Members of Team McChord never have to worry about missing a meal because the 627th Force Support Squadron flight kitchen is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, providing boxed meals at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

The flight kitchen prepares boxed meals that are available to flight crews, dorm residents, active-duty members paying cash and Department of Defense employees who would not be able to eat at the Olympic Dining Facility during regular hours of operation.

"We provide more than nine thousand meals annually to Team McChord personnel," said Staff Sgt. Cody Christensen, 627th FSS flight kitchen noncommissioned officer in charge.

The entrées for the boxed meals include different types of sandwiches including turkey, ham and roast. They also have beef, breaded chicken strips and a chef salad, as well as breakfast items. The supplemental options are often pre-contained food items such as chips, cookies, fresh fruit and your choice of beverage.

The flight kitchen offers two ways airmen can order meals.

"Usually, Team McChord airmen call in for the ground meals," said Christensen. "For the flight meals, the passenger terminal and the aircrew fax us the information for the meals."

There are few differences between the flight kitchen and the Olympic Dining Facility.

"The first difference is that we are open twenty-four hours," said Christensen. "They have set hours for their meals and they do not have a midnight meal."

According to Airman 1st Class Arlena Harges, 627th FSS food services apprentice, another difference she said is the flight kitchen is more like a grab-and-go with salads and sandwiches, while the dining facility has a set menu with a grill and hot bar.

The flight kitchen sometimes receives big orders and that can be challenging for a small shop of five airmen.

"We only have five airmen including myself that work here in the flight kitchen," said Christensen. "Receiving big orders can be challenging because of the manning here. My four airmen are all on the Panama (schedule) of 12-hour shifts with only two working at a time."

Flight kitchens vary from base to base. Some bases have their flight kitchen attached to their dining facility, while others like McChord field have their flight kitchen located on the flightline for easier access for aircrew and maintenance airmen.

"Our mission is to prepare and sustain the force," said Christensen. "Whenever the phone rings or a fax comes through our office, no matter how big or small the order is, we get the job done."

The flight kitchen has a direct impact on the mission by providing convenient meals to those who need a meal no matter the time of day. For more information on ordering and food options at McChord's flight kitchen, call 253.982.2828. 

The 627th Logistic Readiness Squadron Fuels flight provides fuel to the 48 C-17's at the 62nd Airlift Wing on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, but they do more than deliver the fuel to aircraft, they make missions possible.

The fuels flight provides support to not only our aircraft, our government vehicles, civilian aircraft that land here and deployment rotaters, they also provide support to the President of the United States.

"It's a cliché, but we always say without fuel, pilots are pedestrians," said Master Sgt. Keith Grady, 627th LRS fuel operations section chief. "Without fuel these planes can't get off the ground.

Grady oversees the fuel distribution element and fuel hydrants on base.

"Fuels distribution is in charge of issuing the fuel to the aircraft, transporting liquid oxygen carts as well as filling those carts with liquid nitrogen and liquid oxygen," said Grady.

As far as fuel capabilities go, they have two pump houses, which both can dispense 2,400 gallons each, per minute.

They also have 11 re-fuelers, which have 6,000 gallon tanks that can dispense up to 600 gallons of fuel per minute each.

"On an average day, we deliver between 75,000 to 200,000 gallons of fuel," Grady said. "That fuel is delivered to anywhere between six and twenty aircraft a day."

The process for re-fueling starts as a simple phone call from the 62nd Maintenance Group Maintenance Operations Center.

"One of our fuel service center controllers will log that request into our fuels manger defense program and at the same time they'll dispatch an operator to take a vehicle out," said Grady. "They will hand a vehicle clip board to that operator, the operator will check the paperwork, go out to the vehicle and do an inspection then drive out to the aircraft.

"They will get marshalled in, hook up the single point, ground and bond the aircraft and do all the preparation to fuel the aircraft."

Grady said during that time, there's a lot going on and the fuel distributor is always checking for safety hazards.

"They're pumping a lot of fuel and very fast," Grady said. "It can be very dangerous, so they are always checking their environment, but the whole process takes approximately an hour from the time the call comes in."

Before the fuel enters any aircraft, the fuel must be tested for safety and quality.

Staff. Sgt. Jason Drobish, 627 LRS fuels laboratory NCOIC, does just that.

"We are the first line of defense for any contamination within the fuel," said Drobish. "At the very first point where the fuel enters the base we sample and test the fuel for any additives and make sure those are within range."

The fuel comes from a barge that comes from a commercial contractor off base and then it is pumped through a pipe line on base.

"We are constantly testing our equipment throughout the month to make sure that the fuel meets specifications for water and additives," said Drobish. "We take a gallon sample, run them through some test membranes and we are able to see particular contamination such as sand or dirt or rust - things from the pipes."

It's beyond imperative that the fuel is tested and quality controlled.

"It's an important job," said Grady. "Just knowing the fuel that were putting on the aircraft is safe allows the plane to operate without any issues emanating from the fuel."

Providing the life blood to these aircraft, is the mission of the 627th LRS fuels flight and it is a mission they take very seriously.

Whether its cargo, passengers, military aircraft, or transient aircraft the 62nd Aerial Port Squadron Air Terminal Operation Center has a hand on every aircraft that lands on McChord Field at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

ATOC coordinates all outside requests for agency support and information and distributes them to the different sections throughout the aerial port for proper coordination.

"We are the command and control for the 62nd APS," said Master Sgt. Brandon Banks, 62nd APS ATOC superintendent. "We deal with worldwide channel missions, contingency missions and aeromedical evacuation missions. In this section, all flow of cargo and passengers being handled by the aerial port is managed, accounted for and tracked by us."

More than 30 personnel work in the ATOC. Working around the clock, providing military logistical functions assigned to aerial port.

"We go out to every aircraft and find out what they need from the aerial port," said Banks. "Within the APS, we manage the passenger terminal, ramps services section (loading and unloading of cargo), fleet services (cleaning the aircraft), and the special handling section (handling explosives). We go out to every aircraft and kind of direct all those sections of the APS."

Ron White, 62nd APS ATOC flight chief, said here at McChord, the workload at the ATOC can be a challenge sometimes.

"We support the Army and move a lot of their passengers and cargo," said White. "Our joint inspectors, inspect their gear and a lot of the challenges comes from the different verbiage and language we each use.

"A lot of the contingency missions we deal with are from the Army, to load their cargo and passengers. We have specific requirements that we need done ahead of time for the mission to flow properly and the Army doesn't recognize that because they don't use our processes, but we still manage to push through the challenge and get the mission done."

Another challenge that adds to the operations center workload is the deployment tempo.

"APS airmen deploy a lot," said White. "So with a six-month deployment, we might see the airman for three months out of the year because of training and schooling they may need before they go. So it's a challenge to keep them qualified and get them back in the rotation. At ATOC we help the APS flow properly, and with the deployment tempo, there can be sections that are low manned, so we kind of take over and divert people wherever to make the mission happen."

In order to work in the ATOC, airmen are required to have a good knowledge of all the sections within the port.

"We do not get pipeline students in ATOC," said Banks. "There is a requirement that the individual is supposed to be knowledgeable in all the other sections to be able to work ATOC. Those selected to come work ATOC don't have a lot of time to get spun up on everything, so they need to know the basics about every job. A lot of the slots in ATOC are one deep, so training consistently is a struggle, but we still get the job done."

White is a retired aerial port airman and loved the job so much that he decided to continue giving back by working in the ATOC as a civilian.

"I absolutely love working at that the port and watching all the great things we do here," said White. "I retired out of here, I was away from it for two years after I retired and missed every minute of it. ATOC is the focal point for the other sections, and you can't run the APS without it. You need someone to coordinate and direct everything, and ATOC is the brains of the operation."

Located within the Club at McChord Field lies the newly renovated McChord Pub, giving airmen a different dining option or a place to order drinks.

Stocked from the well with a selection of a beer on tap, the grill has a pub like feel.

"We almost look like a real bar," said Dorte West, manager of the McChord Field Club.

After 11 months of renovations costing nearly $500,000, new additions include local artwork, a genuine wood floor, and new televisions mounted to the walls give the space a contemporary feel. A painting by Tacoma native and famed artist Dale Chihuly is set to be displayed soon, said West.

Yet the spirit of an old military watering hole remains, with squadron zaps affixed to the mirror behind the bar.

"We have a lot of retirees coming in, and we try to get them to try something different with the new menu," said West.

The bar has a shortened menu, though visitors can order from the larger menu offered at the McChord Grill which underwent renovations at the same time. It's open for people working on Joint Base Lewis McChord during the week from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

When looking for something fast yet healthy, the McChord Grill is becoming a sought after option.

"If I'm over here, this is an option for sure," said Staff Sgt. Karissa Basalyga, a member of the 1st Weather Squadron. "It's like a genuine restaurant, not like the dining facility."

The hope is that sentiment is shared across the many servicemembers on JBLM. West has plans on increasing the bar menu, and holding more special events.

The annual Homebrew Competition was recently held, and a Mardi Gras celebration is scheduled for Feb. 24. As with any venture of this nature, the challenge is keeping customers engaged. West ultimately would like to see the diverse potential of the Club at McChord Field remain an option for JBLM personnel.

Those options are not limited to food and alcohol, but can range from private parties to office meetings. She's working with different tenant organizations to determine where the demand lies.

"Definitely try to reach out the squadrons to be more involved," said West. "We're a great venue for organizations to come out and socialize."

The Club at McChord Field is located at 700 Barnes Blvd. Information can be found on their website: https://www.jblmmwr.com/club/index.html.

Each time for the past 22 years, the annual WADS Canadian-U.S. hockey game has had a guaranteed outcome.

First, there's the guaranteed fun, the good times for both the 20-some players who signed up to play hockey and the 100-plus fans cheering in the stands. And then there's the guaranteed Canadian win.

The Canadian team, made up of the 15 Canadians detached at Joint-Base Lewis-McChord with the Western Air Defense Sector (WADS), are 22-0 in this let's-have-fun series. With their rich background in hockey, the Canadians are again the clear-cut favorites against the U.S. team that is always made up of guys who are just learning how to skate. This year's game is Friday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. at the Spanaway Sprinker Recreation Center. Admission is free.

"Lots of times it's a slaughter," said Kimberly Burke, a public affairs officer at JBLM. "It allows the Canadians to show off their skills. They're very good at hockey."

And in September, the U.S. gets to showoff their skills in softball as the U.S. and Canadians meet in an annual softball game. The U.S. hasn't lost in the three games they've played against the Canadians.

The annual hockey match emphasizes on fun and camaraderie and not so much on the outcome. Last year's hockey game was unique. The U.S. team actually led 2-0.

"We had a really good goalie which we hope to have back this year," Burke said. "And we had some people who could actually skate. But some of them have moved on."

Naturally, the Canadian team rallied and pulled out a 4-3 win. When the U.S. team led, there were a few suggestions thrown out by the crowd.

"They were pretty excited on the bench last year that they were ahead," warrant officer Rick Martin said with a chuckle. "Commander Colonel Kruger said let's call the game now."

While everyone plays to win, the outcome isn't as important as the opportunity to be together outside of work.

"It's a big camaraderie thing," Martin said. "With the Canadians and U.S. working together here, the big thing is it's a good afternoon of camaraderie. That's the biggest takeaway."

In addition to an afternoon of fun, there will also be a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity, a charity that helps build homes for the less fortunate.

"One of the big things we've done, we've started in the last three years, is we combined with a charity," Martin said. "An objective of one of our commanders while he is here is community outreach. We've chosen Habitat for Humanity to help."

About $1,000 was raised last year.

While there's no ex-NHL players on the ice for the Canadians, they clearly have the skill advantage. Then come September, the U.S. gets to get their "revenge" in softball.

"We started that game a few years ago because they were a little disgruntled with losing at hockey every year," Martin said with a chuckle. "We don't win that game."

WADS Canada vs. U.S. hockey game, 1:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 17, free, Sprinker Recreation Center, 14824 C St. S., Tacoma, 253.531.6300

Lt. Gen. L. Scott Rice, director of the Air National Guard, recognized three members of the Western Air Defense Sector for outstanding performance during a visit to two Washington Air National Guard units Feb. 14.  

Rice recognized Capt. Peter Hickman, 225th Air Defense Squadron, for recently being named a U.S. Air Force Weapons School Top Graduate and First Air Force Command and Control Warrior of the Year.  

He also presented a commander's coin to Master Sgt. Dawn Kloos, 225th Air Defense Group first sergeant, for being named the First Air Force First Sergeant of the Year.  Master Sgt. Daniel Raile, 225th Support Squadron, was also recognized for his contributions to the superior maintenance and operation of the WADS' power plant.

Lt. Gen. L. Scott Rice, Director of the Air National Guard, recognizes Master Sgt. Dawn Kloos, 225th Air Defense Group, for recently being named the First Air Force First Sergeant of the Year. Photo credit: Kimberly D. Burke
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Lt. Gen. L. Scott Rice, Director of the Air National Guard, recognizes Master Sgt. Daniel Raile, 225th Support Squadron, for his key contributions to the maintenance and operations of the WADS’ power plant. Photo credit: Kimberly D. Burke

To get a better understanding of what missions, units and capabilities their Air Force counterparts do on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Army senior leaders attended an Air Force orientation tour Feb. 9 on McChord Field.

“This may be the first time we’ve had a brief like this,” said Col. Leonard Kosinski, 62nd Airlift Wing commander. “(The Army is) doing a great job helping enable us to do our mission, but if we don’t explain it, you’re not going to know how to be able to better support us.”

Kosinski addressed the crowd of more than 30 Army officers with a Team McChord mission brief. The brief highlighted the mission partners the wing has on McChord Field, including the 446th Airlift Wing and the Western Air Defense Sector.

“I was very impressed with the variety and diversity of the mission in the 62nd AW and Air Force units at McChord,” said Col. Timothy King, I Corps deputy chief of staff. “I was also impressed with the level of integration of the Air National Guard and Reserve Component Airmen in the daily missions.”

The group also discussed Air Mobility Command’s upcoming premier exercise Mobility Guardian. Lieutenant Colonel Dan DeYoung, JBLM Mobility Guardian director, briefed about the exercise to the group of Army leadership to highlight the joint-partnership opportunities the exercise offers.

“The goal is to have as many joint-users as possible,” DeYoung said.

Army senior leaders from JBLM see Mobility Guardian as a great training tool for Soldiers.

“The Mobility Guardian exercise is a great opportunity for us to further our joint-training opportunities on JBLM,” said Col. Steven Johnson, 1st Special Forces Group deputy commanding officer. “I think it’s something where we can both (Army and Air Force) take advantage of.”

Mobility Guardian, scheduled to run from July 30 to Aug. 12, will simulate a disaster and is expected to challenge participants to hone their skills, executing core capabilities — airlift, air refueling, aeromedical evacuation and en route mobility support. King said the nature of the exercise will not only help the Air Force and Army train on moving people and cargo, it will help train in civil affairs matters as well.

“I think the upcoming exercise Mobility Guardian will give I Corps units a great opportunity to integrate in more joint-training,” King said. “Other opportunities for joint-training may include Defense Support to Civil Authorities as in a response to a natural disaster or emergency.”

The group then split in half and toured a static display of a C-17 Globemaster III and a tour at WADS. On the aircraft, Army officials were briefed on aeromedical evacuation, Prime Nuclear Airlift Force, Operation Deep Freeze and Joint Precision Airdrop.

“I think the one area I learned most about was their Prime Nuclear Airlift Force,” Johnson said. “I wasn’t aware they had that mission, but their skill and dedication to the program is impressive.”

The Army officials walked away with information about how the units on McChord Field are integrated and gained more knowledge about potential opportunities to work together in the future.

“The crews are ready, willing and able to support any operation,” said Col. Rich Cleveland, I Corps chief of operations. “The opportunity to train with the 62nd AW will increase unit readiness with continued opportunities associated with deployment readiness and joint interoperability exercises.”

The name of the office often times confuses people - the Employee Assistance Program does not offer resumé building or critiquing, nor do they help you find a job, there's a different office for that, but the EAP office does offer a selection of valuable services to Department of Defense civilians.

Carl Newhouse, Joint Base Lewis-McChord senior EAP coordinator, and a team of four EAP coordinators are there to help with different challenges DoD civilians, retirees and dependents who may be struggling in their work place or personal lives.

Newhouse, who is also a certified social worker, has spent the last five years at McChord assisting people.

"There's a few pieces to the EAP," said Newhouse. "We work very closely with the Air Force Drug and Alcohol Abuse Program, behavioral health and other offices."

Newhouse was asked to stand up the program here five years ago, but he said it is not a new program for the Air Force.

"We fall in line with Air Force Instruction 90-508, the Air Force Civilian Drug Demand Reduction Program," Newhouse said. "If a person wants to come see us, they can and it's a confidential service for DoD civilians, spouses of active-duty servicemembers, and retirees and their spouses."

The services they offer are very diverse.

"We offer communication classes, work force development, civility classes, workplace violence classes, diversity classes and short-term counseling, all of which do not go on a medical record."

The team often conducts mass trainings regarding management and work place civility in units across the base.

"Sometimes if there's a multi-generational work force, there may be issues with cohesiveness," Newhouse said. "Maybe they aren't meshing well; management can call us to help and we can provide support and provide information through our classes."

Newhouse and his team can help educate those offices and help provide them with tools to better the environment.

"We are able to support and talk with people and they can see us independently," Newhouse said. "But we don't give diagnoses; I try to emphasize that."

The short-term counseling can be an alternative for a person who doesn't want to go to a therapist or a chaplain.

"Our role is to make sure if you are working, that you're healthy," said Newhouse.

For more information about the Employee Assistance Program, please call 253.732.2214.

Members of Team McChord gathered for the third Lunch and Leadership Lecture, hosted by the 62nd Airlift Wing commander's action group Feb. 3 at the McChord Chapel Support Center, McChord Field.

The series of lectures are open to all Team McChord personnel interested in leadership related topics.

This month's Lunch and Leadership Lecture was called "Transitioning from Service" and focused on the importance of starting early and connecting with people.

Before the guest speaker was introduced, Col. Leonard Kosinski, 62nd Airlift Wing commander, shared a few words about the event.

"What we have started here with this Lunch and Leadership Lecture series is great," said Kosinski. "What we are trying to highlight is professional development. You can never do enough professional development, so we are fortunate enough to have great leaders in our community that are able to come here and share their stories and the knowledge that they have."

The event speaker was Anne Sprute, founder and CEO of Rally Point Six and 62nd AW honorary commander.

Sprute shared her experiences in the military and spoke on the importance of starting your transition out of the service sooner than later.

"I am not here to make anyone smarter," said Sprute. "But what I am hoping for is that I'll make you more informed, so that the day you become Mr. or Mrs., that you're more informed and can leave the military better prepared for the civilian life."

Sprute spoke to airmen about her military career as a helicopter pilot in the Army, transitioning from being a pilot to working at Microsoft, and to starting Rally Point Six.

Sprute said it was not an easy transition for her from military to civilian life because she was not properly informed and prepared.

"It was hard for me in the beginning and starting life beyond the Army," said Sprute. "I didn't want the same thing that happened to me to happen to anybody else, which is why I started RP6."

The mission of Rally Point Six is to guide servicemembers, veterans and their families to their next objective.

"I am here today so that you can be informed when you are ready to get out," said Sprute. "Create your plan early and go big. You can do or be anything you want to be; you just got to have the vision."

Occurring the first Friday of every month, Lunch and Leadership Lectures provide an informal environment for airmen to gain leadership advice during lunch. Airmen are encouraged to bring a sack lunch and eat during the sessions.

At the end of the event, Kosinski thanked everyone for coming out and thanked Sprute for sharing time, experience and knowledge to the men and women of Team McChord.

"This was a great topic to discuss, since JBLM has one of the best transition programs," said Kosinski. "We not only need to take care of our airmen while they serve, but also take care of them as citizens after their service. We need that good transition from the military to civilian life, and RP6 does an outstanding job of helping and offering servicemembers help."

To find out more information about future events, call the commander's action group at: 253.982.7832.

The Air Force chief of staff spoke about the challenges facing his service and what the Air Force must do in the future for the joint force, during a meeting with the Defense Writers' Group this week.

Gen. David L. Goldfein emphasized the importance to the joint force of incorporating the space domain. He also spoke about the manpower shortage the service faces and the need for dependable budgets for both the service and industry partners.

Fighting ISIL

Airmen are taking the fight to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on a daily basis, Goldfein said. During the counter-ISIL campaign in Mosul, he said, the Air Force was dropping ordnance on the group about every eight minutes.

The Air Force also killed hundreds of terrorists in their camps in Libya, and has gone after groups in Yemen, Goldfein said.

In Afghanistan, the Air Force is supporting Afghan forces with close air support and is helping in critical resupply efforts, the general said.

Airmen also are deployed and busy in South Korea, Poland, Germany, Djibouti, the Philippines and other areas, Goldfein said. In some places, he said, they are working with allies to strengthen their capabilities.

Nuclear Deterrent

The Air Force also manages two legs of the nuclear triad or deterrent - bombers and intercontinental missiles. The U.S. Navy maintains the nuclear submarine force.

The Air Force also maintains the command-and-control system for all nuclear forces if "on the worst day of our nation" the President ever has to use these weapons, Goldfein said.

The Air Force also is in space, where the service maintains the satellites that tie the military together, the general said.

Space-Based Communications

Space is where the Air Force literally touches every servicemember, Goldfein said, noting that the computers and global positioning systems that servicemembers use each day are linked through Air Force satellites.

"Space is the connective tissue for the joint force," the general said, noting he wants to "normalize" operations in that critical domain.

"As we talk about space as a joint warfighting domain, I want to make sure that as part of the dialogue we are not carving space out as something unique - that only people in the space business understand," Goldfein said. "We need to look at space as just one more domain in which we operate, and we need to look at constructs used on land, sea and air, and see how many can be applied to space."

Putting the space domain in its own unique set could mean walls and seams - and therefor vulnerabilities - among the domains, Goldfein said. And if space is the connective tissue among the U.S. services, he added, it also connects the United States to its allies and partners worldwide.

Aging Air Fleet

The Air Force fleet is the oldest it has been, Goldfein said, noting the B-52 bomber was designed in the 1950s, with the last rolling off the assembly line in the late 1960s.

But other aircraft are aging, too, he added. The F-15, F-16 and A-10 were originally designed in the 1970s. The C-17 in the 1980s. And, the KC-135 is based on the Boeing 707, he noted, was originally designed in the 1950s.

Goldfein said the Air Force wants to modernize its fleet, and that is why the F-35 is a priority for the service. The Air Force plans to buy about 1,600 F-35As, he said. "The more F-35s we can procure in the shortest period of time to reduce aircraft age and get more heavily into the 5th-generation capabilities" - the better," Goldfein said.

Hard Choices Ahead

But there are difficult choices ahead for the service, the general said. At the same time the Air Force is buying more F-35s, he said, the service needs to also buy new tanker aircraft, pay for the B-21 bomber program and fund the nuclear modernization program. Add to that, he added, investment in space programs and cyber defense programs and recovering readiness from the trough it went in following sequestration.

"One thing on my wish list is a stable budget I can plan against with a reasonable expectation for the future so I can make good fiscal decisions," Goldfein said.

The year-to-year changes in the defense budget make it extremely difficult to make any long-term investments in future capabilities, he said. This impacts the service, and industry partners, he said.

"I was in Boeing in Los Angeles and visited the people in the business of building satellites," Goldfein said. "That's a pretty sophisticated workforce."

He added, "When I jerk the throttle around in one-year budgets and I tell them, ‘I think I need this much in two to three years from now, but I'm not sure because I think I'm going to get a continuing resolution which means I can't spend.'" That CEO, he said, "has to somehow sustain that sophisticated workforce. One-year budgets wreak havoc on a service chiefs ability to plan, and on industry."

Multi-domain Command, Control

One huge change the Air Force is grappling with is on multi-domain command and control, Goldfein said. Gathering land, sea, air, space and cyber together will be key to military success in the future, the general said.

"Part of this is a dialogue within industry and the acquisition corps," he said.

"As we look at the 21st century, perhaps it's time to focus less on the trucks and the cargo and more on the highway they ride on," the general continued. "Because traditionally, we've built weapons systems and procured munitions and sensors, and then looked at the way to connect them."

That thinking needs to reverse, Goldfein said.

"In the future, we need to ask what is the network we will ride on and then what are the apps we'll need to ride on that network," he said. "Some of those roll, walk, steam, fly and orbit and it is only as we can connect them as a family that we get multiple dilemmas for an enemy in multiple domains, where one plus one equals three or more."