yypjhul ylsplm z[hnpun wvpu[macdill thunderbolt thursday, september 28, 2017 3 news/features i`...

Thursday, September 28, 2017

2 WWW.MACDILLTHUNDERBOLT.COM Thursday, September 28, 2017 MACDILL THUNDERBOLT

Have you ever been blindsided by bad news or realized an important relationship was coming to an end? Have you ever had “the rug pulled out from under you?”

These kinds of things seem to happen at the worst possible times, don’t they? What’s worse is that you really can’t predict when your life will get turned upside down.

It’s not necessarily healthy to constantly worry about the unpredict-able future, because more often than not, terrible things will not hap-pen. However, it is also unhelpful to assume you are immune and that unfortunate things only happen to other people. This type of thinking may lead you to be defenseless when something challenging does come your way. It may also lead you to underestimate your own vulnerabili-ties, which could prevent you from being proactive and taking the nec-essary steps to help yourself.

I’m sure you can think of times in which setbacks were really not setbacks at all because you were in a good place mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. We should take comfort in the fact that we have some control over our well-being at any given time, based on the choices we make. After all, it is easier to manage life stressors when you’ve slept well, eaten right, and had a good social group and leisure time. When all of those things are aligned, we are truly at our best –

our most resilient.In the last few years, the Air Force has emphasized resilience. Resilience is a set of personal characteristics and coping skills that

allow us to bounce back from adversity. It is important to understand that bouncing back isn’t something we do all by ourselves. In fact, one of the most important aspects of resilience is early help seeking. It’s about asking for help at the right time. This can be difficult to do, as many of us want to manage things on our own, but with that strategy, we risk waiting until things are out of control before reaching out. It can take courage to ask for help, but in many instances, it is assistance from others that aids us in bouncing back.

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. It is the perfect time to remind ourselves of the warning signs and

risk factors of suicide, which include unusual or sudden changes in behavior, relationship issues, and legal troubles (a full list of warning signs can be reviewed at http://www.wingmanonline.org). In addition, please remember that MacDill has a number of helping agencies avail-able year round. I urge you to access the many resources available, including the Military and Family Readiness Center (formerly Airmen and Family Readiness Center), chaplains, and the Mental Health Clinic.

Asking for help is resilient. It is a sign of strength, and it can be the difference between a hopeless dilemma and a workable problem. Reach out! Do not be afraid to allow others to help put the rug back under your feet and give you the traction you need to live the life you want.

COMMANDER’S ACTION LINE

The Action Line provides two-way communication between the 6th Air Mobility Wing commander and the MacDill community. Per-sonnel may submit questions, concerns or comments via email to [email protected].

Website: www.macdill.af.milFacebook: www.facebook.com/MacDillAirForceBase

Instagram: macdill_afbTwitter: @macdill_afb

COMMENTARY

MACDILL THUNDERBOLT Thursday, September 28, 2017 WWW.MACDILLTHUNDERBOLT.COM 3

NEWS/FEATURES

“It was 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9, and the entire base was empty ex-cept for a handful of security forces members and the 6th Mission Support Group commander. My team joined them and convoyed off base.

“We stopped so they could lock the gates behind us. It seemed just abso-lutely foreign to not see anyone moving about the base, to know there was no one left on it, yet so rewarding to know that we played such an integral part in making that possible,” said Tech. Sgt. James Davis, the NCO in charge of command and control systems assigned to the 6th Air Mobility Wing.

While many members of MacDill Air Force Base evacuated out of Hur-ricane Irma’s path, several teams remained and weathered the storm.

One team, the Hurricane Ride-Out Team, is made up of members who are given the role of ‘mission essential personnel’ and are designated to ride out passing storms at Raymond James Stadium. Members of the ride-out team remain at the stadium until the storm has passed and return to base to begin making initial assessments and bring it back to mission capable status.

It was a late Tuesday night when he heard his phone ring from across the room of his house at his deployed location of Incirlik, Air Base, Turkey. The email notification revealed that Lt. Col. Peter Vanagas, the wing plans and programs chief assigned to the 6th Air Mobil-ity Wing, needed to return home to MacDill Air Force Base as soon as possible.

Leading up to this email, Hurricane Irma had developed into a Category 5 storm and was rapidly approaching Florida. Seeing as he was needed to perform his duties back home, Vana-gas had to devise a plan to make it back home before Irma made landfall, and do it quickly.Coming home

Vanagas first considered flying commercial from Turkey to Spain, then from Spain directly to MacDill. He quickly discarded this idea after the sudden realization of one important detail.

“If I flew commercial out of Turkey, I had to get an armored car to take me to the airport,” said Vanagas. “This was because of the policies in place over there based on threat analysis.”

With a small window of only a couple of hours to map out a route back to MacDill, Vanagas sought help from his wingmen.

“Luckily, in two hours, the first sergeant and the superintendent at my deployed location

helped me get a rotator plane ticket to Ramstein Air Base, Germany,” said Vanagas. “After about a four-hour flight and then 30 minutes on the ground at Ramstein, it was time for a nine-hour flight to Baltimore.”

Following his arrival into Baltimore, and run-ning on three-and-a-half hours of sleep, Vanagas boarded a final flight bound for MacDill. Before Irma

“As soon as I arrived here on Thursday, I went straight to my office and got a rundown of ev-erything that was happening,” said Vanagas. “When Friday hit, I was able to release my Air-men to prepare for the hurricane and take care of their families, while I resumed responsibility and carried out our duties through the remain-der of the storm.”

While Vanagas took care of his Airmen, his wife took care of his family in case of an evacu-ation order.

“During the weekend prior to the storm, I began gathering supplies and preparing our house and vehicles knowing my husband would not have much time to assist after he returned from deployment,” said Lt. Col. Leah Vanagas, the 6th Maintenance Squadron Commander. “As the evacuation order became imminent, and it looked like Tampa was going to take a direct hit by Irma, I decided to evacuate to our safe haven

WINGMANSHIP, Page 13

RIDE-OUT, Page 11


WEEK IN PHOTOS


NEWS/FEATURES

Last year, she continuously trained and com-peted all around the U.S. This year she took it up a notch by training hard in the five months leading up to the July 19 USA Masters Nation-als in Pittsburgh, where she finally earned the title she had been striving for: International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Professional.

Maria Flores, a 57-year-old bodybuilder and retired U.S. Army sergeant first class at MacDill Air Force Base didn’t skip a beat preparing to get her IFBB pro card.

“I started a hardcore training routine in February of this year for the Masters in Pitts-burgh,” said Flores. “It involved five days of lift-ing weights that were focused on specific muscle groups as well as an hour of cardio exercise ev-ery day during my week.”

At the Pittsburgh competition, she won in both the Over 40 and Over 45 lightweight cat-egories, which allowed her to earn her profes-sional status, which was her ultimate goal.

“I could not believe it when my name was an-nounced as a new IFBB Pro,” said Flores. “It was a dream come true.”

On Aug. 4 she made her debut as a profes-sional in the IFBB Tampa Pro competition. At this venue is where she began her bodybuilding journey as an amateur, nine years ago.

“Even though I didn’t place in the top ten, it was incredible for me to be next to the IFBB women and men pros, I never thought it would become a reality,” said Flores. “I was in the same lineup with some of the best women bodybuild-ers in the world; these were women who have competed in the Olympia (bodybuilding com-petition), whom I’ve idolized and respected for many years.”

After Tampa, Flores returned to Pittsburgh to compete, and placed third, receiving her first check as a pro.

“I didn’t change anything about my diet, or my workout routine,” said Flores. “Dedication to what I was aiming for is what kept me going.”

Additionally, her husband, Philip Cooper, the deputy chief of senior officer matters assigned to U.S. Central Command, provided Flores with the motivation and training when she first be-gan the sport.

“Maria has both the desire and the perfect genetics to go far in the sport of bodybuilding,” said Cooper. “I have been training since 1972 and have been in competition ranging from 1979 to 2017, but in the past 11 years, Maria caught up and surpassed both my knowledge and my own competitive level in the sport.

“She’s just one of those rare individuals that has the ‘it’ when it comes to bodybuilding.”

Flores explained that through a rigorous and time-consuming routine, she realized something that she believes is very important for those striving to become a competitive bodybuilder.

“My advice to someone trying to go pro is to be true to themselves, and most importantly, do not neglect your loved ones,” said Flores. “In the end, you don’t want to be standing with a trophy on stage and no one is there to share your victory.”

- Philip Cooper

8 WWW.MACDILLTHUNDERBOLT.COM Thursday, September 28, 2017 MACDILL THUNDERBOLT MACDILL THUNDERBOLT Thursday, September 28, 2017 WWW.MACDILLTHUNDERBOLT.COM 9


As headlines raced across television screens around the country, Florida families packed up their children, pets and whatever keepsakes they could fit into their cars to flee north onto crowded roads filled with millions of others seeking safety.

As many sought shelter in neighboring states, Jadee Purdy, the director of the 6th Civil Engi-neer Squadron, prepared to make the hard deci-sion of leaving her two young children.

“My husband, who is in a professional military education program in D.C., flew to Tampa for the long Labor Day weekend,” explained Jadee. “As I drove him to the airport the following Monday, I said, ‘Jason, we have been talking about Irma; I might need your help in the next couple of days.’

And sure enough, on Tuesday morning I called him and said ‘I’m enacting our care plan.’ ”

Jason, a military member himself, talked to his leadership and by that afternoon, he was back in Tampa preparing for a possible evacuation.

“The logistics were challenging,” explained Jason. “We had to purchase a plane ticket, rent a vehicle, prepare the house, pack up two small children and three dogs, decide where we were going, and then find lodging or friends to stay with along the route.”

When evacuations in their area were mandat-ed, it was time for Jadee’s family to leave.

Putting her 4-month-old and 3-year-old chil-dren into the van, the uncertainty of the hurri-cane’s path left a pit in her stomach, and Jadee didn’t know how long she was saying goodbye for.

“The hardest part for me was leaving Jadee behind,” said Jason. “While we knew she would be in a safe location, Irma’s initial path and strength concerned me since Jadee could be di-rectly in its path.”

For Jadee, although the unknown was scary, she knew where she needed to be.

“As a mom, it is always hard to say goodbye to your children, but I knew what I needed to do and I knew they were in safe hands,” explained Jadee. “It is the best peace of mind knowing that your children and family are in the capable hands of your partner.

“I couldn’t do what I do on a daily basis with-out his support.”

With her family taken care of, she moved on to prepping her house so she could get back to the mission.

“Jason had left so quickly to make sure our family was safe, the hurricane prep on our house wasn’t finished,” said Jadee. “I called up a mili-tary friend and a neighbor and they helped me

put storm shutters up on my house. “The military and our ability, willingness and

continuous care of families is why I call it home; the hurricane reinforced everything that I love about the military because we took care of our own and were there for each other.”

Mission focused, she returned to work. She had years of both active duty and reservist time, as well as civilian experience, preparing her for something like this.

“In my mind, this is why I signed on the dotted line,” said Jadee. “Being a mission essential civil-ian with an engineering skill set, I must help ex-ecute the mission; it may come across as service before self, but I feel like it is just the way that we all serve.

“The second you raise your hand and say ‘I support and defend the constitution of the Unit-ed States,’ which both military members and ci-vilians do, I knew that this is what the mission may need of me and I was so excited to be able to say ‘sign me up, let’s do this.’”

As the hurricane drew closer, the eye shifted toward MacDill, and essential personnel who stayed behind were moved to Raymond James Stadium.

As the uncertainty continued with constant

changes in the path, personnel continued to work around the clock to execute the mission. Jadee performed tasks ranging from emergency opera-tions center director to the chief of the hurricane ride out team.

“While working with her, she put personnel’s wellbeing ahead of herself and focused on the safe evacuation of installation personnel and families,” said Tech. Sgt. Roderick Gilmore, flight chief of emergency management assigned to the 6th CES. “During the six-day operation, Mrs. Purdy worked long hours to ensure the mission was completed.”

Jadee and the rest of the team continued com-munication between wing leadership, Hillsbor-ough County and City of Tampa, as well as cre-ated and later implemented a tactical recovery plan for MacDill.

“We, as a military organization, were pre-pared, had a plan and we knew what we were supposed to do,” said Jadee. “Everyone came to-gether whether they were civilian, contractor or military members to get the mission done.”

After the storm, the team left the stadium and returned to the base to assess the damage and execute the recovery plan.

ONE TEAM, Page 15

NEWS/FEATURES


“The team is made up of civil engineers, airfield man-agement, electricians, command post, security forces, and medical,” said Link Collier, airfield manager with the 6th Operations Support Squadron. “We were at the stadium from Saturday night, Sept. 9, until the following Monday morning before making our way back to the base.”

According to Collier, a lot of planning and late nights were invested running through various scenarios.

“Our job was to provide information about the base in our respective fields to the Crisis Action Team, Emergency Operations Center, the 6th MSG commander, and to the 6th Air Mobility Wing commander,” said Collier.

Davis added, “We also submitted reports and provided constant updates to the Pentagon, Air Mobility Command Center (Center), as well as the Air Force Reserve Command Center.”

With the path of Irma creating so much uncertainty, Col-lier said the HURCON exercise from March played a key role in the success of the ride-out team.

“In March, we practiced the entire evacuation piece where we relocate to Raymond James Stadium,” said Col-lier. “Low and behold, we would be putting that practice into play, and as a wing, we did a great job communicating.”

Despite the exercise providing many lessons learned and the ride-out team being ready to execute, they only needed a fraction of the team to successfully complete their mission.

“Typically, there are 300 people in the ride-out team, but Col. April Vogel, commander of the 6th AMW, wanted to have a smaller footprint, so we only went to the stadium with about 50 personnel,” said Collier.

Regardless of how inconvenient it may seem to put in so many extra hours and take on a larger work load so others could evacuate, personnel from the ride-out team found a sense of accomplishment.

“I have spent nearly 12 years of my career as a first re-sponder (security forces) and now as a command and con-trol specialist, so it was amazing to put those years of train-ing to use and work alongside such skilled and talented leaders,” said Davis. “It was their direction that made the evacuation and ride out so successful.”

For Collier, seeing all 11 KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft return to base and ready to pick up the mission, proved to be most rewarding.

“Knowing we can return to work and get our planes to the islands to help with the hurricane relief really is a great feeling,” said Collier with a smile.


Air Force Reservists assigned to the 45th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, MacDill Air Force Base, have established operations to sup-port humanitarian relief efforts on the islands of Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, and St. Croix.

Air Force Reserve medical personal, and air-crews from multiple locations, staged at MacDill AFB, with the first medical evacuation flight departing Sept. 24 in support of Hurricane Ma-ria relief efforts.

The Airmen of the 45th AES bring with them the capability to operate on multiple aircraft, providing inflight medical care while manning the aeromedical evacuation operations team that oversees all flights into and out of the Caribbean for this operation. AES crews are trained to handle a full range of military opera-tions, including humanitarian assistance and disaster response.

Within hours after Maria, a category 4 hur-ricane with 155 mph winds, pummeled Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Citizen Airmen throughout the country were responding to the call for help.

Air Force Reserve medical personnel will con-tinue to depart from MacDill AFB over the next several days for Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, and St. Croix, to transport individuals to one of four medical facilities in the Southeastern United States.

For Citizen Airmen with family in the is-lands, such as Tech. Sergeant Maria Ayala, who has family in Puerto Rico, this missions take on a more personal meaning.

“The other day I was able to speak to a cousin of mine who said they have seen my mom and she was okay,” said Maria Ayala, 45 AES. “I still have not heard from my father, though.”

Senior Airman Jamie Price, a medical techni-cian with the 45 AES also expressed his desire to help those affected by the storm.

“I’m honored to be able to help out the areas that were devastated by Hurricane Maria and bring the sick and injured to the U.S. to give them the care they need.”

The 45 AES is assigned to the 927th Air Re-fueling Wing, the Air Force Reserve wing at MacDill AFB. Over 90 percent of the Air Force’s aeromedical evacuation capably resides in the Air Reserve Component, allowing Airmen to bring experience from their civilian jobs to pro-vide medical care for military and civilian per-sonnel.

NEWS/FEATURES


in Georgia.”Once the safety of his wife, 3-year-old daughter, and family dog, as well

as his personnel, was secured, Vanagas shifted his focus to the situation at hand: the incoming hurricane.

“We have a plan in place that tells us how we will execute if a hurri-cane comes,” said Vanagas. “Once the order to evacuate was given by our base commander, Col. April Vogel, we followed the plans with the best information we had and shut down the base.”

These plans mandate that as the base starts to close, the wing must establish an emergency operations center at Raymond James stadium.

“We send small teams up to Raymond James to start setting up com-munication nodes, which is the most important key,” said Vanagas. “Once we know the communication nodes are in place, we are able to shut down our operations on base and move there.”

One way of ensuring crucial information is disseminated to every Team MacDill member is through the Crisis Action Team (CAT), a disaster re-sponse group.

“During any kind of hurricane operation or exercise, the CAT works hand-in-hand with the Emergency Operations Center,” said Vanagas, who functioned as the CAT director. “We track personnel accountability and help reach out to all the group and squadron control centers to gather information about all the personnel on the base and push information to them.”During Irma

At this point, the evacuation order had been given and the base was be-ing evacuated. The CAT had been assembled and operations at Raymond James were being set up.

“It’s tough when you have split operations between the base and the

stadium because of limited manpower,” said Vanagas. “People were tired because of the heavy workload, but they would step up to complete the mission in remarkable ways.”

In what can be described as the true definition of wingmanship, Airmen committed to taking care of not only themselves, but also those around them throughout the duration of the storm.

“It didn’t matter what rank you were, whether an airman or a colonel, we all helped each other out to make sure our families were safe,” said Vanagas. “It was great to see the teamwork, camaraderie and friendships built by taking care of each other.”

These values of wingmanship and service before self, which are in-stilled in every Airman from the beginning of their careers, were dis-played during the toughest of times.

“It was stressful because, initially, we thought the storm wasn’t going to be so severe and then at the last minute it changed to hitting MacDill directly, so our timelines got compressed and it gave us little time to pre-pare our homes and our families,” said Vanagas. “It was very tough for everyone, regardless if you were military or civilian.”

Once the storm passed and the base reopened, Team MacDill began returning home. Vanagas was a part of the recovery team tasked with assessing the damage and helping bring the base back to full mission ca-pability.

“We all had different stories, struggles and concerns throughout,” said Vanagas. “It was great to see how many people worked together, and how many people were willing to help one another.

“We were able to execute a mission that we’ve never had to execute, and hopefully never have to execute again, but it was great to see every-one step up and do their part.”


COMMUNITY

For all other faith groups or for any questions, please contact the Chapel by visiting http://www.macdill.af.mil/macdillchapel or calling 828-3621

Surf’s Edge ClubOktoberfest from 4-7:30 p.m.

Club members: free; family mem-bers: $4; all others: $6 (One ticket per club member Only) Bratwurst on a Soft Pretzel Bun, Sauerkraut, Stone Ground Mustard, German Potato Salad and German Choco-late Cake.

Base TheaterFree movie: “Cars” (G). Doors

open at 1:15 p.m. Movie starts at 2 p.m. Overflow parking available in the SOCOM parking garage.

Box Office Bistro now openLocated in the Base Theater.

Open 10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. serving nachos, tacos, rice bowls, quesadil-las and more.

Base TheaterFree movie: “Baywatch” (R).

Doors open at 6:15 p.m. Movie starts at 7 p.m.

• Oct. 6 – Membership Breakfast• Oct. 6 – Deployed Family Night Canvases & Cupcakes• Oct. 13 – Firefighter’s Challenge• Oct. 13 – FCC Program Meet & Greet• Oct. 14 – Family Monster Ball• Oct. 19 – Membership Lunch• Oct. 20 – MacThrillville Fall Fes-tival• Oct. 21 – Halloween Dance• Oct. 26 – Career Fair• Oct. 27 – Spooktacular 5K• Oct. 27 – Youth Center 3rd An-nual Glow Run

www.macdillfss.com


“Jadee understood how critical the wing and the two combatant commands are to our nation’s defense and daily operations,” said Jason. “Her efforts to translate the wing commander’s vision into a safe evacuation, shutdown of op-erations and reopening allowed thousands of military mem-bers and families to get out of the hurricane’s path while wing leadership and the small team executed the mission as required.”

In the wake of the storm, MacDill and the Tampa Bay community came together because of people like Jadee, who remained mission-focused to ensure the safety of the area and its people.

Dean S., AlumnusBusinessman. Airman. Dad.

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hour for active military, Reservists and National Guard. Also, your spouse and dependentsreceive up to 50% in tuition savings. TROY is committed to keeping higher education

affordable. That’s the Trojan Warrior Spirit, and it’s alive and well at Troy University.

© 2© 2017 Troy University© 2© 2Bring images with this icon to life by visiting troy.edu/app

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