116th Earns Praise from page 1
“Since we have become one team, sometimes it is difficult to determine what status a person is in,” said Chief Master Sgt. Linda Bynum, chief of manpower for the wing. “There is no easy way to distinguish between categories of people since technicians wear their uniform every day.”
A technician is a government civilian employee who during the week wears a military uniform. By law, a technician cannot perform certain command actions against and active-duty Airman except when activated.
While it is a good thing that people cannot distinguish the difference, it is important to know the status since there are certain things that people cannot ask technicians to do when they are not on military status, Chief Bynum said. This is both for the protection of the technician and supervisor.
“Although it may be frustrating at times for the leader, we still have to accept this as a cultural difference and deal with it in a professional manner,” she said.
Despite these challenges, the chief firmly believes the unit is a success.
“The wing has implemented policies and procedures to comply with both active-duty and Air National Guard policies, and we have proven that we can meet the mission requirements of the theater commanders, and that’s what the mission is all about,” she said.
One of the biggest benefits the chief said she sees in the Future Total Force wing is the variety of perspectives and experiences each side brings to the table.
“From my observations, (guardsmen) tend to be older and experienced, and have set processes in place,” Chief Bynum said. “This is a plus for the experienced members to train the active-duty Airmen who rotate in and out.”
And, the guardsmen get the benefit of new ideas on improving those processes from the diverse views of the active-duty Airmen, she said.
Wing leaders learned early on that being the first is not always easy.
The “people issues” were one of the greater challenges the wing faced when merging, General Lynn said.
“There was a great lack of knowledge by the active-duty and the Air National Guard members of each other’s systems: pay, promotion, recognition, etc.,” he said.
The only way the wing overcame this unfamiliarity was through education and day-to-day exposure to each other’s ways.
“It (was) imperative that people meet these issues head-on without fostering an ‘us and them’ atmosphere, but instead fostering an atmosphere of ‘one wing, one family, one fight,’” General Lynn said.
The two wings joined with essentially no direction other than, “Make it happen and don’t fail,” General Lynn said.
There was no template to follow, the general said.
"We didn’t have the benefit of lessons learned,” he said. “Therefore, many of the issues we faced were new and unexpected.”
But ask almost anyone in the wing, the general said, and they will say the blending has been a success. (Tech. Sgt. Mike Spaits, of Air Force Print News, contributed to this article.)
Observations of Human Relations
By Command Chief Betty L G Morgan
In today's world where we can't seem to get it together, we need to stop talking and put together some strong morals that will remind us of the importance of treating others with the utmost respect. We are at war. No matter the location, we just can't seem to 'play' together in peace and harmony. We have but one life to live; therefore, we should make it as happy as we can. Life is just too short to be upset for the things that we sometimes let get in our way to distract us. Everyone has something to bring to the table if given the chance. While reading through some passages, I found these ten (10) ways of reminding us what will help to make each day go by a little brighter, so I decided to add a few of my words as well:
SPEAK TO PEOPLE. There is nothing so nice as a cheerful word of greeting. Can you remember someone seeing you for the first time in the mornings, look you in the face, but utter not a word. How does that make you feel? Acknowledging someone first off will help make your day.
SMILE AT PEOPLE. Do you know that it takes 72 muscles to frown and only 14 to smile. Which would you rather do? A warm smile goes a long way. It beats having a sour look on the face any day...
CALL PEOPLE BY NAME. The sweetest music to anyone's ear is the sound of his or her own name. Your name is very important to you. It means that someone is paying attention to you. 'Hey you', puts down a person especially if their self-esteem is not up to par.
BE FRIENDLY and helpful. If you have friends, be a friend. You don't need to have thousands of friends, just one good one will do.
BE CORDIAL. Speak and act as if everything you do is a genuine pleasure. Sometimes, it may not be the topic of choice, but if you act as though you are interested in what the person is saying. It will make them feel good about themselves.
BE GENUINELY interested in people. You can like almost everybody if you try. Sometimes this can be a challenge, but give it your best shot...Become the mentor; you might be the break they have been waiting on in life...Remember, people can spot a fake all the time...
BE GENEROUS wih praise - cautious with criticism...Before you start to criticize, give a little praise. People like that...and will remember that...
BE CONSIDERATE with the feelings of others. There are usually three sides to a controversy: yours, the other person's and the right side. Getting the right answer to a controversy involving two people is a hard chore, but stick with it. The truth will eventually surface.
BE ALERT to give service What counts in life is what we do for others. Reaching out and touching those in need will be proof enough. People ask for help in all kinds of ways. Just stay alert. Don't take anything for granted. Don't dismiss anything. A cry for help comes in all flavors...Look for them..
ADD TO THIS a good sense of humor, a big dose oof patience and a dash of humility and you will be rewarded many-fold. A final word: If we don't keep our people happy, our mission becomes impossible.
Aviation Museum at Marietta Closer to Reality
The proposed Aviation Museum at Marietta has taken a big step forward. The Air Force has agreed to lease land it owns on South Cobb Drive and Atlanta Road, clearing the way for construction of the museum to begin. The land will be leased to Cobb County, which will then lease it to the nonprofit museum.
Bob Ormsby, president of the Lockheed-Georgia Company from 1975 to 1984, is president of the museum's board to directors. He sited acquisition of the land as the most critical step to date. The board has plans to display planes built in Marietta, including the B-29 bomber in 1943 to today's huge C-130 transport and F/A-22 Raptor. Plans also include an education center and a historical perspective on the impact that aircraft production has had on Cobb County.
Coy Short is also a member of the board of directors. Many of us know Mr. Short because of his involvement with Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve. "The original idea was to acquire the planes produced at the old Bell Aircraft and Lockheed plants and put them on display," Short said.
"That evolved into a museum and finally a museum and education center," Ormsby said. "The center will work with schools to develop students' interests in science, math, and engineering."
Two planes have already been made available for the museum: the Ghost Rider, a C-130 transport built at Lockheed and later modified for combat into an AC-130 and the Sweet Eloise, the B-29 bomber that we are all familiar with that sits adjacent to the main gate at Dobbins.
The Sweet Eloise was named for Short's mother, Eloise Strom.
The museum plans to acquire other planes produced at Lockheed from the Air Force, including the C-130 Hercules; the Boeing B-47 jet powered bomber; the C-141 Starlifter; the F/A-22 Raptor; and the C-5A Galaxy.
The board's biggest challenge at this point is to raise the $10 million needed for design and construction of the first phase of the museum but they are confident the monetary goals can be reached. Cobb County has committed $500,000 as a matching grant to the museum. Construction could begin by 2007.
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August Birthdays
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by MSGT Clint Smith
Reflections of A Chaplain's Service In Iraq
Ernie Carroll is the director of missions for the Friendship Baptist Association in North Alabama. He returned this spring from a 13 month deployment to Iraq as a chaplain in the Alabama Army National Guard. Major Carroll was stationed at Camp Falcon in Baghdad, Iraq, with the 231st Military Police Battalion.
Major Carroll was interviewed recently:
"I am still in the process of discovering how this life-changing event has changed me," he said. "One day I was in the Alabama Baptist Association visiting churches; the next I was being mortared, shot at and rocketed. I taught Bible study every Wednesday night and preached every Sunday . . . . It was very much pastoral ministry in the truest sense of the word. I knew that there were people who wanted to kill the members of my congregation. That knowledge affected sermon preparation."
Major Carroll talked about the toughest part of serving in Iraq - "The memorial services were the toughest part of being a chaplain. I conducted five memorial services for seven soldiers and one civilian. My first service was in late June after arriving in March (2004), and my last service was one week before I left. My role was to minister to the fellow soldiers at the time of death and to captivate in words the meaning of the ultimate sacrifice made for our country. I never lost sight of the loss that parents, spouses, and children were experiencing back here in the states. The human dimension of their sacrifices was tough to capture in words, but my main focus was the Lord Jesus Christ and His help as comforter."
Major Carroll went on to discuss the greatest need of military personnel deployed and how folks back home can assist - "Each soldier needs prayer and they need to know that you are praying for them . . . . We need to remember in prayer the families of those soldiers who have given the ultimate sacrifice and not let their service be forgotten. The churches sent care packages, phone cards and prayer notes. We were all on the Wednesday night prayer lists, and we knew we were being kept before God by Christian people at Wednesday night prayer meetings. It told the soldiers they were not forgotten and were supported back home."
CHAPEL SERVICE: Sunday, 21 August at 0730 hours in the base chapel.
Enlisted Promotion Board
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President: Lt. Col. Jean Specht
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Member: CMSgt. Steve Duffey
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Officer Promotion Board
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President: Col. Floyd Harbin (CRTC)
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Member: Lt. Col. George Cooper (165th ASOS)
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Member: Lt. Col. Tony Coyle (HQ)
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Secretary: Capt. Chris Goodman (HQ)
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2005 UTAs
| Jan 22-23 | Feb 12-13 |
| Mar 12-13 | Apr 16-17 |
| May 14-15 | Jun 25-26 |
| Jul 16-17 | Aug 20-21 |
| Sep 24-25 | Oct 22-23 |
| Nov 19-20 | Dec 10-11 |
