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Show Jun Indians, from 21 , 2001 page 5 So while Hill AFB has been consulting with the tribes in Utah and other western states for 10 years, the June 7 dinner meeting was a start to a government-to-governmeexchange of ideas, said Debbie Hall, Hill's newly appointed America Indian Liaison. nt "We have found approximately 300 sites on the range that require protection and preservation," she said. "The dinner allowed the government's leaders to meet together and exchange ideas about those sites. It was a meeting of mutual respect and an opportunity to learn from differ- ent perspectives." Heritage festival by Staff Sgt. Amy Parr Dr. James G. Roche, appearWASHINGTON for the first time as secretary before ing Congress Michael E. Ryan, Air Force Gen. Air of the Force, and chief of staff, addressed the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense about the 2001 budget June 6. During the hearing, they spoke of people, readiness, infrastructure and equipment. liin '"""S . J .''T--i- , ,!':. - - , , More than 700 people packed a brightly decorated Centennial Park May 24 to celebrate the Asian and Pacific Islanders Heritage Festival. During his opening remarks, Maj. Gen. Scott Bergren, Ogden ALC commander, encouraged the audience to learn about and cele- brate Asian and Pacific Islander cultures. Elizabeth Chan shared Tai Chi philosophy instructing the audience on relaxing the mind, body and spirit, and base employee David Diguanco gave a Kendo demonstration. fill .Chariot An additional $33 million in supplemental increases were requested this year for recruiting and retenbonuses tion programs. Ryan said have been used to retain people and keep them in the Air Force for second and third tours. Increases were also requested to address other personnel issues like healthcare shortages and basic housing allowances. issues are important for attractWhile quality-of-lif- e ing and retaining people, Ryan said quality cf ser military is improving, more improvement is needed, especially in terms of career planning and mentoring. "(General Ryan and I) are both seized with the fact that we have an enormous amount of time and money people," he (invested) in these very high-calibsaid. "We can't have them leave us. And so we intend to make this a major effort for the Air Force in the next couple of years. Principally on retention, we believe that the force that retains will be the force that will attract." The bottom line is this, Roche and Ryan said. The Air Force protects the nation's interests across the board. From contingency operations to humaner itarian assistance, aerospace power has been cru- cial to theater commanders for providing quick and decisive actions in support of national interests. Checks & "More" PAY DAY LOANS CHECK LOANS EASY PAYMENT PLANS rn Check out our Great SUMMER .... SPECIALS Located at: Sa&le 2182 ituutccal Inc. LAYTON N. "Your Hillfield Rd. 2 776-140- 0 Personal Loan Center" 0 CREDIT S WE CAN HELP! Bring in a copy of your current LES and Military ID. 5 EE S ODS Chariot cfiuto Sales (next to Macey's) 562 South State? Clearfield (801) 774-619- 5 1 "'At "No Problem Bonni, For You We Will Do Anything!" if er and that problem needs to be addressed. Although he said the financial aspect of being in the ment goal, both in terms of quality and quantity," Ryan said. "Our major challenge is retaining our best and brightest to stay with us for a career." While Ryan said there's been a drop in readiness over the last few years, it has slowed down. Still, he said, more needs to be done to retain troops and improve or replace aging equipment and infrastructure. iuto &k vice was, as well. Quality of service means giving airmen the proper tools to do their jobs. "Quality of service is not just about equipment with which they operate, but the hangars and buildings and shops in which they must work," he said. "We all know quality begets quality. And, as you know, we have underfunded our capital equipment arid our infrastructure for too long and we must turn the aging problem around." Roche said the Air Force is losing people mid-care- "I'm happy to say this year we are making our recruit- it ZiJ2j. issues." Hall said the Air Fore plans a spring tour of the range for the tribal leaders and is currently working with the National Park Service on a study to learn how the various tribes interrelated years ago. Roche, Ryan speak about budget Air Force Print News i,i'isii!fr find (on the UTTR). We're always available to the Air Force to discuss different Leon D. Bear, chairman of the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes, said this relationship between Hill AFB and his tribe is still new but welcome. "I think on both sides we should give more information to each other," he said. "I think the Air Force is doing an excellent job at notifying us of anything they t5 LMR. BANKER - ' t X. lr T:T :iWJf msa raw EaL W(IiIiIIiMiISIM |