Air Force Association Chapter 105

2020-4 Tucson, Arizona October2020

Chapter Officers

President Wally Saeger

wsaegero6@gmail.com

Vice President Mark Koechle

Mark.koechle@gmail.com

Secretary Vickie Jo Ryder

ryderf16@yahoo.com

Treasurer Marie A. Lankford marihan53@cox.net

VP Aerospace Education

VP CyberPatriot Wally Saeger

wsaegero6@gmail.com

VP Leadership Develop. Cal Payne

cdpayne44@yahoo.com

VP Membership Vickie Jo Ryder

ryderf16@yahoo.com

VP Veterans Affairs Bill Goodall

bgoodall@mac.com

VP Military Liaison Kevin Long

kevin.long41@gmail.com

VP Programs / Communication Marie A. Lankford marihan53@cox.net

VP Community Partners

Dave Carrell dave.carrell@cfafranchisee.com

VP Community Outreach

Heidi Goldman heidigoldman1@gmail.com

VP Awards

Cal Payne cdpayne44@yahoo.com

VP AFA Golf Fundraiser

VP Public Affairs / Newsletter Dick Roberts

rrrgv@aol.com

From the Prez -

Although we continue to live in “interesting times” and we have seen Arizona and the Na-tion make progress in stemming the tide of infections and reopening activities for the citi-zens of our great country, we are faced with the continued need for “social distancing” and self-protection. We held out first general chapter meeting September 25th at the DMAFB Community Center. Our guest speaker was Colonel Victor “Bobo” Pereira, 355th Wing Vice Command-er. Colonel Pereira talked about what is hap-pening within the Wing including the new Dynamic Wing construct that the 355th is leading the Air Force in developing. He also talked about the various “Mission Partners” on DMAFB that make DMAFB such an integral part of mission accomplishment within the Air Force, DoD and numerous other Federal agen-cies. AFA Arizona State President, Stu Carter, journeyed from Sierra Vista to join us for the meeting. During the chapter meeting, the current elected chapter officers were unanimously re-elected for another 1-year term. Your officers remain as follows: President: Wally Saeger Vice President: Mark Koechle Secretary: Vicki Jo Ryder Treasurer: Marie Lankford That evening, September 25th, DMAFB was apparently the only USAF base to conduct a function to celebrate the Air Force’s 73rd Birthday. The event was well attended, and your chapter helped support the event by sponsoring tickets for 36 junior airmen. The actual event would normally be called The Air Force Ball but since there was no dancing and the event actually took place indoors and out-doors it was technically a gala. See separate article for pictures and a rundown of events. Both the AFA National Convention, Sept 12-13, and the National Air, Space and Cyber Conference, Sept 14-16, were held as virtual events. The upside was that delegates from Arizona didn’t have to travel to DC to attend these events. The downside was that we did-n’t get to interact with all of the people that would normally attend and that we most likely hadn’t seen since last year. I had the privilege of presenting one of our 2020 Chapter Teacher of the Year Awards in person to Mandi Cordell, on September 26th.

Mrs. Cordell, who teaches at the Innovation Acade-my in Oro Valley, was our K-8 TOY. Mrs. Cordell is a 4th grade teacher that has incorporated STEM education principles into her day-to-day teaching to inspire her students to understand the value of STEM and how it can help broaden their horizons. We are planning for our next chapter meeting to be October 25th at the Community Center. Our guest speaker is Tommy Sanford who will talk about the “Early Development and Testing of the A-10”. I’m sure you will find it informative so please come join us. Watch for the meeting announcement in the near future. While we won’t have a chapter meeting in November, I’m involved in the planning for our joint Daedalians & AFA Annual Christmas and Awards Banquet to be held December 4th. Watch for more information as it becomes available. One aspect of COVID-19 has been the use of dis-tance learning for many courses and AFA has adapted to that for the CyberGenerations course. The CyberGenerations course is aimed at seniors and is intended to emphasize the need for cyber security both on line and on your phone. I would suggest that everyone take a look at the course at: https://www.uscyberpatriot.org/Pages/Special 20Initiatives/Virtual-Workshop.aspx . While your chapter is in good financial health, we’re not sure when we can get back to larger fund-raising events like a golf tournament. In the spring we used Arizona Gives to raise almost $2,400, and it continues through the end of the year, so please con-sider donating if you have not already. See a sepa-rate article in this newsletter to see how you can help fund your chapter’s activities. We are always looking for members who want to be involved and everyone is invited to our Executive Committee meetings, which have resumed as in-person meetings in the 355th Fighter Group Confer-ence Room. The meetings are usually on the first Monday of the month unless it falls on a federal holi-day. (See calendar elsewhere for specific dates). Finally, remember that while you are encouraged to participate in the upcoming elections and backing candidates and issues of your choice, you cannot be seen as doing this on behalf of the AFA. To do so could jeopardize the 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status of the AFA and your chapter. Please exercise your right to vote but do not appear to endorse any candidate or issue on behalf of the AFA. And remember, we’re all: Airmen for Life

Wally Saeger, President

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USAF to Create New 15th Air Force

Aug. 14, 2020 | By Rachel S. Cohen, AFA Magazine Senior Editor

Air Combat Command is preparing to consolidate its fighter, rescue, and command-and-control enterprises under a new numbered air force that will help military leaders wield those forces more effectively. The Air Force will bring its Ninth and 12th Air Forces under one roof as the 15th Air Force the week of Aug. 17, ACC Commander Gen. James M.

“Mike” Holmes said during an Aug. 14 Air Force Association event. The two organizations encompass several types of aircraft, from fighter jets to strike drones to surveillance planes and search-and-rescue helicopters. Consolidation can help train, upgrade, and develop tactics for those forces more holistically. Then, U.S. Southern Command and U.S. Central Command can call on those aircraft for opera-tions as more collaborative, integrated teams. The move is part of a broader ACC effort to rethink how forces can be more effective in combat. Last year, ACC similarly merged its intelligence, surveillance, reconnais-sance, cyber, weather, and other units into the “information warfare”-focused 16th Air Force. It’s one of Holmes’s last initiatives as he retires at the end of the month. He is leaving after more than three years at the helm of Air Combat Command. Since March 2017, the four-star general overseeing the bulk of the Air Force’s combat assets and personnel has tried to create a more forward-thinking force that is ready to compete with advanced militaries like those of Russia and China, while adapting to digital-era combat and fending off the Islamic State group.

Reorganizing has been one way of giving lower-level commanders more freedom to do what’s best for their Airmen and to be more creative, which Holmes says is evident in how the Air Force handled Hurricane Michael when it slammed Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., in 2018 and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“I’m happy with this refocus in Air Combat Command on pushing authority, responsibility, and decision down and allowing our people to have autonomy, mastery, and purpose in what they do,” he said. The coronavirus pandemic has hindered ACC’s push to ready its units for a potential new conflict. The command split Airmen into “blue” and “silver” teams so that people would be exposed to fewer people on a regular basis, and training lost its momentum. Building readiness happens more slowly when young Airmen need to spend more time building their expertise, and when busier-than-expected combat operations take aircraft away from maintenance and upgrades. Still, Holmes said ACC is about as ready to respond to a crisis as it was be-fore COVID-19. “We have to produce more pilots and navigators and special mission aviators and air battle managers and all the people that operate in the air across Air Combat Command, because every year we don’t produce them is another year that there’s a hole, and we won’t have enough,” he added. “It’s going to be a challenging couple of years.” He also argues the Air Force has to be ready to sacrifice some of its older platforms to make way for more advanced technology, even if it means changing the way things have always been done. Congress should try not to hinder that process—because of parochial concerns or otherwise—by blocking the retirement of systems whose time is up, he added. “Both on the fighter side and our ISR flight plan, on what’s the future of the mix between space and cyber and manned and publicly available infor-mation and unmanned aircraft, to bring them the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance tools that we need going forward, there are some decisions that need to be made there that the next [ACC commander] will get to help make,” Holmes said. Those decisions could be choosing to ditch certain platforms, or giving the go-ahead to develop new ones. Lt. Gen. Mark D. Kelly, who will earn his fourth star as he takes over ACC, must also help the organization tackle racist and sexist policies and attitudes. Those efforts are front and center after George Floyd’s death at the hands of police in Minneapolis in May sparked conversations about race and discrimination across the military. “If I was going to stick around longer, I would really love to be more a part of these efforts to help us reach closer to our ideal of being a place where we can take people from anywhere in our country, from any racial background, from any economic background, and give them an equal op-portunity to work hard and move out and become the best person they can be,” Holmes said. “We’ve made great strides, but I think talking to our Airmen over these last six months with a fresh impetus to do that … I can’t escape the fact that we still have a ways to go, and I would love to have the opportunity to keep working on that.” y Report

Air Combat Command boss Gen. James M. "Mike" Holmes (left) and Air Force Association President retired Lt. Gen. Bruce "Orville" Wright (right) are shown during the Aug. 14, 2020, installment of AFA's "Airmen in the Fight" series. Staff photo by Tobias Naegele.

“A Little Bit of History”

Curtis-Wright AT-9 Jeep/Fledgling

The Curtiss-Wright AT-9 Jeep was a twin-engined advanced trainer aircraft used by the United States during World War II to bridge the gap between single-engined trainers and twin-engined combat air-craft. The AT-9 had a low-wing cantilever monoplane configuration, retractable landing gear and was powered by two Lycoming R-680-9 radial engines. Curtiss-Wright anticipated the requirement for this type of "high-performance" aircraft and designed the Curtiss-Wright CW-25, a twin-engined trainer, which possessed the takeoff and landing char-acteristics of a light bomber. Using the same basic design as the larger Cessna AT-17 Bobcat, the new CW-25 was designed to simu-late the demands of multi-engined operations. The design featured a small layout, grouping two Lycoming R-680-9 radial engines for-ward and using a retractable tailwheel landing gear to achieve the performance necessary to meet the requirements of an advanced trainer. The single CW-25 prototype acquired for evaluation had a welded steel-tube fuselage structure with the wings, fuselage and tail unit fabric-covered. The first prototype Model 25 flew in 1941 and the production version en-tered service as the AT-9 in 1942. Named the "Fledgling" by Curtiss-Wright, it commonly became known as the "Jeep" in the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). The prototype CW-25 had a fabric-covered steel tube fuselage and fabric-covered wings and tail units, but production AT-9s were of stressed metal skin construction. The AT-9 was purposely designed to be less stable and proved to be difficult to fly or land, which made it particularly suitable for teach-ing new pilots to cope with the demanding flight characteristics of a new generation of high-performance, multi-engined aircraft such as the Martin B-26 Marauder and Lockheed P-38 Lightning. A total of 491 AT-9s were built before production ended Two AT-9s survive today with one AT-9A on permanent display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. General characteristics

Crew: 2

Length: 31 ft 8 in

Wingspan: 40 ft 4 in

Height: 9 ft 10 in

Gross weight: 6,060 lb

Powerplant: 2 × Lycoming R-680-9

Maximum speed: 197 mph

Cruise speed: 175 mph

Range: 750 mi

Service ceiling: 19,000 ft 3

Tucson Chapter’s September Meeting Col. Victor Pereira

Col Victor M. Pereira is the Vice Commander of the 355th Wing, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. Davis-Monthan is one of the largest installations and flying operations in the United States Air Force, with five groups, 25 squadrons, 34 mission

partners comprised of 46,000 per-sonnel, 152 aircraft, and $51B in assets. The wing provides A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft for close air support, forward air control, combat support, and medical forces for com-batant commander requirements worldwide. Additionally the wing provides personnel recovery combat search and rescue through the em-ployment of HC-130J Combat Kings IIs, HH-60G Pave Hawks and Guardian Angel weapon systems, with units at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. and Nellis AFB, Nev. The 355th Wing is also responsible for training A-10C pilots for the entire

Total Force and is the Air Combat Command executive agent for Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces and Strategic Arms Reduc-tion Treaty compliance. Col. Pereira began his career as an enlisted Airmen in 1990. He attended the USAF Academy Preparatory School prior to receiv-ing his commission in 1997 through the USAF Academy. During his career, he has held various operational and Air Staff assign-ments in Combat Rescue, Special Operations, and Nuclear Deter-rence Operations. Colonel Pereira has numerous deployments in support of combat operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, as well as multiple humanitarian operations including Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita relief. Prior to assuming his current position, Colonel Pereira was the Chief of Personnel Recovery, Functional Integration Team, Air Force Warfighting Integration Capability, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategy, Inte-gration, and Requirements, Headquarters United States Air Force, Washington DC. Col. Pereira as a Command Pilot has 3,500 Flight hours (500 Combat) and has flown T-37, UH-1H/N, UH-60L, HH-60G, MH-53J, C-130E, HC-130J and has the Meritorious Service Medal with nine oak leaf clusters, Air Medal with eight oak leaf clus-ters, Aerial Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, and the Air Force Achievement Medal Col. Pereira noted that there are 34 mission partners located on base that includes 11,000 airmen from the Army, Marines, Re-serves, and Guard units and that many missions are flown out of Davis-Monthan including F-16s of Operation Noble Eagle that sit on alert 24-7, 365 days a year for protection of intrusions on the southern border from Texas to California. Also guardsmen from the 214th Attack Squadron fly MQ-9 Reaper UAV Drones from the base. D-M is also home to the “Boneyard” where 3,000 aircraft are stored. F-16s are presently being restored to flying status and used as drones for “target practice” for combat aircraft. 3,000 Civilian Contractors work on D-M and along with ap-proximately 80% of airmen living off base, $2.6B is provided for the local economy.

Virtual 2020 National Convention and

Air, Space and Cyber Conference

As mentioned in my introduction, the 2020 National Con-vention and the Air, Space and Cyber Conference were held virtually instead at the traditional location, The Gaylord Cen-ter at National Harbor.

The virtual AFA 20/20 National Convention took place September 11-13. The first keynote speaker was the 19th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, JoAnne Bass on Saturday, September 12th. The second and final keynote was a fireside chat on leadership development with Major General John Shaw (Commander, Combined Force Space Component Command, U.S. Space Command; and Com-mander, Space Operations Command, U.S. Space Force) and Major General Barry Cornish (12AF/CC), on Sunday, Sep-tember 13th.

There were 22 Learning Labs where the 431 Field Leaders registered to “attend” could attend in real time, or later, on their own schedule since all of these presentations were ei-ther pre-recorded or recorded during the presentation for later viewing. The Keynote Speakers and Learning Labs resulted in 35 hours of Leadership Development opportuni-ties.

The virtual AFA Air, Space and Cyber Conference (vASC) was conducted September 14-16. On opening day, Monday September 14, the first pre-recorded address was from some-one not on the agenda, President Donald Trump. He was followed by the Secretary of the Air Force, The Honorable Barbara Barrett, and the new Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General Charles Q. Brown. The remainder of the first day’s events were six “On Demand” so that vASC attendees could choose what and when to watch them.

Day Two, Tuesday September 15th, began with Dr. Will Roper, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics provided remarks on the future of Air Force Acquisition. The Chief of Space Operations, Gen-eral John W. “Jay” Raymond provided remarks on the cur-rent status of the fledgling Space Command and its near-term future. Finally, CMSAF JoAnne Bass provided re-marks and answered questions from a live audience and those submitted virtually. The second day concluded with five more “On Demand” events.

The Final Day, Wednesday, September 16th, started with remarks from the United States Space Forces Senior Enlisted Advisor, CMSgt Roger A. Towberman. The Secretary of Defense, The Honorable Dr. Mark T. Esper, delivered the final remarks of the conference. The day wrapped up with six more “On Demand” panels.

While it was nice to be able to participate from the comfort of my home rather than traveling to National Harbor, MD, I did miss the person-to-person contact with many of my AFA family and friends.

We’ve been promised that all of these sessions will eventu-ally be available on the AFA website. Once we have the information we will provide it to chapter members.

Your Chapter Needs Your Support

It seems like almost daily I get an email or snail mail re-questing that I donate to some organization that I belong to or have given a donation to in the past. I am sure most of you are in the same situation. Much as we may want to, we can’t respond to all of them so we prioritize who we will support. I’m asking that you consider including your AFA Chapter 105 in that list and provide what you can, when you can.

In the past, we’ve held a golf tournament to raise funds and while it has been successful, it was a labor of love by just a few chapter members working tirelessly to make it happen. Dick Roberts has been the chair for the last 2 years and Scott VanValkenburg did it for the previous 6 years. If we are going to do a tournament in the future, I need another golf chair. If you’re interested, please let me know.

This year, to help raise funds, we became part of Arizona Gives and successfully raised almost $2,400. While this amount helps, it doesn’t match what we need to continue supporting our local airmen and their families. We also use chapter funds to provide a $750 scholarship to a U of A ROTC cadet; $250 stipends to our chapter teachers of the year; provide financial support for the Desert Lightning Team Annual Awards Ceremony and offer 1-year eMember-ships to the annual award winners. We also offer a 1-year AFA eMembership to the award winners of each class gradu-ating from the Carl E. Beck Airmen Leadership School. We would like to do more but that takes more funding and this is where you can help.

If you use Amazon, please use Amazon Smile to make your purchases. Go to smile.amazon.com and designate Air Force Association Tucson Chapter (EIN: 86-6052998) to be the recipient of Amazon’s donation. The great thing is that it doesn’t cost you anything and we receive a quarterly deposit from Amazon for every purchase done that way.

Like mentioned earlier, the chapter is registered under Ari-zona Gives: https://www.azgives.org/AIRFORCEASSOCIATIONCHAPTER105 . You can use this link if you want to donate using a credit card although I do ask that to make your donation help the chapter more, that you elect to cover the administrative cost.

To avoid using Arizona Gives or Amazon Smile, you can send a check payable to AFA Tucson 105 and mail it to AFA Tucson 105, PO Box 15057, Tucson AZ 85708.

And remember, since your chapter is a 501(c)(3), your do-nation is fully tax deductible in accordance with the tax code. If you mail a check, we will send you a letter acknowledging your deduction for tax purposes. Arizona Gives provides an email to the same effect.

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Chapter Officers for 2020 – 2021

Your chapter officers for 2020 – 2021 are:

President: Wally Saeger

Vice President: Mark Koechle

Secretary: Vickie Jo Ryder

Treasure: Marie Lankford

They look forward to serving the chapter and continuing to promote a strong AFA and strong Air and Space Force. They thank you for your continued support of your Tucson Chapter 105,

2020 K-8 Chapter 105 Teacher of the Year Presentation

On October 16th, I had the pleasure of presenting our chap-ter’s 2020 K-8 Chapter Teacher of the Year to Mrs. Mandi Cordell of Innovation Academy, Amphitheater School Dis-trict. Innovation Academy specializes in project-based learning and is located in Oro Valley.

Mrs. Cordell is a dedicated 4th grade teacher that has been with the Amphitheater school district for 8 of her 11 years teaching. Her philosophy is that her students already pos-sess the creativity they need to succeed in STM-based ca-reers; she is here to encourage them and guide them on their journey.

When I visited her in her classroom, she was actively in-structing her students who were still in the remote learning mode that we have become accustomed to under the re-strictions required by COVID-19. Although we only had time for a brief conversation before she had to return to her students, her enthusiasm was evident and her desire to once again have them back in class was undeniable.

In addition to the TOY certificate, Chapter TOY pin, and AFA TOY padfolio provided by AFA National, the chapter provided her with a check for $250. We are so grateful to be able to recognize the outstanding work done by our local teachers.

If you want to see the short vide produced by Innovation Academy’s principal, Michael McConnell, use this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5sH11PniSs

Chapter Member AFA Histories

Doug: I gr aduated USAFA 1972 and joined AFA and became life member. While I am not very active, if some-thing interests me and I have the time then I go. I usually make the airshow ramp visit and look at the planes every year. Ron: I joined the Ar nold Air Society in 1958 with an AFA membership. Kept for several years but dropped out for a couple of years then signed up as a Life Mem-ber in the early '70s when they had a big membership drive. Not active locally except for the last 10 years or so. Love the magazine to keep up with what is going on in the USAF and what the organization does for the en-listed folks. Marilyn: My father was in Wor ld War II in the Ar my, my older brother was in the Army during the Vietnam war, and my other brother was in the Air Force with missiles so I joined American Legion Post 36 as a member of the Ladies Auxiliary and I am their Chaplain. When I was invited to join The Air Force Association. I decided to join so I could learn more about the Air Force since my brother was in the Air Force. Ted: On 6 February 1946 I enlisted in the Army Air Force which was also the Army Air Corps as that organiza-tion had not yet been officially disbanded. In fact, we called ourselves “Air Corps.” If I remember correctly, I believe the AFA was organized at about that time. I don’t recall when I joined AFA, but I have been enjoying Air Force magazine for many years, and always looked for the late Walter Boyne’s page highlighting a single aircraft which included its plan and side views as they used to be on WWII playing cards. Through the military’s great educational program, I became a meteorologist, serving in the USAAF/AAC, USAF and Army Artillery (Vietnam War). “Artillery hearing” keeps me from going to meetings. Wally: I was a member of Arnold Air Society while in college so was a member of the AFA during that time. We actually had a booth that sold beer during the University of Wisconsin football games so we would work one half selling beer and one half drinking beer. I became a Life Member in 1983 when being a member of the O’Club and AFA was highly recommended for an officer’s career prospects. Like most active duty, I wasn’t really active until I retired. Since then I’ve been active at the chapter and state level and enjoy doing it.

Mandi Cordell of the Innovation Academy is presented her 2020 K-8 Chapter Teacher of the Year Certificate by chapter president Wally Saeger, on September 16th

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VOTE but Be Careful How You Promote

As an American citizen, it is your right and some would say, your duty, to VOTE. As such, I urge you to VOTE in the upcoming elections No-vember 3rd.

As a private citizen, you have the right to promote and VOTE for any political candidate, political party or piece of legislation.

As a member of the AFA, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, you and I cannot use our membership in the AFA to advocate for any political candidate, political party or piece of legislation. Such perceived or actual activity could put the 501(c)(3) status of the AFA at risk which none of us would want to do.

Again, I urge you to VOTE and support your chosen political candidates, political party, and legislative issues as is your right as an American citizen; just please don’t do it in a manner that makes it appear that you are doing it on behalf of the AFA.

Thank you for your understanding and support.

Happy 73rd Birthday to the US Air Force

Davis-Monthan AFB celebrated the Air Force’s 73rd birth-day in style on Friday, September 25th. While traditionally, this occasion would be celebrated with an Air Force Ball, due to COVID-19 restrictions the DMAFB event was modi-fied to resemble a “gala” setting. Airmen from across the base were involved in the planning and execution of the event under the expert guidance of the 355th Wing Com-mand Chief, CMSgt James Lyda.

The event was a mess dress affair and was attended by al-most 400 people from DMAFB and the surrounding community. The event was held in the festively deco-rated 355th Component Mainte-nance Squadron’s Fuel Cell Hangar located along the flightline. Using this facility allowed for indoor and outdoor seating and the display of aircraft from the 355th Wing and a Security Forces squad car on the ramp outside of the hangar. Those in attendance were able to “socially distance” while still enjoying the comradery that such an event brings.

While there was no dancing like at a traditional ball, there were two outstanding keynote addresses by

Mr. Bob Logan and CMSgt Gerado Tapia.

As is a tradition, Colonel Joseph Turnham, the 355th Wing Com-mander, and Airman Kaven Smith, the youngest airman assigned to the wing cut the “birthday cake”.

The evening concluded with the singing of the Air Force song led by 2nd Lt Ria Gozon (who sang the National Anthem) and SSgt Stepha-nie Salgado (who sang America the Beautiful during the evening).

2019 Chapter 105 Member of the Year Award

Marie Lankford was selected as your Chapter 105 Member of the Year for 2019. Although she was selected early in 2020, it was just after the COVID-19 pandemic hit so we were not able to actually present her with the award until our September 2020 chapter meeting.

Marie has been a Life Member of the AFA since 1983 and is one of the most active members of your AFA Chapter. Marie has served as your chapter treasurer for the last four years and was re-elected to serve another year at the September chapter meeting. Prior that, she was the chap-ter secretary.

Marie is a doer besides being a chap-ter officer. Whenever there is a chap-ter activity, she is involved. She coor-dinates with the Davis-Monthan AFB Community Center for all of our chap-ter meetings that take place there and is there before the meetings to ensure the room is ready and then collects the money for lunch from those attending. Before every meeting and other chap-

ter activities, Marie accepts RSVPs for those wishing to at-tend and then prepares the Base Access list for those attend-ing but who don’t have base access such as our civilian mem-bers or veterans without a DoD-issued ID.

Every year, DMAFB hosts an event known as the Heritage Flight Training and Certification Course in late February ear-ly March. At this event, non-military flyers flying WWII, Korean and even Vietnam wars era aircraft are certified to fly in formation with current USAF aircraft so these maneuvers can then be flown at air shows across the United States. Ma-rie coordinates the breakfast we treat our chapter members to after they have gotten up close and personal with the aircraft parked on the flight line and takes care of the Base Access List for those that need it.

Her concern and caring for our airmen and their families extends beyond her involvement with AFA. She is the treas-urer and active volunteer in an organization known as Tucson Community Cares Foundation. TCCF is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that raises funds to support DMAFB airmen and their families such as holding events for the families of deployed airmen and hosting airmen living in the dorms to share time with other families.

Marie’s involvement with the local community doesn’t stop there as she is actively involved in her church and with the Siva Maia Polynesian Dancers, performing with the group and teaching others that want to learn how to dance.

Finally, Marie actively supports the DMAFB STARBASE STEM education program through advocating for continued financial support and helping locate base volunteers to teach various activities to the more than 11,000 local Tucson fifth graders that have passed through the program since 2006.

In recognition of Marie’s continued service to the Tucson community, she was recognized by U.S. Senator Martha McSally as a recipient of a 4th Annual Congressional Veteran of Distinction Award in 2019.

Marie is an exceptional individual that has risen above her peers in many ways and is well deserving of being recognized as your chapter’s Member of the Year for 2019.

Ceremonial 73rd Air Force Birthday cake that was to be cut later in the evening. Photo curtesy of Joan Sae-ger

VA Community Emergency Care Provider Notification

During a medical emergency, VA encourages all veterans to seek immediate medical attention without delay. Veterans do not need to check with the VA before calling for an ambulance or going to an emergency department. It is, however, important for providers to promptly notify VA within 72 hours of a veteran presenting to the emergency department. Providers may use either of the follow-ing centralized options to notify VA with details about veterans receiving emergent care in the community: Email: VHAEmergencyNotification@va.gov Phone: 844-72HRVHA (844-724-7842) The Emergency Care Centralized Notification Center allows community providers, veterans, and representatives to report in-stances of a veteran presenting to a community emergency depart-ment. It offers simplified access to VA for care coordination, eligi-bility determination, and payment authorization information. For more information: https://www.va.gov Community Care/programs/veteranEmergency_Care.asp

President Wally Saeger presenting Marie Lank-ford with the Member of the Year award

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Community Partner Program For more than 40 years, businesses have been joining the Air Force Association to support both AFA National and local AFA chap-ters. Becoming a Community Partner is a great way to get your business involved with your local Air Force Community. Community Partners are partnership businesses that want to assist both AFA National and the local AFA chapters by becoming involved in Community efforts to support the United States Air Force. By forming a partnership with your local AFA chapter, your business will help AFA fulfill their mission to promote a dominant Unit-ed States Air Force and a strong national defense. Any business or organization can become a CP and have two options for member-ship: Category One (CP I) $90.00 annually- Business can designate one person to receive AFA Membership and enjoy all benefits thereof. Category Two (CP II) $180.00 annually- Business can designate two people to receive AFA Membership and enjoy all benefits thereof. Not only does a Community Partner receive all the benefits of an AFA membership, such as a variety of product and service dis-counts, insurance programs, and much more, but the partner will also receive the following upon joining AFA: Date Medallion Wooden Plaque 8”x5” “Our Business Supports Our Troops" Window Decal If your business is interested in becoming a Community Partner, you should first contact your local chapter. For questions or for more information on the program, please contact: Dave Carrell, carrelldav@aol.com, (520) 305-4407 Have your business become a part of a great cause and show your patrons that you support our Air Force!

A & E Specialty Marketing Chick-fil-A La Posada Lodge & Casitas Elliott M. Klahr Matt Hountz Juan Loo, Sales & Catering Mgr P. O. Box 4423 3605 E. Broadway Blvd 5900 N. Oracle Rd Rio Rico, AZ 85648 Tucson, AZ 85716 Tucson, AZ 85704 520-281-1369 (P) 520-321-4232 520-887-4800 (P) 520-980-0515 (C) 520-293-7543 (F) emklahr@aespecialtymkt.com Ciruli Brothers ascendcollection.com 5 Calle Cristina Chick-fil-A Rio Rico, AZ 85648 Jackson Oil Company Dave Carrell 520-281-1456 Robert Ferretti 6675 E. Grant Rd. 623-217-8005 Tucson, AZ 85715 Vantage West Credit Union 520-305-4407 Cindy Brainer Radisson Suites Tucson P.O. Box 15115 Valerie Friend, General Manager Tucson, AZ 85708 6555 E. Speedway Blvd Chick-fil-A 520-298-7882 Tucson, AZ 85710 Jim Paine 800-888-7882 520-721-7100 Ext.7600 (P) 4885 N. Oracle Rd. Vantagewest.org 520-722-6146 (F) Tucson, AZ 85705 Valerie.friend@prismhotels.com 520-408-2456

Tucson Chapter’s Community Partners

Tucson Appliance Company Chris Edwards

4229 E. Speedway Blvd Tucson, AZ 85712-4523

Chick-fil-A Brian White 3943 W. Ina Road Tucson, AZ 85741 (520) 744-6269

Sonesta ES Suites Ellen Jimenez, Director of Sales 6477 East Speedway Boulevard Tucson, AZ 85710 520-721-0991 SonestaESsuites.com

JOIN AFA

Air Force Association Tucson Chapter 105

P. O. Box 15057 Tucson, AZ 85708

Air Force Association Means Americans for Air Power

Upcoming Events

As we continue to adjust to the “New Norm”, we look to schedule future “field trips” to different organization on base. If you have something specific you want to see please let us know! There are MANY events supporting our local Airmen listed below and more to come! As a Chapter, we try to attend all that we can. If you are interested in representing our AFA Chap-ter at any of these, please inform Wally Saeger (wsaeger@afatucson105.org) and he will coordinate it. You just have to show up and enjoy these traditional military ceremonies and gatherings. First come, first served!! October 2020 - 5th: Chapter Executive Committee Meeting, 1200, 355th Fighter Group Conference Room (all welcome!) - 23rd: Chapter Meeting, 1130 hours, Community Center, Speaker Tommy Sanford, “The Early Development and Testing of the A-10” November 2020 - 2nd: Chapter Executive Committee Meeting, 1200, 355th Fighter Group Conference Room (all welcome!) - 27th: No Chapter Meeting—Happy Thanksgiving December 2020

- 4th: Joint Daedalians and AFA Annual Christmas Dinner and Awards Banquet - 7th: Chapter Executive Committee Meeting, 1200, 355th Fighter Group Conference Room (all welcome!)

SAVE THESE DATES (2021): - January 4th: Chapter Executive Committee Meeting, 1200, 355th Fighter Group Conference Room (all welcome!) - January 22nd: Chapter Meeting, 1130 hours, Community Center, Speaker TBD - February 1st: Chapter Executive Committee Meeting, 1200, 355th Fighter Group Conference Room (all welcome!) - February 26th: NO CHAPTER MEETING, Heritage Training Flight Course & Certification - March 1st: Chapter Executive Committee Meeting, 1200, 355th Fighter Group Conference Room (all welcome!) - March 26th: TBD: - April 24-25: DMAFB Air Show w/USAF Thunderbirds, “Thunder and Lightning Over Arizona” - May 14-15: AFA AZ Annual Gathering, Phoenix AZ Hosted by Luke Chapter 151

AFA’s Mission

Our Mission is to promote a dominant USAF and a strong national defense and to honor airmen and our AF heritage. To accomplish this we:

Educate the public on the critical need for unmatched aerospace power and a technically superior workforce to ensure US national security,

Advocate for aerospace power and STEM education, and

Support the total Air Force Family and promote aerospace education.