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Show 2 COMMENTARY I Idltop TIMES January 6, 2011 Initiative to boost number of CCAF graduates oJo Hilltop <, TIMES BY JOHN SCAGGS Air Force Materiel Command Public Affairs Hilltop Times Editorial Staff: Lee Carter ... Standard-Examiner publisher Mary Lou Gorny Hilltop Times Editor Catherine McNally Hilltop Times Writer Deadlines: Editorial and news items are due by noon on the Friday prior to the Thursday print date. To submit news items e-mail hilltoptimesqstandard.net or call (801) 625-4273. For Classified Advertising, call (801) 625-4300. For Retail Advertising, call (801) 625-4388. The Hilltop Times is published by Ogden Publishing Corp., a private firm in no way connected with the U.S. Air Force, under, and in compliance with, a Memorandum of Understanding with Hill Air Force Base. The content of the Hilltop limes does not necessarily represent the views of, nor is it endorsed by, the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Air Force or Hill Air Force Base (collectively, the Government). The appearance of advertising in this publication, including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement by the Government of the products or services advertised. Everything advertised in this publication shall be made available for purchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical handicap, political affiliation or any other nonmerit factor of the purchaser, user or patron. Editorial content is edited, prepared and provided by the Standard-Examiner, 332 Standard Way, Ogden, Utah, 84404. Additional editorial content is provided by various military and civilian wire services and Hill Air Force Base public affairs departments. Call 801-625-4273 with story ideas or comments, or contact the editor, Mary Lou Gorny, at mgorny@standard. net . Call 801-625-4300 for Classified Advertising or 801-6254388 for Retail Advertising. W RIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio — In an attempt to increase the number of Community College of the Air Force graduates on Air Force Materiel Cornmand bases, command officials rolled out a plan entitled "Year of the Community College of the Air Force" Jan. 1. Gen. Donald Hoffman, commander of the Air Force Materiel Command, addressed the importance of the campaign in a Commander's Log sent via e-mail Dec. 27 (and published in the Hilltop Times on Dec. 29). In that column, the general indicated that AFMC's Year of the Community College of the Air Force, or YoCCAF, will emphasize the need for enlisted Airmen to earn college degrees, specifically a CCAF degree. "Formal education after high school is a path to promotion and personal development for enlisted Airmen and a commodity highly valued in all Air Force members," wrote Hoffman. "Even the wisest mind has something more to learn." The general's CC Log states that 24 percent of AFMC's enlisted Airmen have a CCAF degree. The command's goal is to increase that number by 10 percent in 2011. Chief Master Sgt. Eric Jaren, AFMC command chief, adds that the YoCCAF campaign could increase CCAF degree completions to 50 percent of eligible Airmen over the next three years. "We plan to accomplish this through a strategic communication plan featuring aggressive marketing and peer mentoring," Jaren said. "During 2011 we also will launch a 12-part series of articles called 'My Education Journey' to showcase stories of Airmen completing their education." As AFMC's top enlisted member, Chief Jaren will provide program guidance. His headquarters AFMC co-hort is Shelly Owczarski, who is chief, Voluntary Education/Library Programs within the Manpower, Personnel and Services Directorate. According to Owczarski, each AFMC base will set up a program committee to identify eligible Airmen, pair them with mentors and track progress. Bases will also appoint Secretaries of Education, who will work with their education office and disseminate information to mentors. "Mentors are people with a passion for developing Airmen and who al- See YoCCAF I page 4 Worn out resolutions invite a shift in focus BY COL. JOE SCHERRER 75th Mission Support Group Commander L ar HAWC Nest Fitness Tip from the Health and Wellness Center The Healthy Living Workshop on Jan. 4, 2:30 p.m. -4:30 p.m. is for you if you are interested in taking control of an ongoing health condition. If you have diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, fibromyalgia, or any other chronic condition call (801) 777-1215 to register for the 6-week course. ike I'm sure many of you have done, I sat down this past week to draw up my list of New Year's resolutions. After all, "He who fails to plan, plans to fail." Almost automatically, I wrote down my standard categories for improvement: spiritual, family, personal relationships, work/professional, finances, intellectual, health/fitness/recreation. And like old friends, long established goals came back to reacquaint me with their company: "Lose ten pounds," "Read one book per month," "Score 100 on your PT test," "Get involved with a church ministry," and "Save another 5% of your income." It was then that I paused, and in a moment of reflection, I came to understand that the goals I was setting for myself, while certainly worthy in terms of my basic responsibilities to family, society and myself, ultimately failed to address the full potential of my human dignity. Let me explain. Perhaps because I'm getting older (or maturing with style as I prefer to say), the "American Dream" in a materialistic sense no longer satisfies in a meaningful way, if indeed it ever did. Sure, a nice house, an enjoyable job, a decent income, a few luxuries, that is all fine, but these things in and of themselves do not have the capacity to bring lasting happiness. Yet, our culture insists that this is the epitome of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," and we allow ourselves to be manipulated to spend bil- lions of dollars and uncountable hours to obtain that which is passing. We do ourselves a grave disservice if this is as good as it gets. It's no wonder that we're so restless as a society and as individuals. We are served a diet of junk Col. Scherrer food to feed our human spirits. On the contrary, in order to move forward, to set real, lasting and meaningful goals, I believe we need to look to the past, to the wisdom of the ancients, and re-integrate into our lives the best of what it means to be human. To start, we need to dust off the cardinal virtues of the Greeks: prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance and add them to the spiritual virtues of faith, hope and charity. The historical legacy of our modern Western society is in large part the systematic discarding and deliberate forgetting of these fundamental touchstones of gracious fraternal living. Starting around 400 years ago with Descartes' "I think therefore I am" followed by Kant's "Copernican Turn" and supported by so-called Enlightenment thinkers such as Rousseau, Hobbes and Hume, Western society has been driven by one central theme: Man is the center of it all. Except today, in these post-modern times, we must now say the dominant theme is: I am the center of it all — narcissism has been democratized. THINK SAFETY Hill's Last DUI: sec, /2 Unit Involved: ,i0te,t4t 7161eatee-teotee sue* Airmen Against Drinking and Driving provide rides when designated drivers are unavailable. Call 777-1111 to request a ride anytime. ..__Hours of operation: Fridays-Saturdays 10 p.m.- 6 a.m. Sundays 9 p.m.-midnight The virtues are an antidote to this disease of "me-ness" and instead epitomize "other-ness." And it is in otherness that we find our true fulfillment. Dare I say that we were created for the "other" rather than for me, in and of myself? I believe that it is in giving of ourselves that we find ourselves, and we realize our true human dignity. My uneasiness disappeared after this reflection, and I threw away my worn out resolutions. I then brought out a clean sheet of paper, and with a sense of sharp internal clarity, I revised my list to these three short goals: • To be open to, support and work for the good of all, especially family, friends, co-workers, and especially those in some kind of need or distress • To work every day to integrate the virtues into my life and do my best to act in accord with their tenets • To thank God for his blessings, to ask for His strength to live a life of virtue, and for His forgiveness when I fall short of living such a life Now, for those of you who are saving for a new boat, or putting money away for your son or daughter's college, or remodeling the kitchen, by all means resolve to do so. However, I would also invite to you put that which is truly enduring and most deeply satisfying at the top of your list of post-New Year's resolutions, and that is a life of virtue. And, if you happen to run into me in the coming year, I'd be grateful for your support in fulfilling my resolutions! I wish all of Team Hill the very best in the coming year. 777-7000 action.line.pa@hill.af.mil Hill's Total 2011 DUIs: 0 3fle ready have a CCAF degree or higher," Owczarski said. "Mentors will be on the front lines, so to speak, encouraging `mentees' to complete their CCAF degree through a combination of peer monitoring and education office counseling." Added Jaren, "Mentors will also follow up with `mentees' and provide assistance throughout the year." The program focuses on Airmen who have completed their career development courses and are in the grades of E-4 through E-7. Many Airmen in this group have earned 45 semester hours or more of college credit. "Our databases indicate that a lot of people are within 15-30 hours of graduating, due to credits accumulated by completing basic training and technical school," Owczarski said. "In many cases, all that is required are completion of the general education classes, some of which Airmen can fulfill by passing a College Level Examination Program, or CLEP, test ... which is free." As for costs associated with pursuing a CCAF degree, Airmen can take advantage of the Air Force Tuition Assistance When you call or send an tunity to work with you in ane-mail, your comments will be swering questions and solving recorded and staffed through problems before calling the Acthe agency responsible for ac- tion Line. This will help me bettion. ter serve your interests. Items of Please give your supervisor and basewide interest will be pubchain of command the oppor- lished in the Hilltop Times. SUICIDE PREVENTION ASSISTANCE Phone numbers 4 The base agencies listed can be contacted directly if you have a complaint or a problem with their services: Mental Health Clinic 777-7909 Chaplain 777-2106 Military OneSource (800) 342-9647 National Suicide (800) 273-8255 Prevention Line TriWest Crisis Line (866) 284-3743 (866) 651-4970 TriWest Behavioral Health Contact Center EAP (800) 222-0364 777-1163 Occupational Medicine Services Wingman Advocates 777-2255 Security Forces 24-hr. Crisis Information Force Support Squadron Base Restaurants Retirement/Compensation 777-3056 777-3056 777-4134 777-2043 777-6142 (civilian) Equal Opportunity Office Employer Relations Military Pay Civilian Pay Air Force Suggestion Program 777-5455 777-7129 777-1851 777-6246 777-6901 Hill Straight Talk IG Complaints Resort suspicious via tie AFOSI EAGLE EYES program Piai: 777-3056 / 3057/ 3058. Watch - Report - Protect Force Protection is Our Business - Everyone is a Sensor 777-9696 777-5305 (for appointment) IG Complaints (after hours) Fraud, Waste or Abuse 777-5361 777-5361 (recording) Loud Noise (complaints) 75th Medical Group Civil Engineering a ctivity 1-877-885-9595 777-4918 777-1856 Hill Pride Hotline Public Affairs Military Housing Maintenance Safety Office Safety Office Hotline Union AFOSI Narcotics Hotline Family Assistance Center (when activated) 777-7433 777-5333 825-9392 777-3333 586-9300 777-3257 777-1852 777-3090 |