Organizers of Alaska Air Cargo's annual "Copper Chef Cook-off" have announced the contestants in this year's chef competition.

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OK, only one to us. Air Force Reserve Master Sgt. Robert Shulman, a 31-year Airman and chef, will represent Joint Base Lewis-McChord's 446th Airlift Wing during the chef competition at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow at Seatac Airport.

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That's right, 6:30 a.m. It's a yearly tradition for Alaska Airlines to fly in the first Copper River Salmon of the season - Alaska's premier wild salmon - touching down before the sun comes up, then forcing the area's best chefs to cook the fish in a competitive atmosphere.

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Maj. Gen. Richard S. Haddad, deputy to the chief of staff of Air Force Reserve, testifies during a hearing of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies, on Capitol Hill, May 15. Active and Reserve component leaders testified to the subcommittee about the FY14 President's Budget request and projected construction projects. The proposed budget has $45.6 million to fund new Air Force Reserve projects. This includes a Joint Regional Deployment Processing Center at March Air Reserve base, Calif., a Squadron Operations Facility at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., and an Entry Control Complex at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla.

As you know Air Mobility Command postponed Air Mobility Rodeo 2013, which was to take place at McChord Field in this summer. Rodeo, sponsored by AMC, is the Mobility Air Force's readiness competition. The competitions are held to train and improve the abilities of U.S. and international partners' air mobility operations skills while building international relationships.

Word just came down from AMC that Rodeo 2014 might not happen either.

"Rodeo 2014 is tentatively off," said a spokesperson from the 62nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs Office who contacted AMC. "Rodeo happens every two years. It was scheduled to take place this summer at McChord Field. With the budget sequestration, Rodeo was postponed. According to AMC, it's tentatively not scheduled for the summer of 2014, although official word won't be released until sometime next week."

It looks as if Rodeo won't return to McChord Field until 2015.

This is not the first time Air Mobility Rodeo has been cancelled. The two most recent examples are Rodeo 2003, which was called off because of worldwide commitments for the war on terrorism and humanitarian efforts. In 1988, it was canceled because of budget shortfalls.

"When I was in high school, if someone had told me I'd wind up a teacher, I'd have laughed," joked retired Lt. Col. Gary Roberts, Air Force JROTC instructor at Clover Park High School. "After I'd been in the Air Force working as a pilot, I was asked to be an instructor pilot ... and I assumed that my command saw something in me that I wasn't even aware of yet."

Saturday, May 4, during the CPHS Air Force JROTC annual Awards Banquet and Military Ball, Roberts was again recognized for his teaching gift when he was presented with one of the Veteran of Foreign War's National Citizenship Education awards, for grades 9-12, for the state of Washington. The awards, which were announced in January, are given to a select number of educators across the country every year.

"It was because of the love that he shows for the cadets and the future of our country," said retired Air Force Master Sgt. Elmer Clark, VFW commander for Post 91 and District 3, who was responsible for Roberts' nomination.

"I'm having just as much fun in the classroom as I did in the cockpit," said Roberts, who has been teaching JROTC at Clover Park High School for the last 15 years. "But I can still learn a lot from these kids ... they manage to always ask new questions that make me think."

In addition to the time he spends in the classroom, Roberts also spends hundreds of hours working with the school's drill teams, leading them to four national title championship awards at the VFW Drill Computation last summer.

"I'm not out for recognition, but I appreciate it," Roberts added. "I think that's why I've never missed a day of work, I just love what I do."

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) - The Air Force took another step forward with its newest fighter jet when an advanced F-35 Lightning II landed at the service's lead training base, home to the largest fleet of F-35s worldwide.

The new stealth fighter kicks off a major training effort at the F-35 schoolhouse on an aircraft with unmatched capabilities.

The F-35 is the military's newest stealth fighter jet. Students from all military branches who are learning to fly the plane go through the schoolhouse at Eglin, including some from international services.

In addition to a few design improvements, the major difference between the new aircraft and others is sensors and software.

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TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - As part of NORAD's commitment to providing aerospace warning and aerospace control for North America, many Canadian military members find themselves assigned to or training with the Western Air Defense Sector at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

According to Canadian Capt. Kevin Long, 51st Aerospace Control and Warning Operational Training Squadron senior director and assistant officer in charge, weapons, the Canadian Armed Forces detachment members serve in a variety of roles within WADS.

"Many work on the operations floor as air weapons officers, air surveillance technicians and mission crew commanders," Long said. "Additionally, several members also work in staff positions including the Canadian Detachment commander, Lt. Col. Mark Roberts. Moreover, with the exception of one member, our chief clerk, all of the members of the Canadian Detachment at JBLM hold operational qualifications within the sector and fully participate in accomplishing the mission."

Tasked with the mission of using radar and communications systems to monitor air traffic from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean and from the Canadian border to the Mexican border, members of the detachment work with members of the Washington Air National Guard.

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The USO has many missions these days. As the wars die down, the organization has amped up its support for the wounded and their families. It has provided thousands and thousands of free phone calls for the troops in Afghanistan. It has even issued public service announcements aimed at bridging the gap between the military and civilian communities. That said, arguably the USO's main mission, since its inception in 1941, is to lift the spirits of troops and their families.

Sometimes, the USO lifts its own spirits, as in the case when the organization awarded its own at the inaugural TellUSO Awards ceremony Wednesday, May 1 at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tenn.

Local Servicemembers looking for a spirit boost need only to drop by the USO Northwest's Shali Center located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The Shali Center grabbed the Top Center honor in the Military Installation category at the TellUSO Awards.

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WASHINGTON (AFPS) -- Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will make a decision soon on the scope of civilian furloughs in response to sequestration spending cuts, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said today.

Hagel is reviewing analysis on the budget "and he'll reach a decision in the near future," Little told reporters.

Little acknowledged news reports that some services contend they do not need to use furloughs to make their sequestration goals.

"There are different pockets of money in different places for each of the services," he said. "To be totally straightforward, the math does work for some services to avoid some furloughs, at a minimum. For other services, it is harder."

The general principle so far has been "one team, one fight" inside the department to be consistent, the press secretary said. "That's an understandable position," he added.

Still, he said, Hagel is reviewing the DoD budget and the constraints the department is operating under. "We're in the middle of a $37 billion to $40 billion cut over a six-month period, and we need to look closely at that, but I expect him to make a decision soon," the spokesman said.

The situation "points out the absurdity of sequestration," Little said.

"You don't have a lot of choice, in some cases, over where to save money and where to cut," he added. "The across-the-board cut is forcing some tough decisions. The goal of the furlough so far ... is to ensure, at least on this issue, there is some consistency."

When originally proposed, all DoD civilian personnel were going to be furloughed for 22 days during the remainder of fiscal year 2013, which ends Sept. 30. Officials since have reduced that estimate to 14 days. DoD officials are examining requests for exemptions, Little said.

As a boy, Airman 1st Class William Behl attended leadership training at summer camp in his home state of Wisconsin and learned four core values ­­­- respect, caring, honesty and responsibility.

In 2012 as a recent Air Force recruit, the 27 year old brought those values with him to Joint Base Lewis-McChord where he began to volunteer in the community after duty and on the weekends.

That community service and Behl's involvement with the 2012 Combined Federal Campaign of South Puget Sound earned him the 2012 South Sound Hero Award, presented April 9 by JBLM Commander Col. Charles H. Hodges Jr. at the annual United Way of Pierce County Community Celebration in downtown Tacoma.

"It feels so great," said a beaming Behl.

His involvement with CFC began last year when he gathered a team for a charity golf event at the American Lake Veterans Golf Course in Lakewood. He and his friends collected pledges to donate to a local nonprofit organization through CFC. Behl then coordinated a team and secured pledges for a charity bowling event and also raised $300 in one day for a 5K run to benefit the CFC.

Melanie Manista-Rushforth, director of CFC of South Puget Sound, began to take notice.

"(Behl) was a go-getter, he really was," she said. "He stood out as someone who made a big difference."

The CFC is the most successful annual workplace giving campaign thanks to the generosity of federal civilian employees and military service members. Pledges support eligible nonprofit organizations that provide basic needs and supportive services to communities locally, nationally and internationally.

Behl felt so strongly about the campaign that after being appointed the CFC flight representative for his squadron, he made sure to contact each of the 150 service members in his unit face-to-face to encourage them to give.

"I gave briefings before work and after work," he said. "I even talked to people that I didn't work with. I'd see people at the DFAC and tell them about the cause."

His enthusiasm and energy paid off, and in a span of six weeks Behl helped raise almost $5,000 for CFC. His hard work resulted in three different individuals nominating him for the 2012 South Sound Hero Award, something that Manista-Rushforth said has never happened before.

Behl continues his community service through Adopt-A-Highway cleanups with his squadron, working with Airmen Against Drunk Driving, reading to children at Carter Lake Elementary and serving as the secretary for McChord Field's Rising 4 Airmen's Council, a private organization fostering professional development and community involvement for all Airmen E-4 and below.

"I just want to help those in need," Behl said. "It's so fulfilling."

 In a continuing effort to meet the Department of Defense funding targets in the FY12 President's Budget and re-balance the civilian workforce, approximately 60 Air Force installations will implement civilian Reduction in Force authorities effective through about Aug. 23, to assist in the placement of employees not assigned against funded positions (termed "surplus employees").

These actions started in FY12 and are not related to the current sequestration actions.

To meet the funding targets in the FY12 President's Budget, the Air Force was required to reduce more than 16,000 civilian positions. The Air Force was able to successfully reduce approximately 15,000 positions minimizing adverse impact to civilian personnel, but now needs to use RIF authorities, which will provide options to help place most of the remaining civilians on unfunded positions.

RIF procedures allow greater flexibilities for employees to be placed at their installations and still retain their grade or pay. In addition, the use of RIF procedures allows for eligible employees who cannot immediately be placed in local vacancies to be registered in the Priority Placement Program (PPP).

"Voluntary efforts to balance the civilian workforce in FY12 have gotten us significantly closer to funded levels, but we still have a way to go in placing the number of surplus employees to funded vacancies, and RIF authorities will enable us to achieve that goal," said Brig. Gen. Gina Grosso, the director of force management policy for the Air Force. "The Air Force recognizes and strives to balance the invaluable contributions of our civilian workforce with the fiscal realities under which the Department of Defense and the government as a whole are operating. We continue to focus on minimizing the impact on our current civilian workforce and their families."

As the Air Force continues to shape the work force, starting the RIF procedures will provide installations greater flexibilities to further realign and rebalance the civilian force.

"Usually a reduction in force has negative perception, but the use of RIF procedures will allow many employees to be retained and continue employment with the Air Force," Grosso said. "We want to assure everyone involved with this process that we remain committed to minimizing the impacts during these times of transition."

The processes available use reduction in force procedures to determine employee placement rights into vacancies as well as provide the flexibility to waive qualifications to create more placement options.

RIF implementation is separate from current sequestration actions.

For information about civilian employment, reduction in force and other personnel issues, visit the Air Force Personnel Service website at https://mypers.af.mil.