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Show 2 Hilhop Times March 7, 2002 Paralympic Winter Games begin today HillAFB weather outlook www.alrfleld-ops- a.m. 12:30 p.m. at Snowbasin Ski Area. Biathlon - Friday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Soldier Hollow. Ice Sledge Hockey Friday, Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, March 14 and 15 numerous games are played between the hours of 9 a.m.-- 9 p.m. at in West Valley City. the Cross-countrskiing Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, March 15 and 16 various distances are run from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Soldier Hol-- by Senior Airman Russ Martin 5-d- ay Hilltop Times staff Jimmy Shea, Sarah Hughes and Apolo Anton Ohno may have left the building, but that does- . n't mean the buzz is gone from Salt Lake City. The Salt Lake 2002 Paralympic Winter Games begins today and continues through March 16. The 8th Paralympic Winter Games brings together more than 1,000 athletes from 35 countries to participate in the 26 events in three sports and four disciplines along the Wasatch. Athletes will have the opportunity to participate in alpine skiing, biathlon, skiing and ice sledge hockey. With the Paralympics, like the Olympics, comes traf fie. Hill personnel should be aware of possible delays when traveling on U.S. 89 and plan accordingly. The following is a list of events and locations for Team Hill members to take notice of. Opening ceremony - today, 7 p.m. at Stadium in Salt Lake City. Downhill - Friday and Saturday from 10:30 hill.af.miloswweather low. Rice-Eccl- Mostly cloudy with rainsnow mix MHUBMaMHUaHMH Super G - Sunday and Monday from 10:30 a.m. 12:30 p.m. at the Snowbasin. Giant Slalom - Wednesday and March 14 from 9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. at Snowbasin. Slalom - March 15 and 16 from 9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. at the Snowbasin. Closing Ceremonies - March 16, 7:30 p.m. at the Medals Plaza. The goal of the Paralympics is to provide athletes with disabilities the opportunity to compete at the same international level as athletes without disabilities. -- cross-countr- y 40s High 26" Low -- y es 2002 PARALYMPICS TMO 1998 SLOC A "C 220S06 Sergeant major officer fills Army position at Tobyhanna Depot J Air Force tion-commision- ed and making those contacts could help in my other job." McNece, who joined the Air Force in 1980, began his depot tour in July 1999. He is responsible for making sure electronics parts and equipment get to the depot on time and that repair and test deadlines are met He started when workload was being transferred from Sacramento ALC, Calif., to Tobyhanna as a result of the 1995 BRAC decisions. The workload he coordinates includes Ground Theater Air Control Systems, Air Traffic Control and Landing Systems, Range Threat Systems, Atmospheric Early Warning Systems and many others. Tobyhanna has done really well in getting the (mission capability) down for the by Anthony Rlcchiazzi Public Affairs Specialist TOBYHANNA ARMY DEPOT, Pa. Another sign of Tobyhanna's growing mission is the temporary of assignment an Air Force senior noncommissioned officer as the depot's acting Sergeant Major. Master Sgt. Floyd McNece is Tobyhanna's Sergeant Major until Sgt. Maj. Elizabeth Lawrence returns from maternity leave in March 2002. Having never served as a sergeant major (the Air Force z nnaXY : J inter-servic- e 34' SALT LAKE High 22 Low Cloudy with snow showers ending by afternoon c J , I '"'"v, if" equivalent of E--9 or chief master sergeant) , even in the Air Force, McNece admitted he thought for a moment before taking the job. "I've never heard of an Air Force senior NCO standing in for an Army sergeant major in this way," he said. "The closest I ever came (to a joint assignment) was serving at a NATO site. I had some reser-vation-s, 36 High 25 Low j . i? 'V Air Traffic Control and Landing Systems," he noted. Tve heard a lot of compliments from the program manager on the depot's' success at cutting the MICAPS number down. The depot had no experience in that (before this workload)." not knowing what the duties were. But Sgt. Maj. Lawrence took an afternoon with me to go through some of the duties. She planned for an addi- Partly cloudy MICAPS-basicall- tional meeting, but her baby came a few days earlier than expected." Tobyhanna has had a growing customer relationship with the Air Force and the iff Navy since Base Realignment and Clo- sure moved workload from those military branches to the depot. "As we looked at our options to fill the role of acting sergeant major, it seemed like a natural choice to turn to Master Sgt. McNece," said depot commander Col. Patricia E. McQuistion. "For one thing, he brings great experience and a wide understanding of depot industrial operations to the position. He has worked with many of our directorates on depot maintenance issues. "As a participant in our staff calls and mission meetings during his assignment at Tobyhanna, he has come to understand our mission, our command philosophy and the processes we use to conduct depot operations." His chain of command approved the unique request. His duties as sergeant major include responsibility for morale, welfare and training of nearly 250 military personnel assigned or attached, 39 High 27 Low Partly cloudy nit 43 High 30 Low Cloudy including the 363rd Military Police Com- pany now assisting the Security Division; Reducing the number of Air Traffic Control and Landing Systems means increased readiness for' ' ATCALS systems. "Sgt Maj. Lawrence joked that I would be a fireman while standing in for her,, McNece said. "My job would be to put', out fires." But so far, the job has been', routine. He said there is not much dif--, ference between an Air Force NCO and an Army NCO, except for new acronyms he has to learn. Tm in the sergeant major's office prior and other to 0730," he said. "I check brief" for then any taskings, messages Col. McQuistion. I'm back at my regular job in the afternoons." Although the job has not sparked any fires for McNece to put out while acting sergeant major,, McQuistion said she is nonetheless pleased with his performance. "Sergeant Maj. Lawrence and he conducted a good transition plan," she said. "Master Sgt McNece has taken on the' mission without missing a step. We are certainly benefiting from his leadership" and willingness to work through issues that help the depot operate more effi- - Photo by Anthony Rlcchiazzi Master Sgt. Floyd McNece, who serves as liaison between the Ogden ALC and Tobyhanna Army Depot, Pa., Is temporarily serving as the depot's sergeant major. providing advice on military matters, cermajor for a couple of weeks, McNece emonies and celebrations; and maintaining quality-of-lif- e programs for all on residents the military depot says he sees a different perspective from his normal job of liaison between Tobyhanna and the Ogden Air Logistics Cen- McNece was already involved with some of the activities the depot sergeant major is involved in as the depot s housing area mayor, which he has done since December 2000. "My duties in that area are resolving problems associated with housing here and if necessary forwarding problems up the chain to the sergeant major, which in this case is now me," he said. "A great added benefit is that as an ter. "As acting sergeant major, Master Sgt McNece is exposed to a wide variety of command issues that require his leadership and experience as a senior noncommissioned officer," McQuistion said. "I expect he will benefit from the expe- on-po- st resident and the housing area d in installamayor, he is also tion operations and services," McQuistion added. "So, he really has a great sense of installation requirements, as well as the industrial activities requirements." Now that he has been acting sergeant well-verse- rience and gain greater perspective on soldier and civilian issues, garrison opere ations and support" "Just going to the meetings I've become more aware of the activities and missions the depot carries out," he said. "In my other job, I see some of the production, but here I see more of the management side, depot-wid- e programs, and initiatives to improve quality and increase production. I've met a new group of people, inter-servic- . . , ciently." McNece says he is sure his experience will also help enhance the growing joint relationship between the Air Force and the Army. Afghan fighting is show of solidarity for U.S. troops by Master Sgt. Louis A. as Air Force Print News BAG RAM AB, Afghanistan As Afghan and U.S. forces engaged in fierce fighting with Taliban and forces in the mountains near Gardez, airmen here stood by, ready to help. Others were in the fight. The biggest U.S.-leground assault of the war on terrorism kicked of f in the early morning hours Saturday. Soldiers from the Army's 101st Airborne and 10th Mountain divisions and Afghan forces took off from this base 25 miles north of the Afghan capital of Kabul. d anti-Taliba- n The droning sound of the huge twin-roto- r Chinook helicopters that took the troops into battle shook this base at the foot of the Hindu Kush Mountains. Blacked out after dark, there were still many flashlights visible at the base as the choppers lifted off. It was a show of solidarity from the soldiers and airmen who stayed behind. There were a lot of people watching, wondering what was about to happen," said Staff Sgt. James Puente, from the 821st Air Mobility Squadron. "It was eerie hearing the choppers take off, and knowing where they were headed. Some people were praying." CH-4- 7 Every person on this base knew something was up before the attack. In the days before the assault, Globemaster III and Hercules transports flew into the base around the clock. They brought in hundreds of soldiers and tons of food, equipment, supC-1- 7 C-1- plies, ammunition and fuel. 4 On Friday, Air Force Stratofortress bombers pounded the Taliban and mountain strongholds. And U.S. warplanes "thermobaric" bombs. dropped The new bomb's blast causes a force that sucks the air out of caves. The bombers were back on March 3. The soldiers met stiff resistance at the landing zone. Mortar fire injured some of the first soldiers on the ground, said Paul, a 10th MD soldier, who later went into the fighting. He cradled his rifle as he ate spaghetti from a military meal pouch. "Word around here is they got hit pretty hard," he said. "We just want to go in help." The first wounded arrived here around 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Among them was the one soldier killed in the battle. At least three Afghan soldiers died in the fighting. Doctors and nurses from the Army's 274th Forward Surgical Team met the helicopters. At their side was 1st Lt. Charlie Thomas, an Air Force senior flight nurse. An Oklahoma guardsman with the 137th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, said he and two other nurses B-5- Arana-Barrad- 2 2,000-poun- d high-pressu- re M-1- 6 are working as flight clinical coordinators. Their job is critical to the operation. Thomas said the nurses must see the wounded. That allows them to better gauge what kind of medical evacuation they might need. Then they request an evacuation flight through the joint patient movement regulating center at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia. "We tell them what kind of airlift we need, and they provide it," Thomas said. They also know where every hospital bed is available in the area, or Germany, Italy, Oman any- where." Some of soldiers wounded Saturday had serious wounds, Maj. (Dr.) Brian Burlingame said. The Army surgeon said knowing the next level of care is just a plane ride away is comforting. And that, he said, makes the Air Force nurses invaluable. "We know they make making sure our wounded are flown out for better care at hospitals in the rear," Burlingame said. An M Combat Talon from Duke Field, Fla., was the first aircraft to fly wounded out of here. Aboard with two litter and one ambulatory patients was a 43rd Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron aeromedical evacuation team from Incirlik Air Base, C-1- Turkey. With them were medics from Hurl-bu- rt Field, Fla. The team included a critical care air transport team with a critical care physician, nurse and respiratory therapist. The team provides patients critical care en route to a hospital. A Minnesota-AiNational Guard flew out the soldier killed in battle Saturday. Aerial transportation troops from the 821st AMS and soldiers from mortuary affairs delivered the soldier to the transport. An Army soldier later told Master Sgt. Perry Bratcher, night shift supervisor of the 821st AMS' air terminal operations center, what took place. The mortuary affairs sergeant told Bratcher that the dead soldier was on a plain stretcher. He did not have an American flag draped over him. So one of the crewmembers went up to the flight deck and came back with an r C-1- C-1- ' American flag, which he draped over the body. "All the soldiers on that plane were touched., (by) the gesture," Bratcher said, "by the dignity of the moment. It's something those soldiers will never forget." Afterward, Perry and his porter went back" to offloading many filled to the brim'' with munitions for the Apache helicopters. Besides the gunship crews, other airmen" are in the battle. Billy, a special operations soldier, said Air Force tactical air control parties went in with the 10th MD troops. They were among the troops pinned down s, by heavy mortar and small arms fire. He also said Air Force pararescue teams tried repeatedly to extract wounded soldiers from trie battlefield, but intense fire forced them, back. Through Sunday, more wounded arrived at the base. Some would need evacuation. Others, with minor wounds, went to the British or Spanish hospitals at the base. And late into the night, continued to deliver ammunition. At about 10:30, Bratcher and his team were running thin on porters to unload a 7 packed with munitions. Some of the departing passengers helped the porters push the pallets onto waiting forklifts. "Our troops need these munitions, food and a lot of things," Bratcher said. "We intend to keep getting it to them." Billy said the fight is a long way from being over, and that more Americans will die in the war against terrorism. This isn't an Army fight, or an Air Force fight," he said. "We'll win this together." C-1- C-1- -- 4 .. |