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Show r ACTION LINEEXT. 77000 Advance pay question August, September and October we asked J Last w2f many of our active duty military stationed at Hill to travel to the Persian Gulf and fight a war to free a country called Kuwait None of them hesitated and we sent them off with tears and prayers and hope for their safe and quick return. When they left, they were given money as a travel advance to cover expenses to and from the gulf. They were told at the time they accepted the advance that it would not have to be paid back upon their return. These brave men and women fought the war and won freedom for Kuwait They also gave this nation back its pride and patriotism and healed some open wounds from Vietnam. Six, seven and eight months after they left we welcomed them home with more tears and thanks and pride and joy for their safe return. We told them we were sorry for the hardships we imposed upon them and their families. Now, in what seems to me to be a slap in the face, we are asking them to pay back all or a portion of the travel advance given them months ago. I feel this is both unfair and unnecessary. In many cases we are again placing a hardship on them and their families. Considering all they have done for us, why are they now required to pay this ACTION LINE is your opportunity to make Hill AFB a better place to live, work and play. When you call Ext. 77000, or send on LOGDIS or OffkeVision to ID "ACTION," your comments will be recorded and staffed through the agency responsible for action. Please give your supervisor and chain of command the opportunity to work with you in answering questions and solving problems before calling ACTION LINE. This will help me better serve your interests through ACTION ail LINE. After f I - A Security Police has divided the base into patrol zones and the club falls within one zone. You will see an SP frequently on patrol in this tone as in any other zone. Let me assure you, they do not sit around the clubs and wait for drunk drivers. Driving excessively slow is one of the most common actions of individuals driving under the influence, and an SP is obligated to in- r ' f V" - I car Moj. Gtn. Date W. Thompson Jr. Ogden ALC commonder vestigate. I support those investigations. During the first three months of this year, there have been 21 incidents of driving under the influence on Hill AFB. This is totally unacceptable. The security police are doing an excellent job of making our roads safer for everyone, and I will continue to support a tough stance on drunken driving. Volunteer feels left out belong to the organization Retired Seniors Program and do volunteer work at the Hill AFB Museum. Last year the volunteers were recognized and honored at the volunteer reception, but this year we were not invited. We work hard at the museum and I feel that it was very unfair not to include us. Why didn't we receive an invitation to the reception? QI Kudos Recently, while my wife and I were shopping at Hill AFB, she developed a medical problem. We decided this problem required immediate attention rather than driving the 130 miles home. When we arrived at the hospital emergency room, we were greeted by a professional and efficient staff. The emergency room was busy, but thanks to this hardworking staff headed by Capt. H.' Gooch, my wife was seen, treated and we were on our way home within an hour. We have recently relocated to this area and this was our first experience at this facility. It is our opinion that Hill can be proud of their hospital emergency staff and the fine job they do. Thank you for writing Action Line. Dr. Gooch and the emergency room staff are very dedicated, people, and thank you for taking the time to write your appreciation. Thank you for calling Action Line. You are right, Capt Karen Anderson is a super person. Yours is just one of many great comments she has received We are very lucky to have such a fine provider of care. Captain Anderson was extremely happy to receive this and thanks you for your time in saying thanks. fi Last January the Hill AFB Family Support Center contacted the museum staff to find out if the museum volunteers would like to participate in this year's Angel Award and volunteer reception. The museum staff asked the volunteers working at that time what they would like to do. The preference of the majority of those volunteers was not to participate. As a result, the response given to the base Family Support Center by the museum staff was that museum volunteers chose not to participate. We are sorry you were not contacted and asked whether the museum volunteers should participate in the base volunteer reception; but due to time constraints, the varying work schedule of each volunteer compounded by the number of volunteers actively working at the museum, it was extremely difficult to query w everyone. The museum volunteer program is unique in that many of its participants have no past affiliation with the base other than they are neighbors. Their enjoyment of being associated with the aircraft and memorabilia of the museum, as well as the camaraderie, is what attracts many to donate their time. We are very fortunate to have outstanding citizens such as those who belong to the Retired Seniors Volunteer Program, as well as other volunteer programs who freely give the gift of time and energy to the base museum. Recently, while looking for a gift at the base exchange, an employee, Lena Lucero, was very, very helpful. We would like to extend our appreciation to her, and let the management at the base exchange know what a good employee they have working for them. Thank you. Thank you for your favorable comments on a base exchange employee. This individual will be duly recognized. In the past, the equipment checkout center has been able to issue a variety of items. These includ ed such things as fishing poles, jet skis, lawn mowers and ski boats. All were found to be unprofitable. The purchase cost, with the maintenance cost, would not be recovered by the use fee that was charged. This is why these items were discontinued. All of these items were purchased with appropriated funds which are no longer authorized for the equipment checkout center. When a r customer returns equipment broken by other than and tear, the customer is charged. MWR does have the authority to make customers ineligible to check out equipment if they continue to return broken equipment. We are also working on a rate increase because the rates that are currently being charged will not pay for the maintenance and projected replacement costs. While modest in most cases, we have had to submit a request to increase the prices to enable us to continue this service. Under the new rules for MWR, the It no longer Sports Loan must be to dollars operate. If the sports receives appropriated baon at least a break-eve- n loan service cannot operate sis, it will be forced to close. fan-wea- g. I have called to offer a kudos to Bill Ernst who is the director of Contracting. Mr. Ernst has shown a great deal of support for the Students and Tutors for the Advancement of Reading Skills program. The students in this case are less privileged kids in the Ogden School District. A field trip was planned for these kids to come out to the base museum, go through the programmed depot maintenance line, and to see a security police dog demo. Afterwards there was a lunch and Mr. Ernst, very generously and out of his own pocket, paid for all of the lunches for these less fortunate kids. I would just like to thank him for his great example and generosity. J, too, appreciate Bill Ernst's support and generosity. It is truly above and beyond I also appreciate your call; so I can publicly thank him for his support of such a worthwhile program. It is a pleasure to have such dedicated, caring people working at Hill AFB. mDEF military IDs legal? We were recently referred to Humana Hospital under CHAMPUS, and were told at Humana that it was mandatory for them to make a photocopy of our identification card for their records. Is it legal for e organizations to make a photocopy of the military ID card? off-bas- Jl paragraph Although Air Force Regulation 30-26 prohibits photographing or otherwise reproducing identification cards in an unauthorized manner, it does state copying an ID card to facilitate medical care processing or administering other military-relate- d benefits to eligible beneficiaries are authorized reproductions. r 0, 1-- I GHI pSoj PRS 1tuvJU Pay phones removed While going through some construction at the Air Freight Terminal, the pay phone was removed from the upstairs area. As yet it hasn't been replaced. When will it be replaced? JI Is copying we and told that we were going too slow. We had a few drinks but not enough to be harassed about it. I feel they just sit around the club waiting to pull individuals over as they are leaving. How can they justify pulling people over just because they aren't driving fast enough? let you know what a fine job who works in the OBGYN Karen Anderson, Capt. Clinic, did in answering a question I had. She made the necessary calls to get the information I needed and called me two or three times to follow up. She is a super person and I think you should be aware of it. Thanks a lot. r a few? we 0 were I would like to 01 club 18 hard-workin- g understand the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Sports Loan is going to raise their prices and discontinue renting some items because some people do not take care of the equipment they rent, and it is damaged when they return it. Couldn't they make the responsible people pay for repairs or replacement and make them ineligible to rent equipment from MWR in the future rather than punishing everybody for the actions of 11 Hl'rop Time the other night, were leaving the miles per hour when to Q pulled traveling about over by a police officer at the South Gate ft Rumors of increase in prices 28, 1991 Slow driving warrants pullover money back? I appreciate your concern for the men and women Jr who served in the Persian Gulf. We all appreciate the professionalism and dedication these people displayed on behalf of our country. The Air Force provides some salary compensation for serving in combat situation. Travel advances are not a part of this compensation. Travel advances must be supported by a specific entitlement such as transportation, lodging or meal expenses. Usually, on a deployment, no entitlements are accrued because everything is provided. The advance paid when members deployed for Desert Storm was offered to the members as a contingency for a possible delay en route. Everyone was told during the deployment briefings, the advance was for travel expenses and would be owed back if no authorized expenses were incurred. In most cases, all meals, lodging and transportation were provided by the government. For that reason, repayment of the advance pay was June Inquiries into this situation revealed several obsta-jdes have delayed both the construction project in Bldg. 900 and subsequent reinstallation of the pay phone. First, construction has extended beyond the time frames originally planned, due to asbestos abatement and unplanned demolition difficulties. Second, the pay phone is the property of the AT&T company and must be reinstalled by company technicians. Last, approval to reinstall the pay phone must be granted to prevent contractual interference with the remodeling contractor, then scheduled with the Denver, Colo., office of AT&T. Normally, AT&T requires a y scheduling notice for installations like this; however, company representatives will expedite the air terminal's request. I certainly regret the inconvenience to employees, and hope this answers your concerns. Rest assured, the pay telephone will be reinstalled at the earliest possible time. n 90-da- |