Advanced Training for Boomers, Cargo Crews Page 8
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
=VS5V Thursday, September 6, 2018 (K]HUJLK[YHPUPUNMVYIVVTLYZJHYNVJYL^Z WHNL 1HZV)HDWXUHVSDJH &DUU\LQJWKH+RQRU)ODJ 1HZV)HDWXUHVSDJH &$70DLPVKLJK 1HZV)HDWXUHVSDJH 6WURQJDVLURQ 1HZV)HDWXUHVSDJH )DOOHQKHURKRQRUHG 7OV[VI`:LUPVY(PYTHU(KHT9:OHURZ <:(PY-VYJL(PYTHUZ[*SHZZ4LNOHU:`S]PHH2*,_[LUKLYIVVTVWLYH[VYMYVT[OLUK(PY9LM\LSPUN:X\HKYVU &RPPXQLW\SDJH 1VPU[)HZL4J.\PYL+P_3HRLO\YZ[5L^1LYZL`\ZLZ[OL*HYNV3VHK;YHPULYH[;YH]PZ(PY-VYJL)HZL*HSPM(\N;OL (YHQWV&KDSHOPRUH *3;OLSWZ2*,_[LUKLYIVVTVWLYH[VYZILJVTLWYVMPJPLU[H[SVHKPUNJHYNV)VVTVWLYH[VYZZLY]LHK\LSYVSLHZ[OL` M\UJ[PVUHZSVHKTHZ[LYZVU[OL2*,_[LUKLYHZ^LSS NEWS/FEATURES -YVTZLH[VZOPUPUNZLH/VUVY-SHNMSPLZOPNO I`(PYTHUZ[*SHZZ9`HU*.YVZZRSHN UI"JS.PCJMJUZ8JOH1VCMJD"GGBJST When former U.S. Army Sgt. Chris Heisler was gifted the Honor Flag by the Texas House of Rep- resentatives following the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center buildings in New York, he had not quite realized the adventure that await- ed him. Seven million miles and still traveling, this American flag’s journey spans land, sea, and space. It tells the story of patriotism, leads the way with pride, and honors those who made the ultimate sacrifice. “Putting my time in was something I just be- came accustomed to as a way to show respect for the uniformed personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty,” said Heisler. The Honor Flag’s story began when Heisler traveled to New York to attend funeral services and memorials for the first responders lost in the 9/11 attacks. Heisler’s original intention was to present the flag to the widow of a police officer during his funeral service, thus ending the Hon- or Flag’s journey. “Upon handing the widow the flag, she re- quested that I hold onto the Honor Flag and cherish it for what it meant and what it repre- *V\Y[LZ`WOV[V sented,” said Heisler. -VYTLY<:(YT`:N[*OYPZ/LPZSLYWYLZPKLU[HUKJOPLML_LJ\[P]LVMMPJLYVM;OL/VUVY5L[^VYR Heisler stated that he has personally traveled ^OPJOHKTPUPZ[LYZYLX\LZ[ZMVY\ZLVM[OL/VUVY-SHNWVZLZMVYHWVY[YHP[^P[OHZLY]PJLKVN with the flag for most of its’ journey, with the ex- /LPZSLYYLJLP]LK[OL/VUVY-SHNMYVT[OL;L_HZ/V\ZLVM9LWYLZLU[H[P]LZMVSSV^PUN[OL H[ ception of the flag’s presence on Space Shuttle At- [HJRZHUK[YH]LSLK[V5L^@VYR[VWYLZLU[[OLMSHNH[TLTVYPHSZLY]PJLZMVYMHSSLUMPYZ[YLZWVUKLYZ See FLAG, Page 14 -VYPUMVYTH[PVUHIV\[IHZLVWLYH[PVUZK\YPUNLTLYNLUJPLZVYUH[\YHSKPZHZ[LYZJHSS[OL:[YHPNO[;HSR3PULH[ COMMANDER’S ACTION LINE 4HJ+PSSVU[OL^LI Website: www.macdill.af.mil The Action Line provides two-way communication between the Facebook: www.facebook.com/ 6th Air Mobility Wing commander and the MacDill community. Per- sonnel may submit questions, concerns or comments via email to MacDillAirForceBase [email protected] or Facebook @6thAirMobilityWing- Instagram: macdill_afb CommandTeam Twitter: @macdill_afb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·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´$VVRFLDWHG3UHVV6W\OHERRN DUHQRWQHFHVVDULO\WKHRIILFLDOYLHZVRIRUHQGRUVHGE\WKH SK\VLFDOKDQGLFDSSROLWLFDODIILOLDWLRQRUDQ\RWKHUQRQPHULW DQG/LEHO0DQXDOµDQG$LU)RUFH,QVWUXFWLRQ 2 WWW.MACDILLTHUNDERBOLT.COM Thursday, September 6, 2018 MACDILL THUNDERBOLT NEWS/FEATURES [O:-:JVTIH[HYTZ[YHPULYZHPTMVYL_JLSSLUJL I`5PJR:[\IIZ 7KXQGHUEROWFEJUPS The pop, pop of rounds from rifles and handguns echoes across Marina Bay Drive, over the fairways of the base golf course to the east, and south to the sands of the MacDill beach. The source of all the commotion is the 6th Security Forces small arms firing range, which is set off the west side of Marina Bay and backed by a massive sand embankment that stops bullets from flying into nearby Tampa Bay. This is where Team MacDill shoots. It’s also where a dedi- cated team of SFS members store and maintain small arms, train and qualify Airmen and others on the service rifle and pistol, along with nu- merous other firearms-related duties. With the exception of security forces, slinging rifles and strapping pis- tols isn’t something one generally thinks of when it comes to Airmen, but that doesn’t mean Airmen are not called upon to shoulder M4s or strap on M9s in combat zones or force-protection scenarios. Some may not realize it, said Tech. Sgt. Nicole Olgivie, NCOIC of the Combat Arms Training and Maintenance facility, but virtually every Air- man—from attorneys in the legal office to cooks in the dining facility—is required to learn to use and care for the two primary service weapons. It’s all about readiness. A new AFI imposed this year means Group B Airmen must repeat small arms qualification training every 36 months. The policy will keep 7OV[VI`5PJR:[\IIZ the shooting skills of Airmen a lot sharper than in the past, said Tech. ;LJO:N[9HUKHSS7LYY`SLM[HUK:[HMM:N[(UKYLRH4VVK`JVTIH[ Sgt. Randall Perry, a combat arms instructor. HYTZPUZ[Y\J[VYZJSLHYHU4YPMSLH[[OL*VTIH[(YTZ;YHPUPUNHUK 4HPU[LUHUJL*(;4MHJPSP[`H[4HJ+PSS(PY-VYJL)HZL;OL*(;4JVU See COMBAT ARMS, Page 4 K\J[ZMPYLHYTZ[YHPUPUNHUKTHPU[HPUZ[OLZOVV[PUNYHUNLHUKHYTVY` (PYTLU:VSKPLYZZ[YLUN[OLUQVPU[ZRPSSZPU,_LYJPZL7YLKPJ[HISL0YVU I`:LUPVY(PYTHU;Y`WOLUH4H`O\NO OE"JSMJGU8JOH1VCMJD"GGBJST JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. (AFNS) — Airmen from the 62nd Airlift Wing participated in a joint exercise with the 82nd Airborne Division to drop equipment and personnel at two drop zones during Exer- cise Predictable Iron Aug. 20 to 24 at Pope Field, North Carolina. Airmen from the 7th and 8th Airlift Squadrons crewed two C-17 Globe- master IIIs to assist more than a thousand Army paratroopers in the exer- cise as joint training between the 62nd AW and 82nd Airborne. “It is crucial that the Air Force and Army work well together because without each other the mission fails,” said Capt. Jared Barkemeyer, 7th AS pilot and aircraft commander for one of the C-17s. “Without the reliable transport the Air Force provides, the Army could not execute their objec- tives in a timely manner via airdrop. “The airdrop insertion at a mass scale is something no other nation in the world can provide,” he continued. “But, without the Army, the Air Force would strictly serve an air-land mission and, as a service, we would become 7OV[VI`:LUPVY(PYTHU;Y`WOLUH4H`O\NO less flexible to user requests.” (UUK(PYIVYUL+P]PZPVUWHYH[YVVWLY^HP[Z[VQ\TWV\[VMH*.SVIL The Airmen worked alongside Soldiers to load equipment onto the air- THZ[LY 000 MYVT 4J*OVYK -PLSK >HZO K\YPUN ,_LYJPZL 7YLKPJ[HISL 0YVU craft, as well as with jumpmasters and paratroopers to help them maintain ULHY7VWL-PLSK5*(\N(PYTLUMYVT[OLUK(PYSPM[>PUN^VYRLK their readiness requirements for airborne missions. ^P[O[OLWHYH[YVVWLYZK\YPUN[OLL_LYJPZL[VOLSW[OLTTHPU[HPU[OLPYHPY See IRON, Page 6 IVYULYLHKPULZZYLX\PYLTLU[Z MACDILL THUNDERBOLT Thursday, September 6, 2018 WWW.MACDILLTHUNDERBOLT.COM 3 *64)(;(94: -YVT7HNL “I’ve had (in past training sessions) a couple of senior master sergeants who’ve been in (the Air Force) 20 years and they hadn’t fired since basic,” said Perry. “That’s fixed (with the new requirement).” It increases the workload on instructors, but Olgivie said the upside is better prepared Airmen. “I’m happy about that — more than the just-in-time training,” said Olgivie of the new requirement. “It’s help- ing them to become more proficient.” The combat arms team has many responsibilities that go beyond qualifying Airmen, and they include qualifying other service members, including those attached to U.S. Central Command at MacDill. Regular maintenance of weapons stored in the armory and used by units on base, gauging weapons to ensure they are in spec, managing am- mo programs, in addition to maintaining the range, dispos- ing of spent brass, dust collection and dealing with hazard- ous materials are just some of the crew’s responsibilities. Since other branches, including outside law enforce- ment agencies use the firing range, the team also has a range officer training program to ensure those leading firing at the range are certified and approved to use the range. On top of it all, the combat arms team members are security forces members, who have to pull gate and other law enforcement duties when needed. “Combat arms is essential (so) we always make it work—nights, weekends, whatever it takes,” said Olgivie. One of the upcoming challenges combat arms personnel will be undertaking is integration of the new U.S. service pistol, a military version of the 9 mm Sig Sauer 320, which will