WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a prelude to war! 000595. AEF schedule eases mission, brings predictability by Staff Sgt. Jerome Baysmore Air Combat Command EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFPN) -- For members of the 33d Fighter Wing "Nomads," constant deployments have long been a way of life. However, since the Air Force launched the Aerospace Expeditionary Force schedule in October 1999, many "Nomads" are reaping the benefits of fewer deployments, further intervals between contingencies, and supporting both on a more predictable basis. The 33d Fighter Wing has two operational F-15 squadrons that are each assigned to separate AEFs. The 58th Fighter Squadron "Gorillas" support AEF 2 and the 60th Fighter Squadron "Fighting Crows" support AEF 4. "When your deployments are forecasted, you can plan for them and make arrangements before leaving," said Staff Sgt. Ken Lloyd, 60th Fighter Squadron dedicated crew chief. "The AEF schedule helps me do that because I know ahead of time when I'm leaving." In December 1999, Lloyd was one of more than 550 maintenance troops, pilots and support people, who deployed along with F-15Cs from the 60th FS to Keflavik, Iceland, as part of AEF 4. Lloyd said he appreciates the advance notice of deploying with the AEF and is relieved he won't deploy again until March 2001. "It seems to work a lot better than when I was deployed before, with only a few weeks notice," he said. "Now you know about deployments ahead of time and you can prepare yourself better for them." The Air Force's evolution toward an expeditionary aerospace force is intended to bring stability to the operations tempo, to provide commanders with rapidly responsive forces, and forces tailored for specific needs during peacetime contingencies. By operating on a known AEF schedule, ongoing deployments become more predictable for Air Force people and their families. Lloyd noted the previous operations tempo of his job here, before AEF implementation, caused strains in his family life. During his first year with the "Nomads," he spent about nine months deployed. "The first year I got here, in 1996, I only spent three months at home," he said. "I enjoy going TDY, but while I was away, my wife had to take care of the house, my son and she had her own full-time job." Lloyd said he and his wife filed for a divorce in December 1999. Although he doesn't blame the military for this, he feels being away supporting contingencies had a lot to do with it. The AEF schedule brings welcome predictability to family members in the home as well as to the work place. Kat Scott, wife of Capt. Terry Scott, 58th FS pilot, noted her husband once received an hour's notice on New Year's Eve to report to the squadron with his bags packed. She said she understands it's going to happen sometimes; "it's part of their job," she said. "The AEF concept is a great thing," said Kat, "now the military lets us know ahead of time when our spouse will be deployed, which allows us to take care of family matters ahead of time. We can prepare mentally and physically -- it's a good improvement." Technical Sgt. John Davis, 33rd Maintenance Squadron production superintendent, who recently returned from the AEF 4 deployment, also feels the AEF schedule helps make it easier to plan for family activities throughout the year. "The AEF schedule makes it easier because you can plan for family things," Davis said. "Knowing ahead of time when I'm going to deploy, is easier for my wife and son mentally. I have time to sit down with my son and explain to him when I am going away and when I'm coming back." Captain Murray "Ord" Nance, 58th FS pilot, said he couldn't agree more. "It doesn't matter if I miss a holiday every once in awhile supporting a deployment," he said. "It matters when they say you only have two weeks to prepare for one. It's not a big hassle for me or my family anymore because we have time to plan for and around my deployments." For most "Nomads," the EAF concept is a welcome change. Nance said the AEF schedule gives people time to satisfy their mission training requirements and prepare the necessary equipment to support a contingency. The pilot was among wing members deployed to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, supporting Operation Northern Watch. "I went to ONW in September 1999, and I knew I was going six months prior to the deployment," he said. "I was happy I knew about it ahead of time and that the time we were to deploy didn't change. It allowed us time to get the people and the jets ready to deploy." The 33rd FW "Nomads" aren't scheduled for another deployment until the 58th FS leaves later this year as part of AEF 2. 000594. Tomorrow's AF faces many challenges by Staff Sgt. A.J. Bosker Air Force Print News WASHINGTON -- Tomorrow's aerospace force will deal with many operational complexities including those dictated by delicate political coalitions, said Gen. John Jumper, commander of Air Combat Command, during an April 13 Aerospace Power seminar held here. "We may find ourselves again fighting as part of a coalition that looks at the same crisis in many different ways," he said. "Our willingness to engage (and successfully accomplish the mission) depends largely on our ability to adapt to these complexities." With more than 70 media, congressional representatives and aerospace industry leaders in attendance, the general outlined a few of the essentials needed for continued success in the future. The Air Force must address the problems of all-weather target identification and how to rapidly respond to them once they are identified, he said. "This becomes a challenge to the technology of information. We need to attack (the problems associated with) finding, tracking, targeting, and engaging these targets that emerge. Future conflicts also will require diligence to minimizing collateral damage, Jumper said. "We must adapt to the complex situations that arise when we deal with bad guys who put soldiers in school buses and make civilians drive in military vehicles." The one common factor to address these concerns is technology, he pointed out. "Technology is advancing so fast every 18 to 24 months that we need to reinvent ourselves to be more responsive to this turnaround. We need to be able to update our command and control systems with the latest advancements the same way people upgrade (their personal computers and software programs). "We are also pursuing a 'battle space Internet' concept, he said. "By the 'horizontal integration' of all of our systems, we can provide the operational commander the ability to reach forward and backward from the field and have constant access to decision-quality data - high-quality information presented to allow for rapid and informed decision-making." The advantages of decision-quality data are best illustrated by contrasting the cockpits of our aircraft today with those of yesterday, he said. "In the old days, pilots were busy trying to correlate so much information from so many instruments just to survive ... that the priority of getting to the target, in the hierarchy of survival needs, was pretty low. The F-22 turns that around. It greatly reduces cockpit overload and presents the pilot with clear and concise data about the mission, aircraft profile, and threat environment, all on a single display." Information warfare is also something the Air Force must pay attention to not only at the strategic level but also at the operational and tactical levels, the general said. "Instead of building large (aircraft) pods that bash electrons, we will be working on microchips that manipulate electrons and render enemy systems useless. "To be successful as a 21st century aerospace force, we need to pursue these light, lean and lethal alternatives to many of the things we do today but most importantly, we need to ensure that we take care of our great people. "Our people are the ones who wear the uniform and put themselves in harm's way because we ask them," Jumper said. "Without them and their courage, honor and commitment to their nation, we cannot hope to accomplish the mission." 000597. One-plus-one equals privacy for dormitory residents by Staff Sgt. Cynthia Miller Air Force Print News WASHINGTON -- Five years into the one-plus-one dormitory project, the Air Force is giving junior enlisted members something most active-duty family members living on base have had for a long time -- privacy. Privacy has been a top priority in military construction budgets since 1996 according to Air Force officials. A 1995 quality of life survey revealed single airmen living in dormitories had a lower standard of living than the children of many active duty members living in base housing, so the Defense Department presented the case for privacy to Congress, said Kathryn Halvorson, an Air Force housing management specialist. "We required our airmen, who are highly trained professionals, to share a room, while DOD policy gives family members privacy," she said. Defense Department policy recommends private rooms for family members based on availability and sex. To help alleviate the imbalance, Congress approved a one-plus-one dormitory standard in 1995 giving residents 118 square feet of private living area with a shared bathroom and kitchenette. "The one-plus-one dormitory gives these better educated and better motivated young troops their much-deserved privacy," said Master Sgt. Timothy J. Cathers, a first sergeant at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. "The children of married airmen used to have better living arrangements then our young, single airmen. That did not seem fair to many troops." In four years, the Air Force has built 9,600 new one-plus-one rooms. The service is committed to spending $80 to $90 million per year toward the construction and renovation of dormitories according to Maj. Ken Smith, Air Force chief of unaccompanied housing programs. This amount will keep the Air Force on course for providing private permanent-party rooms to all unaccompanied E-1s through E-4s by 2009. The overall dormitory improvement program is expected to cost another $1 billion through 2009. "This is a high priority program and probably the largest single item in military construction spending (for fiscal 2000 and 2001)," said Secretary of the Air Force F. Whitten Peters. With construction still ongoing, not all dorm residents currently live in one-plus-one rooms and the reaction from those who do varies. Airman 1st Class Yoselin Polanco, an operations controller at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., lives in a new one-plus-one dormitory. "Scott is my first duty station, though I've visited several installations, and the dorms here are by far the best I've seen," said the airman, who's been in the service 18 months. The room Polanco lives in is finished in neutral tones and furnished with a light oak bed, wall unit, nightstand and desk. It has a walk in closet and wall-to-wall carpeting. The kitchen is equipped with a sink, stove, refrigerator and cabinets. And while the bathroom doesn't have a full tub, many one-plus-one dorm rooms do. "It is modern, comfortable, and provides me with space and privacy to study, relax and sleep," she said. >From a supervisor's perspective "these dorms are like night and day compared to the dorms I lived in as an airman," said Master Sgt. Kevin Beatson, a former dormitory manager at McConnell AFB, Kan. "We had to share 110 square feet of room with another airman, and had gang latrines at the end of the hallways." Cathers likes one-plus-one partly because "if I have to go into a dorm room, I know who's responsible for the cleanliness and upkeep of that room." "I love the kitchenette and the privacy of having my own room," said Airman Jacqueta Turner, 22nd Services Squadron, McConnell. "They're a little small, but comfortable for one person." In addition to the number of positive responses to one-plus-one dorms, there is also some criticism. "There are some issues under one-plus-one out there," said Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Jim Finch. "They tend to be on the size of the sleeping quarters because we've now created two different styles of dormitories in the Air Force." Before one-plus-one, the Air Force built to the two-plus-two standard, which provided a 180-square-foot room for two people, and a bathroom shared between two rooms. "As we move to single occupancy, we'll have some people who will have a 180-square-foot room all to themselves, and then others will have a kitchen with a much smaller sleeping area," the chief said. "That becomes an issue to deal with." Some airmen express a desire for a private bath, but by and large most criticism centers around space and the absence of basic allowance for subsistence. "I think the kitchenette is nearly useless because they don't pay us any food money," said Airman 1st Class Janson C. Anderson, a structural maintenance specialist at Aviano Air Base, Italy. "They make us eat in the dining hall." However, according to Air Force leadership the kitchenettes were never meant to replace dining facilities. The kitchenettes were included in the one-plus-one design to give residents more flexibility and to improve their quality of life Smith said. "I don't think anybody ever intended them to be full kitchens," Peters said. "Cooking takes a lot of time, and I don't think there are enough people out there who seriously want to cook every meal for themselves every day." According to Finch, all dormitory residents receive partial BAS, which allows them to cook some meals in their dorm rooms. However, not every airman living in the dormitory has a kitchen, and it will be many years before they do. "We built dormitories in 1995 that were built to the two-plus-two standard," the chief said. "Those dorms will be around an awful long time." While the issues airmen have regarding one-plus-one dorms concern Air Force leadership, the complaints aren't totally unexpected. "We have a group of people who never had to live in the old dorms. The feeling of joy people felt from moving from the old dorm to the new one is yesterday's news," Peters said. "Unfortunately, this is a multi-service standard, but I think this is something that is going to have to be taken up again as part of a continual readjustment of benefits." In fact, this spring, a review panel attended by representatives from each major command and civil engineering will meet to discuss future Air Force policy on one-plus-one construction. "It's been five years since we instituted the construction standard," Finch said. "It's certainly a good time to take a look at the design standards and ask if the one-plus-one dorms are doing what we intended." Privacy and future dorm construction could remain key issues as Air Force demographics change for first-term airmen. "If we start enlisting a large number of people who have lived on their own through a couple of years of college, it'll be hard to get those people to move into a community environment again," Peters said. Although the housing needs of the future are yet to be determined, the secretary said the Air Force remains committed to improving the quality of life of its junior enlisted members now. "You hear a lot about family housing and privatization efforts, but the Air Force hasn't forgotten about its single airmen," he said. "The dorm program is where the first money is spent every year. We are trying to give them a nice place to live that meets their personal needs." 000598. Air Force commits $1B for dorm construction, renovation by Staff Sgt. Cynthia Miller Air Force Print News WASHINGTON -- The Air Force has committed nearly $1 billion to keep construction of permanent party one-plus-one dormitories on schedule for completion by 2009. Since 1996, the Air Force has spent $593 million for dormitory renovation and building projects, and has reached its goal of removing all permanent-party central latrine dorms. Military construction of one-plus-one dormitories was sparked when a 1995 quality of life survey revealed privacy was the top concern of single enlisted members living in dormitories. In response, the Department of Defense enacted a one-plus-one standard giving dorm residents a private sleeping area with a shared kitchenette and bathroom. The Air Force adopted a private assignment policy in 1996 guaranteeing all dormitory residents a private room by 2002. However, the policy has created a shortage of 13,600 rooms. With the removal of the central latrine dorms, the Air Force has entered the second phase of its investment strategy, which is to eliminate the current shortage of rooms. The final phase will replace or convert two-plus-two dorms to the new standard as their condition warrants. The Air Force has 55,400 permanent-party rooms, 4,000 of which are in substandard condition and must be replaced, said Maj. Ken Smith, Air Force chief of unaccompanied housing programs. Since 1996, all new dormitory construction projects have been built to the one-plus-one standard; however, some funding has gone toward the renovation of two-plus-two dorms. Following is a general summary of past and current dormitory construction and renovation projects by major command. Direct Reporting Unit 11th Wing, Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C. - converted central latrine dorms into 376 one-plus-one rooms and built 78 additional rooms Air Combat Command Barksdale AFB, La. - construction of one 96-room one-plus-one dorm scheduled for fiscal 2001 Cannon AFB, N.M. - converted one central latrine dorm into 66 one-plus-one rooms Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. - 84 one-plus-one rooms Dyess AFB, Texas - 193 one-plus-one rooms Langley AFB, Va. - begins construction of one 96-room one-plus-one dorm this year Mountain Home AFB, Idaho - converted central latrine dorms into 142 one-plus-one rooms and will complete construction of one 140-room one-plus-one dorm in October Nellis AFB, Nev. - converted all central latrine dorms into 224 one-plus-one rooms Offutt AFB, Neb. - will begin building one 120-room one-plus-one dorm this year Shaw AFB, S.C. - two one-plus-one dorms and renovating a third dorm for a total of 196 rooms Air Education and Training Command Goodfellow AFB, Texas - converted four central latrine dorms to one-plus-one Lackland AFB, Texas - 96-room one-plus-one dorm; construction scheduled for a second dorm this year Luke AFB, Ariz. - converted central latrine dorms into 112 one-plus-one rooms, and built two one-plus-one dorms for 108 additional rooms Tyndall AFB, Fla. - renovated an 83-room dorm to the one-plus-one standard, and currently renovating a 60-room dorm Air Force Materiel Command Edwards AFB, Calif. - renovated eight dorms containing 136 total rooms to the one-plus-one standard Eglin AFB, Fla. - upgraded 211 rooms to one-plus-one standard, converted central latrine dorms into 140 rooms, and will build 120 rooms next year Hill AFB, Utah - 74 one-plus-one rooms Robins AFB, Ga. - upgraded four dormitories with 284 rooms to the one-plus-one standard Tinker AFB, Okla. - renovated 114 rooms to the one-plus-one standard, built a 144-room one-plus-one dorm in 1999, building a 96-room dorm this year, and scheduled to build a new dorm each year for the next three years, providing 384 more one-plus-one rooms Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio - renovated five dorms containing 364 rooms to the one-plus-one standard Air Force Special Operations Command Hurlburt Field, Fla. - converted central latrine dorms into 120 one-plus-one rooms and will build 144 more Air Force Space Command Buckley Air National Guard Base, Colo. - opened a 236-room one-plus-one dorm last fall Clear Air Station, Alaska - converted three central latrine dorms into 285 one-plus-one rooms F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo. - converted three central latrine dorms into 200 one-plus-one rooms Malmstrom AFB, Mont. - renovated 192 rooms and will build 144 additional one-plus-one rooms Peterson AFB, Colo. - built 144 rooms and renovated 68 more to the one-plus -one standard Vandenberg AFB, Calif. - renovated 120 rooms Air Mobility Command Andrews AFB, Md. - 108 one-plus-one rooms with 168 more under construction Charleston AFB, S.C. - 224 one-plus-one rooms Dover AFB, Del. - 726 two-plus-two rooms Fairchild AFB, Wash. - 232 one-plus-one rooms Grand Forks AFB, N.D. - 180 one-plus-one rooms MacDill AFB, Fla. - 68 one-plus-one rooms scheduled for completion in August McChord AFB, Wash. - converted central latrine dorms into 164 one-plus-one rooms McConnell AFB, Kan. - 228 one-plus-one rooms McGuire AFB, N.J. - converted central latrine dorms into 122 one-plus-one rooms and built 108 additional rooms Pope AFB, N.C. - replaced two central latrine dorms with 132 one-plus-one rooms Scott AFB, Ill. - 132 one-plus-one rooms Travis AFB, Calif. - replaced central latrine dorms with 240 one-plus-one rooms and built 192 more Pacific Air Forces Eielson AFB, Alaska - renovated dorm to 60 one-plus-one rooms Elmendorf AFB, Alaska - building 144 one-plus-one rooms this year with another 144 scheduled next year Hickam AFB, Hawaii - converted central latrine dorm into 34 one-plus-one rooms, renovated 496 two-plus-two rooms and built kitchenettes Kadena Air Base, Japan - two 388-room one-plus-one dorms Kunsan AB, Korea - renovated 200 two-plus-two rooms, another 244 one-plus-one rooms scheduled to be completed by 2001. Host nation is building two additional 120-room dorms scheduled for completion this year Osan AB, Korea - 156 one-plus-one rooms, 156 more rooms are under construction, and another 156 will be built next year Yokota AB, Japan - renovated three dorms for a total of 446 rooms U. S. Air Forces in Europe Royal Air Force Croughton, England - two 54-room dorms renovated to the one-plus-one standard RAF Lakenheath, England - converted central latrine dorms into 464 one-plus-one rooms and built one 72-room one-plus-one dorm RAF Mildenhall, England - converted central latrine dorms into 268 one-plus-one rooms Ramstein AB, Germany - one 94-room one-plus-one dorm Spangdahlem AB, Germany - converted central latrine dorms into 392 one-plus-one rooms Araxos, Greece - two 36-room one-plus-one dorms Aviano AB, Italy - 408 one-plus-one rooms Ghedi, Italy - two 20-room one-plus-one dorms **COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. 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