Remain In Touch FREEDOM THROUGH VIGILANCE ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER VOLUME XXXVIII NUMBER 3 SEPTEMBER 2019 ASSOCIATION OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS Executive Board Ted Colquhoun President Evan Smith Vice President Lee Anthony Treasurer Loren (Phred) Sevening Secretary Ron Haygood Past President Directors Roy Burnett Membership Chairman/Web Support Mark Hess Vigilant Partners Coordinator A. J. Harrison Hall of Honor Coordinator Special Activities Coordinator and Fallen Lee Anthony Eagles Database Admin. Ken Williams/Barnie Gavin Social Activities Chairmen Dennis Buxton Newsletter Editor Joe ‘Pepito’ Figueroa Associate Newsletter Editor Ken Maynard Associate Newsletter Editor Dan Martin FTVA Historian Bob Benitez Golf Tournament Coordinator Jacque Lerma Picnic Coordinator Dave Doiron President, Mid-Atlantic Region Chapter Ronald Graham President, Heritage Chapter John Toillion President, Aloha Chapter John Aurelius President, Gold Country Chapter George Eichelberger President, Rocky Mountain Chapter Barnie Gavin President, Alamo Chapter Scott Lawson President, Wasatch Chapter Bob Sherwood Director Emeritus Doug Holden Director Emeritus Joe Hurst Director Emeritus Jim McLendon Director Emeritus Bob Cope Director/Treasurer Emeritus Bill Apodaca SLO, 25th AF Advisory Member Remain In Touch June 2019 THE PRESIDENT’S CORNER By Ted Colquhoun Howdy Y’all! Hope your summer has been as great as ours here in San Antonio. It was mild until the last few weeks, but once August hit, we have been around or above that 100-degree threshold. I don’t know about you, but once the temp hits 100 it doesn’t matter how high it gets, because in the words of A1C Adrian Cronauer (AFN Disc Jockey in Vietnam), “IT’S HOT…DAMN HOT.” As we continue to ramp up our activities towards reunion week, 25th Air Force project officers are pushing through any challenges they encounter. We will have the 5K run and golf tournament on Thursday, 3 October, the Induction Ceremony, Remembrance Ceremony and Picnic on Friday, 4 October, and finally the Annual Membership Meeting and Reunion Banquet on Saturday, 5 October. Our guest speaker for this year’s festivities is Maj Gen Timothy Haugh, incoming 25 AF Commander. Maj Gen Mary O’Brien will be transitioning to Air Staff and Maj Gen Haugh will take the reins of the NAF as they continue to move towards integration with 24th Air Force. The change of command for 25th Air Force was on 29 August. This year’s Hall of Honor induction ceremony should be an exciting one. The announcement came out last month and we will induct the following individuals: Gregory C. Radabaugh, SES, DAF (Ret) Gregory A. Roman, Col, USAF (Ret) Dennis L. Rassmussen, CMSgt, USAF (Ret) Horace (Joe) F. Bissett, MSgt, USAF (Ret) Seeing a couple of these names, I would hazard to say we may have an entertaining event. I would also like to thank the membership for their support over the last 2 years. We have gone through a lot of changes with adding on/moving events for the reunion, moving the reunion week itself this year, adding on a new chapter in Salt Lake City, and discontinuing the hard copy version 1 Remain In Touch September 2019 of the “Remain in Touch” newsletter. I think the last change was the hardest of them all, but we thank you for your patience and support. The move to the e-edition allows us to present you a more polished and much larger newsletter and also allows us to refocus our commitment to memorializing the history and legacy of our great organization. Finally, this is my last newsletter as President of this great organization. Each one of you has been a great supporter of this office, providing words of encouragement or a swift kick in the rear end. I am thankful for each email, phone call, and suggestion. You make this organization successful. Lt Col (Ret) Evan Smith will take the reins as President following the Annual reunion and I hope you support him with the same passion, especially as we embrace the changes 25th Air Force will be going through over the next few years. We encourage you to provide us with suggestions and feedback to improve our support for all our members. We are constantly looking for ways to support our Airmen/units, expand our membership, and maintain our legacy of support to our great Nation. If you have any ideas, please contact us through our web site. Until next time, always remember to "Remain in Touch". Ted Colquhoun 2 Remain In Touch September 2019 YOUR NEWSLETTER STAFF 210-627-7586 Dennis Buxton, Editor [email protected] Dennis Rasmussen, Senior Editorial [email protected] Adviser Joe “Pepito” Figueroa, 210-267-1846 Associate Editor [email protected] Ken Maynard, 25 AF News Associate Editor Evan Smith, Associate Chapter Inputs Editor Roy Burnett, e-Issue Circulation Manager ********************************************************** Dear Readers: E-Copy Only Is Here. Here it is, the first e-copy only of your Remain In Touch. As you will see below, there are no radical changes to format, content, or coverage. The only things missing are the ever-increasing costs and limitations involved by printing and mailing. Plus accuracy is improved as we can easily correct any errata discovered by our eagle-eyed readers. The RIT is now technologically consistent with the times as well as our future membership. Please enjoy the expanded coverage, more pictures, the color. If you have any suggestions on how we can make these e-Issues better in terms of layout, content, etc., please feel free to call or email me direct at the information below my name. SLACK! And keeping up with technological innovation, we cordially invite any and all of you to connect with us on Slack (slack.com). We’ve created a workspace for the FTVA organization at large and have all the chapter presidents and officers added, but there is unlimited room for you. In our SLACK threads we have such areas as Comfy-Lounge, Fallen- Eagles, Fundraisers-Projects, etc. It is another great way to keep in touch. Please contact Scott Lawson at [email protected] or Roy Burnett at [email protected] for an invite link. Dennis Buxton, Newsletter Editor [email protected], 210-627-7586 3 Remain In Touch September 2019 2019 FTVA HALL OF HONOR SELECTIONS By A.J. Harrison Hall of Honor Program Chair On behalf of the FTVA Hall of Honor Selection Committee, I am pleased to announce the following individuals have been selected for induction into the FTVA Hall of Honor for 2019. These outstanding individuals will be inducted at a 4 October ceremony as part of the annual reunion. Radabaugh, Gregory C., SES, DAF (Ret) Roman, Gregory A., Col, USAF (Ret) Rassmussen, Dennis L., CMSgt, USAF (Ret) Bissett, Horace (Joe) F., MSgt, USAF (Ret) Also, I wish to thank this year’s Hall of Honor selection committee members for their hard work and dedication in reviewing the numerous application packages, for engaging in meaningful dialogue and arriving at consensus during the past few months. This was not an easy process as there were many, many worthy individuals. This year’s committee members were: Brig Gen Grover Jackson, USAF (Ret) Lt Col Ken Williams, USAF (Ret) CMSgt Bob Crabtree, USAF (Ret) CMSgt Ed Jolly, USAF (Ret) CMSgt Bob Egger, USAF (Ret) CMSgt Marco Aldaz, USAF (Ret) CMSgt Edward Barnes, USAF (Ret) SMSgt Lee Anthony, USAF (Ret) ********************************************************** 4 Remain In Touch September 2019 25TH AIR FORCE NEWS Compiled by Ken Maynard Associate Editor AIRMEN RECOGNIZED FOR THWARTING ADVERSARY ATTACK Adapted from an article by TSgt Darnell Cannady, 480th ISRW/PA Published July 26, 2019 JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, VA — One of the keys to a successful combat operation is combining intelligence reporting with mission operations planning and execution. The 497th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group here, recently recognized three Airmen with achievement medals for providing timely and critical information that effectively saved the lives of 100 personnel. Senior Airman Benjamin was conducting intelligence analysis when he uncovered a report of a potential attack. He reported this to his shift lead, Senior Airman Sean, and then immediately began compiling a report to provide leadership with a detailed intelligence assessment. This report showed 50 enemy fighters planning an attack on a U.S. Central Command Forward Operating Base that housed both U.S. personnel and local forces. Responding immediately to this threat, Sean tasked his team of analysts to conduct further research and provide more detailed intelligence. Senior Airman Carlos led this team and satisfied the request, providing adversary intentions. Sean delivered the report to the Combined Air Operations Center, which was not aware of the severity and complexity of the imminent attack. The report informed the task force and put them on alert hours before the attack. The CAOC sent five air assets to intercept the enemy threat, resulting in the destruction of one vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, two improvised assault vehicles, and 82 enemies killed. The FOB repelled the attack and the lives of 100 personnel were saved. 5 Remain In Touch September 2019 While only three were recognized, multiple team members played a role in ensuring critical information landed in the hands of key decision makers, fulfilling the group’s motto of ‘Providing the right intel to the right person at the right time’. “I think this specific scenario was an excellent example of how we really should be operating on a day-to-day basis as far as how we integrate internally, and how we communicate with mission partners,” said Benjamin. GOLDFEIN STRESSES PROMISE OF MULTI-DOMAIN OPERATIONS, CALLS IT ‘THE SINGLE MOST CRITICAL’ TOOL FOR WINNING FUTURE HIGH-END FIGHTS Adapted from an article by Charles Pope, Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs / Published July 18, 2019 London (AFNS)—Air Force Chief of Staff Gen.