andrews_051713

AN INDEPENDENT PUBLICATION OF COMPRINTMILITARY PUBLICATIONS AT JOINT BASE ANDREWS,MD.DCMILITARY.COM FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2013 | VOL. 2 NO. 19

JBA honorsNational PoliceWeek

5Police boost carseat inspectionsto harness childsafety

3 Biggest LoserChallengepays off

8

BY SENIOR AIRMANLINDSEY A. PORTER

11TH WING PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Whether you’re trudgingthrough another grinding workcommute, stationed abroad awayfrom family, or in need of a littledaily reprieve, listening to musiccan often invoke feelings of com-fort and raise morale - no matterwhere you’re located.Recently, U.S. Air Forces Cen-

tral Command tapped into thismusical oasis with “Vector,” aneight-person, deployed band sta-tioned out of Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C. Vectorholds the title of the Air Force’smost recent deployed musical unit,following the tradition of deployedbands dating back as far as WorldWar II, when the Airmen of Noteperformed with Glen Miller.

Air Force Bands are notifiedthey’ve been tasked to fulfill theAFCENT Band requirement bythe Pentagon, Secretary of theAir Force Public Affairs. Then,that unit’s band commander pro-vides members of its band to bodythe next AFCENT Band. Fromthere, members band togetherand become AFCENT and the AirForce’s current deployed band.Vector is currently traveling

the Area of Responsibility andplaying their part in the AFCENTBand mission by bringing a tasteof home to each undisclosed loca-tion they visit.“We perform songs that are

on the playlists of many servicemembers - top hits in genres frompop to funk,” said 1st Lt. DustinDoyle, AFCENT Band officer incharge. “AFCENT Bands likeVector engage audiences and of-

fer them a time to get away fromthe stressors of any given day.Our upbeat and energetic perfor-mances bring a taste of home tothe deployed warfighter.”Along with raising and main-

taining the morale of America’sdeployed, Vector also fulfills AF-CENT’s multinational partner-ship mission. Using music asits medium, Vector performs asa means to silence many exist-ing stereotypes about the UnitedStates and its uniformed military.“By playing modern, popu-

lar music for local audiences,AFCENT Bands bring a betterunderstanding of the U.S. AirForce and America to countriesthroughout Southwest Asia andthe Middle East,” said Lt. Col.Sean McKenna, AFCENT director

Coming soon to an undisclosed location near you

U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO/SENIOR MASTER SGT. GEORGE THOMPSON

Tech. Sgt. Paige Martin, vocalist for the U.S. Air Forces Central Com-mand Band “Vector,” is aided by students during their performance ata host nation school in Southwest Asia March 28. The AFCENT Bandtours throughout the AOR to promote troop morale, diplomacy andoutreach to host nation communities.see VECTOR, page 4

BY TECH SGT.LISA TOMLINSON

11TH WING CHAPLAIN’S ASSISTANT

An Air Force District ofWashington-wide, Joint BaseAndrews Chapel-sponsored,“Grow in Love” marriage resil-iency experience is scheduledfor May 29 - June 1, 2013 atJoint Base Anacostia-Bolling,D.C. The workshop is designedto revive struggling marriages,prepare dream-filled, engagedcouples and help refresh maturemarriages.This experience will begin

Friday night and continue Sat-urday morning at the JBABChapel Center, concluding witha fancy date night that evening.

All meals will be supplied andprofessional resources will beprovided to participants at nocost. Child care will be providedfree of cost at the JBAB ChildDevelopment Center.Major (Chaplain) Jack Stan-

ley, from the Andrews chapel,modeled this workshop on theChaplain’s Religious Enrich-ment Development Operationprogram used by the NavyChaplain Corps. His adaptationwas authorized by the UnitedMethodist Church, which origi-nally created and published thematerial.For more information or to

make reservations, call the An-drews Chapel at 301-981-2111.

NCR families invitedto ‘Grow in Love’

BY CHRIS BASHAMSTAFF WRITER

When Natalie Hollowaydisappeared from a 2005high school graduation tripto Aruba, the world lookedfor the blonde, blue-eyed girl.The three young woman whorecently escaped from a non-descript house in Cleveland,Ohio were remembered intheir community and soughtfor a decade, before AmandaBarry finally was able to es-cape, knowing that her namealone was enough to tell 911operators. But what aboutDashad “Sage” Smith, an Af-rican American, transgen-dered woman missing fromCharlottesville, Va. since lastyear? Have you heard of her?Do you know what she lookslike? If you saw her, would yourealize who she was? Peopleof color, when they are miss-ing or victims of other crime,don’t always get the same at-tention from law enforcement,the media or a sympatheticpublic that white victims mayreceive.“I don’t think the disparity in

coverage is overt or intentional,but people are talking,” saidDerrica Wilson, co-founder ofthe Landover Hills-based Blackand Missing Foundation Inc., a

501(3)c nonprofit dedicated tohelping families of color get thesame assistance from law en-forcement and the media thatwhite families receive when afamily member goes missing.Minority crime victims are

often ignored out of a percep-tion that crime is the norm inminority-populated neighbor-hoods: that people of color aremore likely to engage in riskybehaviors, be involved withgangs, run away or otherwisefall off the radar of the com-munity. Members of the mediasometimes downplay crimescommitted in minority neigh-borhoods, out of a desire to notseem racist. And overwhelmedpolice departments can have ahard time putting together allthe clues of a case fast enoughto save an endangered life.Wilson’s career in law en-

forcement spans more than adecade; she is still the only Afri-can American, female officer tohave served on the Falls Churchpolice force, before becomingan investigator with anothergovernment agency in the re-gion. Her sister-in-law NatalieWilson, whose background is inpublic relations and outreach,joined forces with her in 2008 tofound BAMFI. The two see their

Black and MissingFoundation hosts5K to honormissing minorities

seeMISSING, page 6

Approximately 60 mem-bers from the 459th AirRefueling Wing aredeploying in supportof Operation EnduringFreedom.The unit willdeploy to the 379th AirExpeditionary Wing to anundisclosed location inSouthwest Asia, wherethey will provide aerialrefueling.

459TH AEW PREPARES TO DEPLOY

459th Air Refueling Wing maintainers prepare to change a tire on asquadron KC-135 aircraft.

PHOTOS/BOBBY JONES

Members from the 459th ARW file out of the headquarters building May 10.

2 Friday, May 17, 2013Andrews Gazette

HOTTICKETSAround Town

Andrews Gazette is published by Comprint Military Publications,9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, Md., a private firm in no wayconnected with the U.S. Air Force or any branch of the UnitedStates military. The appearance of advertising in these publications,including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement

by the Department of Defense, the Department of the Air Force or the prod-ucts and services 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, martial status, physical handicap, political affiliation or any other nonmerit factor of the purchases, user or patron.

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COURTESY OF THE RETIREEACTIVITIES OFFICE

Call in for dentalcare May 29Military retirees and eligible de-

pendents in the National CapitalArea are again invited to partici-pate in a dental screening programthat could lead to potential treat-ment for selected members. For the19th straight year, the 79th MedicalWing’s Advanced Education in Gen-eral Dentistry program at Joint BaseAndrews and Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling is offering dental examina-tions. Interested persons should callthe Bolling Retiree Activities Officeat 202-767-5244 from 10 a.m. to noonWednesday, May 29. Calls at any oth-er time to the RAO or dental clinicswill not be honored. Dental techni-cians will review the caller’s dentalhistory, looking for conditions thatmeet the needs for resident training.Selected retirees and dependentswill be scheduled for examinationsWednesday, June 5, at the Andrewsdental clinic andWednesday, June 26at the Bolling clinic. Col. Jeffrey Den-ton, director of residency training,said they plan to offer examinationsto as many as 96 people – 48 at eachlocation. “Results of the exams willbe reviewed by the dental staff,” he

added. “Those with conditions deter-mined to meet the educational needsof our residents will be consideredfor appointments, probably startingin October and running through nextsummer.”

Unemployed vets get paidtrainingUnemployed veterans ages 35 to

60 can apply for up to 12 monthsof paid training through a programsponsored by the Departments ofLabor and Veterans Affairs. Of about900,000 U.S. veterans who are un-employed, nearly two thirds are be-tween ages 35 and 60, according tothe Labor Department. The programprovides training assistance equalto the monthly full-time paymentrate under the Montgomery GI Bill-Active Duty program, which pays$1,473 per month. Participants mustbe enrolled in a community college ortechnical school program approvedfor VA benefits and leading to an as-sociate degree, non-college degree orcertificate. Occupations include jobsin construction, machine operation,transportation, preschool education,health care and many other fields.Labor officials said the departmentwill offer employment assistance tosuccessful participants. The programstrengthens transition assistance for

service members returning to civil-ian life and provides tax credits foremployers who hire unemployed ordisabled veterans. For more informa-tion, call VA at 1-800-827-1000.

Save the dateThe 11th Wing’s annual Retiree

Appreciation Day is scheduled forSaturday, October 26, at Joint BaseAnacostia-Bolling. The salute to allmilitary retirees and their familiesis hosted by Retiree Activities Offic-es at Joint Base Andrews and JBABand alternates between the twobases. A health fair, vehicle registra-tion and ID card renewals augmentballroom presentations and vendorofferings. A special buffet lunch isalso planned.

The Retiree Activities Office is open10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday throughFriday. Visit the office in Building1604 at California and Colorado Av-enues or call us at 301 981-2726. Oure-mail address is raoandrews.af.mil.Call the office before your visit to en-sure a volunteer is on duty. The RAOhas a website at www.andrews.af.mil,click on “Retirees” for a wealth of in-formation on retiree subjects, includ-ing past copies of “Retiree ActivitiesCorner.”

Retiree Corner

May 17U.S. Navy Cruisers7 p.m.10440 O’Donnell Place, St. Charles, Md.See the Navy’s Rock band live along the lake and shop

from a local farmers’ market. For information visit www.stcharlesmd.com.

May 18Maryland House and Garden Pilgrimage10 a.m. - 5 p.m.Sites throughout Charles CountySee eight historic properties and the Caleb W. Jones

Skipjack, and learn about War of 1812 history and the lifeof watermen on the Chesapeake Bay. For information ortickets visit www.mhgp.org.

May 20The Stoop Storytelling Series presents: Eureka!7 p.m. cocktails and live music from the Manly Deeds;

8 p.m. showCenterstage Theater, 700 N. Calvert Street, Baltimore,

Md.Hear seven stories about the thrills and consequences

of scientific, political and emotional discovery. For infor-mation visit www.stoopstorytelling.com.

Now through Sept. 1David Levinthal: War GamesWednesdays -Sundays starting at 10 a.m.Corcoran Gallery of Art, 500 17th Street N.W., Wash-

ington, D.C.See 40 years’ worth of photographs and action figure-

populated dioramas of simulated historic war zones to re-flect on the intersection of play and war. For informationvisit www.corcoran.org.

BY CHRIS BASHAMSTAFF WRITER

The other day I mentioned in pass-ing that I had seen something “in theparking lot at Blockbuster.” The manI was speaking with stopped me cold.“There’s a Blockbuster? They still ex-ist?”And, well, they do, sort of. That

same video store has posted “goingout of business” signs as of yesterday,and is apparently serving as a clear-inghouse for several other franchiseshoping to sell their stock, store fur-nishings and even the giant gumballmachine in the lobby. I’m not much ofa DVD person; for me, movies need a

giant screen and a tub of salty pop-corn, but I will miss that gumballmachine.That Blockbuster has been less

than two miles from home for thepast 18 years. I can’t really remem-ber, though, when was the last timeI wanted anything from it. The park-ing lot has been mostly empty for along while, and the staff seemed des-perately lonely for someone ---any-one! to come in and browse, chat alittle, and liven the place up. Yester-day, though, wrapped in Store Clos-ing banners, the place was hopping.My son and I went, because he

had a particular movie he knew he’dlike to own.We parked at the far end

of the lot, in one of the last availablespaces, and walked in to a Block-buster busier than it had been inthe previous 15 years: lines snakingthrough the candy aisle, staff fran-tically restocking shelves to replaceDVDs as customers found their fa-vorites. If things were like that everyday, the store would never close.My son and I talked about it. At

21, he can’t quite remember a timewhen people would drive to a videostore, hoping one of the new mov-ies would be in stock. Last year, hisyounger brother spent months tryingto get a job there, mainly because

CommentaryIt’s hard to see it coming

see COMMENTARY, page 8

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3Friday, May 17, 2013 Andrews Gazette

BY DANIEL J. GROSSPRINCE GEORGE’S GAZETTE

After hearing about a recent child carseat inspection event where 100 percentof the car seats inspected were either im-properly installed, recalled or deemed un-safe, Lisa Gottman, 44, of Bowie pulledinto a site on Crain Highway to have her11-month-old daughter’s car seat checkedout Wednesday when Prince George’s po-lice were holding their latest round of freeinspections.“When I found out that so many seats

were installed incorrectly I thought, ‘Thereare so many kids out there unsafe,’” shesaid, referencing the importance of keep-ing her own daughter, Rita, safe. “She is soprecious. I don’t want her to die from oneincorrectly installed car seat.”After her 30-minute inspection, her seat

was found correctly installed and in safecondition, but according to police, Gott-man’s case is an anomaly.Since beginning car seat inspections

in mid-2011, police said they find that atnearly every inspection event at least 90percent of the seats are deemed unsafe.Inspectors said the troubling statistics

stem from a variety of issues includingparents struggling with complicated in-stallation instructions and parents takinghand-me-down car seats that are outdatedor expired.“There’s such a wide variety of seats and

instructions may not be clear, and some-times parents just don’t read them. We gothrough a full inspection and we’re not go-ing to put it in for them the right way. We

teach them to do it to empower them,” saidinspector Tracy Whitman of Kids in SafetySeats, a statewide nonprofit that aims toreduce the number of child fatalities andinjuries in vehicle crashes through educa-tion and training.Two children have been killed in vehicle

crashes in Maryland as the result of un-safe car seats in 2013, said Joyce Beck, a

community outreach specialist for countypolice. Numbers for 2012 were not imme-diately available.“Just one is way too many,” said Beck. “A

lot of what this is doing is educating.”County police have worked with Kids in

Safety Seats to help provide free car seatchecks several times per month, said Cpl.David Redmond, a patrol officer who vol-

unteered to receive training on inspectingcar seats.Redmond said the department alter-

nates times they host the free events toaccommodate different schedules. At timesevents will be held from 4 to 7 p.m., 11 a.m.to 3 p.m. or noon to 4 p.m. on weekdays orSaturdays.Kids in Safety Seats has trained 28

county police during four-day certificationcourses.“As a patrol officer, I’ve observed a lot of

improperly installed seats and some chil-dren I’ve seen didn’t have car seats at all,”said Redmond. “As the word is getting out,we’re getting a lot more participation fromthe community.”He said they inspected about 20 vehicles

from their previous two inspections.During the events, outdated or recalled

car seats are replaced with new oneson site made possible through a PrinceGeorge’s County Federal Credit Union do-nation, Beck said.Redmond said as the summer season ar-

rives and more drivers will be on the roads,county police will try to hold at least threecar seat checks per month.Even though Gottman’s car seat was

deemed safe for her daughter, she said shewas going to ask every mother at her ba-by and toddler exercise group to get theirchild safety seats inspected as well.“I have to tell other moms,” said Gott-

man. “Hopefully people take advantage ofthis.”

This story originally appeared in theMay 9 edition of the Prince George’s Ga-zette.

Police boost car seat inspections to harness child safety

PHOTO/DANIEL J. GROSS

Lisa Gottman, 44, of Bowie, has her car seat inspected May 8 by Prince George’s Coun-ty Police and technicians fromMaryland Kids in Safety Seats, a statewide nonprofitdesigned to reduce injuries and deaths of children riding in vehicles through safety edu-cation.

BY NANCY CARR

Threats of rain didn’t dampen the en-thusiasm of Military Officers Associationof America staff, family and friends May11, at Jones Point Park in Alexandria,Va. for the MOAA Wounded Warrior 5KWalk/Run. The event was held to raisefunds to assist U.S. Army Reserve Spe-cialist Jay Briseno and his family.Briseno was seriously wounded while

serving in Iraq, suffering full paralysisand blindness. His injuries require hisfamily to provide full-time care. AzaleaCharities, Helping a Hero and the Qual-ity of Life Foundation joined forces tohelp provide a specialized home for Jayand his family, but funds are requiredto purchase and install the equipmentneeded to improve Jay’s quality of life.MOAA, headquartered in Alexandria,hosted the 5K Walk/Run to help raisethose funds.“A lot of people don’t know what they

can to do to help wounded warriors. Afterseveral staff members and I met Jay andhis family, we felt helping one family inour community was a great way to start,”Vice Adm. Norb Ryan, Jr., President ofMOAA said. “I want to thank the entireMOAA team who contributed money(more than $7,000), time and effort mak-ing the MOAA 5k walk/run such a hugesuccess. It was an amazing day and Icouldn’t be more proud of everyone whopitched in to make it happen.”

Among the runners were Jay Briseno’sfather, Joseph, a retired Army veteran;and his sister, Malerie.“Many thanks for your time, sup-

port and inspiring attitude yesterday atMOAA 5k Walk/Run Fundraising eventfor Jay’s future home,” Joseph Brisenowrote in an email to the staff. “Your ded-ication and sunny personality made allthe difference in my son’s life. Please ex-tend our gratitude for all the volunteers,participants and supporters.”Special thanks goes to MOAA staff

members Laura Stotz, Assistant Directorof MOAA’s Member Service Center andretired Marine Corps Col. Ana Smythe,Director of MOAA Member Service Cen-ter, for organizing the event.All funds raised will go to the Aza-

lea Charities Aid for Wounded Soldiersproject which provides comfort and reliefitems for Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen andMarines who are sick, injured or wound-ed from service in Iraq and Afghanistan.Azalea Charities has agreed that 100percent of the funds raised by MOAA inthis event will go directly to the Brisenofamily to outfit the home as required toprovide for Jay’s care. Azalea Charitiesis a 501(c)(3) public charity and 100 per-cent of donations are deductible for Fed-eral income tax purposes.Additional donations can be contrib-

uted via mail to:Attn: Laura Stotz, MSC201 N Washington St

MOAA’s 5K walk/run raises money for local wounded warrior

PHOTO/JIM PARTAIN

From left, Vice Adm. Norb Ryan, Jr., President of MOAA; Malerie Briseno; Joseph Bris-eno Sr.; Laura Stotz and retired U.S.M.C. Col. Ana Smythe share a moment at the MOAA5K walk/run.

1038423B 01039936B


of public affairs. “Through music, an AF-CENT Band employs a tailored, high-en-ergy performance to help strengthen rela-tionships and build partnerships through-out each region they visit.”Because of this two-fold mission, a ma-

jority of Vector’s performances take placeat unconventional venues.“AFCENT Bands have partnered with

U.S. Embassies in many of the places theytraveled, as well as performed concerts andworkshops at local schools and children’shospitals,” said Doyle.This year alone, AFCENT Bands includ-

ing Vector have performed at more than270 musical engagements, with 105 locatedout in respective communities. Along withjuggling this year’s constant performanceschedule, Vector is individually responsiblefor the movement of their more than 3,000pounds of stage equipment between eachlocation.

“Our pallet of gear contains our speak-ers and everyone’s individual boxes,” saidSenior Master Sgt. Matt Ascione, Vectorguitarist. “Every set has to be repeatedlybuilt and torn down, sent through scannersat airports, and carried by each member.” Vector has set stages in six countries

and been lauded by a total audience ofmore than 10,000 people.“AFCENT Bands are always received

warmly and openly off base,” said McK-enna. “Many fans line up for photos andautographs after the concerts. It’s hearten-ing to see the impact these Airmen have onpeople in the region, some of whom speaklittle or no English.”Ascione agrees. By bringing music to

these remote countries, Vector is not onlyfulfilling their AFCENT Band mission, butis also transcending countless culturalboundaries.“It’s amazing to see that, although many

student audiences don’t speak much Eng-lish, they are no different than studentsin the States,” said Ascione. “They laugh

and sing the words to the songs they know.They giggle at some of the guys in theband. Some swoon over our lead femalevocalist. It’s a real treat to see all of that.”Despite warm receptions, some may be

skeptical about the pertinent role Vector,AFCENT and their music play in the ac-tual day-to-day fight.“I was asked some time ago, ‘What does

a band bring to the fight?’” said Doyle.“Seeing it firsthand and being involvedwith the mission, it’s rewarding to saythat AFCENT Bands build partnerships,develop relationships on behalf of leader-ship and raise the morale of those we servealongside. Being able to get audiences tolaugh and smile together is a powerfulact. AFCENT Bands accomplish all of thisthrough music.”

U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO/SENIOR AIRMAN SCOTT SALDUKAS

Tech. Sgt. Paige Martin, Air Force Central Command Band “Vector” vocalist, performson The Boardwalk at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, April 16.

U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO/STAFF SGT. NICOLE MANZANARES

The U.S. Air Force Central CommandBand “Vector” performs during the U.S.embassies National Day event March 27.The AFCENT Band tours throughout theAOR to promote troop morale, diplomacyand outreach to host nation communities.

VECTOR, from page 1


The unveiling of new fire engines andladder trucks May 8 was bittersweet, asmoments later officials gathered to discussPrince George’s County’s $152 million defi-cit and how it could impact the fire/EMSdepartment.The department’s new equipment —

$5.8 million worth of new apparatus thatincludes fire engines with larger watertanks and ladder trucks with higher reach-es — was paid for over a three-year span,officials said. However, as the new itemsare being implemented, fire officials worrythat staffing levels will suffer.The county’s proposed $3.24 billion fis-

cal 2014 budget includes county employeecuts through early retirement programs,potential layoffs and furloughs. After theequipment unveiling, the County Counciland executive branch staff heard argu-ments for maintaining staffing levels fromFire Chief Marc Bashoor and will recon-vene at a later date to vote on a final bud-get.Bashoor said the department may “face

some challenges” depending on how manycounty employees take the optional buy-out, for which about 500 are eligible.He said, preliminarily, the county fire/

EMS department will have fewer person-nel due to the loss of a 35-member recruitclass cut in fiscal 2013 due to revenueshortfalls.According to budget documents, at the

start of fiscal 2014, the county anticipateshaving 58 sworn personnel vacancies inthe fire/EMS department through attrition

and other factors, but only having fundingto fill 31 of those vacancies.“We recognize things are tight. We’re

significantly lower than where we need tobe based on the staff paradigm we are attoday,” Bashoor said. “It hurts us from aresponse-time perspective.”Bashoor said funding more personnel

is increasingly important with the currentattrition rate of losing three members permonth and as the department prepares tobuild several new fire stations in the morerural portions of the county, noting that ittakes roughly 30 personnel to staff a sta-tion.“As you build budgets in the coming

years, you have to take that into account,otherwise we’re going to be building emptybuildings,” he said.County Council Chairwoman Andrea

Harrison (D-Dist. 5) of Springdale said thecouncil is still committed to funding pub-lic safety to the fullest extent possible andthat the budget is not yet finalized.“We are committed to public safety and

that will not change,” she said.Barry Stanton, the county’s deputy chief

administrative officer for public safety, saidthe recent apparatus funding has been asign of the county’s goal to improve pub-lic safety in Prince George’s. He said he is“very comfortable” with County ExecutiveRushern Baker’s budget proposal and saidofficials will have to see how things mate-rialize with early retirement options andfurloughs before determining exact fund-ing for the fire/EMS department.


Lingering staffing problems outshine new fire equipment

PHOTO/DANIEL J. GROSS

A new ladder truck for the College Park Fire/EMS Station 812 was one of several newdepartment apparatus unveiled during a news conference May 8.

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JBA BuzzWhat is a mother?

Master Sgt.JenniferBounds, 201stAirlift Squadronflight attendant

Tech. Sgt. Sher-rell Moorer,89th Airlift Wingunit deploymentmanager

Master Sgt.Maryann Val-dez, 11th Comp-troller Squad-ron financialmanagementIndividual Mo-bilization Aug-mentee

Airman 1stClass CalvinCooper, 89thCommunica-tions Squadronradio frequencytransmissionsapprentice

“A mother is a men-tor to their son ordaughter, and they’recaring and compas-sionate.”

“A mother is lovingand caring. She’salways there whenyou want her andwhen you don’t.”

“A mother cares forall children. I takecare of my daughterand all of her friends.A mother is someonewho has to protectthem and get themwhatever they need.”

“Someone who pro-vides unconditionallove, sacrifice, guid-ance, care, withoutany expectations inreturn.”

JUST PLAYIN’ AROUND

PHOTO/BOBBY JONES

Michael Harris II, of Ft. Washington, Md. enjoys a cool spring day practicing his hornwhile strolling down Brinkley Road May 9.

BY BOBBY JONESSTAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Joint Base Andrewspeace keepers performed aretreat ceremony May 13in front of the base VisitorControl Center to honorfallen law enforcement of-ficers and kick off the 51stannual National PoliceWeek, celebrated May 13-17.Guests in attendance

included Col. Greg N. Urt-so, 11th Wing/Joint BaseAndrews vice commander;Lt. Col. Eric Goepner, 11thSecurity Forces Group com-mander; Chief Master Sgt.William B. Sanders, 11thWing/Joint Base Andrewscommand chief and retiredCol. Steve Hutches, EagleChapter Security ForcesAssociation.Other National Police

Week events held on baseand in Washington, D.C.included a candlelight vig-il, the 11th Annual HonorGuard Competition, a golftournament, the FirearmRuck Challenge, ceremoniesat the National Peace Offi-cers Memorial, Jail-N-Bailand a Battle of the Badgessports event at JBA.Special guest speaker

Lt. Col. Mark Walsh, Com-mander U.S. Honor Guard,said, “I was honored to beasked to speak today. It’salways been a special timefor me when we honor ourfallen law enforcement of-ficers and build camara-derie with our local policedepartments that surroundour military installation,protecting our familieswhile we deploy and de-fend our national interestsabroad. At this retreat cer-

emony we are here to honorthe 120 fallen officers lostin the line of duty in 2012and the 41 officers lost inthe line of duty this year.”Walsh recounted the he-

roic acts of of police whorushed to the theater inAurora, Colorado and toSandy Hook ElementarySchool in Connecticut andthe recent, selfless heroicsof officers from the BostonPolice Department and themetro area who searchedfor, killed and captured theBoston Marathon bombers.“Today, more than ever

our enemies home andabroad have chosen...dis-enfranchised citizens andhomegrown, violent ex-tremists,” said Walsh. “Tocombat this trend we needto cultivate strong relation-ships with our law enforce-ment partners while they’re

on the front line protectingour society.”Walsh recalled an article

which he found meaningfulas he prepared to speak atthe retreat ceremony.“The article entitled

‘Sheep, Wolves and Sheep-dogs,’ by David Grossmanreminds me of the sacrificelaw enforcement officersmake daily to defend ournation. Grossman com-mented that most peopleare kind and decent citi-zens who are not capable ofhelping each other, exceptby accident or extreme sit-uations. He refers to themas sheep. But then thereare the law enforcement of-ficers, representing sheep-dogs, warning sheep aboutpotential dangers of wolvespreying on them,” he said.“Sheepdogs live to protectthe sheep and confront the

wolf. They have the capac-ity for violence but love fortheir fellow citizen. They’rewarriors, and walk the he-ro’s path.”Tech. Sgt. Chad Goff

then gave a briefing on Na-tional Police Week.“The ceremony served a

two-fold purpose. First, itallows each of us to pay re-spect to the flag that each ofus has taken an oath to sup-port, protect and defend,”said Goff. “It also allows usthe opportunity to pay trib-ute to our comrades whoserved and those who havepaid the ultimate sacrifice.”11th Security Force

Group leadership posted awreath during the ceremo-ny, followed by the playingof taps. Sergeant Goff thenread the names of fallenmilitary and local law en-forcement members.

A cadre of 11th SecurityForces Squadron membersperformed a flag foldingceremony and a 21-gun sa-

lute for the fallen officers.The retreat ceremony con-cluded with a bagpipe ren-dition of ‘Amazing Grace.’

JBA honors National Police Week

PHOTOS/BOBBY JONES

Members of the 11th Security Forces Squadron render asalute.

Guest speaker Lt. Col. Mark Walsh, Commander U.S.Honor Guard, addresses Joint Base Andrews law enforce-ment officers during the kickoff Retreat Ceremony heldMay 13 in observance of National Police Week.

A cadre of 11th Security Forces Squadron honor guard members performs a flag fold-ing ceremony.

01039942B

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work, done out of their homes after a fullday at their paying jobs, as a calling.“Tamika Huston was from my home-

town. It was painful to see her familystruggle to get media coverage,” said Der-rica Wilson, remembering the case of ayoung, African American woman whowent missing from Spartanburg, S.C.in 2005 and was later found murdered.Wilson’s frustration with the limited re-sources and assistance available to Hus-ton’s family and others like them led herto ask her sister-in-law to consider creat-ing a national organization dedicated tohelping families, law enforcement and themedia to work together to find missingpeople of color, and help them and theirfamilies recover once the missing personhas been found. The pair and a small butgrowing team of paid staff and volun-teers speak at community venues, pro-vide safety tips and promote awarenessof specific missing persons cases throughsocial media and an e-newsletter, andteach “stranger danger” classes to schoolgroups.“We are understanding our purpose

and being obedient to the assignment,”said Derrica Wilson. “When you’re doingwhat you’re supposed to do, the right peo-ple are in your life. When I mentioned theidea to Natalie she was very supportive.”The pair’s mission is threefold, Natalie

Wilson said: they work to raise awarenessof missing persons of color, to help fami-lies conduct searches and to teach peoplepersonal safety skills.From a law enforcement perspective,

explained Derrica Wilson, young peopleof color under 18 who disappear are of-ten classified as runaways, regardless ofa family’s conviction that their loved onewould never just leave on their own with-out a trace.

“There’s no Amber Alert, no coverage,”said Derrica Wilson. “I’m working ontraining. Law enforcement doesn’t havethe tools.”Part of that is because the information

tracking procedures required in a missingpersons case can be extensive and verytime consuming. Officers are required toenter information from their reports intothe National Crime Information Centerdatabase, an FBI site which corrals infor-mation on a wide range of crimes into oneplace. Though that centralized warehouseof information can hold the clues to helplaw enforcement agencies work together,“It’s a lot of paperwork,” said Derrica Wil-son.

Natalie Wilson said that diminishingdiversity in newsrooms, a decline in thenumber of minority reporters, and a de-termination by media outlets to reportonly “the news people want to see,” keepsminority missing persons cases out of thespotlight. Among the Latino community,many missing persons cases go unre-ported due to the language barrier andconcern by some that reporting a miss-ing person will call attention to victimsor family members who may have enteredthe country illegally.Families can take simple steps to help

law enforcement and the media make themost of a missing person search. BAM-FI recommends taking photos of familymembers, especially clear head shots, ev-ery three to six months, to have recentpictures available if they are needed. Ifa person goes missing, the family shouldcall the police immediately to file a re-port. BAMFI’s website includes a check-list families can use to ensure that theyhave provided local law enforcement withall the information they need, as well asa missing person flyer template. And ifthe case seems to be ignored by the of-ficer assigned to it, Derrica Wilson saidthat families have a right to request that

another detective be assigned to the case,although those requests can require a lotof follow-up and pressure from the family.“The community plays a part, too. Peo-

ple need to report what they know,” saidNatalie Wilson. “We’ve created an anony-mous tip line, if a potential witness has notrust of law enforcement. Nine times outof ten, there’s some type of trail. Someoneknows something. People need to comeforward, to give the family closure.”Sadly, in many cases “closure” is the

best families will achieve. Of the 120missing persons BAMFI has helped to lo-cate since 2008, 73 were found deceased.In some cases, BAMFI provides finan-cial assistance for families who have ex-hausted their savings in searching for aloved one and cannot afford to provide afuneral.The Wilsons are pushing for new legis-

lation to help witnesses and victims comeforward, including changes in sex traf-ficking laws that tend to punish prosti-tuted women more severely than pimps.“People who come forward need to

know they’re protected,” said DerricaWilson.Though modern social media can help

get information out to the public quickly,today’s fast-moving society also poseschallenges for those searching for miss-ing people, Derrica Wilson said.“(Amtrak’s high-speed rail route be-

tween Washington, D.C. and the North-east), the Acela sells electronic ticketswith no ID when you get on the train.Just because you’re missing from D.C.,doesn’t mean you’re still there, or thatyour identity hasn’t been altered. If aperson goes missing at 1 p.m., by the 4o’clock news they could be in New York,Boston --anywhere.”BAMFI is sponsoring the Hope Without

Boundaries 5K run/walk to honor miss-ing persons of color May 25 at NationalHarbor in Fort Washington, Md., featur-ing appearances by journalist JacqueReid, actresses S. Epatha Merkerson andAunjanue Ellis and radio personalityMichael Baisden. Race day registrationbegins at 7 a.m. For information on the5K, assistance and resources for find-ing a missing person, to join a supportgroup for families, offer anonymous tipson missing persons cases or to volunteer,visit www.bamfi.org.

MISSING, from page 1

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Sisters-in-law Natalie Wilson, left, and Derrica Wilson brought together their skills inpublic relations and law enforcement to help find missing people of color. Black andMissing Foundation Inc. has helped 120 families find their missing loved ones since thenonprofit was incorporated in 2008.

BY AIRMAN 1ST CLASS JOSHUA R. M. DEWBERRY11TH WING PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Many base facilities are slated toclose or reduce hours of operation May27 as Team Andrews celebrates Memo-rial Day.The base library, The Club at An-

drews and the East Fitness Centerwill be closed. The West Fitness Cen-ter will be open for normal operatingmanned and unmanned hours, but allclasses will be cancelled.The Andrews Base Exchange will be

open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the Com-missary will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.The Freedom Hall Dining Facility willbe operating on a standard holidayschedule as well.Despite tradition, the base pool and

splash park will not open this Memo-rial Day as extensive repairs are beingmade.“The pool and splash park is a fa-

cility our community looks forward toenjoying every summer,” said AlisonMabins, 11th FSS Outdoor Recreationdirector. “Our customers’ safety is ournumber one priority, and the pool linermust have a smooth surface to avoidour patrons being cut.”Mabins said the 11th Civil Engi-

neer Squadron is hard at work and aretargeting an opening date of June 20.

Facilities onbase changehours forMemorial DayBY TECH. SGT. MARESHAH HAYNES

AIR FORCE NEWS SERVICE

By looking at him, you would never beable to tell he is a battle-tested, combat-injured Airman. He is a testament to invis-ible wounds and just how their effects canbecome visible in everyday life.Capt. Mitchell Kieffer is a mathemati-

cian at heart and an operations researchanalyst at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.The three-time Air Force triathlete andpersonal trainer was stationed at EglinAir Force Base, Fla., working at the AirForce Research Laboratory there when hegot the opportunity he had been waitingfor - a deployment.He had volunteered to go into an en-

gineering job at AFRL to increase hischances of deploying. He got his wish in2010 and left for Iraq with a team from theArmy Corps of Engineers.“I was an Air Force guy in an Army

uniform,” Kieffer said. “I was attached tothe Baghdad Resident Office, and I volun-teered to be an operations officer for them.I planned and executed a lot of movementsto the different project sites.We were thereto build police stations, hospitals, telecom-munications centers, tank facilities fortheir Army and all sorts of stuff.”Keiffer said for the most part, the de-

ployment went smoothly. He had beenthere for five of the six months of his de-ployment and traveled “outside the wire”more than 40 times without incident. Typi-cally, he and his team would use lightly ar-mored SUVs when they were going down-town and mine-resistant, ambush-protect-ed vehicles on the outskirts of town.

On this particular day, things were dif-ferent.“We were going to a place that was a

one-way-in, one-way-out type of a place,so that’s really not the best case scenar-io,” Kieffer said. “And this time insteadof taking MRAPs, we were in the lightlyarmored SUVs because the MRAPs werein the shop that day.”Other factors soon led to a tragic chain

of events. According to Kieffer, there wasno close air support available, and theteam was going out later in the day thannormal.“Basically, we got ambushed,” he said.

“The first out of the four vehicles got hitby a conventional (improvised explosivedevice). Our vehicle, the third vehicle,almost simultaneously got hit by an ex-plosively formed penetrating IED, so it’sbasically like a copper plate that has themunition behind it, and forms a slug andbasically punches through anything.“That went through our vehicle like

butter about two feet in front of my fore-head, and I was sitting on the blast side.”Three of the four vehicles in the convoy

were hit. In addition to the EFPIED, theattackers sprayed the vehicles with auto-matic weapons fire and rocket propelledgrenades.“I was knocked out for a few seconds.

I can’t really remember,” Kieffer said.“Then I woke up inside (the vehicle)and the major, my boss, was next to mescreaming and I was just like, ‘What theheck is going on here?’ All of the lightsand AC displays were dislodged. Theywere hanging by the wires. The entireinside was fragged with the copper frag-

ments, the interior was all ripped; smokewas inside.”“’I was like, ‘What do I do?’ I was like,

‘OK, he’s higher ranking than me,’ so Ibasically just laid on top of him and letthe contractors do what they needed to doto break contact to get out.”The British contractors were able to

subdue the attackers and all four vehiclesin the convoy managed to make it backto the base. The team changed their flattires and fixed whatever damage ttheycould before making the two-hour driveback to base with three busted vehicles.“It was an act of God that we all made

it out, especially with our vehicle beingfragged,” Kieffer said. “Before I left, mycousin Chris gave me this four-way medalthat St. Christopher is part of, and he’sthe guardian of travelers. That was themain reason for Chris to give me this, soI never took it off since the day he gave itto me. And I have yet to take it off, exceptwhen I have x-rays or when I wear myblues and whatnot. I feel like that hada great deal to do with me getting outalive.”Once they arrived back at the base,

each person on the team was examined bythe doctors. It seemed everyone was fine -until it was Kieffer’s turn. He wasn’t ableto pass a preliminary traumatic brain in-jury test. He was sent to the hospital inBaghdad for doctors there to observe hiscondition.“While I was there, things weren’t

getting better,” Kieffer said. “I used tojoke around with the British contrac-

Airman faces challenge atWarrior Games as TBI victim

seeWARRIOR, page 10

01039934B

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BY MATHEW B. TULLY

Just because a commander has the power to convenea court-martial, does not mean the commander with con-vening authority, or any other commanding officer, is al-lowed to prejudice the trial of the accused service mem-ber. Article 37 of the Uniform Code of Military Justiceprohibits convening authorities and commanding officersfrom censuring, reprimanding, or admonishing the courtor any member, military judge, or counsel “with respectto the findings or sentence adjudged by the court, or withrespect to any other exercises of its or his functions inthe conduct of the proceedings.”When convening authorities or commanding officers

insert themselves into courts-martial proceedings byspeaking poorly of the accused or attempting to swayother members’ opinions about him or her, such actionscould amount to what is called “unlawful command in-fluence.” While not a rampant problem, the military’shighest court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the ArmedForces, recently identified unlawful command influenceas “the mortal enemy of military justice,” in U.S. v. AdamD. Douglas (2010).Douglas, for example, involved an Air Force recruiter

who was convicted at special court-martial of false offi-cial statement, distribution of methamphetamine, carnalknowledge, and sodomy of a child under 16 years old inviolation of Articles 107, 112a, 120, and 125. After learn-ing of an ongoing investigation into the recruiter’s mis-conduct, a senior recruiter ordered him to not contact awitness participating in the investigation and other unitmembers for non-work matters without prior approval.The commander also openly disparaged the recruiter.To co-workers at the recruiting station and surround-ing federal building, the commander expressed certaintyof the recruiter’s guilt. Additionally, the commander in-timidated potential witnesses from providing characterreferences, and he intimidated the recruiter from com-plaining to the Inspector General about this unlawfulcommand influence.Depending on the circumstances, military judges may

propose remedies to unlawful command influence. Inresponse to the unlawful command influence in Doug-las, the judge provided several remedies. They includedproviding the trial and defense counsels with time tojointly draft a memorandum directed at potential char-acter references. The judge also rescinded the disparag-ing commander’s no-contact orders, and he made strongrecommendations to limit the commander’s comments onthe case and to have the accused removed from the com-mander’s supervision.The recruiter appealed his conviction, claiming the

judge should have dismissed the charges in light of theunlawful command influence. CAAF noted that militaryjudges have “broad discretion in crafting a remedy to re-move the taint of unlawful command influence, and wewill not reverse so long as the decision remains withinthat range.” Under the circumstances, CAAF found thejudge’s remedies in Douglas did fall within this range.Service members who have been charged with a crime

should immediately contact a military law attorney whocan protect them against unlawful command influence.Depending on the circumstances, if a commander at-tempts to influence the court-martial findings or sen-tencing, a lawyer can push for remedies.

Mathew B. Tully is an Iraq War veteran and foundingpartner of the law firm Tully Rinckey PLLC. E-mail ques-tions to [email protected]. The informationin this column is not intended as legal advice.

Ask the LawyerCan commanders bad-mouth a service memberaccused of a crime?

Attention Team Andrews:Headquarters Air Force is implementing a new lighting

procedure to follow when entering and exiting gate barri-ers slated to begin July 1.Currently, vehicles go on flashing yellow and stop on

red.When the change begins, vehicles will proceed throughthe barriers when no lights are present and they will stopon flashing yellow. Please be mindful of this change in pro-cedure taking place in upcoming weeks.

11SFS Notice oflight barrier change

BY JAMIE ANFENSON-COMEAUPRINCE GEORGE’S GAZETTE

The Prince George’s County NAACP announced Tues-day morning it is throwing its support behind legislationgiving the county executive more control over the PrinceGeorge’s County school system.“It is time to put the madness aside. It is time for the

community to come together for our children, and thatis what we are trying to do,” said Bob Ross, president ofthe county chapter of the National Association for theAdvancement of Colored People.Ross said his organization’s executive committee

voted 21-1 to withdraw from a coalition of communitygroups seeking to force House Bill 1107 to a referendumvote after meeting with members of the coalition andCounty Executive Rushern Baker III (D) on May 7.The bill, signed into law in April, gives the county ex-

ecutive the power to pick the next superintendent fromthree candidates named by a state-appointed board aswell as appoint three members to the school board, withthe County Council appointing a fourth, and to choosethe board’s chair and vice chair, all beginning June 1.Currently, the school board selects the superintendent.“We were opposed to HB 1107 and we went to An-

napolis fighting tooth and nail,” Ross said. “But we hadto make a decision. Who were we fighting for? We are

fighting for the children of Prince George’s County.”Ross said the change came after the committee con-

sidered the timeline of a successful effort to bring thebill to referendum; the referendum would not be votedon until fall 2014 and, if successful, would not take effectuntil January 2015.“The time period to bring this to a referendum would

be almost two years before we could get a superinten-dent, and that was the deciding factor, the time,” Rosssaid.The decision marks a significant break with the edu-

cation watchdog organization Citizens for an ElectedBoard. The two organizations worked together in 2002when the elected school board was replaced by an ap-pointed board, and fought successfully to restore anelected board in 2006.“I’m clearly disappointed in the decision of the

[NAACP] executive committee to join with the politicalforces of the county to shut out the voice of the peoplein the governance of the schools. It’s clearly counter-historic,” said Janis Hagey, co-chair of Citizens for anElected Board.Hagey said there are benefits to waiting until 2015,

saying it would give time for all sides to get together anddecide how to move forward.The coalition still plans to collect signatures for a

referendum vote. It needs 8,000 signatures from regis-

tered voters by May 31 to prevent the bill from goinginto effect June 1, and 24,000 signatures by June 30 toforce the legislation to a vote of Prince George’s Countyresidents.Deborah Sell, president of Prince Georgians for an

Informed Citizenry, a community advocacy group thathas taken a leadership role in the coalition, said an in-formational meeting is planned for 6:30 p.m. May 24 atthe Sasscer Administration Building in Upper Marlboro.Christian Rhodes, education adviser to Baker, said

the county executive supports people’s right to exercisetheir rights, but said that waiting two years to installa permanent superintendent could have a detrimentalimpact on education.“We’ve had emails from hundreds of county residents

saying they support the bill,” Rhodes said. “They’reready to move forward and so are we.”Rhodes said that county government has received

more than 160 applications for the four appointmentschool board positions.“All top-notch candidates; we’ve got business leaders,

CEOs, leaders of nonprofits. I think that’s a testamentto how much community support the county executivehas,” Rhodes said.

This story originally appeared in the May 14 editionof the Prince George’s Gazette.

Prince George’s NAACP backs Baker’s school system changes

1038641B


JBA CELEBRATES CAREER DAY

AT LOCAL ELEMENTARY

U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO/STAFF SGT. AMBER RUSSELL

11th Civil Engineer Squadron firefighters, Airmen 1st Class Scott Burdick and Tevin Charles race to dontheir gear in record time as Airman Jared Becker times them to show local elementary kindergartners firesafety skills, May 3 at a career day event. The children applauded their efforts afterward.

Petty Officer 2nd Renelyn Barretto, Naval SupportActivity Washington culinary specialist, brings hertalent for baking to a local elemetary school careerday event.

11th Civil Engineer Squadron firefighters, Airmen1st Class Scott Burdick and Airman Jared Beckeranswer questions from a kindergarten class.Burdick donned his gear in record time to demon-strate the urgency their career field requires.

the place was so dead he’d haveplenty of time to work on home-work or to practice drawing. Heended up taking a position at alocal gas station, and I’m surehe’s glad of that, since the rea-sons he had for considering ithis dream employer turned outto be the same reasons the storewon’t be employing anyone, afew weeks from now.Video stores are antiques,

phantoms, things of the past. Ikind of feel sorry for whoeverdepended on this particularstore for their livelihood. Whenit opened (and I am old enoughto remember when video storeswere an exciting, new concept), Iam sure they believed they had

found a cash cow that wouldnever stop providing for them.Now, well...it’s just a buildingfull of things most people don’twant all that much.It’s hard to know, at the start

of things, how they’ll turn out.Starting a business, entering arelationship, signing on for any-thing that you hope will last alifetime is always going to bea risk. All we can hope is thatthose risks are worthwhile,and that at the end of things,no matter how they turn out,there are people who want tocelebrate the memories you’vemade together along the way.Also, Hello Kitty candies are

at deep discount. I think I mayactually spring for those. Andmaybe Stan and Kyle bobble-heads, too.

COMMENTARY, from page 2

BY BOBBY JONESSTAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The Biggest Loser Chal-lenge paid off in substantialdividends as the three winningteams received awards andprizes during a brief recogni-tion ceremony held May 14 atthe West Fitness Center.The Jewels Team took first

place with a total team weightloss of 50 pounds. The team wona $50 outdoor recreation giftcard, T shirts and water bottles.

Triple Threat Team won secondplace, losing a combined totalof 27.5 pounds. They won a $25gift card, T-shirts and waterbottles. So Ho Team took thirdplace, with a combined teamloss of 12.5 pounds. They won a$15 Subway gift card, T shirtsand water bottles.The teams accumulated

points for their weight losswhile attending Health andWellness Center classes duringa two-month period.

Biggest LoserChallenge pays off

PHOTO/BOBBY JONES

From left, third place winners, So Ho Team; 1st Place winners, Jew-els Team and 2nd Place winners, Triple Threat pose for a BiggestLoser Challenge Teams victory photo.

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BY SENIOR AIRMANLINDSEY A. PORTER

11TH WING PUBLIC AFFAIRS

It’s 7 a.m. and keyboardsare clicking and printersare already humming inthe command section of the11th Operations Group atJoint Base Anacostia-Bol-ling. Home to the group’scommand staff, this officeis the epicenter for all op-erations concerning theU.S. Air Force Band, HonorGuard and Chaplaincy. De-spite the fast-paced envi-ronment, it’s here where“A Nations Tribute” can befound, patiently hangingamong the hustle.Commissioned by Col.

Gina Humble, 11th OGcommander, “A Nation’sTribute” is a visual re-minder of the group’s daily,no-fail mission at Arling-ton National Cemetery.Through this watercolorsnap shot, each 11th OGunit is captured performingan aspect of their uniqueroles during an Arlingtonfull-honors funeral.“The idea of the paint-

ing came from thinking ofan 11th Operations Groupfarewell gift,” said Hum-ble. “I thought, ‘What’s theone place where each unitcomes together?’ and thatwas of course at Arlington.When I then thought ofhaving this painting com-missioned, Lyn was whocame to my mind.”Lyn Gosman is Humble’s

hairdresser and has knownthe commander since Hum-ble moved to the area in2007.“Lyn knows my back-

ground as the ops groupcommander and my person-al connection to Arlington,”said Humble. “She is alsoa talented artist. She runsher hairdressing businessout of her home so I had theopportunity to see her workup close each time I visitedher.”When asked to create a

piece that would accurately

characterize the specificfunctions of each unit andwould eventually be usedas a print for numerous11th OG going-aways, Gos-man reacted with enthusi-asm.“I like challenges,” said

Gosman. “I have no militarybackground and I knew se-lecting the particular mo-ment in time that wouldbest reflect the overall mis-sion would be my two big-gest difficulties. I wanted toportray not just the techni-cal aspects of the jobs, butalso the deeper meaningbehind what you all do. Allthese thoughts eventuallyevolved into staging a mockfuneral.”Despite demanding

schedules and varying unitcalendars, Humble andGosman located a day atArlington where each unitcould recreate a full hon-ors funeral for the painterto reference. During thereenactment, 11 OG Air-men performed their spe-cific Arlington role as ifit were the real deal, onlythis time, letting Gosman’s

camera bob in and out ofthe ceremony. By the day’send, Gosman had snappedmore than 300 referencingphotographs.Combining this drive for

complete accuracy, alongwith an 11th OG Airmen’salready acute attention todetail, Gosman went fur-ther and even borrowedspecific items to use to cre-ate the painting’s color pal-ette.“Lyn even borrowed a

pair of my blues pants toreference for accurate col-or,” said Humble. “She wentdown to the finest detail tomake sure everything wascorrect about the painting.”After more than 6

months, innumerable mili-tary manuals read andcountless Internet sitesvisited, “A Nation’s Trib-ute” was finally revealed toHumble and her staff dur-ing a small ceremony at the11th OG headquarters.“It was sort of like those

make over shows where youdon’t see the product untilyou walk in with the starof the show,” said Humble.

“When I saw it, I was re-ally proud of the result andwhat it means in terms ofwhat we do here.”With more than 200

hours of Gosman’s workspent researching, refer-encing and painting, “A Na-tion’s Tribute” was finallyfinished.“Even though it was dif-

ficult to paint, it was en-joyable,” said Gosman. “Ilearned a lot and it openedup a whole new world thatI didn’t know about before.”Touched by her friend’s

painting and honored byits homage to the 11th OGmission, Humble hopes thepainting serves to foreverillustrate the mission of theAir Force’s premier ceremo-nial units.“It will be an honor to

give something back tothis unit after I leave,” saidHumble. “That painting ismy gift to the unit; I hopeit will hang there for manyyears.”

A nation’s tribute

U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO/STAFF SGT. TOREY GRIFFITH

Col. Gina Humble, 11th Operations Group commander, left, and Lyn Gosman, profes-sional painter and Humble’s hairdresser, reveal “A Nation’s Tribute” during a small cer-emony at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling January 2013.

BY JAMIE ANFENSON-COMEAU

PRINCE GEORGE’S GAZETTE

Traditionally, a schoolhas been defined by itswalls, but a new pilot pro-gram is breaking downbarriers by allowing stu-dents to take part in pro-grams at other schoolsvirtually.The pilot program, a

partnership with Bethes-da-based global securitytechnology and aerospacecompany Lockheed Mar-tin, will provide technol-ogy at Fairmont Heights,Suitland and High Pointhigh schools that will letstudents participate inclasses taught at one ofthe other campuses. Theprogram, being pilotedat the three schools at acost of $125,000, aims toprovide access to science,technology, engineeringand mathematics resourc-es between schools, saidVennard Wright, directorof Prince George’s CountyOffice of Information Tech-nology.“If Fairmont Heights is

doing something, and Suit-land wants to take part init, they can,” Wright said.Students will be able

to digitally “raise theirhands,” signaling theteacher that they have aquestion, which the teach-er could answer privatelyor share with the rest ofthe class.Students also will be

able to access additionalcontent material fromhome, such as class vid-eos, and send questions tothe instructors outside ofschool.Exact details for classes

have not yet been workedout, Wright said.

“It’s Facebook from atechnology standpoint,Skype for classroom us-age,” Wright said. “This isthe sort of technology stu-dents are already using,but it’s geared towards anacademic usage.”Wright said the pro-

gram will allow schoolsto share access to STEM-related events, activitiesand resources and in thefuture could allow accessto other programs as well.All three schools in

the pilot have STEM pro-grams, Wright said.The program will be

tested by student internswith the county’s Officeof Information Technol-ogy during the summer,Wright said, with the goalof expanding it to otherhigh schools in the nextschool year.Christian Rhodes, edu-

cation adviser to CountyExecutive Rushern BakerIII (D), said the county ex-ecutive is “pretty passion-ate” about the program.Rhodes said the three

schools were chosen be-cause they are a part ofthe county executive’sTransforming Neighbor-hoods Initiative, an effortby county government tofocus leadership and re-sources on six troubledareas in the county facingeconomic, public safety,academic and other chal-lenges.Rhodes said the county

hopes the program can beexpanded to include all ofthe TNI schools.“What we’re looking to

do is to standardize stu-dent opportunities acrossthe board. All studentsshould have an opportu-

Pilot collaborationbrings virtual classes,programs to students

see STEM, page 10

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CAPTION THIS

Send your silly captions for this week’s photo to [email protected]. The funniestones will be used in a future edition of the Andrews Gazette.

IslamicPrayer Room in Chapel 1 AnnexDaily Prayer Monday - Friday, 7:30 a.m.

- 4 p.m.Prayer Service Friday, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

JewishKiddush/Sabbath dinner Friday, 6 p.m.All are welcome. To RSVP and for loca-

tion contact: Rabbi,Capt. Schechter at 240-671-2270 or sar-

[email protected] can find a complete listing of Yom

Kippur services in the National CapitalRegion through www.jewishindc.com.

ProtestantSunday ServicesChapel 2, Traditional Service 9 a.m.Base Theater, Contemporary Service 10

Gospel Service 11:30 a.m.Tuesday Family Night at Base TheaterFamily meal 5 p.m.Christian Education and AWANA Kid’s

Program 6 p.m.

Roman CatholicReconciliation by appointment, call 301-

981-2111Daily and Saturday Mass have been

temporarily suspended.Chapel 1, 1345 W. Perimeter Road.Mass Sunday, 8:30 a.m.Chapel 2, 3715 Fetchet Ave.Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults

(RCIA) classes Monday, 6 p.m.For information, pastoral counseling

and religious accommodation of all faithtraditions call 301-981-2111 or visit thechapel office at 1345 W Perimeter Road.

Religious Serviceson base

nity for STEM studies, not just those whoattend schools with STEM programs, andthis technology will help them achievethat,” Wright said.Lockheed Martin will host the online

space that the schools can access, as wellas a central repository for software andmaterials. Cisco Systems Inc. will providesome of the teleconferencing equipment,said Christine King, Lockheed Martin’s di-rector of emerging markets.King said the program combines Lock-

heed Martin’s technological expertisewith its mission to help provide studentswith the tools for academic development.“Also, our team on this project are

all alums of Prince George’s County, sothey’re very excited, very passionateabout giving back, and Lockheed Martinwants to ensure that there will be a con-tinuing supply of highly trained potentialemployees from Prince George’s County,”King said


STEM, from page 9


While Surrattsville High School princi-pal Kristi Holden watched seniors receiveawards during an end-of-year ceremony, shereceived startling news that a junior at theschool was killed in a car crash nearby.Delante Clark, Jr., 17, of the 10800 block

of Slippery Elm Court in Clinton, died onimpact when striking a tree off BrandywineRoad around 3 p.m. May 8, Prince George’spolice said.Clark was driving his white Acura when,

for unknown reasons, it left the roadwayand went into the tree line, said Cpl. McK-inney, a county police spokesman.McKinney said Clark was pronounced

dead on scene. Police said Clark was foundto have been wearing a seat belt.A day after the fatal crash students and

staff at Surrattsville were mourning theloss.“I just know he was a nice young man

with a quiet spirit. Kids loved him andteachers loved him and we’re all being af-fected by this,” Holden said, who said theschool had grief counselors available forstudents May 9.Clark was in several advanced placement

courses including AP biology and AP lan-guage. He was also a member of the school’s

JROTC and played on the junior varsityfootball team for his first two years.Holden said students made a large ban-

ner to memorialize Clark, decorated hislocker in the school hallway and wrote sym-pathy letters that were delivered to Clark’sfamily May 9.“He has a very supportive family both at

home and here at school,” Holden said, whosaid the school community will take part infuneral services when they are scheduled.Holden said Clark’s younger brother, a

sophomore at Surrattsville, attended schoolthe day after the crash to “try and stay fo-cused, and to keep his mind off of what wasgoing on.”As of May 15, the county police depart-

ment’s collision analysis and reconstruc-tion unit were still trying to determine whyClark left the roadway and if speed or al-cohol were factors. Police said weather wasnot a factor though rain showers were fore-casted throughout the day of the crash.“It’s all part of investigation as far as

cause of crash,” said Charnay Anderson, aspokeswoman for the department.A phone number for Clark’s residence

could not be located.

This story originally appeared in theMay 9 edition of the Prince George’s Ga-zette and was updated May 15.

Clinton high schoolmourns loss of student

tors, and we would make fun of eachother and banter back and forth. I wasso slow mentally it felt like English wasa second language because the process-ing speed was so slow. They would askme how I’m doing and it would take abunch of time to figure out what theysaid, to hear it, to break down the mes-sage, to figure out what they’re tryingto get across and how I would respond.That’s a long time to say, ‘I’m good.’ Sothe bantering back and forth stopped.”Besides not being able to keep up with

the quick-witted conversations with hiscomrades, Kieffer said he was worriedhe wouldn’t be able to do the things hereally enjoyed.“I was pretty darn scared because I

always felt like school was pretty easy,”Kieffer said. “I was a math guy and Ienjoyed intellectual kinds of things. Itscared me quite a bit. It actually broughtme to tears one time thinking I was go-ing to be that slow forever.”Kieffer spent a week in the hospital

in Baghdad and then returned to theUnited States to be treated. He said af-ter a month he began healing but he stillfaced some huge challenges. His TBInot only affected his cognitive thinkingskills; physically it left him to deal withexcruciating headaches that nothingcould soothe.He tried to keep his injury under

wraps but an upcoming assignmentwould put him to the test. Prior to beingwounded, the Purple Heart medal recipi-ent was accepted into the Air Force In-stitute of Technology’s engineering grad-uate school program. Just six months af-ter returning home from his deployment,he was scheduled to start school.“The first assignment I did there took

me seven hours straight sitting at acomputer,” Kieffer said. “I had to get itdone. I had to figure everything out, andit was so frustrating because I knew itshouldn’t be (this hard). It was a prob-abilities and statistics course and thiswas stuff I had known for a long timeand had mastered before.”As Kieffer pushed himself to keep up

with his studies, he stumbled upon atreatment for his TBI.“As time went on in the program,

that seven-hour assignment became fivehours and then four hours and after ayear and a half in school those assign-ments were taking an hour and a half,two hours tops,” he said. “I think that

has been my best therapy for improvingmy cognitive capabilities after the trau-matic brain injury. It’s been basicallyjust doing mental workouts.“I thank God that I was able to go

that assignment because I don’t know ifI would’ve had the motivation to do allthat learning on my own,” he said.He also used his time in school to re-

search the issues he and other injured,ill and wounded Airmen were facing andused it as the subject of his thesis.These days, Kieffer continues to exer-

cise his mind and his body.Since his injury, Kieffer married

his wife, Ana Maria, and inherited twodaughters, Ana Paula and Ana Cristina.The couple was married in his wife’s na-tive Peru and her family only speaksSpanish. Kieffer said learning to speakSpanish as part of a bilingual family issomething that helps him keep his cog-nitive skills sharpened.“I noticed that if I don’t do anything

intellectually, it’ll start to fade again,”he said. “That stuff goes if I have lack ofsleep or high stress. Now it’s just a pointof coping with it.”Keiffer, who has scored 100 points on

every active duty physical training testhe’s taken, continues to work his mus-cles in his personal training businessand as an athlete in the 2013 WarriorGames. He will represent the Air Forcein the Ultimate Champion - a pentath-lon-style event that pits warriors fromeach branch of service, including Spe-cial Operations Command, against eachother for the title of Ultimate Champion.No matter what the score cards say,

the resiliency and gumption displayedby wounded warriors like Kieffer, push-ing through their pain - physically andmentally - has already earned them thetitle of champion.

WARRIOR, from page 6

U.S. AIR FORCE GRAPHIC, PHOTO/DESIREE PALACIOS

Capt. Mitchell Kieffer sprints at the Acad-emy indoor track during the WoundedWarrior Games Training Camp held inColorado Springs, Colo., April 17.

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