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Show n n nn n Hill AFB, Utah Commander's With the opening of a new test facility, Hill AFB is on it s way to closing the final chapter on the transition from the San Antonio Air Logistics Center to the Ogden Air Logistics Center. A ceremony was held Monday to open the doors of the new Gas Turbine Engine and Secondary Power Systems Test Facility in Bldg. 240. The facility was constructed to support personnel and the operational testing of the GTE and SPS workload that transferred from San Antonio as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure decision. Commander's Call, mander, will be held April 12, in the Base Theater, Bldg. 44 L. Sessions will be at 7 N a.m 9 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 330 p.m. An interpreter for the hearing impaired will be avail- : able at the 9 a.m. ses... have become very popular, and the sessions tend to. overflow, so early arrival is encour- aged. The doors will -- -- inium capacity. Any--: one turned away from any session can attend one of the other ses' - ' t : Attendance is mandatory for all military of ficers, military and , civilian supervisors, and GS-1- 1 employees (or equivalent) and above. All other employees and tenant organizations are also invited to attend. " Audience members will have the oppor- tunity to write ques- tions" for Mid-Ameri-ca . the commander to answer. , Questions that aren't addressed in the sessions will be answered in upcoming editions of the Hilltop Times. AAFES will have the snack bar open dur- ing all sessions, of fer-in- g coffee juices, sodas, doughnuts, cookies snacks and ;' popcorn for sale. For more informa- tion, call the Commander's Action Group ' at Ext. . Assistance fund exceeds goal by Senior Airman Russ Martin Hilltop Times staff The Air Force Assistance Fund Campaign sur- passed its goal by nearly $10,000, raising $52,311. More than 100 percent of the Hill AFB base goal of $43,149 was reached as the AFAF campaign ended March 31, according to 2nd Lt. Angela Carsten, AFAF campaign chairman. Hill AFB, the Ogden Air Logistics Center, 75th Air Base Wing and 388th Fighter Wing all reached over 100 percent of their goals for the campaign. So far, without final numbers in, the base has raised $52,311 passing its goal once again. "I'd like to give special thanks to the 388th units," Carsten said. contributions in the 25 three by percent or better. campaigns past Still waiting for a few contributions to arrive by mail, the final numbers will be posted next week. g events organized at Hill, the The two bowling and ski days, contributed more than $1,300 "They-surpasse- d fund-raisin- U.S. AIR FORCE Rick Keller, far left, retired Army Lt. Col. Reginald Reeves and Tom Holm, were among those who helped orchestrate a base Over potato 6,000 pounds of potatoes from Holm's Idaho farm were brought to Hill in a semi last week. Hundreds of base personnel cleared out the give-awa- y. ee be closed when the theater reaches max- - - with the belief that fewer production areas are better, fester and cheaper than systems and processes mat require routing our assets across the base." Construction on the 22,000 square foot, $8 million facility began in August 1999. Facility mechanical systems aii compressors, a 1,200-degrinclude two Fahrenheit compressed air heater, and a jet fuel distribution systenw "In BRAC 95, the DoD closed Kelly AFB and part ofthe workload from there came to Hill," said Art Andreason, Power Systems section chief. "By relocating here, we needed to replicate test cell capabilities that were at San Antonio. So with Capitol Hill support from Congressman Jim Hansen, Air Force and DoD leadership secured military construction funding to build the test facility to support the transferring workload and in the meantime, we signed interim bridge contracts with Honto maintain support to eywell, Lucas, and our worldwide customers." Installation of the test cell hardware began as soon as B See Engine, page 7 to the funds raised. Since 1974, Air Force members have been helping each other through the Air Force Assistance Fund. The fund kicked off its 31st anniversary year drive to raise funds. Feb. 27 witji its month-lon- g "Commitment to Caring" is the campaign permanent theme. AFAF raises money for four charitable organiza- - tPOOR COPY See Fund, page 7 Mary Galbraith "Coupled with many innovations within the building Commander's Calls sions. Photos by we share with our B-- 2 teammates, we are postured to capitalize on great ideas by efficiency-minde- d people," said Col. Terry Jones, deputy director of the Commodities Directorate. "They redefined processes and workflows " '. Vol. 58 No. 14, April 5, 2001 Hilltop Times staff conducted by Maj. Gen. Scott Bergren, Ogden ALC com- ' hiiltop.pahill.af.mil J by Senior Airman Russ Martin Call planned for April 12 sion. www.hilItoptimes.com i4 V) Gas turbine engine test facility opens 1 S 84056-582- 4 M spuds within a few i hours. i Base employees enjoy farmer's surplus spuds "I did not want to see food wasted, so by Mary Galbraith I made arrangements with (Tom) Cox Hilltop Times staff Potato salad and other spud dishes might swell in popularity on base thanks to 6,000 pounds of free potatoes that Hill personnel an estimated 300-50- 0 last Friday. picked up Potatoes came directly from Idaho (the potato state) via fanner Tom Holm and a semi truck. It wasn't Holm's first trip to Hill. As a boy he drove trucks filled with potatoes to the base with his father. Holm, whose family has farmed for generations, like many potato farmers had surplus spuds this year after several seasons of a suffering potato market. He said he invests about $1,500 an acre to grow potatoes, and the current market only recoups about a tenth of his cost To keep prices from further sinking, farmers only sell a portion of their crop in an effort to stabilize prices. "I know a lot of the soldiers don't get paid very much and they need help. Instead of destroying my potatoes in a field, I'd rather give them to people that will eat them and appreciate the farmers," Holm said. Holm wasn't surprised by the crowd. He said during the 1970s when the market was suffering and he and his father brought 15 trucks of potatoes to Salt Lake the trucks were emptied in two hours. Retired Army LtCoL Reginald Reeves, a Sun Valley resident, knew the farmers were having financial troubles and had some base connections. here on base to arrange this Reeves said. "We had to arrange for a truck and we got a company by the name of Doug Andrus and Sons to donate a truck. Arrangements were made for the parking place and admission to the base and we were off and running." Tom Cox, a e volunteer at the retiree office, said he and other base officials were eager to move forward and take advantage of Holm's generous offer. "It turned out to be a very positive event," said Master Sgt. Tim Green, 75th Mission Support Squadron First give-away- ," full-tim- Shirt Green said at any given time during the first few hours, people were climbing on the truck while others waited in line. The truck arrived at 50-6- 0 . about 10:30 a.m. and he said by 1 p.m. many of the large potatoes in the truck were gone and crowds sifted through the spuds on the ground. While crowds finished picking up the potatoes, Holm (who has a pilot's license) and his party toured the base. At about 5:30 p.m. Green cleared away the remaining crowd. I le added base personnel with farms picked up some of the smallest and slightly damaged potatoes to feed to livestock, so there was very little waste. And Green looks forward to doing it again. "He's interested in coming down and doing it again in the future," Green said, "and he was very impressed with our people." |