AFA National Report [email protected] By Frances McKenney, Assistant Managing Editor Utah’s Focus on Defense Air Force Association Chairman of the Board Joseph E. Sutter attended the 31st Retired Maj. Gen. annual Focus on Defense symposium Thomas Deppe in Utah in June. The state’s three AFA (left), former vice chapters—the Northern Utah Chapter, commander of Air Salt Lake Chapter, and Ute-Rocky Force Space Com- Mountain Chapter—co-sponsored the mand, chatted with day-long event. AFA Board Chair- Held at a conference center in Ogden man Joe Sutter at an informal event near Hill Air Force Base, the June 16 during the Focus on symposium threw a spotlight on the new Defense symposium Air Force Global Strike Command, with in Utah. Sutter spoke its chief, Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz from briefly at the confer- Barksdale AFB, La., as keynote speaker. ence, noting USAF’s “Being the steward of two-thirds of the renewed attention to United States’ operational nuclear triad is the nuclear enter- a special trust and responsibility,” he told prise. the audience of more than 350 attendees. “Our partners in the ICBM sustainment and modernization enterprise at Hill Air Force Base will continue to have a critically important mission and critically important work to perform.” Other speakers on the roster included Lt. Gen. Loren M. Reno, deputy chief of staff for logistics, installations, and AIR FORCE Magazine / September 2010 123 AFA National Report mission support; Dennis A. Muilenburg, Pacific Northwest Pilot for a Day military working dog at the security forces president and CEO of Boeing Defense, The McChord Chapter in Lakewood, squadron, put on a K-9 demonstration. Space, and Security; and Robert C. Hin- Wash., recently helped a six-year-old Then came lunch at the Combined son, Northrop Grumman vice president girl put aside, for a while, the burden of Club with members of the McChord of government programs. a serious illness and enjoy a day at an Chapter, headed by President Tommy Walter Saeger Jr., Utah state VP, and Air Force base. L. Carson. The afternoon was devoted Kevin J. Sullivan, a former commander Kaylie Bergen, who had been diag- to the base’s C-17s. Kaylie watched one of Ogden Air Logistics Center, were nosed with a brain stem tumor, became of the transports perform a touch-and- chairmen of the symposium. a “Pilot for a Day” at JB Lewis-McChord go, then walked through one that was The chapters hosted a salmon bar- in May. on static display. becue at the end of the conference, The Pilot for a Day program originated “We are hoping that the entire day will and the next day, two days of golf got in 1994 with Capt. Rory Blackburn of never be forgotten by her,” commented under way to raise funds for the state the 560th Flying Training Squadron, Carson. AFA aerospace education foundation. Randolph AFB, Tex., who created it as a The tournament included a “Midcourse way to give children a respite from their Space Briefing for the Shooting Star Correction” party at the end of the first medical treatments. A teacher who spent a week at space day of play and an awards banquet at At McChord, the 4th Airlift Squadron camp gave a full report in May to the the end of the tournament. takes the lead for Pilot for a Day, with all Shooting Star Chapter of northern funding provided by the McChord Chap- New Jersey. Honoring WASPs ter, in particular, its Community Partners. Valerie Finneran, a seventh-grade Hosted by the Gold Coast Chapter The chapter’s Robert Branscomb heads special education instructor from Ran- in Fort Lauderdale in July, the Florida the fund-raising effort. dolph (N.J.) Middle School, was selected State Convention honored four World For Kaylie, Pilot for a Day actually last year for the Honeywell Educator @ War II-era Women Airforce Service Pilots began the night before, when her 4th Space Academy program. The company who live in the area. AS hosts presented her with a helmet paid all expenses for her and 287 other Florine Maloney, Shirley Kruse, Tex bag filled with a personalized flight suit, teachers to travel to Huntsville, Ala., Meachem, and Helen Snapp were spe- scarf, nametag, and unit patches. and attend the US Space & Rocket cial guests at the convention’s evening The next day, Kaylie, now in uniform, Center’s 45-hour professional develop- banquet. embarked on a base tour: At an explo- ment course. As WASPs, they were among the first sive ordnance disposal demonstration, Shooting Star Chapter President female military pilots, eventually number- an EOD robot extended an “arm” with Howard Leach Jr. reported that Finneran ing more than 1,100, who volunteered a pink gift bag dangling from it. Ajax, a brought to the chapter meeting photos for World War II and flew every aircraft in the inventory. More photos at http://www.airforce-magazine.com, in “AFA National Report” In March, the Women Airforce Ser- vice Pilots—some 290 of whom are still alive—received the Congressional Gold Medal in a ceremony at the US Capitol. It is the highest award Congress can award to a civilian. The original Gold Medal went to the Smithsonian Institution for its “Women in Aviation” display, but each WASP received a smaller version of the medal to keep. Some of the WASPs brought these bronze versions to the Florida state convention. According to Fran C. Shaw, Gold Coast Chapter government relations VP, the WASP guests were “fun, funny, informative, told great stories, and they were given a standing ovation at the end.” Brian A. Maher, president of the Joint Special Operations University at Hurlburt Field, Fla., also spoke at the evening’s banquet. The convention’s all-day business meeting included a luncheon where USAF Col. Phil Locklear, chief of staff for Special Operations Command South, addressed the attendees. SOCSOUTH, at Homestead ARB, Fla., is a subunified command of US Southern Command and serves as the functional component for special operation missions in the Carib- bean and Central and South America. Among topics Locklear covered: the Haitian earthquake relief effort. 124 AIR FORCE Magazine / September 2010 of her fellow teachers and of the as- The Landing on the Hudson nearest airport. Instead, he guided the tronauts who served as their mentors A retired airline pilot spoke to the airplane over the George Washington during the program of classroom, lab, Columbus-Bakalar Chapter in Colum- Bridge and landed it on the river. All and field training. She also displayed bus, Ind., in May, about one of the most 155 people on board survived, leading some of the educational material that memorable moments in commercial avia- New York Gov. David Paterson to call it she learned about at the camp, aimed tion history: the Jan. 15, 2009 US Airways “a miracle on the Hudson.” at improving classroom teaching through airplane landing on the Hudson River. Columbus Chapter guest speaker new, innovative techniques. Hometown native and Air Force vet- Patterson, like Sullenberger, was an Amos Chalif, chapter Community eran Tony Patterson retired from North- Air Force veteran. Patterson earned a Partners VP, noted that Finneran took west Airlines in 2001, after flying, among commission from Ball State University in part this past school year in the AFA- other aircraft, the Airbus A320. Indiana and flew F-4 Phantoms before USA Today newspaper’s Visions of US Airways pilot Chesley B. Sul- serving as a forward air controller in O-2s Exploration program. Visions encour- lenberger III was flying the same kind for the 4th Infantry Division in Pleiku, ages the study of math, science, and of aircraft last year, when less than a South Vietnam. After leaving the Air aerospace technology by providing the minute into the flight from New York’s Force in 1972, he became a Northwest USA Today newspaper for students, La Guardia Airport, a flock of birds flew Airlines pilot. as well as lesson plans and resources into the engines, disabling them. Sul- Chapter President Robert J. Goedl for teachers. lenberger had no time to head for the wrote in an e-mail that, in his talk to the chapter, Patterson covered his USAF and commercial aviation years quickly before turning to the topic of the Hudson River landing. Because of Patterson’s experience with the A320, he was able to virtually “put us right into the pilot’s seat” of the US Airways flight, Goedl said. “We felt like we actually helped land that plane.” Return Engagement In July, Col. Michael F. Canders re- turned to the Iron Gate Chapter in New York City for a second speaking engage- ment. The Air National Guardsman had first stepped up to Iron Gate’s podium in 2006, back when he commanded the AIR FORCE Magazine / September 2010 125 AFA National Report 106th Rescue Wing, based at Francis Empire State’s Education Awards received the Outstanding Community S. Gabreski Arpt., N.Y. In New York, US Rep. Peter T. King Leadership award, presented by the This time, he spoke about his experi- (R-N.Y.) was among the special guests chapter’s aerospace education VP, Al- ences as both commander of the 447th at the Long Island Chapter’s annual phonse Parise. Air Expeditionary Group, Baghdad, Iraq, education awards luncheon in June. Other awards highlights: High school and Air Force commander of Sather Air The ranking member of the House seniors Samantha Carey and Christina Base. During his six months there, he Homeland Security Committee, King D’Agostino each received $1,000 schol- was responsible for 1,500 service per- sonnel, as well as thousands transiting AFA Conventions the gateway.