Vol. 47, No. 37 Thursday, September 12, 2019 News/Features: page 2 TRICARE open season News/Features: page 3 Mobility Guardian begins News/Features: page 3 Mobility Guardian partners Photo by Tech. Sgt Michael Battles The 6th Air Mobility Wing and 927th Air Refueling Wing inducted 36 Honorary Commanders at MacDill Air Force Base Week in photos: page 4 Sept. 6. The honorary commander program is used to educate civic leaders about the mission at MacDill and create part- Images from the week nerships with the community. Team MacDill supporting largest Air Mobility Command exercise: Mobility Guardian - page 3 Community: page 15 Events, Chapel, more... MACDILL THUNDERBOLT u Thursday, September 12, 2019 u WWW.MACDILLTHUNDERBOLT.COM u 1 COMMENTARY TRICARE open season begins Nov. 11 by Capt. David Ellison 6th Medical Support Squadron If you would like to make changes to your or a family member’s TRI- CARE health plan for 2020, your opportunity is fast approaching with this fall’s TRICARE Open Season. Open season is an annual month-long period when you can enroll in or change your health care coverage plan for the next year. It occurs every year from the Monday of the second full week in November to the Monday of the second full week in December.Any enrollment choices you make dur- ing this time will take effect Jan. 1. This year,TRICARE open season takes place Nov. 11 to Dec. 9. During TRICARE Open Season, you can enroll in or change your TRICARE Prime or TRICARE Select health plan. If you remain eligible for TRICARE cover- age and make no changes during open season, then you will keep the same plan for 2020. In addition, you may also change your type of enrollment during this time, such as switching from individual to family coverage. If you are enrolled in TRICARE Prime or TRICARE Select, there is one other way you and your family can change your health plan outside of Open Mail: You can also mail your completed East Region enrollment form Season. This occurs if you or a family member experience a Qualifying Life available onwww.tricare.mil/FormsClaims/Forms/Enrollment to: Event. A QLE is a change in your life, such as marriage, birth of a child, Humana Military or retirement from active duty, which could mean that different TRICARE Attn: PNC Bank health plans are available to you. A QLE opens a 90-day period for you to PO Box 105838 make enrollment changes, and a QLE for one family member means that Atlanta, GA 30348-5838 all family members can make enrollment changes. Depending on your eligi- TRICARE Open Season does not apply to the following premium based bility, a QLE might enable you and your family to enroll in a new TRICARE plans, which offer continuous open enrollment throughout the year: health plan; or, change your health plan coverage. For more information, u TRICARE Retired Reserve visit www.tricare.mil/lifeevents. u TRICARE Reserve Select During TRICARE Open Season or in the 90 days following a QLE, you u TRICARE Young Adult have three methods to make an enrollment decision: Continued Health Care Benefit Program Online: Go to the milConnect website and click on the “Benefits” tab, Furthermore,TRICARE Open Season does not apply to TRICARE for and then click on “Beneficiary Web Enrollment (BWE)”. Life, since that coverage does not require enrollment. Phone: Call Humana Military, the TRICARE East Region contractor, at You can sign up for email alerts about Open Season and stay-up-date by 1-800-444-5445. visitingwww.tricare.mil/openseason. For information about base operations during emergencies or natural disasters, call the Straight Talk Line at 828-4163 COMMANDER’S ACTION LINE MacDill on the web 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 MacDill Thunderbolt U.S. government, the Department of Defense, the Department factor of the purchaser, user, or patron. of the Air Force or the 6th Air Mobility Wing. News items for the MacDill Thunderbolt can be submitted Publisher: Joe DeLuca The appearance of advertising in this publication, including to the 6th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs office, 8208 Hangar inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement by Loop Dr., suite 14, MacDill AFB, FL 33621. Call the Thunderbolt Editor: Nick Stubbs the Department of Defense, the Department of the Air Force, at 828-2215. Email: [email protected]. 6th Air Mobility Wing or the TImes Publishing Company of the Deadline for article submissions is noon, Wednesdays to The MacDill Thunderbolt is published by the Times Publish- products or service advertised. appear in the next week’s publication. Articles received after ing Company, a private firm in no way connected with the U.S. For retail advertising, call (813) 226-3318. deadline may be considered for future use. All submissions are Air Force. This commercial enterprise newspaper is an autho- Everything advertised in this publication shall be made considered for publication based on news value and timeliness. rized publication for distribution to members of the U.S. mili- available for purchase, use, or patronage without regard to Every article and photograph is edited for accuracy, clar- tary services on MacDill. Contents of the MacDill Thunderbolt race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, ity, brevity, conformance with the “Associated Press Stylebook are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by the physical handicap, political affiliation or any other non-merit and Libel Manual” and Air Force Instruction 35-101. 2 u WWW.MACDILLTHUNDERBOLT.COM u Thursday, September 12, 2019 u MACDILL THUNDERBOLT NEWS/FEATURES AMC’s largest exercise, Mobility Guardian 2019 begins Air Mobility Command Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFNS)— Mobility Guardian 2019, Air Mobility Com- mand’s premier exercise, will be hosted by the 92nd and 141st Air Refueling Wings located at Fairchild Air Force Base, Spokane,Washington, from Sept. 8-28. Mobility Guardian 2019 is set to be AMC’s largest full-spectrum readiness exercise to date. Forty-six U.S. aircraft will join aircraft from 29 international partners, along with more than 4,000 U.S. and international Air Force,Army, Na- vy and Marine Corps aviators. A range of airframes, including the KC-10 Ex- tender, KC-135 Stratotanker, C-5 Super Galaxy, C-17 Globemaster III and C-130H/J Hercules, will take part in the training.To accommodate the array of large aircraft, exercise grounds will span beyond Fairchild Air Force Base to Selah Creek within the Yakima Training Center,Wash- ington; the Mountain Home Range Complex, Ida- ho; Moses Lake Grant County Airport and sev- eral other training areas in the region. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Nathan Lipscomb “Unmatched rapid global mobility exists be- cause of the ready and resilient Airmen who Tech. Sgt. Jonathan Carr, a crew chief with the 62nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., checks the engine of a C-17 Globemaster III during Exercise Mobility See MOBILITY GUARDIAN, Page 12 Guardian at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., Aug. 6, 2017. U.S. Airmen, international partners build capabilities with Mobility Guardian by Tech. Sgt. James Hodgman 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.—Team Travis Airmen are set to participate in Mobil- ity Guardian, Air Mobility Command’s premier, large-scale mobility exercise, which will be host- ed at Fairchild Air Force Base,Washington, Sept. 8 – 28. While dozens of Travis Airmen will travel to Fairchild AFB to support the exercise,Travis AFB will also serve as an intermediate staging base throughout the exercise providing a wide range of support from the largest air mobility hub in the Air Force. More than 4,000 service members from 30 na- Photo by Airman 1st Class Erin McClellan tions are slated to take part in the biennial train- A Soldier assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, loads onto a C-130 ing event, which will feature contested, degraded Hercules prior to a joint forcible entry exercise at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, Aug. 2, 2017. More than 3,000 Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and international partners converged on See INTERNATIONAL, Page 14 the state of Washington in support of Mobility Guardian. The exercise returns to Washington Sept. 8. MACDILL THUNDERBOLT u Thursday, September 12, 2019 u WWW.MACDILLTHUNDERBOLT.COM u 3 WEEK IN PHOTOS Photo by Staff Sgt. Jordan Castelan A 509th Bomb Wing B-2 Spirit refuels from a 351st Aerial Refueling Squadron KC-135 Stratotanker during the Bomber Task Force training exercise over the United Kingdom, Aug. 29. Training with partners, allied nations and other U.S. Air Force units contributes to global readiness and strengthens enduring and strategic relationships throughout the theater. Photo by Airman 1st Class Ryan C. Grossklag (Left to right) U.S. Air Force Col. Stephen Snelson, 6th Air Mobility Wing (AMW) commander; Staff Sgt. Alejandra Laguna, 6th Force Support Squadroncustomer support supervisor; Tech. Sgt. David Humphreys, 6th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron aircraft propulsion journeyman; and Photo by Airman 1st Class Ryan C. Grossklag Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Green, 6th AMW command chief, pause for U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers from the Joint Communications Support El- a photo at MacDill Air Force Base Sept. 4. Snelson and Green visited to ement (JCSE) ruck march during the 2019 JCSE Mustang Challenge at say thanks to Airmen for their efforts in Hurricane Dorian preparations, MacDill Air Force Base Sept.