By Wendy BrownFort Bliss Bugle Managing Editor

Retired 1st Sgt. Mario Ornelas had a big smile on his face as he shook the hand of Lt. Col. Thomas Caldwell, com-mander, 4th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, at the Ambrosio Guil-len Texas State Veterans Home in El Paso Saturday.

It was Veterans Day, and Ornelas and roughly 100 other residents had gathered in the outside courtyard for a ceremony with about 20 Soldiers from Caldwell’s unit, Command Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey Hug-gins, deputy commandant, U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy, politicians, a group of cheerleaders and many more.

“We’re all here together, still alive,” Ornelas said in an interview. “A lot of people have passed, but we’re still here.”

And he was clearly happy for the com-pany on Veterans Day.

Ornelas, who served with the 1st In-fantry Division, did two tours in Vietnam and had no qualms returning for his sec-ond tour after getting shot during his fi rst.

“They said I was crazy,” Or-nelas said, “but I didn’t worry about it. I had too many friends lost.”

Spc. David Johnson, as-signed to 4th Bn., 1st FA Regt., 3rd BCT, 1st AD, said having the opportunity to talk to veterans like Ornelas was one of the rea-sons he enjoyed

volunteering with his unit at the veterans’ home Saturday. He and others helped bring residents out to the ceremony and made sure they were comfortable.

“I think it’s been an amazing oppor-tunity because I’ve heard a lot of great stories from several of the residents and it just gives me a different perspective on where they were in their career at my age compared to where I am right now,” Johnson said.

Johnson said he plans to volunteer again.

Caldwell spoke at the ceremony’s opening, thanking the veterans for their service.

“Without you, there’s no us, so thank you for paving the way,” Caldwell said.

First Lt. Tiara Tompkins-Bradley, as-signed to 4th Bn., 1st FA Regt., 3rd BCT, 1st AD, said she was glad to help at the home on Veterans Day.

“I think it’s important to do this so that we remember everybody who made sac-rifi ces and some that made the ultimate sacrifi ce,” Tompkins-Bradley said. “And it’s just great to give back to the com-munity and let the veterans know that we still appreciate them, and we still think about them.”

U.S. Rep. William Hurd, who rep-resents the 23rd District of Texas, also thanked the veterans for their service, and talked to the 10 members of the Bears cheerleading squad into giving the veterans a big cheer by calling out, “God bless America.” State Sen. Jose Rodriguez, who represents El Paso in Texas Senate District 29, also spoke, and County Commissioner Andrew Haggerty served as master of ceremonies.

Huggins said he wanted the veterans to

know that not only are Americans grate-ful, but people around the world have told him how much they appreciate the help of the U.S. Armed Forces.

“From Normandy to Prague, to Germa-ny to Poland, the Atlantic to the Pacifi c, to Panama to Haiti, Iraq to Afghanistan and many others, they all said something you don’t hear enough,” Huggins said. “They said, ‘Thank you.’ Thank you for what you’ve done for them and thank you for what we will do in the future.”

FORT BLISS BUGLE • November 16, 2017 • 1B

Fort Bliss is El Paso andEl Paso is Fort Bliss.

Things to do ...Model railroad: The Railroad Model and Historical Asso-ciation of El Paso, Inc., will be celebrating National Model Railroad month in November. The association will be open every Sunday from noon-5 p.m. at 6335 Vaughn Court in the Mission Valley. N, HO, and O scales, plus Lego trains, will be running at full speed to everyone’s delight. Free.

Lucha Libre: Watch Mexican-style wrestling presented by the Border Impact Group at 6 p.m. Friday at the Mitchell W. Stout Physical Fitness Center. There will be Mask vs. Hair and tag teams. Free and open to the public. 588-8247

German Christmas Bazaar: This year’s German Christ-mas Bazaar is from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday at Bldg. 747 Carter Road. The bazaar will feature crafts that are perfect for Christmas gifts, as well as German food specialties such as goulash, cakes, bratwurst, smoked fi sh, waffl es and Christmas stollen. Beer, soft drinks, Glühwein and coffee will also be for sale. Proceeds go to the German Air Force charity organization Aid for the Needy. 201-5939

Intro to Pyrography: Join Mickelsen Community Library from 10 a.m.-noon Saturday in the MakerSpace room for Intro to Pyrography (wood burning). Participants will learn new techniques using various wood burning tools. A small practice piece of wood and a designated craft item will be provided to each attendee. This month’s piece will be a wel-come sign. Cost: $5 cash. Registration is required; payment reserves your spot. 568-6156

Brushstrokes: Join the Mickelsen Community Library from 2-5 p.m. Saturday for their social art class. This month’s theme for the club is “Birch Trees.” The class is open to DOD ID cardholders ages 10 and older. Registration is required. Space is limited to 10 participants. Cost: $15 and it includes all supplies as well as instruction. 568-6156

Early Bataan registration: Registration for the 2018 Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., is open at http://bataanmarch.com. The event, March 25, 2018, honors the thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members who were forced to march more than 60 miles after their surrender to Japanese forces April 9, 1942. There is a 26.2 competitive route and a 14.2-mile noncom-petitive route.

Rudolph’s Turkey Trot 5K & 8K: Don’t let the holiday food get you down, sign up for Rudolph’s Turkey Trot 5K & 8K at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at the Joshua W. Soto Physical Fitness Center. This is a family-oriented event, and children and four-legged friends are welcome. First-place winners in each category will win a cold turkey. Registration is re-quired and can be done at the Soto, Stout, Milam physical fi tness centers or online at raceroster.com until Wednesday. Cost: $10 for active-duty and children 12 and younger; $20 for all other participants. Packet pick up and late registra-tion will be from 7-8:15 a.m. at the Soto PFC. Additional $10 for late registration. 744-5785 or 744-5794

Hueco Tanks Birding Hike: Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site is visited by more than 200 species of birds throughout the year, and this is your chance to see some of them at 8 a.m. Saturday. Things to bring: Water, binoculars, camera, bird guide / ID book, good hiking shoes, and enthu-siasm. Cost: $2 fee for the tour in addition to the admission fee to enter the park ($7 for ages 13 and up). 849-6684

Las Artistas Art & Fine Crafts Show: The Las Artistas Art & Fine Crafts Show is a popular pre-Thanksgiving event where you can see and purchase quality fi ne arts and crafts – all made by hand. You will see a diverse range of ceram-ics, fi ber art, jewelry, mixed media, paintings, wood pieces and other art of more than 90 artists, craftspeople and art students from El Paso and throughout the country. It is 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, and from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday at the Epic Railyard Event Center, 2201 E Mills Ave. Cost: $7; free for children under 18 free. http://lasartistas.org/las-artistas-art-fi ne-crafts-show/

Outdoor Cooking Workshop: Learn about different techniques of outdoor cooking while you enjoy some deli-cious food at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the Wyler Aerial Tram-way, 1700 McKinley Ave, El Paso. Learn about foil packs and Dutch Oven cooking. Due to limited space, registration is required by calling the park. 562-9899

Replica Youth Center Rock Climbing: RYC students will learn to rock climb and conduct rope safety while work-ing on a team and building self-confi dence. It’s free and it will be held at the Soldier Activity Center every Thursday from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Registration is required and can be done at the Replica Youth Center; space is limited to 10 students. 568-3523

“I think it’s important to do this so that we remember everybody who made sacrifi ces and some that made the ulti-mate sacrifi ce.” >> Tiara Tompkins-Bradley

PIE partner school thanksWBAMC ■ 2B

To pay or not to paystate income taxes ■ 9B

Mystery of lucha librecoming to Stout PFC ■ 11B

Photos by Wendy Brown / Fort Bliss Bugle Managing EditorLt. Col. Thomas Caldwell, right, commander, 4th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Bri-gade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, shakes the hand of retired 1st Sgt. Mario Ornelas at the Ambrosio Guillen Texas State Veterans Home in El Paso Saturday. Ornelas served with the 1st Infantry Division and did two tours in Vietnam.

Veterans’ home celebrates Veterans Day with 4th Bn., 1st FA Regt.

Spc. David Johnson, assigned to 4th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, shakes hands with Raul Moreno, a Korean War veteran and resident at the Ambrosio Guillen Texas State Veterans Home. In El Paso on Saturday, Veterans Day.

By Jonathan LeBlancFort Bliss Bugle Staff

In honor of Veterans Day, students and staff at Terrace Hills Middle School in El Paso thanked Soldiers assigned to William Beaumont Army Medical Center Nov. 9 for their volunteer work through the Partners in Education organization.

The Soldiers have volunteered at the school since last year and have been sup-porting the school with tutoring and any

other support the school might need with the children. Due to all the Soldiers’ hard work, students and staff decided they needed to thank them for their contributions and they determined Veterans Day was the perfect day to do it.

Spc. Crystal Aguilar, a pharmacy techni-cian assigned to WBAMC, has been actively running the hospital’s PIE program along with four other Soldiers, and she said her unit could not have been more thrilled with

the invitation.“Having these students and this commu-

nity put this together to honor us and thank us for our service really means the most,” Aguilar said. “The students and the princi-pal, along with the faculty, did a great job putting this together for us, and we hope to get some of the great art work the students did put on display at William Beaumont.”

Darren Cole, the school’s principal since February, said he grew up in a military town

and he wanted to find a way to pay honor to the El Paso military community.

“This is just something little we are do-ing to really say thank you to the Soldiers for everything they do, because the truth is they don’t receive enough recognition,” Cole said. “Being the new principal at Terrace Hills, I really want to change the way we do things here and by honoring our armed ser-vices is a small step in that direction.”

PIE partner school thanks WBAMC

Photos by Jonathan LeBlanc / Fort Bliss Bugle StaffLt. Col. Steven Knapp, commander, Troop Command, William Beaumont Army Medical Center, speaks during a Veterans Day event at Terrace Hills Middle School Nov. 9. WBAMC is the school’s Partners in Education unit.

(Top right) Students interview Spc. Leticia Greene, assigned to William Beaumont Army Medical Center, during a Veterans Day event at Terrace Hills Middle School Nov. 9.

(Right) Information about veterans stands on display during a Veterans Day event at Terrace Hills Middle School Nov. 9.

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By Rito G. Vallez Personal Financial Readiness Specialist

Did you overspend last holiday season? Do you want to do things a little different this year? If you already started two to three months ago, then you are possibly on the right track. However, if you are just start-ing now, you may want to think about a few strategies to save a couple dollars here and there.

The fi rst task for you to do, is to look at your current fi nancial situation. Where are you fi nancially? If you can’t afford it, you can’t afford it. Do not put yourself in debt simply to impress or fi t in. Make a budget and stick to it. Do you really want to avoid charging Christmas presents and Thanks-giving dinner on a credit card? If so, then slash that budget. Cut out all the unneces-sary spending, such as dining out, movies, alcohol, tobacco and so on. You will fi nd that there will be additional money available for the holidays.

If you have never been a smart shopper before, now is the time to be one. Scout the sales, look at online store ads, cyber Mon-day, coupons, military discounts, El Paso ad-vertisements and Black Friday deals as well. Make a list and stay true to that list. Don’t add on as you go and please avoid impulse buys while shopping. Remember to stick to the original list.

Be creative with your children. Often, we as parents want to give our children more than what they really need or even want. Truth be told, simple gifts can be just as ex-citing to children as expensive ones. This holds true especially with our younger chil-dren in the household. Instead of buying in-dividual gifts for your family members, try buying a gift for the entire family. Again, be creative – maybe a basket with DVDs and

microwave popcorn for the family. If you work in an environment where giv-

ing gifts to coworkers is done and you don’t want to be the odd person in the group, try baking cookies, or making something home-made and present it as a gift. These are won-derful gifts, and remember, it is always the thought that counts,, not how much you spend.

If you desire one - on - one attention, simply visit Army Community Service, sit down with a Financial Readiness Specialist for help creating a plan that will assist you in achieving your goals for you and your fam-ily. ACS is at Bldg. 2494 Ricker Road. Call 569-8376 for an appointment.

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FORT BLISS BUGLE • November 16, 2017 • 5B

ON-CALL DUTY CHAPLAIN 637-4265 FAMILY LIFE CHAPLAIN (808) 277-6911• Grief counseling • Marriage counseling • Family counseling • Individual counseling • Pre-Marital counseling

PROTESTANT WORSHIP SERVICES

Center Chapel (315 Pershing Road)Traditional Service 10 a.m.Hope Chapel (2498 Ricker Road)Crossroad Service 9 a.m.Samoan Service 11:15 a.m.1st Armored Division (11272 Biggs St.)Gospel Service 8:45 a.m.Chapel Next 11:30 a.m.Latter Day Saints Service 1 p.m.USASMA Memorial Chapel(11275 Biggs St.)Traditional Service 10 a.m.WBAMC Protestant Community (5005 N Piedras Dr.)Protestant Service 10 a.m.

RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES Catholic Women of the Chapel

(Bldg. 11272)Friday 9-11 a.m.

Protestant Women of the Chapel (Bldg. 11272)Thursday 9-11:30 a.m.

Protestant Youth Group (2911 Cassidy Road, next to Stout PFC)568-4884Grades six and sevenSaturday 5-7 p.m.

CATHOLIC WORSHIP SERVICESChapel Two (1542 Sheridan Road)Weekday Mass 11:35 a.m.Saturday Confession 4 p.m.Saturday Mass 5 p.m.Sunday Mass 8 a.m.Sunday Mass 11 a.m.

WBAMC Hospital Chapel (5005 N Piedras Dr.)Weekday Mass 5 p.m. Saturday Mass 5 p.m.Sunday Mass 8-11:30 a.m.German Chapel (5312 Buffalo Soldier)Sunday Mass 10 a.m. odd days

OTHER RELIGIOUS SERVICES

Jewish Chapel (Bldg. 1441)Friday Shabbat Service 7 p.m.Saturday Torah Study 10 a.m.

Islamic Service (Bldg. 442)Friday Jummuh 12:30 MST, 1:30 p.m. DSTSunday Ta’Aleem 12:30-2 p.m.

Wiccan Open Circle (Bldg. 440) Thursday 7 p.m.

Buddhist Service (Bldg. 11276 USASMA Annex) Friday 5 p.m.

Introduction to Nichiren Buddhism (Bldg. 11276 USASMA Annex) 4th Friday of every month at 6 p.m.

Fort Bliss Religious Services

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By Chaplain (1st Lt.) Brian FunkHHT, 2nd Bn., 13th Cav. Regt., 3rd BCT, 1st AD

Recently, in a Command and Staff meet-ing, I was able to share a word of the day with those who attended. The word I shared was, “vision.” The defi nition of vision is as follows: something that is or has been seen. As Soldiers, a vision is handed down to us in the form of the commander’s intent. This is where the unit receives its vision for the upcoming mission. Receiving the com-mander’s intent, or vision, is very im-portant to a unit because it gives the Soldiers a clear direction to pursue. Imagine if the com-mander did not state his vi-sion? What would the out-come be for the mission? Would it be a success or a failure? I venture to say that it would be a failure.

Proverbs 29:18 states, “Where there is no vi-sion, the people perish …” Let us look at this statement from a practical standpoint. What if the major companies of the world received their vision from the general population? What if our favorite NFL, NBA or MLB teams operated on collective lead-ership? What if the founders of our nation relinquished their vision of a great nation to British rule? What if we ordered our foot-steps with the classic Magic 8-Ball?

Either way you slice it, the above scenar-ios would not turn out well. The companies would not be listed amongst Forbes Top 500. Our favorite teams would no longer be our favorite teams. As for the last scenario, we would be speaking in a British accent and drinking hot tea instead of coffee (now that would be horrible). And the Magic 8-Ball would just tell us, “Don’t count on it.”

I think we can all agree that having vision is important for companies, schools, church-es, etc. But I wonder, do we cast a vision for ourselves? How often do we sit down and create a vision for our families? For our mar-

riages? For our children? For our fi nances? For our future endeavors?

May I offer to you The Four Cs of civil-ian pastor Ronnie Floyd? I fi nd them helpful. The four Cs are as follows when it comes to vision casting: 1) Make it clear; 2) Make it concise; 3) Make it concrete; and 4) Make it compelling.

If we are clear in communicating our vi-sion for life, other people will understand where we are coming from. This has defi -

nitely helped in my marriage and parenting, because my wife and

children know exactly what it is I am trying to get across.

We must learn to be concise with our vision. Less is more. Our vision must be easy to under-stand and attainable. Think of it this way: Small steps in the right

direction lead to small victories, and small victo-

ries add up.Our vision must be concrete.

Is the vision for your life tangible? Can those around you see your goals? Our visions for our life do not have to be extrava-gant; they just have to be reasonable.

Lastly, our vision must be compelling. A compelling vision resonates with the heart and mind. It drives us forward. It is some-thing that is meaningful to you and/or your family.

A clear line of sight, even in the valley of life, can offer a fi xed position that will help guide our vision. I will close with a quote from the late T.E. Lawrence, a British Sol-dier and archeologist. He said, “All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds awake to the day to fi nd it was all vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for the many act out their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible ...” With that said, get into your valley of vision and “make it possible.”

The valley of vision6B • November 16, 2017 • FORT BLISS BUGLE

FORT BLISS BUGLE • November 16, 2017 • 7B

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By Lisa Smith MolinariSpecial to the Fort Bliss Bugle

Unlike other football fans, I had no choice in the matter. I was born and raised in West-ern Pennsylvania. Ergo, I am a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. In that part of the country, team loyalty is passed down like eye color, pigeon toes and Grandma’s Golumpki recipe. Im-possible to deny. As involuntary as breathing air.

So, I grew up rooting for the Steelers like everyone else I knew. From a young age, I felt contempt for the Browns and the Cow-boys, although I wasn’t sure why. I wore a Steelers hat with a gold pompom even though it didn’t match my coat. I helped mom make heaps of Chex Mix for Super Bowl parties, when Terry Bradshaw, Joe Greene, Mel Blount, Jack Ham, Lynn Swan and Franco Harris were in their heyday.

Team loyalty was also part of the marriage contract between my husband, Francis, and me. He willingly abandoned his beloved Green Bay Packers and joined Steeler Na-tion, just for me. And I became a Catholic, just for him.

Kinda romantic, when you really think about it.

The first few years of moving to different duty stations were tough, but during back-to-back tours in Virginia, we were able to raise a growing family of true Steeler devotees.

But then, just when our family was com-fortably ensconced in black and gold sports-wear, a Steeler Flag flapped from our front porch, and a Terrible Towel was poised for action on the family room coffee table, the unthinkable happened – we got overseas or-ders again.

Living in base housing in Stuttgart, Ger-many, we learned that we would not be able to watch most of the football games, because Armed Forces Network only aired certain match ups. And those were broadcast at odd hours of the night.

Finally, someone told us about a new tech-nology – online streaming.

Despite the risk of identity theft, mal-ware infection, and prosecution for piracy, I punched my credit card information into a suspicious streaming website on game day. After what seemed like endless fiddling with our circa 2005 Dell desktop with inadequate bandwidth and a scant gigabyte of capacity, a tiny window finally popped up showing a pixilated image of Heinz Field.

“C’mon everybody!” I yelled from the back bedroom where our computer was con-nected to the internet, “I found the game!” One by one, we piled onto the full-sized bed. Myself, Francis, the three kids, and our 110-pound dog.

However, what should have been a relax-ing experience, quickly turned into a fiasco, as everyone fought for territory on the mat-tress. Once chicken wings, celery, and chips were introduced to the scene, the bed was

more like a Salad Shooter. Play after play, we strained to make out

what was happening on the poor-quality im-ages. Then somewhere in the second quarter, the screen permanently froze up. And that was that.

Once, during our three-year tour in Ger-many, we had an opportunity to watch a live game that wasn’t broadcast on AFN. The Steelers were playing in Super Bowl XLV, so we rented an apartment in Rome with a cable package that included the network that was airing the game live, just after midnight.

After a full day of visiting tourist sights – the Vatican, the Colosseum, the Forum, Trevi Fountain, the Jewish Quarter, Villa Borghese Museum – we filled our bellies with a late dinner of pasta, fried artichokes, bread, wine and gelato before nestling in to watch the game.

Despite our initial excitement, it would have taken an espresso machine, cattle prods and toothpicks propping open our eyelids for us to make it to the halftime show. We were all sound asleep three downs into the second quarter.

We realized that military service required a kind of sacrifice we’d never expected.

Thankfully, there are better options for military families today. Digital streaming is now mainstream technology. Fans anywhere in the world can watch games on demand, legally through NFL Game Pass. See www.nfl.com/help/gamepass. And those located in the U.S. have even more ways to keep up with their teams. See “How to stream NFL games for the 2017 Season” at www.nfl.com.

Fans take desperate measures to follow football from afar

8B • November 16, 2017 • FORT BLISS BUGLE

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