macdill honors vets

Vol. 40, No. 45 Friday, November 11, 2011

Photos by Senior Airman Melissa V. Paradise

Service members from U.S. Special Operations Command stand in formation during the Team MacDill Veterans Day ceremony held at Memorial Park MacDill Air Force Base, Nov 8. Service members from U.S.SOCOM, U.S. Central Command and the 6th Air Mobility Wing stood in formation representing all men and women of the armed forces.

MacDill honors vets

by Jim GaramoneAmerican Forces Press Service

Until the 1960s, veterans groups used the red poppy as the symbol of Veterans Day. In Great Britain, it still is.

The symbol comes from a poem, “In Flan-ders Fields,” written by Canadian doctor John M. McCrae in 1915. The first two verses of Mc-Crae’s three-verse poem read:

“In Flanders fields the poppies blowBetween the crosses, row on row,That mark our place; and in the skyThe larks, still bravely singing, flyScarce heard amid the guns below.

“We are the Dead. Short days agoWe lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,Loved and were loved, and now we lieIn Flanders fields.”

McCrae tended to the first victims of a Ger-man chemical attack on the British line at the Belgian town of Ypres during World War I.

The fields of Flanders, where some of the most horrific battles occurred, are now dot-ted with cemeteries filled with the war dead. If you fly across France and Belgium, you can still see the remains of the trench systems of the war.

The Great War of 1914 to 1918, called the

first modern global conflict, was an enormous divide for the world. Millions of service mem-bers died in the conflict. Millions more civil-ians were also killed or died of disease.

It truly was a world war. Troops fought in Turkey, the Balkans, East Africa and the Middle East as well as in Russia and France. The war caused the Russian czar to fall and allowed Vladimir Lenin to build what would become the Soviet Union.

On Nov. 11, 1918, that war came to an end. At 11 a.m. the shooting stopped. A war that saw 20,000 British “Tommies” die in 20 min-utes at the Battle of the Somme in 1916, was over. The war that saw 1,384,000 French “poi-lus” die, ended in the trenches that extended from Switzerland to the Belgian coast. Ameri-cans, who joined the war in 1917, lost more than 100,000 soldiers in the fighting.

The Germans had signed an armistice with the allies and to the generations of The Great War, Nov. 11 remains Armistice Day. For de-cades, veterans sold paper poppies to raise money for memorials and for the families of those who died in the war.

But The Great War was not, as President Woodrow Wilson hoped, “the war to end all wars.” World War II rose from its ashes, and millions more died to stop the mad dreams of dictators from 1939 to 1945. The U.S. Congress changed the name of Armistice Day to Veter-ans Day to honor all veterans after more blood

was spilled during the Korean conflict to halt aggression.

Congress moved Veterans Day, along with most other federal holidays, to be celebrated on the closest Monday to the traditional date. But soon Congress reversed itself on Veterans Day because of public pressure to honor the powerful symbolism of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

This year, national observance of “11-11-11,” will include a presidential wreath-laying at Arlington National Cemetery and ceremonies around the country.

Along with two world wars and Korea, Americans and their allies have fought and died in Vietnam, Lebanon, Grenada, Panama, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan and other places.

Today, the United States’ armed forces con-front enemies around the world. U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen defend freedom on station wherever, whenever they are called.

Those serving today are ensuring that they do not ignore the final verse of McCrae’s po-em:

“Take up our quarrel with the foe:To you from falling hands we throwThe torch; be yours to hold it high.If ye break faith with us who dieWe shall not sleep, though poppies growIn Flanders fields.”

COMMENTARY

MacDill ThunderboltPublisher: Terry Jamerson

Editor: Nick Stubbs

The MacDill Thunderbolt is published by Sunbelt News-papers, Inc., a private firm in no way connected with the U.S. Air Force. This commercial enterprise newspaper is an authorized publication for distribution to members of the U.S. military services on MacDill. Contents of the MacDill Thunderbolt are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by the U.S. government, the Department of De-

fense, the Department of the Air Force or the 6th Air Mobil-ity Wing.

The appearance of advertising in this publication, in-cluding inserts or supplements, does not constitute en-dorsement by the Department of Defense, the Department of the Air Force, 6th Air Mobility Wing or Sunbelt Newspa-pers, Inc., of the products or service advertised.

Everything advertised in this publication shall be made available for purchase, use, or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical handicap, political affiliation or any other non-mer-it factor of the purchaser, user, or patron.

Display advertising or classified advertising information

may be obtained by calling 259-7455. News items for the MacDill Thunderbolt can be submit-

ted to the 6th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs office, Bldg. 25, MacDill AFB, FL 33621, or call the MacDill Thunderbolt staff at 828-2215. Email: [email protected].

Deadline for article submissions is noon, Thursdays to appear in the next week’s publication. Articles received af-ter deadline may be considered for future use. All submis-sions are considered for publication based on news value and timeliness.

Every article and photograph is edited for accuracy, clar-ity, brevity, conformance with the “Associated Press Style-book and Libel Manual” and Air Force Instruction 35-101.

COMMANDER’S ACTION LINEThe Action Line provides a two-way communication between the 6th Air

Mobility Wing commander and the MacDill community. A 24-hour recording service is provided so personnel may submit questions, concerns or com-ments. Call the Action Line at 828-INFO (4636) or e-mail [email protected]

Veteran’s Day about service, sacrifice

Your T-bolt Today

News/Features: page 16

AirFest 2011 a hit


There I was


18th AF commander visits

NEWS/FEATURES

Sports: page 29

Pigskin Picker


Mosquito spraying program

DEAR WING MA’AM: My friend, Jen-nifer is married to a jerk. Her husband emotionally abuses her and she contin-ues to put up with it. My husband and I used to spend a lot of time with them, but we have gradually cut her husband out of our circle because we can’t tolerate the way he treats her. Jennifer has very few friends left, she doesn’t work because he wants her to stay at home and take care of their young son. He

belittles Jennifer, yells at her in front of others and “gives” her an allowance. She stays with him because she’s afraid she’ll lose too much financially if they divorce. This is just what I have seen. I know she is not happy. What can I do to help her? ~On the Outside Looking in

DEAR ON THE OUTSIDE: What you say to a friend is impor-tant. If she feels supported and encouraged, she may feel stronger and more able to make decisions. If she feels judged or criticized, she may never tell anyone about the abuse again. You can’t run your friend’s life but, you can point her in the direction of help and support her in her decisions. After years of verbal abuse, a person’s self-esteem may be shaky. They may feel unprepared, confused and scared. Suggest your friend access support from Family Advocacy (828-9172) and the Legal Office (828-4421).

She stays with him because she’s afraid

Dear Wing Ma’am is written by Capt. Christy Cruz, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Wing Ma’am works as the Resiliency Program man-ager and clinical therapist at MacDill AFB. If

you want to ask Wing Ma’am for advice, please send your questions to [email protected]. Letters are kept anonymous. Rights are reserved to edit published letters for style and length.

Not every question can be answered. This col-umn seeks to educated readers and should not be used as a substitute for seeking professional assistance.

What do you expect of the Airmen in the 6th AMW? Our Airmen should continually focus on their technical proficiency, conspic-uous compliance and their everyday contributions to the 6th Air Mobility Wing’s mis-sion. Our enlisted force is the envy of the world because of the amount of responsibility, education and dedication that is carried out by our Airmen. We must be ever mindful that we have a tremendous obliga-tion for the well-being of our-selves, our families, our wing-men and the freedom of our great nation.

Who are your favorite leaders and role models and why? There have cer-tainly been several leaders that have been a role model to me but the leaders that had the most impact on my life are the ones that treated me

like I mattered. You can say a lot of nice words and people may remember what you say for a while but how you treat people on a day to day basis will never be forgotten.

What does it mean to you to be MacDill’s command chief? It means that I have been entrusted by Col. Len-ny Richoux to be his enlisted Airman’s voice. I must make sure that our Airmen know what is important to our boss and at the same time enable Col. Richoux to be aware of the issues that are important his enlisted force and their families.

When you hold your first enlisted all call what is the first thing you are going to tell your Airmen? I’m going to thank them for their service because it is very sig-nificant. The Air Force has been at war for over 20 years

and they are still voluntarily serving their country. Our Airmen serving today are cer-tainly part of the new great-est generation.

What are your thoughts about MacDill and living in Tampa? I hit the jack-pot! I often tell Col. Richoux that

Meet the new Command Chief Vicki Gamble

Command Chief, Chief Mas-ter Sgt. Vicki Gamble

See CHIEF, Page 24


MacDill Top Chef named

by Capt. Nate Heath310th Airlift Squadron

I am currently deployed for 179 days in Southwest Asia at the 609th Air Operations Center, otherwise known as the Combined Air Operations Center or CAOC.

The CAOC supports operations Enduring Freedom, New Dawn, and other theater mis-sions vital to U. S. interests in the area.

The CAOC is a large organization. Within the CAOC, I am assigned to the Air Mobility Division (AMD as a Distinguished Visitor (DV) Planner. The AMD is responsible for planning, coordinating, tasking and executing all intra-theater airlift, air refueling and aeromedical evacuation missions.

In 2010 the AMD was responsible for execut-ing 63,000 sorties, moving 298,000 tons of car-go, 1.3 million passengers, 10,000 aeromedical evacuation patients and 1,700 distinguished visitors, and performing 1,600 airdrops.

As one of four DV planners assigned to the CAOC I am responsible for the planning, co-ordination, tasking and execution of several

DV airlift aircraft and the multiple aircrew assigned to these aircraft. As a DV planner, I take a validated request for DV travel and schedule a specific aircraft based on party size, departure and arrival locations and spe-cific diplomatic clearance restrictions.

Many of our DVs that travel are command-ers and senior enlisted advisors are stationed in Iraq or Afghanistan. We also provide air-lift for DVs stationed outside the CENTCOM AOR but have needs to travel throughout the AOR. Some of these DVs include U.S. senators and congressmen, U.S. department secretar-ies such as the secretary of defense and state, White House directed travelers, service sec-retaries, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as other high-level government officials.

The level of scrutiny and visibility associ-ated with such missions requires a “no-fail” mentality which may necessitate coordinating backup airlift assets to ensure successful and timely movement of these important leaders. Mission planning often requires my direct co-ordination with the White House, State De-partment and Office of the Secretary of De-fense.

I’m proud to orchestrate travel for these DVs, which has a direct impact on operations within the AOR and achieving the strategic interests of the United States.

NEWS/FEATURESThere I wasDeployed job requires ‘no-fail’ mentality

Courtesy photo

Capt. Nate Heath on site in Southwest Asia. His job is to plan and coordinate distinguished vis-itor aircraft operations.

by Maj. Mike Smith6th Medical Group Bioenvironmental Engineering Flight commander

Each summer, the 6th Medical Group staff is often asked about the processes used to control the mosquito problem on base. Routinely, pest control services apply insecticide in high breeding grounds for mos-quitoes across the installation. The application method is by a truck mounted, ultra-low volume sprayer. This type of application involves small quantities of the active ingredient, called Permethrin. Does this chemical sound familiar? It’s the same product we use to treat our uniforms when we are deployed to places where mosquitoes are preva-lent. This chemical is commonly used by pest management agencies to kill adult mosquito populations and has proven highly effective. The insecticide, Masterline Kontrol 4-4 (trade name) is approved for use on MacDill AFB.

Pest control services spray only when there is need (high mosquito counts). The protocol for spraying is “reactive” rather than “preven-tive.” The prime time for the spraying is just before sunrise, when the female mosquitoes are most active (looking for food - YOU).

Pest control is a critical capability that maintains the health of our force and families. Controlling the mosquito population on the instal-lation prevents the risk of mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile Virus and for many of us, killing mosquitoes has the added benefit of helping to prevent the urge to scratch those pesky, itchy bites so many of us seem to get!

Because of the nature of the insecticide (designed to kill mosqui-toes), by Federal law, it is prohibited to claim that this insecticide is “safe.” However, the application levels are well below the amount of in-secticide that would make us sick, but potent enough to kill mosquitoes (about the same potency as the bug spray you might use to watch your kids play ball on a Saturday evening). Most people are not expected to experience any adverse health effects after pesticide spraying for mos-quito control. The Environmental Protection Agency approves this in-secticide and considers it to present an “acceptable level of risk” when used as directed.

If you have any comments, call the Bioenvironmental Engineering flight at 827-9570, the Public Health flight at 827-9601 or Pest Man-agement at 828-2991.

Mosquito spraying program on MacDill safe, effective

Congratulations to members of the 6th Air Mobility Wing selected for Intermediate/Senior Develop-mental Education programs:

Army War College Lt. Col. Jamie Dermer, 6th op-

erations Group

U.S. Marine Corps War CollegeLt. Col. Ken Ohlson, 6th Mission

Support Group

Naval Command and Staff Col-lege

Maj. Alex Fafinski, 6th Opera-tions Group

Strategic Policy FellowshipMaj. Rob Lowe, 6th Air Mobility

Wing

CSAF Scholar ProgramMaj. Billy Pope, 6th Mission

Support Group

Equivalent Credit for VA Health Admin Fellowship

Maj. Kirk Jenkins, 6th Medical Group

IDE alternateMaj. Mike Pastuzyn, 6th Opera-

tions Group

6th AMW members selected for education programsNEWS/FEATURES

Special to the Thunderbolt

Emergencies. Are you prepared? Emergencies can happen at any time on Mac-

Dill Air Force Base and we need to be prepared. The first steps in any crisis are to be aware of the emergency and knowing what is expected of you. Members from civil engineer emergency management, security forces, MacDill Com-mand Post, and MacDill Antiterrorism/Force Protection composed this informational flyer in an effort to educate and prepare all Mac-Dill members. Understanding the nature of the emergency and knowing the expectations are critical in saving your life!Emergency notification

The command post will be providing notifi-cations when emergencies affect MacDill AFB. First responders have a limited amount of time to determine the effect to the base populace and the protective actions to be taken. Notice must then go out quickly to the installation to ensure protection for affected members. MacDill AFB

members can rely upon the Installation No-tification and Warning System to provide the notification that they need. The INWS at Mac-Dill AFB consists of a base siren/Giant Voice system, the primary and secondary Crash Net, Intra-base Radio Nets, a centralized paging system, Electronic Mass Notification System, e-mail, the Commander’s Access Channel, run-ners, mobile public address systems, and the Telephone Pyramid Notification System. While members may receive warnings from a variety of channels, most warnings affecting the entire base population will be broadcasted over the Giant Voice system and via email (Ad Hoc). The Command Post will be broadcasting the terms “Shelter In Place,” “Take Shelter Immediately,” or “Lockdown” over the Giant Voice.Do you know the difference? Shelter in place

Shelter-in-place is a protective action used during a major accident to provide limited pro-tection for otherwise un-protected members or casualties. Use in-place protection when evacu-

ation may cause greater risk than remaining in place. NOTE: Even the most weather-tight structure will slowly allow contaminated air to enter. Sealing windows, doors, and vents with plastic sheeting and duct tape can further re-duce infiltration of contaminated air into a building. One thing to keep in mind is shelter-in-place is for short term (2-4 hours) protection, not the type of sheltering is done for hurricanes or the old nuclear warfare shelter program. Take shelter immediately

Used for most natural disaster situations i.e. tornadoes, heavy rains, strong winds, hail, etc. Protective measures include going indoors; seeking protection in central-most part of house or facility away from windows or glass doors. Interior hallways, bathrooms or closets are best measures. Lock down

Used when a hostile act such as a terror-ist attack or active shooter incident is immi-nent or in progress. Members should be alert

NEWS/FEATURESBeing ready for emergencies is a matter of preparation

See EMERGENCY, Page 20

by Col. Billy Graham (USAF Ret.)

Friends,A warm thank-you to retirees and families

who attended our Retiree Appreciation Day! The event was a great success. It was a memo-rable experience to pay tribute at the Traveling Viet Nam Memorial Wall. It was also a delight to watch the service dogs in action. The health fair was truly impressive with the 6th Medical Group Clinic demonstrating a first-class opera-tion that day. The RAO wishes to express sincere thanks to all volunteers, civilian staff and active duty personnel who contributed their time and

efforts. A special thank-you to the MacDill Ex-change for your outstanding support.

Most of you might have already learned that we will get a 3.6 percent Cost of Living Allow-ance. This increase in COLA will be in effect for all your government payments (SBP, Social Se-curity, Retired Pay and VA Payments) beginning Jan. 1. Your Medicare Part B payment will also increase. The increase in retiree TRICARE fees for next year took effect Oct. 1. The fees went up by $30 for individuals and $60 for family. This is not as much as was originally expected. (Re-tirees already in the program will not see any increase until next year because they have al-

ready paid for this year.) According to TRICARE, active-duty service

members and their families pay no annual fees for TRICARE enrollment, and the increase will not apply to survivors of deceased active-duty sponsors and medically retired service members and eligible family members.

In the future, your Social Security number will not appear on your identification cards. This is not mandated now, but when you change your ID card, the SSN will be gone. To change your ID card, you may stop by Building 373 at

Retiree Activities Office - a message from the director

See RAO, Page 26

by Capt. Kathleen FerreroAir Mobility Command Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. - The red carpet unrolled as Air Mo-bility Command honored its energy efficiency superstars, wrapping up Energy Awareness Month with a celebration of innovation.

Both the facility and aviation fuel efficiency offices recognized at total of six individuals and 42 units with awards and incentives for outstand-ing energy stewardship.

This is the third year of AMC’s Facility Energy Incentive Award pro-gram. The Installations and Mission Support Directorate granted awards to the top three wings that excelled at saving energy on the ground. In ad-dition to Travis Air Force Base, Calif., earning the top prize of $100,000, Joint Base Charleston, S.C., received $75,000, and Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., received $50,000.

Wing leaders can use the money at their discretion but are encouraged to reinvest it in future initiatives, said Steve Kalmer, AMC energy and utilities engineering program manager.

For example, in 2010 Dover AFB invested its $50,000 incentive in a so-lar hot water system for one of its dormitories, with construction sched-uled to begin in January, said Charles Mikula at the 436th Civil Engi-neer Squadron. Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst used its $75,000 to help fund an 18-vehicle solar carport structure, said Barry Miller, base resource efficiency manager.

With its fiscal year 2010 award of $100,000, Travis AFB, Calif., of-ficials purchased two vertical axis wind turbines to install on the golf course and invested in a human powered gym, which would use retrofit-ted elliptical machines to capture energy generated by the exercisers, said Allison Greco, 60th Civil Engineer Squadron.

On the installations side of the house, Travis AFB led the individual and unit-level honors this year, receiving more than $200,000 in com-

Energy superstars set shining examples, get cash for future initiatives

AMC NEWS

See ENERGY, Page 14

bined incentives. During fiscal year 2011, Team Travis worked on new energy projects that are expected to reap more than double the invest-ment in savings.

As part of their effort, they conducted a rigorous awareness campaign that helped to slash electricity use by 7 percent in just one month, thanks in part to individual top winner, Greco, of the 60th Civil Engineer Squad-ron.

Mobility Air Forces leadership, along with the AMC Fuel Efficiency Office, also recognized standouts in aviation fuel savings for the first time this year.

Honorees received cash incentives as part of their efforts -- and there is more to come, said Col. Bobby Fowler, AMC Fuel Efficiency Office di-rector.

The Air Force is the second largest consumer of energy in the federal government and has set multiple goals to reduce consumption and in-crease energy security.

As AMC leans forward to support these goals, mission accomplishment remains the ultimate goal.

Col. Kevin Trayer, AMC Fuel Efficiency Office director of operations, said “effectiveness in mobility air forces” is the cornerstone of what AMC is doing in its energy conservation efforts.

“Getting (resources) to the warfighter on the ground is our first prior-ity. As we accomplish that, we also exercise the responsibility of being good stewards of our nation’s resources,” Trayer said.

ENERGYFrom Page 12

Photo by Staff Sgt. Angela Ruiz

U.S. Army (Ret.) Master Sgt. Andy Serrano, United States Special Operations Command, soars high above the crowd with the U.S. Flag for the final “jump” during the 2011 AirFest Sunday.


Guest of the 2011 MacDill AirFest sit underneath the wing of a AC-130 Spectre on the flightline of MacDill Air Force Base Saturday.

Photo by Airman Basic David Tracy

The Air Force Thunderbirds perform an aerial demonstration Sat-urday. The precision flying team of the Air Force was the headllin-ing act of the show Saturday and Sunday.

Photo by Senior Airman Linzi Joseph

The 6th Air Mobility Wing planned and sponsored AirFest 2011, held on MacDill Air Force Base Nov. 5-6. There were more than 150,000 members of the Greater Tampa Bay community who at-tended. Many local sponsors, venders and base private organi-zations that support events like this provided their services to support AirFest attendees. Here, Denni Hernandez, 7, daughter of Dennis Hernandez, views the Thunderbirds in flight Nov. 6. This year AirFest was the host to spectacular aerial demonstrations, static displays and featured the Air Force Thunderbirds, giving the Tampa Bay community the opportunity to witness firsthand the capabilities of the armed forces.

The 6th Air Mobility Wing presents

AirFest 2011Nov. 5-6


U.S. Army (Ret.) Master Sgt. Andy Serrano, United States Special Operations Command, soars high above the crowd with the U.S. Flag for the final “jump” during the 2011 AirFest Sunday.


The Air Force Thunderbirds perform an aerial demonstration Sat-urday. The precision flying team of the Air Force was the headllin-ing act of the show Saturday and Sunday.


(Top) Airman 1st Class Leon Bono, 6th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief, inspects for restricted items at the main entrance of AirFest Sunday. (Above) Riley Taber sits on his father’s (Randy Taber’s) shoulders while watching the Thunder-birds perform Sunday.


Col. Lenny Richoux, 6th Air Mobility Wing commander, and Chief Master Sgt. Vicki Gamble, 6th Air Mobility Wing command chief, welcome San-dra Eddy of Clearwater and her family, recipients of a wish by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, to the practice show for AirFest 2011 at MacDill Air Force Base Nov. 4.


Thanks!Lt. Gen. Mark Ramsay, 18th Air Force commander, praises Staff. Sgt. Morrell Colquitt, 6th Security Forces Squadron augmentee, for his con-tributions to the base during his visit to MacDill Air Force Base Nov. 1. Ramsay visited MacDill to get an up-close look at base operations and its various missions.


and ensure everyone in the area is warned of the danger. Secu-rity measures should be implemented im-mediately as appropri-ate. All members must quickly determine the most reasonable way to protect themselves from the shooter and escape, hide out, and/or take action against the shooter.

After the threat has ended, members should continue to re-main alert for any sec-ondary hazards. Units should account for all members as soon as possible and report their accountabil-ity through their Unit Control Center. Indi-viduals should report all fires, injuries and hazards by calling 911 and asking for MacDill AFB Dispatch.

Reference documents

MacDill Installation Emergency Manage-ment Plan 10-2.

MacDill Integrated Defense Plan 31-101.

Finally, in prepara-tion for next week’s Active Shooter Emer-gency Management Exercise, Det. Edward Garcia from 6th Secu-rity Forces Squadron, built an outstanding Power Point briefing on “How to Survive an Active Shooter.” The briefing is available on the Wing SharePoint page under “Announce-ments.”

EMEGENCYFrom Page 8

Photo by Nick Stubbs

Like ‘Top Chef’ on television, MacDill’s version of the cooking competi-tion held Nov. 3 at the Diners Reef featured time pressure and a scram-ble to make the most unique and tasty dishes from the secret ingre-dients, which included salmon, parsnips, asparagus and other winter ingredients. Seven ‘chefs’ from the Reef competed, with the winner Staff Sgt. Steven Oquendo, pictured. Second was Biance Baez, and third went to Ivory Thornton.

he makes dreams come true. MacDill Air Force Base has been on my dream sheet for over 26 years. This base is absolutely gorgeous and we are extremely lucky to be in such a wonderful and welcoming com-munity. We also have an opportunity to closely serve with our sister services and coalition partners. Joint service exposes us to new ideas and brings out the best we each have to offer. I have only been on this base a short time but am extremely impressed with the professional-ism and can-do attitude of Team MacDill.

CHIEFFrom Page 3

MacDill AFB. However, the MacDill Pass and ID office highly recommends on-line appoint-ments. Retirees and family members may use the website http://appointments.cac.navy.mil for making on-line appointments.

Remember that retirees who divorce need to update their marital status within 30 days of the effective date. And please, if you remarry, remember you have one year to put your new family member into the system.

Have you been looking for the Military Uni-form Sales store? It’s now in a temporary loca-tion at the back of the Class VI store. You will

need to enter the Class VI store, then walk through the store toward the back. Since the Exchange complex is undergoing upgrade, there will be changes in the future regarding the loca-tions of the furniture store, Class VI store, and military uniform sales store.

Soon it will be tax season! We will need coun-selors for not only the RAO, but for the tax pro-gram. If you want to help, contact us at 828-4555 or just drop by our office. We will offer tax training for two weeks in January and will offer income tax service starting Feb. 6. If there is a schedule change, we will notify you.

RAOFrom Page 10

MACDILL COMMUNITYEVENTS

Friday - 7 p.m. Drive (R)

AT THE MOVIESSaturday - 7 p.m.

50/50 (R)

Saturday - 4 p.m. Dream House (PG-13)

$4.50 for adults / $2.25 for children 828-2780

FridayMacDill Lanes

Veterans Day Special from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Everyone bowls for $1.00!

SaturdaySeaScapes Beach House

Continental Breakfast by the Bay from 7-9 a.m. All guest $5.95. Club Members & FamCamp Residents FREE. Spouse of Club Member $4.95.

Monday -FridaySeaScapes Beach House

Daily Early Bird Dinner Spe-cial 4:30-6:30 p.m. Home-style fa-vorite meal with iced tea or foun-tain drink $7.00

Tuesday & ThursdayBay Palms Golf Complex

FREE Active Duty Clinic from 12-1 p.m.

WednesdayFitness Center

Turkey Trot 5k Run at 7 a.m. Sponsored in part by Stadium Toyota, USAA, and CACI. No fed-eral endorsement intended.

Skeet RangeThanksgiving Turkey Shoot

from 8:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. Cost $4 per shot. Win a turkey!

ThursdayFree Early Thanksgiving Din-ner

6-8 p.m. at the Brandon Elks Lodge. Reservations are required. Call 655-9281.

For more information, visit our Web site at www.macdillfss.com

Protestant servicesSunday - 9 a.m. – Praise Worship Service Noon – Gospel ServiceIslamic servicesFriday - 1:30 p.m. - Prayer Service

Catholic servicesSaturday - 4:30 p.m. - Confession 5:30 p.m. - MassSunday - 10:30 a.m. - MassMonday to Thursday: 12:10 p.m. - Mass

For all other faith inquiries or to view upcoming event information, call the Chapel at 828-3621 or visit the website at www.macdill.af.mil/macdillchapel

CHAPEL SCHEDULE

by Mack DillThe Pigskin Picker

Hello Football Fans! Well, I know most of you were out at the airshow last weekend so you may have missed a game or two, but what a great week-end it was to be outside and enjoying the great show. As always, we had a few stunning upsets in both the NCAA and the NFL, but as the seasons heat up so does the level of play. Let’s take a look at what’s on tap for this weekend.

For the game of the week, I’m heading out to the West Coast and going with Oregon at Stanford. This game will have a huge impact on the BCS standings as well as the Heisman Watch. Stanford currently has the longest win streak in the nation with 17 straight wins. Both teams rank in the top 5 nationally as far as offenses go, so this probably won’t be the defensive struggle we saw last week with LSU and Alabama. Look for Oregon’s speed to really put Stanford’s defense to the test. Free Safety Eddie Pleasant has been on a rampage, so Stanford QB Andrew Luck will need to keep him on his radar. The Ducks also have LaMichael James back and he’s tearing it up. Last week he carried for 156 yards and re-established himself as the leading rusher in the nation. Adding to Stanford’s challeng-es is the fact that they’ll be missing some key offen-sive weapons at wide receiver and tight end. This is where luck will really need to show what makes him so good. He’ll need to be razor sharp with his passes and he’ll need to utilize his running backs more. If Stanford can make it to the red zone, then

they should be able to score as they’ve done 51 out of 52 times this season. Both teams have explosive offenses and both teams have NFL caliber game changers. I’m a big believer in the 12th man, so for this week’s pick, I’m going to stick with the Stanford Cardinal at home, but they’ll need a lot of Luck.

Okay, let’s get cranking through the rest of our college picks!

Florida at South Carolina – South Carolina has the ranking, but their offensive line is weak. They allowed five sacks; one which knocked their young QB out of the game due to a concussion. Florida has October behind them and are back to their winning ways. I’m going with an upset on this one and picking the Gators to win on the road over the Gamecocks.

Miami at Florida State – The Seminoles big-gest issue is the offensive line. The Hurricanes are not famous for putting pressure on the offense so that works out great for FSU. Miami has done a nice job with putting together a balanced passing and rushing game, but look for the tenacious Semi-nole Defense – especially Bjoren Werner — to keep Miami in check. The Noles running game wasn’t getting anywhere so they’ve started utilizing tight end Nick O’Leary. and that’s just what they needed. I’m giving Florida State the win.

Texas A&M at Kansas State – Texas A&M is the favorite in this game. They average over 300 yards per game in passing while the Wildcats only average a little over 141 yards per game. Only one yard per game separates these teams in rushing av-erages, and the Aggies put up about 6 more points per game than Kansas State. It’s completely un-

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derstandable why A&M would have the edge in this game, but I’m thick-headed and I’m pick-ing Kansas State for the win.

Nebraska at Penn State – Penn State is silently leading the Big 10 and Nebraska just can’t seem to play consistently in their new conference. Nobody really understands how Penn State is doing what they’re doing except that they have the 3rd best defense in the coun-try. Nebraska just took a head-scratching loss to Northwestern, but I’m chalking that up to a bad week. Ultimately, the Cornhuskers have a stronger offense that puts more points on the scoreboard. They’ve played a tougher schedule than Penn State, and let’s face it, they don’t have the distractions that Penn State has. So even though the Nittany Lions are playing at home, I’m going with Nebraska for the win.

Western Kentucky at LSU – This one is for all of you LSU fans out there who think that I don’t say enough about your Bayou Ben-gals. This week LSU faces off against a giant of the Sun Belt Conference – the Western Ken-tucky Hilltoppers. LSU leads in all statistical

categories including walking on water, but the Hilltoppers have the edge on best mascot with Big Red. So I’m picking Western Kentucky to edge out Mike the Tiger, but I’m going to give LSU the double-digit win for the football game. That’s it for the college games, let’s take a look at the NFL.

Denver at Kansas City – I’m totally bored with the Tebow talk. Kansas City wins at home.

New Orleans at Atlanta – This match-up is almost too close to call. Atlanta should win at home, but New Orleans is back on track. I’m going with the Saints to win on the road.

Buffalo at Dallas – Dallas will be missing wide receiver Miles Austin, and that will be a tough spot to replace. The Bills just let Crazy Rex Ryan and the NY Jets deliver a stinger at home and will be looking to reassert them-selves. Now the question is if they are having problems handling their early season success. I think the bigger question is if they can put more variety into their play calling. I’ve lost confidence in both teams. I seriously question if Dallas has confidence in Romo again, but then they let him actually be the holder on field goals and extra points. That must mean some-thing, right? Okay, Cowboys I’m picking you to

win on Sunday. Make it happen. New York Giants at San Francisco – I

know it seems like I’m always down on the Gi-ants, but I really do like their team. This week, however, I just like the 49ers a little more. San Francisco gets the win at home.

Tennessee at Carolina – Sure these aren’t the hottest two teams in the NFL, but this should be a fun game to watch. Neither team really knows how to stop the rush, but both of-fenses are so dialed-in on being a passing team, I’m not sure they know how to rush. Hey, Ten-nessee’s Chris Johnson is on my fantasy team and he hasn’t done anything for me yet so I’m a little bitter. However, I’m going to keep John-son on my roster once again because this is his best opportunity to finally earn his paycheck, and give the Titans the chance for the win. For the Panthers I think Cam Newton will put up big numbers passing as well as being their lead-ing rusher. I’m also looking for the Carolina defense to record a few sacks. A little pressure up front and a big offensive attack is what I’m hoping to see. I’m picking Carolina for the win.

Okay, so that’s it for the week. Enjoy your holiday weekend and as always, I hope your team wins.

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