteran Profiles
What was your experience in the mili‐ atarzyna “Kat” Wyrozebski, a tary? supervisory patent examiner in K art unit 1746, is a native of We’d love to hear your story. Please Poland ...left the country in 1986 to ... reach out to us at [email protected]. start a new life in the United States.
She studied chemistry then joined the U.S. Navy in 1989 as an aviation ma- Scott Chmielecki ieg Chencinski, a patent examiner in chinist’s mate, working on A-6 Intruder Technology Center 3600, business attack airplanes. S methods (finance, insurance, and advertising), arrived in Queens, N.Y., as a “Initially I worked in the trainer’s child when his German-speaking family fled cott Chmielecki is a patent exam- squadron,” said Kat, “but then the Navy Transylvania, Romania, after World War II. changed its policy to allow women to iner in Art Unit 1729, but before serve at sea, so off I went.” S he joined the USPTO he was in a In March 1962 he received his commission very different kind of unit: the Marine as a second lieutenant through the Air Force She served a combat tour in the Per- Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron. Reserve Officer Training Corps at Brooklyn sian Gulf in 1991, and …(later) trans- College in New York City, with a degree in A native of Cleveland, Ohio, he enlist- ferred to the Navy Reserve and complet- mathematics and minors in engineering and ed as a Marine in 1997, assigned to the ed her bachelor’s degree in chemistry. military science. unit in 1999, and received and honora- She joined the USPTO as a patent ble discharge from active duty in 2003. Chencinski served as a global air-transport examiner in 1999, and received her navigator on C-124, C-141 and VC-135 air- The units primary mission was to pro- commission as a “mustang”—a sailor craft based at James Connolly, Hunter, Do- vide aerial refueling, general logistical who achieved the rank of chief before ver Rhein Main, and Andrews Air Force Ba- transport, aerial delivery of personnel becoming an officer—in 2000. She ses. Missions involved carrying high-priority and cargo, communications relay, and served in the Persian Gulf again in cargo and personnel and medical evacuation other mission-critical operations as need- 2003, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, flights in support of the DOD, State Depart- ed. and in places like Bosnia, Bahrain, and ment, and humanitarian missions around the the United Arab Emirates throughout her Deployed to Afghanistan for Operation world. Chencinski moved newly printed Viet- Navy career. Enduring Freedom in 2002 and to Iraq namese currency from England to Saigon. Today, she is an engineering duty for Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, Sgt. Delivering the Army's 42nd Infantry officer, acquisition professional in the Chmielecki’s accrued nearly 2,000 hours "Rainbow" Division between Honolulu to Navy Reserve, & lieutenant commander. of flight time on the KC-130 Hercules South Vietnam, Chencinski recalls some aircraft that included flight chilling moments, at times avoiding electron- plans, weather briefs, in flight ic countermeasures from the enemy. He flew course and schedule, ...and wounded service members to special hospi- ordering aerial delivery re- tals in Japan and the United States, trans- lease of personnel and cargo. ported refugees from Panama to Savannah, and supported NATO operations from Cold After his service, he used War Berlin activities to getting the Turkish the G.I. Bill to attend Cleve- NATO troops out of Seoul, Korea in 1966. land State, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in 2008.
“I miss the friends I Sieg Chencinski made in the service and the ever-changing Katarzyna “Kat” Wyrozebski view from the cockpit of a KC-130,” said Chmielecki, “but I don’t miss living in the bar- racks or eating MREs (Meals Ready to Eat).”
UMA Newsle er Inaugural Edi on ‐ Special Addendum
Volume 1, Number 1 ‐ Page 4 Veteran Profiles of 2012—A look back Veteran Profiles
What was your experience in the rent Howard, now a Management ames military? and Program Analyst in the Office Stroud, was B of Information Management Ser- J born in Illi- We’d love to hear your story. Please vices, joined the U.S. Air Force in the early nois to a military reach out to us at [email protected]. 90s. family—his mother was a Navy air traf- He started as a Programmer at Langley fic controller, uncle aniel Elliott grew up in a military supporting the establishment of engineering a Navy pilot and family. His father was a non- process optimization, enabling the organiza- commander, & commissioned officer, and Dan tion to reach Carnegie Mellon Software En- D cousin a Navy Sea- James Stroud went to a high school outside of Fort gineering Institute (SEI)'s Capability Maturity bees Commander,. Polk, La. After that he served eight years Model Level 3 in its second year…. Then “My grandfather was in the Army during of active duty in the U.S. Army as a cali- cross-trained and joined a special unit of the World War II,” he said, “but we forgive him bration and repair specialist, helping Air Combat Command’s - 1st Fighter Wing... for not going Navy.” maintain and repair a wide variety of Ar- 1st Special Operating Forces. my equipment. He spent the majority of Stroud decided to follow in his family’s foot- Howard, graduated (top of class) from the his Army career stationed in Germany, steps, and enlisted in the Navy in 2001. “I Air Ground Operations School at Hurlburt with deployments to Iraq and Afghani- enlisted when I was 17 and had to have my Field, FL (USAF Special Operations Com- stan. In 2006 he went to work for the parents sign me away to the government, mand), ...“jumped out of perfectly good air- Army as a civilian software developer at which took a lot of negotiation,” he said. “My planes” ...excelled in survival and evasion, Tobyhanna Army Depot while studying parents are very tough negotiators.” He vol- building take-down, extraction maneu- information systems and technology unteered to work aboard submarines be- vers...counter-terrorism, anti-terrorism, and at Penn State in the evenings, using the cause it was the most advanced job he could close quarters battle. G.I. Bill. get into and still work with his hands. When Elliott graduated from college in His team was similar in some respects to But instead of seeing the world, as he had May 2011, he was interested in continu- ’80’s Navy SEAL Red Cell, and in fact they hoped, he spent his six years of Navy service ing his service in the federal government. trained at some of the same facilities. After based in Georgia, when he wasn’t “making A friend told him about the USPTO, and conducting missions through Persian Gulf holes in the Atlantic Ocean.” Life beneath now he's a student in the USPTO acade- and Southwest Asia, Howard— call sign the waves presented its share of challenges, my. Upon graduation, he'll join art unit “Pappy,” after WWII fighter ace Pappy Boy- “highly stressful,” and (constantly) dealt with 2191. ington— distinguished himself in the line of preparedness drills, normal watch standing, duty, receiving an Armed Forces Expedition- and being away from home.” ary Medal with Campaign Star, U.S. Air Force Meritorious Achievement Medal and a After leaving the Navy in 2006 and bounc- position as Team Chief. ing around in the job market, Stroud received bachelor degrees in Electronic Engineering The newspaper photo below shows Technologies and Game and Simulation Pro- “Pappy” preparing for an operation, with a gramming. Daniel Elliott mask to protect his identity. “While my team chief position was similar to Dick Marcinko's,” said Howard jokingly, illiam Goodchild is a patent examiner in Art Unit 2433 (Information Security, referring to the famous commander of SEAL Cryptography) and a new member of the USPTO Military Association (UMA). Team Six and Red Cell, “I wouldn't imply we ever got into trouble like they did.” W After graduating from high school in Long Beach, N.Y., he attended the State University of New York - Farmingdale, receiving an associate degree in aviation technology and becoming a private pilot. He then enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving on a fast-attack submarine and spent several years repairing submarines as a Navy quality assurance supervisor. During that time he William Goodchild also received his bachelor’s degree.
Following his military service, Goodchild decided to pursue a master's in electrical engineering at Florida International Univer- sity. After graduation, he worked as a con- sultant and project manager for Computer Brent Howard Associates and then joined the USPTO in 2006.
Volume 1, Number 1 ‐ Page 5