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0251. Long-term care insurance available soon by Tech. Sgt. Eddie C. Riley Air Force Print News WASHINGTON -- Federal workers concerned with the rising cost of long-term care required because of an illness, accident or the normal aging process will be eligible to apply for added protection as early as March. Those eligible for the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program include Air Force active duty, selected Reserve, civilian employees, and retirees, as well as qualified family members. Officials from the office of personnel management at the Pentagon contracted with two major companies to provide coverage for the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program. Metropolitan Life and John Hancock Life insurance companies formed Long Term Care Partners, which will be the exclusive operators of the FLTCIP. Benefits will include reimbursement up to the limits in each policy for the expenses of home care, home health care, assisted living facilities, and adult day care resulting from chronic mental or physical conditions. Early enrollment is available March 25 to May 15, but the actual open season starts July 1 and continues through Dec. 31. Those people who apply during the early enrollment will pay premiums based on their age when the application is received. If they apply during the open season, they will pay premiums based on their age on July 1, 2002. Since premiums will be based on age, officials said it may be beneficial for some people to enroll during the early enrollment to lock in lower premiums; however, more choices and payroll deduction will not be available until open season. "Early enrollment may not be valuable to everyone," said Maj. Jeff Keef, an Air Force personnel official at the Pentagon. "Unless you are informed on the benefits and circumstances of long-term care and coverage, you should probably wait for the educational campaign that will start this spring and make a decision during the open season. After weighing your options, you may decide not to apply for the coverage at all." "You should also be aware that this is one benefit you can share with your parents," he said. "If you suspect that they are in the market for long-term care insurance, you may want to advise them of this new program. Because this will be a large group plan, this could result in significant savings over other plans for many participants." Parents, parents-in-law, and stepparents of employees and members of the uniformed services (but not of retirees) are eligible to apply. "As members of the Air Force, we take pride in maintaining our fitness and health, but there is always the potential for accidents or developing a degenerative medical condition," he said. "About half of us will need long-term care at some point in our lives that Medicare won't provide. And, over 40 percent of people who are receiving long term care are under age 65. For this reason, we suggest that individuals take the time to educate themselves on the insurance program." Interested individuals can sign up online to receive information (early in 2002) about the plan, as well as to subscribe to a complimentary health and financial bulletin at http://www.ltcfeds.com/. More information on the insurance program is available at http://opm.gov/insure/ltc/ and (800) 582-3337. 0257. CSAF survey reports protect your identity RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- Time is running out for those who haven't taken this year's Air Force Chief of Staff survey -- the deadline is March 8. The anonymous survey, which began Jan. 22, is designed to give unit-level leadership feedback about recognition, leadership, supervision, training, job satisfaction and other aspects within their organization. While more than 37 percent of Air Force people have taken the survey, others have expressed their opinion on anonymity. To remove any concerns people may have, the survey team has used the most advanced information-masking software available to protect people's anonymity. "We want to spread the word that people can provide honest feedback to their leadership, which is why multiple levels of identity protection are built into the squadron level reports," said Lori Marcum, survey development team lead at the Air Force Manpower and Innovation Agency here. For example, unit-level (squadron-equivalent) reports must have a minimum of 20 respondents before the comments or officer, enlisted, and civilian demographics are displayed. For additional identity protection, there must be at least seven respondents in a category for officer, enlisted, or civilian for those particular demographic results to be shown. The only demographic included in a unit-level report is officer, enlisted, and civilian, officials said. In fact, demographics such as Air Force Specialty Code, rank/grade, time on station, etc., will only be used in reports for CSAF and major command commanders -- not unit-level or squadron-level commanders. For smaller units, a minimum of 10 respondents are required before a basic report can be created. Comments and demographics are not provided with a basic report. All data (including written comments) are automatically rolled up to the next level in the chain of command. Safeguards are also placed in the comment report, since they are not broken down by any demographics. The comment report only shows the section (job satisfaction, teamwork, etc.) and type of comment (strength, improvement, and other). Survey officials suggest that if comments are made, the person should not reveal any incriminating details (i.e., their name). Also, once the person enters into the demographic section, they will not be able to make changes to their comments. Sensitive issues such as sexual harassment and racial discrimination need to go through official channels such as one's supervisor or commander. Since the Air Force tracks these matters, an anonymous survey is not the proper avenue for these issues because additional inquiry or investigation is required. Additional anonymity is assured through the deletion of the survey ID and password from the database after a respondent completes the survey. The Web-based survey takes an average of 30 minutes and has about 100 questions covering three major areas: organization climate, competitive sourcing, and major command-specific questions. People can take the survey from a government computer (dot-mil or dot-gov) at http://csafsurvey.af.mil/ and at a nongovernment computer (dot-com) at http://www.csafsurvey.com/ at any time during the survey period. However, if people start the survey on a dot-com Web site they must finish on a dot-com Web site, officials said. The system may ask the person for their Social Security number and date of birth to ensure they are a valid Air Force member. This information is required to protect the integrity of the survey data from people surfing the Internet and innocently looking at the survey. The Social Security number is not used for tracking purposes, not saved in the system and is in no way attached to the survey responses, officials said. For more information go online to the AFMIA Web site at http://afmiasupport.randolph.af.mil/. 0256. Five club members enjoy trip to Pro Bowl by Tech. Sgt. Chris Haug Pacific Air Forces News Service HONOLULU (AFPN) -- Five Air Force club members and their guests enjoyed great seats at the Pro Bowl and spent a week in Hawaii courtesy of Air Force Clubs and sponsors of the Football Frenzy promotion. Besides airfare, accommodations and Pro Bowl tickets, the lucky 10 went on an evening dance cruise along the coast of Waikiki and participated in an authentic Hawaiian luau at Paradise Cove. Air Force Clubs, a division of Air Force Services Agency, and sponsors American Airlines, Miller Brewing Company and Doubletree Hotels provided the fun. The Football Frenzy promotion, in its seventh year, is held to enhance and encourage club membership. Members simply fill out entry forms while attending Football Frenzy parties at any Air Force club. Earlier in the season, contest officials awarded nine winners a trip to the Dallas vs. New York Giants game in Dallas. Another five winners went to New Orleans for the Super Bowl. Staff Sgt. Daniel Louviere and his wife, Kimberly, traveled the farthest from Sembach Air Base, Germany. Daniel said he attended every Frenzy party his club held and entered every time. Kimberly said she got the call informing them that Daniel had won. The caller, Charissa Jarrett-Izzi from Air Force Clubs, said to Kimberly, "'I will need Daniel to call me back and officially accept the prize.'" Kimberly said, "He accepts! No further confirmation needed." "This is a very special deal the clubs have offered," Kimberly said. "At an overseas base, Air Force clubs are very important to people. Deals like this one just make being a member that much more important." Fellow vacation winners, retired Staff Sgt. Robert Bullard from Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., and Tech. Sgt. Gigi Manning from Charleston AFB, S.C., also were regular Frenzy attendees. Retired Army Lt. Col. Louis Rothwell, a club member at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., almost did not hear that they he had won. "I left my home in Cheyenne in January to go to Tucson, Ariz., for the winter and inadvertently left my answering machine on," Rothwell said. "So, I called my son and ask him to go by the house and turn it off. A couple of days later my son called me and said, 'it's a good thing you left that machine on. You won a trip to the Pro Bowl!' "I really enjoyed this trip," Rothwell said. "The hospitality has been great!" The couple that traveled the least -- Retired Petty Officer Juan Ferrer and his wife, Fernanda -- merely drove from their home in Waipahu, Hawaii, to the hotel. Juan is a Hickam AFB club member. "We were excited to win, but would have liked to travel back to the mainland," Fernanda said. "The week has been great, though. We enjoyed the stay in the hotel, and all the events and gifts provided." (Courtesy of Pacific Air Forces News Service) 4011. Commentary: Remembering, then understanding by Brig. Gen. Duane Deal Air Force Recruiting Service commander RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- Folks of every generation can usually recall when and where they first heard of key national events occurring during their lives. For my generation, such times include where we were when we heard of President Kennedy's assassination, shuttle Challenger explosion and Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination. During February, when we observe Black History Month, I'm especially reminded of that night. For many years I heard stories of Dr. King having been born in Montgomery, Ala., (while my dad was at Maxwell Air Force Base), and his grass roots efforts that were originating there. However, it took a few years to understand and appreciate what our nation lost in Memphis, Tenn., that night in 1968. We lost a grandson of sharecroppers, and the son of a minister who had himself become a minister. We lost a brilliant young mind who had skipped 9th and 12th grades, and entered college at age 15. We lost a God-gifted orator of a class the world has rarely heard, the 1963 Time magazine "Man of the Year," the youngest man to have won the Nobel Peace Prize, and more. However, while we lost those things, the sniper's shots did not cause us to lose his vision and principles. His principles for achieving social change stirred our nation's conscience and helped realign our priorities and legislation. And the principles of nonviolent resistance, which he so strongly promoted, have gone forward to break down walls, across our nation and around the globe. His vision was perhaps best expressed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in his unforgettable "I Have A Dream" speech. In it, he caused us to reflect on the content of our U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Emancipation Proclamation -- that all are guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. While he gave us a blunt "reality check" how we had failed as a nation to honor this sacred obligation, he wasn't someone who came to the table with complaints but without solutions. He had proposals, he had a path of actions to follow and he had a dream: "I have a dream that my children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." This month, as we commemorate African-American History Month, let us also celebrate the birth, life, vision and principles -- the dream -- of Dr. King. While it's natural we remember the events such as his assassination, it's far better when we seek to understand, and appreciate, the significance of what it meant not just at the time, but in the years that followed. He may have lived for 39 short years in the mid-1900s, but he certainly ranks as one of our nation's founding fathers. *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. 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