On the Cover: Lt. Col. George R. Sanderlin, Profession of Arms Center of Excellence, addresses and 87th Air Base Wing Airmen along with Army Reserve Soldiers at the Timmerman Center, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., Nov. 9, 2016. Sanderlin spoke about Professionalism: Enhancing human capital, which focuses on self-reflection as a means to better understand how military members can become better friends, parents, spouses, co- workers, and leaders. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Mark C. Olsen/Released)

DECEMBER 2016, VOL. 50 NO. 12

THE CONTRAIL STAFF

177TH FW COMMANDER COL. JOHN R. DiDONNA CHIEF, PUBLIC AFFAIRS CAPT. AMANDA A. BATIZ EDITOR/SUPERINTENDENT, PUBLIC AFFAIRS MASTER SGT. ANDREW J. MOSELEY PHOTOJOURNALIST TECH. SGT. ANDREW J. MERLOCK PHOTOJOURNALIST AIRMAN 1st CLASS SHANE KARP

AVIATION HISTORIAN DR. RICHARD PORCELLI

WWW.177FW.ANG.AF.MIL

This funded newspaper is an authorized monthly publication for members of the U.S. Military Services. Contents of The Contrail are not On desktop computers, click For back issues of The Contrail, necessarily the official view of, or endorsed by, the 177th Fighter Wing, the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense or the Depart- Ctrl+L for full screen. On mobile, and other multimedia products ment of the Air Force. The editorial content is edited, prepared, and provided by the Public Affairs Office of the 177th Fighter Wing. All tablet, or touch screen device, from the 177th Fighter Wing, photographs are Air Force photographs unless otherwise indicated. tap or swipe to flip the page. please visit us at DVIDS! MAKE SMART CHOICES Col. John R. DiDonna, 177th Fighter Wing Commander The child appeared petrified to get a And, I am fortunate enough to picture with Santa Claus. Tears were have a loving family who very flowing, the child was back peddling much supports me and are huge away from Santa; the fear was ap- fans of the 177th Fighter Wing Jer- parent. The parents asked the child sey Devils. “Why are you so afraid of Santa So, my wish for you over this Holi- Claus”? The child replied , day Season and for 2017 is the “Because I am Claustraphobic” same as last year: happiness, health, safety, and good cheer! Wow, that was a horrible joke. If Please watch out for each other, you recall last year I asked Santa for family and friends over what is a Super Bowl 50 win for the Patriots hopefully a cheerful time, have a and he said no problem because I great New Year celebration, and was on his “Nice List”…not sure like my wife always tells my 2 kids: what I did, but congrats to any Bron- “Make smart choices”. co’s fans in the Wing! Thank you very much for your ser- This year I decided not to ask for an- vice, thank you to your families ything…why…I pretty much have it and friends who support your com- all. I am healthy enough to serve mitment to defending the United our great Nation alongside all of States, and thanks to those Jersey you. I am privileged to witness all Devils who are serving at home or the great accomplishments you abroad who will be unable to achieve in support of our state and spend the Holidays with their fami- country. I see you take care of each he other day I was doing some early holiday shopping ly/friends. other, supportive of our Jersey Devil at the local mall. I overheard parents speaking with T Team and our Wingman culture. Happy Holidays and a Fantastic their child. 2017! Ma ENHANCING HUMAN CAPITAL Photos and caption by Master Sgt. Mark Olsen, 108AW Public Affairs Lt. Col. George R. Sanderlin, Professional of Arms Center of Excellence, addressed New Jer- sey Air National Guardsmen and 87th Air Base Wingmen, along with Soldiers at the Timmerman Center, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., Nov. 9, 2016.

Lt. Col. Sanderlin spoke about Professionalism: Enhancing Human Capital, which focused on self-reflection as a means to better understand how military members can become better friends, parents, spouses, co-workers, and leaders.

Lt. Col. Sanderlin also provided valuable infor- mation to the captive audience about the pur- pose of PACE and how to access their benefi- cial products through the Air Force Portal.

For more information on PACE products you can use in the workplace, please visit their Profession of Arms Center of Excellence (PACE) website on the AF Portal. http://www.airman.af.mil/Home.aspx Top: Lt. Col. George R. Sanderlin, Profession of Arms Center of Excellence, addresses New Jersey Air National Guard and 87th Air Base Wing Air- men along with Army Reserve Soldiers at the Timmerman Center, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., Nov. 9, 2016. Sanderlin spoke about Professionalism: Enhancing human capital, which focuses on self-reflection as a means to better understand how military members can become better friends, parents, spouses, co-workers, and leaders.

Right: Senior Airman Andre K. Clements, left, and Chief Master Sgt. Jose A. Gonzalez, both with the 177th Fighter Wing, New Jersey Air National Guard, participate in an exercise on effective communication during the Professionalism: Enhancing human capital seminar held at the at the Tim- merman Center, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., Nov. 9, 2016. http://www.nationalguard.mil/Features/2016/380th-Birthday/ Norwich engineering student Kevin Taylor ’17 spent the summer working on a new system for improving safety and efficacy of fighter pilots. The challenge: to devise a system for monitoring blood oxygenation in fighter pilots. But, he Safer Skies: had to do it without interfacing with the aircraft systems, and the device had to be completely self-contained, without causing any interference or discomfort to the pilot. Taylor, along with his research advisor, Dr. Brian Bradke, an Asst. Real Time Hypoxia Monitoring for Pilots Professor of Mechanical Engineering and an Air Guard F-16 instructor pilot, By: Norwich University Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Brian Bradke, PhD devised and built a system using a revolutionary technology originally con- ceived for use in the trauma ward. After bench-top trials in the lab at Norwich, they traveled to Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., where they got to test the efficacy of the system on pilots and physiologists at the world’s premier F-35 training base. Currently, the USAF trains pilots to recognize their hypoxia symptoms by put- ting them in an altitude chamber and simulating atmospheric conditions at 25,000 feet. Once the pilot experiences symptoms, which may include numb- ness, confusion, giddiness, blurry vision or lethargy, they initiate 100% oxygen flow from the aircraft or directly from an emergency oxygen reserve. Because aircraft and pilots are not equipped to measure pulse oximetry, and since each pilot experiences hypoxia differently, it is imperative that pilots learn to self- diagnose hypoxia and initiate recovery procedures before becoming incapaci- tated. There is no backup system to alert the pilot of impending hypoxic condi- tion, and once the pilot is incapacitated, the outcome is always the same. That is what Taylor hopes to change. Norwich University is a diversified academic institution that educates Despite physiological requalification training every five years, a number of fatal traditional-age students and adults accidents attributed to hypoxia have occurred throughout the years. Had the in a Corps of Cadets and as civilians. pilots been outfitted with a passive oxygenation monitoring system, they might Norwich offers a broad selection of still be with us today. traditional and distance-learning programs culminating in Baccalau- “In our opinion, incapacitation due to hypoxia is a preventable accident,” said reate and Graduate Degrees. Nor- Taylor, a mechanical engineering senior and USAF pilot candidate. “We think wich University was founded in 1819 by Captain Alden Partridge of this system may ultimately save a multi-million dollar asset. But more im- the U.S. Army and is the oldest pri- portantly, it may be the difference between a pilot going home to their family at vate military college in the United night or a folded American flag at Arlington.” States of America. Norwich is one

of our nation's six senior military Bradke and Taylor will present their findings to the Aerospace Medical Associ- colleges and the birthplace of the ation at their annual meeting this spring. Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC). www.norwich.edu According to data from a 2016 Pentagon report So please join me this holiday season and try to on service member body mass index, approxi- maintain your physical fitness level by developing mately 10 percent of service members from the a plan of your own. By developing and executing Army and Air Force are considered overweight. a holiday fitness plan, we will ensure that our As Thanksgiving comes to an end, many of us are pre- These statistics can lead to the assumption that physical fitness levels will not deteriorate and we paring for the upcoming holiday season. Travel ar- many soldiers and airmen will be struggling dur- will maintain our level of readiness to meet and rangements are being planned, holiday gatherings and ing next year’s fitness assessment, which can ulti- execute next year’s missions and challenges. meals are in the works, and we are all looking forward mately affect their unit’s mission. to the much-needed personal time with our family and Sure, the easy advice to give would be to ignore friends. the treats and continue the workout plan that you This holiday season, I would like to make the recom- faithfully followed throughout the year to maintain mendation that we all try to keep one important aspect physical fitness-- I, however, am a realist. I know of our military career in mind, physical fitness. that simply not enjoying holiday food is not really an option for me. I will simply enjoy these foods Soon, we will all have to face a table full of food fit for in moderation, continue to hydrate, and, at least a king, whether it is smoked ham, roasted turkey, stuff- three days a week, find approximately 30 to 45 ing or candied sweet potatoes. Following the feast, minutes to exercise. desserts such as pecan pie and holiday cookies will be readily available; not to mention the still lingering Hal- loween candy. Over indulging with these items can lead to unwanted weight gain and add inches on your waist, affecting your physical fitness. A study conducted by the Calorie Count Council has shown that Americans, on average, gain approximate- ly one to three pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The study also indicated that those who are slightly obese are estimated to gain five or more during the holiday season and will fail to lose it during the upcoming year. Story by Dr. Richard V. Porcelli

Background

n an earlier segment of the F-16 story, we ex- plained how the development of Viper followed a path, embraced by the USAF for most of the new I aircraft, of successive improvements being em- bodied in groups of aircraft produced, referred to as “Production Blocks.” During the past few months we described the development, features and deploy- ment of the previous F-16A/B Blocks (where “A” sig- nifies the single-seat jet, while the “B” is the two- seater or “tub” version). Blocks 1, 5, and 10 were the initial production blocks characterized by short stabi- lators, VHF and ILS antennas on the bottom of the air inlet in the front of the nose gear. Blocks 15 and 20 are identified by their longer stabilators, with the VHF antenna located between the ventral fins on the low- er rear fuselage and the ILS antennas under the nose just behind the radome. There were also “sub- blocks” such as the Air Defense Fighter [ADF] with its searchlight and “bird slicer” IFF antenna; Multination- al Stage Improvement Program [MSIP] stages; and confusingly, the similarly titled Multi-Stage Improve- ment Programs [also MSIP!!!]. As noted last time, the F-16A/B Block 20 is an anomaly. It may be re- called that this block, for purely political reasons, was an A/B in name only, but physically more akin to the more potent F-16C/D versions. The next production block, Block 25, is the subject of this segment of our story.

Block 25: Going From A to C

The Production Block 25 marked the F-16’s first major change and the evolution of the F-16A/B into the F- The 119th Fighter Squadron of the 177th Fighter Wing received their first Block 25 Vipers in 1994; they were traded in for used Block 30 jets starting in 2007. (USAF) 16C/D. Block 25 was also known as the MSIP Stage II. Perhaps the most important driving forces behind replaced the earlier AN/APG-66. The new radar provid- This F-16D Block 25 “tub” was with the 62nd this evolutionary change were the need to enable re- ed increased range, better target resolution and an in- Fighter Squadron when it was photographed liance on the AMRAAM as the primary air-to-air mis- crease in the number of air-to-air operating modes at Luke AFB in August 2006. (F-16.net) sile and to gain night/precision ground attack capabil- thanks to the planar array design. These modes includ- ities. To achieve those capabilities, mainly basic ed range-while-search, up-lock and velocity search, sin- changes in the electronics had to be made although gle target track, raid cluster resolution and track-while- there were physical enhancements as well. scan for up to 10 air-to-air targets. Beyond-visible- range [BVR] ability was added in the high-PRF (pulse

repetition frequency) track mode that provides continu- The Block 25 jets incorporated the following changes ous-wave illumination for guidance of the AIM-7 Spar- that were accomplished by the replacement of “black row semi-active radar homing missile. The air-to- boxes” rather than major structural modifications: ground modes included maritime, fixed and moving improved fire control computer ground targets and ground mapping, Doppler beam improved stores management computer inertial navigation system new “glass cockpit” based on multi-functional displays, including a GEC Marconi Avionics larger, wide-angle holographic “head-up” display [HUD] and two “head-down” multifunction displays forward-looking infrared [FLIR] video capability new Fairchild mission data transfer computer The second F-16C Block 25 jet was 83-0119; it flew as part of the test pro- stagnation and augmenter instability – endemic prob- precision ground attack. These improvements were incorporation of a MIL STD-1760 data bus/ gram at Edwards AFB including the evaluation of a special paint scheme used in the “paint-less aircraft” test program. It later went on to “star” in the “Iron lems of the earlier engine. The engine incorporated particularly important for F-16s based in Europe that weapons interface for the deployment of the AGM- Man II” movie. (USAF). a digital electronic engine control [DEEC] that contrib- had to fly in the seemingly perpetual bad weather 65D Maverick and AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles uted to many of the operational improvements. In that is characteristic of that region. In addition, sharpening, ranging beacon and target freeze. The bea- addition, the time between maintenance was dou- these improvements were important steps in morph- USAF standard Inertial Navigation System [INS] con mode offers the capability of reliance on navigation bled, resulting in better reliability and lower mainte- ing the F-16 Viper into a true multi-role fighter. improved radar altimeter waypoints and offset bombing. nance costs. The thrust, however, remained relative- In terms of physical appearance, the F-16C/D Block ly unchanged at 14,590 pounds-force in military pow- All Block 25 jets were built with the Pratt & Whitney F- 25 jets showed minimal external differences com- a new anti-jam UHF radio. er, and 23,770 pounds-force in afterburner. 100-PW-200, the same engine that powered the initial pared to the earlier block F-16A/Bs. The most telling production blocks. However, in Air Force service the - On the downside, these enhancing modifications re- clue for “airplane spotters” was the enlarged base of As would be expected these “electronic changes” re- 200 (as well as the P&W F-100-PW-100 that powered sulted in a weight increase. Take-off weight in- the vertical fin and the small fin that protruded up- quired improvements in the capacity of the environ- the F-15 Eagle), suffered from poor reliability, high creased to 43,300 pounds – a further indication that wards from it. Strangely, this enlarged area was pro- mental control and power generation systems. maintenance costs and short service life. Subsequently the initial “Light Weight Fighter” concept was being vided to house the Westinghouse/ITT AN/ALQ-165 all of the Block 25 jets upgraded to the -220E engine traded-off to gain capability, particularly improve- ASPJ (Airborne Self-Protection Jammer). An even more significant improvement was the configuration. This engine had improvements that ments over the earlier F-16A/B versions in terms of This device was originally a joint Air change to the Westinghouse AN/APG-68(V), (today eliminated some of the problems, such as stall- beyond-visual-range engagements and nighttime/ Force/Navy project, but due to a price vs. known as the Northrop Grumman ESSD), radar that capability controversy as well as testing irregularities, the USAF withdrew. As a result, the extra space in The first F-16C Block 25, serial 83-0118, from the 312 TFTS, sits on the Luke AFB ramp. Before assignment to Luke, it performed service tests with the 6516th Test Squadron at Edwards AFB. (USAF) the Block 25 jets was initially unused. As a strange historical coincidence, the ASPJ program was in fact stimulated by the 1995 downing of an Air Force F-16 over Bosnia. The first flight of a Block 25 Viper occurred on 19 June 1984. This first F-16C was AF serial 83-1118; it was turned over to the Air Force shortly thereafter. It, along with a further five aircraft, were assigned to the 6516th Test Squadron at Edwards AFB for evalua- tion. There, in-service flight-testing proved that the new version suffered from some problems, especially software glitches. It was perhaps an early example of what we are seeing today with the F-35, where the development is slowed by software problems rather than hardware difficulties. While in 1984 theF-16 software was a lot simpler than today’s F-35s, that period of time also suffered from a severe shortage of trained software engineers who were badly need- ed to resolve these problems. During the Block 25 production run, 209 single-seat F- 16Cs and 35 twin-seat F-16Ds were produced by Gen- eral Dynamics in their Fort Worth, Texas, factory. The Block 25 aircraft were built as part of the 1983-1985 Fiscal Year programs as follows:

FY1983: 48 F-16C, 12 F-16D models FY1984: 129 F-16C, 15 F-16D models FY1985: 32 F-16C, 8 F-16D models Fighter Training Squadron (58th TFTW) at Luke AFB was the first unit within the retirement to AMARC in May 2010. In 2013 it was refurbished at Hill AFB for trans- continental US to convert to the new version. fer to the Indonesian Air Force. In terms of overall F-16 production, Block 25 was Other Air Force units that flew the Block 25s included the 57th FWW (Fighter The F-16C Block 25 in ANG Service somewhat unique in that all of the aircraft went to Weapons Wing) at Nellis AFB, the 363rd FW at Shaw AFB, and the 366th FW at the USAF. The first front-line units to receive the Mountain Home, AFB. Block 25 jets were in Europe, including the 10th, The service life of the Block 25 Vipers in the regular Air Force was rela-

313th and 496th Fighter Squadrons of the 50th Fight- tively short, as they were rapidly replaced with the next generation, er Wing based at Hahn AB, Germany. They replaced The last Block 25 jet built was F-16C-25, serial 85-1516; it was delivered to the the F-16C/D, Block 30/32. The Block 25 jets were therefore trans- the earlier Block 15 Vipers that had equipped those 314th TFTS at Luke, AFB in December 1986. It then flew with the 61st FS before ferred from the regular Air Force to the Air National Guard. A large units starting in December 1981. The 312th Tactical number of state units received them replacing early versions of the F- 16 or in other cases, replacing F-4 Phantoms and A- Vermont and Kansas) that were upgrading to later The 119th FS’s first Block 25 Vipers arrived at Atlantic City in 1994; the second aircraft 7D Corsair IIs. blocks. Before ANG service, most of those Vipers to arrive, 84-1260, is shown being moved on the ramp during a 2000 snowstorm. had earlier served with the 17th and 33rd Fighter (F-16.net) Squadrons (Shaw AFB) including a number of 1st Gulf The Air National Guard squadrons and the dates they War veteran aircraft. received F-16C/D Block 25 Vipers are shown here: The 119th received a total of eighteen Block 25 Vi- pers including one ill-fated two-seat D model. The 1990 127th FS, Kansas; 161st FS, Kansas; 177th FS, first jet was 84-1258, which arrived in New Jersey ac- Kansas (all at McConnell AFB) companied by 84-1260. The 119th FS flew the Block 25 jets from 1994 to 2007. The squadron’s years with 1991 113th FS, Indiana (Terre Haute); 149th FS, the Block 25 Vipers were, to say the least, eventful. Virginia (Byrd Field); 163rd FS, Indiana (Fort Wayne) Three of the squadron’s jets were involved in acci- 1992 112th FS, Ohio (Toledo); 120th FS, Colorado dents, with the destruction of two of them. Fortu- (Buckley ANGB); 174th FS, Iowa; 175th FS, South Da- nately, no pilots were lost. kota; 176th FS, Wisconsin; 188th FS, New Mexico On 16 September 1997, the squadron’s only two-seat 1994 119th FS, New Jersey (Atlantic City), 134th FS, F-16D, serial 84-1286, collided with 119th squadron- Vermont (Burlington) mate F-16C (84-1286) in the darkness over the Atlan- 1995 194th FS, California (Fresno) tic Ocean just off the coast. On that evening the two aircraft were to rendezvous after takeoff before 1996 111th FS, Texas (Ellington Field) The 119th FS’s Block 25 Vipers are shown on the Nellis AFB ramp during a 2002 Red Flag exercise; squadron markings then were a heading to the ocean training area, Whiskey-107, lot more colorful than today. (F-16.net) 2003 179th FS, Minnesota (Duluth) about 40 miles east of Atlantic City. After the colli- 2006 195th FS, Arizona (Tucson) sion, the two-seater crashed into the ocean but both crewmembers ejected and were rescued from the sea by a Coast Guard helicopter. The other aircraft, As can be see from this list of Air Guard units, our the F-16C, suffered damage to its left wing, horizontal 119th Fighter Squadron received Block 25 Vipers stabilizer, fuselage, canopy and engine (estimated to about midway through the ANG Block 25 upgrade be $1.15 million worth of damage) but the pilot man- program. In late 1994, the squadron began the trad- aged to safely return the aircraft to Atlantic City air- ing of their F-16A/B ADF version. As noted in the pre- port. An Air Force inquiry put the blame for the acci- vious Contrail articles those still very capable jets had dent on both pilots, citing a lack of communication only been flying a few years in that configuration and especially since their strobe lights were off. had a lot of life left in them. Although they went to On 10 January 2002, F-16C 83-1133 flown by Maj. the “Boneyard” at AMARG, for many of them the stay Robert McNally crashed on the verge of the Garden was short lived. Examples were supplied to Jordan, State Parkway in the vicinity of Warren Grove Range. Thailand, Italy and Pakistan (via Jordan). As number two in a three-ship formation, McNally Therefore, for the 119th FS the change from the ADF became disoriented while executing an overshoot version also signified a change from air defense to a from a flight rejoin after an air-to-ground sortie at the general-purpose role. The Block 25 jets that the Range. 119th FS received came from a number of sources, mainly other Air National Guard units (particularly The 119th FS’s only Block 25 two-seater, 84-1320, was lost in a midair collision with another squadron jet that occurred over the Atlantic Ocean 16 September 1997. (F-16.net)

In September 2007, the very first F-16Cs to be retired to the AMARG boneyard were actually two Block 25 jets from the 119th FS. Coincidentally these retired Block 25 jets became the first jets converted to drones under the OF-16 program. The 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron based on Tyn- dall AFB currently flies 15 QF-16 drones, five of them former 119th FS Vipers (both Block 25 and later Block 30 jets). Apparently the exceptional condition of the former 119th Vipers has made them prime candidates for the full-sized aerial target program. In return for the traded-in Block 25s, the 119th received not that much younger F-16C Block 30 jets. More information on these jets will be provided in next issue of The Contrail.

Control of the jet was lost, partly because the pilot’s restraints were not properly secured. Fortu- nately, the pilot successfully ejected before the jet plunged into the ground. The 119th was equipped with the F-16C Block 25 on that fateful day in American history, 11 Septem- ber 2001. Three jets were scrambled to intercept American Airlines Flight 77, the hijacked Boeing 757-200 airliner that eventually impacted the Pentagon. Since the scrambled jets could not reach that airliner in time, they were vectored to intercept United Airlines Flight 93, also a Boeing 757-200, which crashed in Pennsylvania. In both cases the jets were too late, but had they intercepted the airliners they would have been authorized to shoot them down although it is unlikely the Viper pilots knew it at the time. After the terror attacks, the 119th played a vital role in Operation Noble Eagle, surpassing all other squadrons in the number of missions flown. Incredibly, considering the short time span, the squadron’s 1000th Noble Eagle flight occurred on 12 July 2002, just 10 months after the fateful day. In the following years, the 119th took the Block 25 jets on numerous overseas assignments, includ- ing a number of follow-up missions and War-On-Terror related deployments. These include A number of the 119th FS’s Block 25 Vipers retired to the boneyard have been reborn” as QF-16 drones including this jet, serial 84-1286; Operation Southern Watch, Prince Sultan AB, Saudi Arabia, in 2000; and Operation Iraqi Freedom, it was the 6th Viper converted and is one of the 15 currently operated by the 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron, Tyndall AFB. (USAF) flying from Al Udeid AB, Qatar in 2004 and Balad AB, Iraq in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

A UH-60 Black Hawk with the 1-150th Assault Helicopter Battalion, New Jersey Army National Guard, orbits over Tactical Air Control Party Airmen with the 227th Air Support Operations Squadron, New Jersey Air National Guard, during exercise "I Am Ready" at Island Beach State Park, Seaside Park, N.J, Nov. 18, 2016. "I Am Ready" is an aviation centric, joint training exercise between the New Jersey Army and Air National Guard and New Jersey State Police to validate mutual aid agreements and response efforts for homeland security and domestic operations requiring New Jersey National Guard rotary wing support.

Photos by Master Sgt. Mark Olsen, 108th Air Wing Public Affairs Tactical Air Control Party Airmen with New Jersey Air National Guard's 227th Air Support Operations Squadron, pre- pare to be extracted by a UH-60 Black Hawk with the 1-150th Assault Helicopter Battalion, New Jersey Army National Guard, during exercise "I Am Ready" at Island Beach State Park, Seaside Park, N.J, Nov. 18, 2016. F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 177th Fighter Wing take off at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., during Exercise Joint Hawk, a joint Royal Air Force/ training scenario. ANG/Tech. Sgt. Hector Vasquez

Left: A Tactical Air Control Party Airman with the 227th Air Support Operations Squadron, New Jersey Air National Guard, is retrieved from a rooftop to a hovering New Jersey Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk MEDEVAC helicopter during exercise "I Am Ready" at Island Beach State Park, Seaside Park, N.J, Nov. 18, 2016.

Right: Tactical Air Control Party Airmen with New Jersey Air National Guard's 227th Air Support Operations Squadron, hook up to their fast rope for a Special Purpose Insertion Extraction during exercise "I Am Ready" at Island Beach State Park, Seaside Park, N.J, Nov. 18, 2016.

SSGT Zachary A. Riseden, an Aircraft Egress Mechanic with the 177 Maintenance Squadron, is re-enlisted by 2d Lt. Jamen A. Lomonaco, 177 MXS, on 23 November 2016. This was the first time Lt. Lomonaco administered the oath since being commissioned. Congratulations to both. Photo courtesy Mike Passeri

Airman 1st Class Alexander Plaza (far left) and Senior Airman Geovanni Irizarry Senior Master Sgt. Keith Thomas receives a Thanksgiving lunch plate, (far right), 177FW SFS members, participated in the Alder Avenue Middle served up by Chief Master Sgt. Jason Gioconda on Nov. 6, 2016 For more awards photos, check out the School’s “Not All Heroes Wear Capes” event on Nov. 9, 2016, volunteering to ANG/Master Sgt. Andrew J. Moseley 177th Fighter Wing Facebook page! answer students’ questions about life in the military. Courtesy Photo “Give thanks for unknown bless- es and blessings with each other. “Health, ings already on their way” weather, sports, food, smiles, and many others ~Native American Saying are but a few to share. THIS Christmas Holiday there will be many definite benefits of taking a Over the years I have experi- few minutes to share personal positives as we enced challenging times, and end this year. Remember to laugh in the face of being thankful was a difficult both success and adversity, because in the end, task. Whenever I struggled with it is the laughter we remember. worry, anger, frustration, or anxiety, my normal- ly positive attitude was easily overshadowed by So I ask you, for what are you thankful? What that which was going wrong. However being brings a smile to your face, a peace to your fixated on difficult circumstances, although a heart? Now, share it with a colleague and family natural reaction, did not bring peace or create member. Whether you choose to email or text any solutions. The negative thoughts did noth- your response or even identify it in person pref- ing to motivate me in a direction that served a erably, I challenge each of you to identify a daily greater purpose than myself. I was selfish and blessing and share it with one another in some in fact, things even seemed worse. format. Not only will it reinforce your connect- edness to one another, it will make the basis of It has always been easy to be thankful when that connection a positive force and empower us everything was going smoothly. Rarely did I give for this year and the years to follow. thanks in such circumstances. After all these years as a Psychologist, It was the challenging To you and yours, I wish for you a wonderful hol- moments in my life that stopped me in my iday season. Thank you for your service to our tracks and caused me to make a choice between country and dedication to the spirit of sharing moving ahead with faith and determination or your values, for your blessings are on their way. being a victim of my circumstances. Introspec- tion allowed me the opportunity to search in- CONTACT INFORMATION: ward for strength and to gather support from my family and friends. With resiliency, the re- Wing Director of Psychological Health, Doc Andy sults are amazing…..whereas once I took our Savicky for additional stress management guid- blessings for granted, the struggles opened my ance and resources: Call 609-761-6871 or email eyes to all that I should be thankful for. [email protected] for a confidential and free appointment in Building 229 by the This UTA, I encourage all Service Members to Gym. share their gratefulness for both their challeng- A nighttime image of the 177th Fighter Wing’ fitness track, freshly fitted with battery powered solar lighting.

(U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Andrew J. Moseley)