MCCHORD FIELD, Wash. -- Airlift in the Air Force serves more than mission support for other military agencies. It also provides airlift under specific circumstances for more than 17 agencies, like the Federal Emergency Management Agency, local fire departments, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations.

To facilitate airlift for these non-DOD agencies (and some DOD agencies), seven Reservists from the 86th Aerial Port Squadron here deployed April 13-18 to North Island Naval Air Station, Calif., to provide training on how to use military airlift, from preparing cargo to correctly filling out necessary paperwork. 

Patriot Hook 2011 participants from the 86th APS were Senior Master Sgt. Patrick McMullen, Tech. Sgts. Wayne Duckworth, Mary Kelley, Tracy Sheridan, John Waight, and Joshua Warbiany, and Staff Sgt. Steve Szatkowski.

Known as Patriot Hook, this exercise is an annual Air Force Reserve Command opportunity to deploy Airlift Control Flights to establish an operational mobile command and control and joint inspection site. The goal was to assist in the deployment of affiliates to simulate forward deployment during contingency operations.

The goal for the Reservists from McChord Field was to train the affiliates so they are prepared to forward deploy when the national emergency call comes. They must have all their equipment weighed, marked, and all the required paperwork completed with little or no assistance from the military, in order to deploy using military aircraft. 

"We want to make sure that in the event of a real-life crisis for which they need to deploy, they'll be able to do it," said Sergeant Sheridan, a 12-year Air Force Reserve veteran.

The learning curve was high for many of the agencies.

"When they came through, most of their packets, if not all their packets, were not complete, so we had to go from what I call zero to sixty," said Sergeant McMullen. "Sixty is being out the door. A lot of them started off pretty much as zero."

Using a variety of airlift aircraft, such as the C-17, C-130, and KC-135, the civilian volunteers from the non-DOD agencies were taught about load planning, manifesting passengers and cargo, and took part in the actual loading of the aircraft.

At the end of the exercise, Sergeant McMullen, an employee of Regents Blue Shield, had a collection of business cards so he could get a jump on next year's exercise.

"I like to stay in touch with participants so we can talk about what they need from us and what we recommend they bring to the exercise," said the 20-year Air Force Reserve veteran. "We try to involve the users in identifying the equipment they would really need (when responding to an emergency). This is an exercise not to see what we can take off and get away with; it's an exercise to see what they need and how we can accommodate that."

And of course, an exercise in the proper completion of all that paperwork, according to Sergeant McMullen:  "If the paperwork doesn't weigh as much as the airplane, it's not ready to go yet."    

FROM THE 62ND AW ...

A big round of applause to the 62AW/Team McChord Quarterly Awards Winners: 
Ms. Janel Colbo, A1C Leah Young, Capt Summer Kolcun, Ms. Anna Cullen, SrA David Sopczak, 1Lt Kristina Sawtelle, Ms. Carol Emondt, SSgt David Albertson, Mr. Daniel Wissman, SSgt Roberto Rodriquez, SMSgt Robert Childress, 1Lt Jeffery Marshall, and A1C Jesselee Kahaloa!

Very well deserved!    

JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. - Children's anticipation and excitement built up like runners at the start of a marathon while they eagerly stood fast to gather up Easter eggs during the annual Easter Dash at the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Fest Tent April 16.

Joint Base Lewis-McChord families watched as their children inched closer and closer to the starting line as the countdown commenced during the MWR sponsored event.

On the count of one, they barreled into the field of balloons where Easter eggs lay hidden, waiting to be collected just as fast as the children could get their hands on them.

The eggs, to some of the younger children's dismay, did not contain any sweets. The object of this Easter event, however, was to find the special prize egg, strewn about with hundreds of other eggs.

The prize egg, with unique markings and slightly larger than the rest, was scattered underneath the hundreds of balloons now floating around creating obstacles for the children to navigate.

To obtain the prize egg would prove to be no easy task during this Easter Dash.

There were three different heats in the fun-packed event comprised of children aging from three and under to 12-year-olds, each heat claiming a winner.

Balloons popped everywhere as the children had a blast laughing and running around the balloon field collecting as many eggs as they could fit in their baskets.

It did not take long for the last egg to be snatched up, leaving the children hoping the prize egg lay in their baskets, now filled to the brim with Easter eggs.

"It's all about the children," said Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers President Sgt. Danielle Batiste. "Our whole goal was to make this fun."

CeeJay Byrd, an 11-year-old who found the prize egg for his age group, said his favorite part of the dash was, "falling on my face to get the winning egg."

Pain is only temporary when prizes are at stake. 

Byrd and his family were the winners of a one-night stay at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, Washington and passes to the Hands on Children's Museum in Olympia, Washington.

After each heat was completed and prizes awarded, the children had the opportunity to meet and have their picture taken with the Easter Bunny.

A new phase in the McChord Field Main Gate construction project on JBLM began Wednesday and is scheduled for completion May 2. Inbound traffic remains the same; outbound traffic is rerouted through the Main Gate canopy and winds around the Visitors Center.

The D Street Gate on JBLM Lewis North The striping project is complete. The next East Drive project plans repairs starting at the end of the D-Street widening to DuPont/Steilacoom Road requiring road closure, likely in July.

The McChord Field Woodbrook Housing Gate has reopened. Operating hours will be extended during McChord Field Main Gate construction. The gate will be open 5 a.m.to 7 p.m., seven days a week through May 2.

The McChord Field North Gate will operate extended hours, 5 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, except weekends and federal holidays. The extended operating hours will continue through May 2, to accommodate construction at the McChord Field Main Gate.

A traffic circle is being installed at the intersection of A Street and 17th Street on Lewis North, to be finished May 2. However, light poles will not be delivered until late May. Traffic barrels with lights will mark the roundabout. There will be intermittent traffic delays when the poles are installed, which should take a day.

Drivers using Jackson Avenue near Madigan Army Medical Center should expect delays for a few months as contractors begin repairing a one-mile stretch of road from the barricades near the Madigan Gate to Transmission Line Road. The project consists of two phases: the first phase involves repairing cracks and potholes, and the second phase places an overlay on the road during the night and the project finishes in August. Paving should be completed on 41st Division Road by today and work on Jackson starts next week.

More information about traffic revision updates and construction changes will come as the contractor announces them. For road conditions, call 967-1733.

The theater at McChord Field has reopened for free weekend movies. See "Elmo in Grouchland" (G) at 4 p.m. today. For the complete schedule, visit www.JBLMmwr.com.

SEATTLE -- Lt. Col. Garin Tentschert, chief pilot with the 97th Airlift Squadron, and Maj. Kristi Forbes, a flight nurse with the 446th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, both out of McChord Field, Wash., discuss balancing their Reserve and civilian careers with their family roles on King TV Seattle's New Day Northwest hosted by Margaret Larson, April 20, 2011.

New Day Northwest is an hour long show with the goal of informing and entertaining the public with current events. Reservists of the 446th Operations Group particitpated as part of the audience.

For photos and a link to the interview, click here.     

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher Clayton likes the security and comfort living on base provides his family. Clayton recently moved into a new four-bedroom house in the Cascade Village neighborhood of McChord Field on Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

He goes to the field often and will deploy with his unit, the 201st Battlefield Surveillance Brigade. He appreciates the piece of mind the close-knit community offers his wife and three children, particularly when he's gone.

Clayton is just one of several new residents of McChord's newest development. Residential Communities Division broke ground last year and has completed 26 of 62 Cascade Village duplexes and single-family homes on McChord Field. All 26 homes are currently occupied.

The development offers military families multi-level three- and four-bedroom units for lease to senior NCOs, warrant officers and commissioned officers. A JBLM servicemember can lease a single-story home there that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. All JBLM housing is averaging a 96 percent occupancy rate, said Greta Powell, Residential Communities Division chief.

Each house in the neighborhood features a heat pump, air conditioning, covered garages and at least 2,000 square feet, said Equity Residential Managing Director Todd Vasko.

"The homes are what you would see, in size and amenities, if you were buying a new home off post," Vasko said.

The Army formed a 50-year partnership with Equity Residential when it was Fort Lewis. The privatized contractor delivers maintenance and yard services to JBLM residents, a partnership that allows on-base residents to have one point of contact for in-home service-related issues, no matter where they live on the installation, he said.

McChord Air Force Base privatized its housing communities in 2008 with Equity Residential. Now with joint basing, billing processes, repair issues and a single garrison commander has made day-to-day operations easier for Equity Residential, and residents benefit.

"We now have one philosophy, one point of view, and we aren't trying to appease two separate groups, being the Army and Air Force," Vasko said.

Another advantage to having a joint base housing system is relief from the "live where you work" policy, the stipulation that Soldiers must live on Lewis and Airmen live on McChord. Army families now make up 46 percent of residents living in McChord Field neighborhoods, Powell said. The numbers aren't quite that high for Airmen living on Lewis, because of the ratio of eight Soldiers to each Airman. Air Force families have priority and the right of first refusal to McChord housing.

"We are excited in the privatized progress of breaking down the barriers between the services in our installation communities," she said.

Clayton is one of those barrier breakers, as a Soldier living on the Air Force side of the joint base. He arrived at then-Fort Lewis nearly two years ago, and moved into his first house on McChord. Two months ago, he was given the option to move to Cascade Village.

"I am loving the new house greatly," Clayton said. "Space-wise, we are two to three times bigger than what we were in."

Regardless of where he's living on JBLM, he doesn't have to mow the lawn, giving the warrant officer more time to spend with his family.

"Being an Air Force brat, I had to mow the lawn," he said. "Now, especially after a recent deployment, I can concentrate on other things around the house other than the lawn."

Monthly lease payments and maintenance costs for each household are paid through servicemembers' Basic Allowance for Housing. It also pays for future construction projects, meaning that no extra money is required in the form of new appropriations from Congress. The self-sustainability program created through privatization ensures that even during a housing crisis, on-base home construction will continue.

"Privatization is a good tool that Congress has provided the military departments to take creative approaches to funding construction," Powell said.

The remaining 36 Cascade Village homes are expected to be completed and available for occupancy by the end of the year. The next housing project is planned in the Heartwood Community on McChord Field, where 156 duplex units will be built for junior enlisted servicemembers and their families. A new family housing community center near McChord's Carter Lake Elementary School will be constructed by 2013, to serve as a meeting location for residents to use.

"It's exciting time for family housing and it's great to see families enjoying their communities," Powell said.

For more information about JBLM housing or McChord Field's Cascade Village, visit Lewis-McChord Communities website at www.jblmc.com, or call Equity Residential's Lewis Main office at 912-2150 or McChord's office at 589-0523.

 Beginning June 1, Social Security numbers on military identification cards will begin to disappear, said Air Force Maj. Monica M. Matoush, a Pentagon spokeswoman.

The effort is part of a larger plan to protect service members and other DOD identification card holders from identity theft, officials said.

Criminals use Social Security numbers to steal identities, allowing them to pillage resources, establish credit or to hijack credit cards, bank accounts or debit cards.

Currently, the Social Security number is printed on the back of common access cards, and on the front of cards issued to dependents and retirees. Beginning in June, when current cards expire, they will be replaced with new cards having a DOD identification number replacing the Social Security number, officials said. The DOD identification number is a unique 10-digit number that is assigned to every person with a direct relationship with the department. The new number also will be the service member's Geneva Convention identification number.

An 11-digit DOD benefits number also will appear on the cards of those people eligible for DOD benefits. The first nine digits are common to a sponsor, the official said, and the last two digits will identify a specific person within the sponsor's family.

Social Security numbers embedded in the bar codes on the back of identification cards will remain there for the time being, and will be phased out beginning in 2012.

The department will replace identification cards as they expire.
"Because cards will be replaced upon expiration, it will be approximately four years until all cards are replaced with the DOD ID number," Matoush said.

The identity protection program began in 2008, when DOD started removing Social Security numbers from family member identification cards.