Capflyer 121914

AN INDEPENDENT PUBLICATION OF COMPRINTMILITARY PUBLICATIONS AT JOINT BASE ANDREWS,MD.DCMILITARY.COM FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2014 | VOL. 3 NO. 48

AIR FORCE NEWSAir Force Band kicks off Spirit of the Season, Page 3

BASE NEWSHearts Apart supports deployed

families, Page 6

COMMENTARYMaintenance versus repair ...

of our Airmen, Page 2

BY BOBBY JONESSTAFF PHOTOJOURNALIST

Erin Nauman is on amission to help provide ahealthier environment forthe students of ImagineAndrews Public CharterSchool on Joint Base An-drews. A fourth-gradeMath and Science teacherat Imagine Andrews, Nau-man, started collectingbox tops to earn moneyfor a much needed play-ground for the students atImagine Andrews debut in2010.

“We actually do Labelsfor Education, which isfrom Campbell’s where weearn points [then] we canbuy things for our schoollike physical educationequipment; and we do BoxTops for Education, wherewe get 10 cents for every

box top that is clipped offa General Mills productor Pillsbury products andsent to our school. Thereare actually a whole slewof products that familiescan buy from the commis-sary or any grocery store,”Nauman said. “Our goalfor this year was $2000...Currently, we have raised$1,541… earned fromApril until now. We’ll get acheck soon – in a couple ofweeks or so – and anotherone in April of next year.”

Nauman noted thatany box tops they accumu-lated from April until theend of the year will carryover until the next schoolyear.

“We are in desper-ate need of a playgroundfor Imagine Andrews and

Imagine Andrewssupports Box Topsfor Education

PHOTO/BOBBY JONES

Valentina Cruz, 9, holds a baggie full of box top labelsfrom various food products to send out to Box Topsfor Education in Victor, Minn. A progress chart in thebackground tracks the current financial goal neededfor this year.

see BOX TOPS, page 5

BY CAPT. RENEE LEE113TH WING

PUBLIC AFFAIRS

District of ColumbiaNational Guard and Ja-maican Defence Forcesoldiers and airmenwrapped up a weeklongsubject matter expert ex-change here Friday.

During the course ofthe week, the combinedand joint team of vehiclemechanics shared bestpractices on wheeled ve-hicle maintenance.

After a daylong orien-tation of the JDF’s vari-ous vehicles and missionson the first day, the “Capi-tal Guardians” rolled uptheir sleeves soon afterand joined their Jamai-can counterparts in fixingwheel bearings, adjustingalignment and using dif-ferent tools and systems.

“We were here to pro-vide our analyses andexpertise to the JDF, andthey provided us theirexpertise and knowl-edge,” said Chief Warrant

Officer 2 Courtney Brit-ton, 542nd maintenancecompany maintenancemanager.

The U.S. team washere under the NationalGuard Bureau’s StatePartnership Program, asecurity cooperation pro-gram linking the UnitedStates’ National Guardunits with the armedforces of more than 70partner nations. TheD.C.. National Guard hasparticipated in the pro-gram with the JDF since

1999 on a range of topics.As vehicle mechan-

ics, the Capital Guard-ians and JDF colleaguesshared many similari-ties, including the goalfor their vehicles to be100 percent mission-ca-pable at all times.

“We shared what webring to the table andthey did the same, in-cluding many similarpractices,” said SeniorAirman Butler, vehicle

Mission complete, partnership stronger

see MISSION, page 3

BY LESLIE C. SMITHSTAFF WRITER

On Dec. 4, Monica Mo-hindra, Head ProgramCoordination and Com-munication VeteransHistory Project, Libraryof Congress, shared theVeterans History Proj-ect with a room of inter-ested individuals. TheInterdisciplinary StudentCommunity-OrientedPrevention EnhancementService (ISCOPES) atGeorge Washington Uni-versity hosted a meet-ing for parties interestedin finding out more howthey can further add tothe narrative of the voic-es already archived atthe Library of CongressAmerican Folklife Centerthrough the Veterans His-tory Project.

Created in 2000 byCongress, the Veter-ans History Project is a15-year-old undertakingand consists of personalaccounts through inter-views and memoirs, cor-respondence, as well asvisual materials suchas photographs and art-work. These items create

the first-hand narrative ofVeterans from War WorldI, up to, and including themore recent conflicts. Themission of the Project is tocollect, preserve, and pro-vide access for everyone,providing the opportunityto see the human experi-ence of battle.

The Project relies en-tirely on volunteers to in-

terview friends and fami-lies that were veterans.The Project also acceptsmaterials on behalf of de-ceased veterans to insureas many voices as possibleare “heard.”

The Project has seta “30/20/10” guidelinefor all materials. Thoseplanning to interview, itshould be a minimum of

30 minutes long, memoirsa minimum of 20 pageslong, and letters 10 pageslong. Mohindra stressedthat is the minimum andthere is no maximum.

All Veterans retaincopyright of any submis-sions.

Mohindra noted that

Veterans History Project allowsthe Veteran to tell the wholestory, in their own words

PHOTO/LESLIE C. SMITH

The Veteran’s History Project seeks to preserve the personal narratives ofbattle. Monica Mohindra, Program Specialist with the Library of Congress, Vet-erans History Project, center, shared the purpose and path of the Project withinterested participants at a gathering hosted by ISCOPES at George Washing-ton University.

see HISTORY, page 4

Andrews Gazette2 Friday, December 19, 2014

Andrews Gazette is published by Comprint MilitaryPublications, 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg,Md., a private firm in no way connected with the U.S.Air Force or any branch of the United States military.The appearance of advertising in these publications,

including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsementby the Department of Defense, the Department of the Air Force orthe products and services advertised.

Everything advertised in this publication shall be made available forpurchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color, religion,sex, national origin, age,martial status, physical handicap, political af-filiation or any other nonmerit factor of the purchases, user or patron.

COMPRINT MILITARY PUBLICATIONS

Maxine Minar, [email protected]

John Rives, [email protected]

Deirdre Parry, page [email protected]

Leslie Smith, [email protected]

Bobby Jones, [email protected]

December 20Holiday Trains and PlanesCollege Park Aviation Museum, 1985 Cpl. Frank

Scott Drive, College Park, Md.Miniature trains, villages, tunnels and depots

spark the imagination and bring history to life. TheNational Capital Trackers brings locomotive dis-play of model railroads.

December 20-21Ornament EmporiumMontpelier Mansion, 9650 Muirkirk Road, Lau-

rel 20708Montpelier hosts juried show of handmade orna-

ments by area artist. Shop for gifts as tea items andold-fashioned toys will also be available.

December 20-21Holiday teaMontpelier Mansion, 9650 Muirkirk Road, Lau-

rel 20708Enjoy seasonal cakes and finger sandwiches,

pastries along with selection of quality loose teasserved on China. Tea is $29/$25 for friends of Mont-pelier.

Through January 1Festival of Lights5-9:30 p.m.Watkins Regional Park, 301 Watkins Park Drive

(Route 193), Upper Marlboro, MD 20774Don’t miss this holiday drive-through event fea-

turing more than one million twinkling lights. Thisyear’s Festival features new displays.

Please bring canned goods for donation to localfood banks to make a difference this holiday season.

Through January 4Gaylord National’s ICE!201 Waterfront Street, National Harbor, Md.A special interactive, 100-acre, walk-through

holiday park featuring a winter wonderland cre-ated of 2 million pounds of ice, hand sculpted byinternational artisans. This year?s theme is Frostythe Snowman. Visit www.gaylordnationaltickets.com for more information

Saturdays and SundaysBumper Cars on IceTucker Road Ice Rink, 1770 Tucker Road, Fort

Washington, Md.Solo riders must be ages 6 & up; riders ages 5 &

under must ride with an adult. Last ride begins 10minutes prior to the end of the session. Rides are ona first-come, first-served basis. Fees are based on 1person per ride; each ride is 4-5 minutes in length.

Hot ticketsaround town

BY MAJ. CAMERON RICHARDSON19TH AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE

SQUADRON

This commentary is not aboutaircraft, vehicles, or even any me-chanical components. It’s about ourAirmen and how we manage theircare and development throughouttheir careers.

The maintenance versus repairconcept is borrowed from the main-tenance community and speaks tohow maintenance managers plan,coordinate and execute scheduledmaintenance events. The goal is tomaximize the amount of time wecan utilize the aircraft for missionsand minimize the down time due torepairs.

Do we treat our Airmen the sameway? I submit to you how to takecare of our Airmen directly and in-directly.

Maintenance of our personnel isjust as important as maintenanceof aircraft. Most people are sayingmaintenance and repair mean thesame thing, but they truly don’t.

Maintenance actions are theplanned events to ensure the reli-ability, longevity and airworthinessof our aircraft. Maintenance is nor-mally done under the guise of pre-use, post-use and scheduled depot(major) inspections. Repair in somecases is a part of maintenance, butin most cases repair actions nor-mally come at the most inopportunetime.

When something breaks, the mis-sion is delayed, hindered or stopped,

which are all things the Air Forcetries to mitigate. Repairs are un-scheduled or unplanned events toget an item or component back to anoperating condition. Since it is anunplanned event, we throw a greatdeal of time and resources at it.

Now how does that relate to ourAirmen?

Well, maintenance of our Air-men consists of scheduling trainingevents to take care of their careersand professional growth. It alsoentails implementing proper shiftschedules for work and rest cycles,along with planned regular days off.Managing quality of life issues suchas leave schedules as well as sched-uling health exams, dental exams,and gym time encapsulates mainte-nance of personnel.

Now on the flip side, the need forthe repair of Airmen normally comesin the form of personnel who haveover-extended themselves mentally,socially, physically and financially;and personnel who are experienc-ing family hardships due to normallife demands. In many cases thesedemands can be compounded bymilitary service. Airmen in need ofsome repair may chronically missappointments, have difficulty pass-ing the fitness test or have issuescoping with life. I call this burnoutsyndrome, when our Airmen startto have multiple issues in variousareas.

Can burnout syndrome be avoid-ed?

Yes, with a good maintenance ac-tion plan. Some proactive methods

include complementary shift sched-ules for family life, when possible,and establishing a culture of practic-ing resilience tactics, techniques andprocedures. The resilience modulesand suicide alertness and aware-ness training seminars provided bythe Air Force truly can make a dif-ference in the maintenance of ourAirmen.

When you’re lacking a solid main-tenance action plan, personnel aretaken out of the normal mission rota-tion for extensive repair. In extremecases, some personnel will need allof the resources provided throughour medical community, and outsideorganizations such as Military OneSource, the Airman & Family Readi-ness Center, and Military & Fam-ily Life Counseling before they areready to resume normal operations.When burnout syndrome happens, agreat deal of time is required to re-pair, and it is costly, but our Airmenare worth it.

I want to reiterate that seekinghelp is the right thing to do, and weneed to continue to encourage ourpersonnel to get help prior to feeling“broken” or in disrepair. We have ahost of resources that will maintainand repair our people for future use.

The bottom line is to maintainyour Airmen with good scheduledevents, and pay the little costs up-front. Or you will pay for the majorrepairs during the most inoppor-tune time. Our mission hinges onour most valuable resource -- ourAirmen.

CommentaryMaintenance versus repair ... of our Airmen

Commissary Costs StudiedThere are no plans to close mili-

tary commissaries, according to thechairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey. Thebudget environment is forcing thedepartment to look for savings any-where possible, he added. The JointStaff asked the Defense Commis-sary Agency for a range of options,including how the system would op-erate with reduced or no taxpayersubsidies. The chairman noted thatmilitary exchanges work on thissystem and that the same potentialexists with commissaries. The com-missary agency received $1.5 billionin subsidies last year. “We haven’tmade any decisions,” the chairmansaid. “We’ve got to drive towardgreater efficiencies, and this is justone of the potential areas.” The Bi-partisan Budget Act alleviated someof the sequester pressure on the de-partment through fiscal 2015. Butthe Budget Reduction Act of 2011 isstill law, and sequester-level spend-ing cuts will be back in play in fis-cal 2016, unless Congress changesthe law. “We’re well aware of theneed for acquisition reform, as wellas the need to reduce unnecessary

infrastructure and retire unneededweapons systems,” Dempsey said.

Funeral AssistanceThe Department of Veterans Af-

fairs has opened an online funeraldirectors resource kit. Funeral direc-tors may use the kit when helpingveterans and their families makeburial arrangements in VA nationalcemeteries or in Arlington NationalCemetery, operated by the Depart-ment of Army. The website enableshelps families plan burials and ap-ply for VA memorial benefits. Videosare available in English and Span-ish. The website is available at www.cem.va.gov/cem/funeraldirector.asp.VA maintains 3.2 million gravesitesin 131 VA national cemeteries. Morethan 118,000 veterans and familymembers were interred in fiscal year2012. Information on VA burial ben-efits can be obtained from nationalcemetery offices, from the Internetat www.cem.va.gov or by calling VAat 1 800 827-1000. To make burialarrangements at a VA national cem-etery, call the cemetery schedulingoffice at 800 535-1117. For informa-tion about interments at ArlingtonNC – operated by the Department ofthe Army – call 1 877 907-8585.

Same Sex BenefitsIn consultation with the Depart-

ment of Justice, Veterans Affairsis providing guidance to same-sexmarried couples on the benefits andservices to which they are entitledunder current laws and regulations.The Supreme Court overturnedthat section of the Defense of Mar-riage Act which governed the defini-tions of “marriage” and “spouse” forfederal agencies. VA has developedguidance to process claims and ap-plications for same-sex marriedcouples. It is processing all claimsand applications involving same-sexmarriages. A new website providesinformation to help veterans andbeneficiaries understand the eligi-bility requirements under federallaw and VA regulations. For moreinformation, go to www.va.gov/opa/marriage or call 1 800-827-1000.

The Retiree Activities Office isopen 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Mondaythrough Friday. Visit the office inBuilding 1604 at California andColorado Avenues or call 301 981-2726. Call before your visit to ensurea volunteer is on duty. The RAO hasa website at www.andrews.af.mil.

Retiree Corner

Andrews GazetteFriday, December 19, 2014 3

BY SENIOR AIRMANMARIAH HADDENHAM

11TH WING PUBLIC AFFAIRS

The United States AirForce Band contributedtheir holiday cheer byperforming “The Spiritof the Season” concertat the Daughters of theAmerican Revolutionconcert hall Dec. 12 inWashington, D.C.

Approximately 22schools attended, includ-ing a school from Austra-lia, totaling nearly 3,000attendees.

“The concert falls un-der our Advancing In-novation through Musicinitiative,” said SeniorMaster Sgt. Bob Kam-holz, United States AirForce Band marketingand outreach superinten-dent. “The AIM programidentifies the needs ofthe schools and matchesthem with the correctmusical performances orclinics..”

The holiday concertis the largest studentoutreach initiative ofthe year and is aimedat reaching studentsK-12. Home school stu-dents from Joint BaseAndrews, Joint BaseAnacostia-Bolling andthe surrounding commu-nities were invited to at-tend the concert.

“This really serves

as a great opportunityfor the children to seeus perform,” said SeniorMaster Sgt. Eric Saba-tino, United States AirForce Band harpist. “Italso allows me to explainhow my harp works; notmany children get thechance to see one upclose.”

The show consisted of14 songs, including se-lections from “The Nut-cracker” featuring danc-ers from the VirginiaBallet Company. Theperformance concludedwith a multi-song audi-ence sing-along.

“I’ve been performing

at the holiday concertsfor 14 years and the bestpart is the kid’s concert,”said Chief Master Sgt.Jebodiah Eaton, USAFBand chief of production.“Seeing how the kids en-joy the show, interactingwith them, and talkingto them about our in-struments is my favoritepart.

The band performedonce on Friday and twiceon Saturday.

For more informationon the Air Force Bandand their performances,go to www.usafband.af.mil.

Air Force Band kicksoff Spirit of the Season

U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO/ SENIOR AIRMAN MARIAH HADDENHAM

Dancers from the Virginia Ballet Company performduring “The Spirit of the Season” holiday concert atthe Daughters of the American Revolution concerthall Dec. 12 in Washington, D.C. The United States AirForce Band hosted the event. The show consisted of14 songs, including selections from The Nutcrackerand concluded with an audience sing-along.

mechanic of the 113th Wing.The exchange was also an opportu-

nity for the D.C. team to observe theirJDF counterparts creatively, analyti-cally and manually approach theirwork with limited equipment.

“We have less technology that forcesus to do greater analyses,” said JDFWarrant Officer 1 Fitzgerald, H., JDFworkshop manager. “We have a pot-pourri of vehicles so our skillset is verydiverse and dynamic.”

“They make everything work withthe minimal resources they have,” saidSgt. Girard King, vehicle mechanic,273rd Military Police Co., whose maintakeaway was being able to completea mission without his usual resources.“They don’t let anything go to wasteand work very strategically. I learnedfrom the JDF to think outside the box.”

In addition to learning from eachother, the exchange was also an op-portunity for the Capital Guardians towork in a different cultural and profes-sional environment.

“This was a very good learning ex-perience for me,” said Fitzgerald at theclose-out briefing. “I don’t have to be inthe U.S. to understand what you’re allabout. Your ability to fit in and yourenthusias m for trying new things

were refreshing.”“We shared different ideas on how

we do things so we are always ready toserve locally and internationally,” saidJDF vehicle mechanic Sgt. Beadle, C.“The U.S. team got right into it likethey worked here on a normal basis.That’s an approach we should takeanywhere we go.”

MISSION, from page 1

U.S. AIR NATIONAL GUARD PHOTO/CAPT. RENEE LEE

Jamaican Defence Force civilian vehi-cle mechanic Dean Kemp and SeniorAirman Renardo Butler secures awheel stud and lock into place ona 2.5-ton Jamaican Defence Forcefreightload truck. Butler, a vehiclemechanic from the 113th Wing, D.C.Air National Guard at Joint BaseAndrews and Kemp are participatingin a subject matter expert exchangeunder the National Guard Bureau’sState Partnership Program.

For more news from other bases around the Washington, D.C. area,

visit www.dcmilitary.com.

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these stories might not be things a Veteran wants toshare everyday but may be more willing to share inthis setting. “It’s very important to learn what the Vet-erans have to say…a chance to contribute to the bodyof understanding.”

The recommended age for interviewing is 10thgrade and up, “It may be difficult for someone to lookinto the cherubic face of their grandchild and tellthese difficult stories.” Mohindra advised that young-er people can engage with other aspects of the projectsuch as logging the interview and other items.

The Project is seeking for not only diversity – raceand gender – but also experience, and branches. Mon-hindra pointed to the example of a collection of Chap-lains in military service. “We need as many componentparts as possible to tell the whole story,” Mohindrasaid.

The Project provides a useful “field kit” as guideproviding a suggested series of themed questions.

There may by some hesitancy when considering do-nating such personal items of a family’s history; Mon-hindra assured that when donating items each pieceis treated with the upmost of respect. She shared thestory of one family, which had submitted pictures andlater sent a note, to not only thank them, but alsoshared had they not donated the items they wouldhave been ruined in a flood during hurricane Rita.“Our job is to make sure these items are preservedand safe for posterity.”

With recent conflicts, sometimes you don’t have thesame communication used as in prior times with theevolution of modern technology, and often you don’tsee the same written letters or pictures. However,printed emails are accepted as well as pictures print-ed from electronic communication.

Participants like Tom Bui, currently serving withthe National Guard after four years active duty withthe United States Marine Corp, shared the impor-tance of this project for civilians and Veterans alike,“I think, to me, a lot of people don’t know what it’s liketo be a veteran … they don’t know what that means so

I just want to tell my story – what most veterans wantto do... That’s why I want to do it.”

With four deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, Guan-tanamo, and Egypt, Bui explained the importance ofthe personal narratives, “I think it’s important to getit from their perspective; what it’s like to be wherethey are now and how it was when they came back –their whole life experience. I want to get what it’s likethrough their eyes and compare it to mine – maybesimilar, maybe different… I think every veteran con-nects in some way… maybe we have something incommon that happened or something happened differ-ent. I want to get their story told and archived. That’swhat’s important; to preserve our history because,nowadays, not a lot of people are doing that.”

A service learning program that is inter-profession-al, where students are studying a variety of healthprofessions, ISCOPES students selected to be on thisspecific team either because they have a connectionto a veteran or “just interested in the power of story-telling and what that can do for personal health andwell-being. It can be a very powerful healing experi-ence,” noted Donna Javellana, who holds a Master ofPublic Health and is the Community Engagement andCommunication manager ISCOPES.

Javellana, who has cousins that are recent conflictveterans, said, “I have a personal interest to engagethem in storytelling and to hear their stories becauseit can be healing a way to bring families closer. I’mlooking forward to connecting to family and friends inthis way. Also, I want to spread awareness that thisproject exists – it’s free and available for anyone andeveryone can be a part of it; spreading awareness, thatprogram is out there, that’s what I’m excited about.”

Mohindra also wanted to convey that spouses makegreat interviewers as well as adult children.

With a mind toward the holidays, Mohindra ex-pressed, “it’s a great way to give a gift that has somuch longevity; everything is preserved for posterityat the Library of Congress. And, it’s extremely mean-ingful because it’s the gift of time and listening; theexpenditure is from the heart and not from the wal-let.”

The Veterans History Project is also looking forhelp from you to spread the word about the project.Looking to ignite participation in the project aroundthe holidays “Making It Home” is a VHP blog serieson Home and Holidays. They invite everyone to sharelinks about the Project through all their social mediaportals.

To find out more information about the project or todownload a field kit, visit loc.gov/vets..

HISTORY, from page 1

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I’m trying to get the commis-sary to allow us to put a col-lection box in their store to getsupport from people who don’thave kids that attend ImagineAndrews that can drop off theirbox tops and we can pick themup earn more money for ourschool.”

Some of the ways that Nau-man helps to promote funds isthrough in-house contests suchas an upcoming snowball fightscheduled in January. “Howit works is teachers decoratetheir doors with winter scenesand for every five or 10 boxtops that their kids bring in,they get a snowball made out ofconstruction paper which theyput their name on and they getto throw it at other teachers’doors,” Nauman said. “And atthe end of February, the per-son with the least amount ofsnowballs wins a prize, like apizza party or snow cone [par-ty]. And some of that box topmoney goes back toward thekids or that class that bringsin the most box tops.”

Nauman also solicits sup-port from local grocery storesin the Prince George’s Countycommunity to donate lollipopsor other confections for addi-tional prize incentives.

Although Nauman’s ulti-mate goal is to build a play-

ground for the school, shedoesn’t rule out the possibilityof funding a school library. “Wealready have enough money toeasily purchase books for a li-brary, but first we need to in-vest in a book scanner to scanthe bar codes so that kids cancheck them out and we’ll havea filing system. The scanner isa little more money, though.”

Nauman explained that shealso receives help from thestudent council members who

collect the box tops contain-ers located throughout theschool. “Last year, our guid-ance counselor and the studentcouncil counted the box topsand bagged them in bags of 50,which made it easier for themto be shipped to Box Top forEducation, in Victor, Minn.

“I’m doing this for the kids,especially the primary gradeswho are so excited about fillingout these box top sheets,” saidNauman, a box top program

sponsor at her previous school.“I was only able to raise $200,because there wasn’t thatmuch parent involvement atmy last school; but here, theparent involvement and out-reach is greater.”

Nauman uses theme-orient-ed coloring sheets each monthto capture the children’s in-terest, such as October hadpumpkins and November had aThanksgiving Day theme withturkeys on it. “I can’t quite get

the middle school children asexcited as the primary kids,yet; but they absolutely lovethe sheets.

The money has also beenbeneficial to students in otherways. “If we go on a field tripand a youngster can’t afford topay it, as long as we as we useit for education and for the stu-dents, it benefits them,” notedNauman. “The parents supportwhat the money goes toward.”

Nauman further notedthat Box Tops for Educationalso sponsors contests on-linewhere a school can registerand possibly win up to 25,000box tops. Schools may enter theHolly Jolly Sweepstakes or theBonus Box Tops, where a schoolcan earn an extra 1,000 boxtops, which could mean earn-ing an extra $500 to a $1,000.“The more people who registerfor our school the better ourchances are of winning thatmoney. They can register at[BoxTops4Education.com].”

Since the Imagine Andrewsopened its doors in 2011, theschool has earned $5,710 to-ward making the playground areality.

More than 90,000 K-8schools participate nationwidesince the beginning of BoxTops for Education in 1996. Todate, schools nationwide haveearned more than $600 millionfrom Box Tops.

PHOTO/BOBBY JONES

Erin Nauman, a fourth-grade teacher at Imagine Andrews Public Charter School, displays a coupleof Box Tops for Education sheets that her students colored.

BOX TOPS, from page 1

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BY AIRMAN 1ST CLASS J.D. MAIDENS11TH WING PUBLIC AFFAIRS

The 11th Force Support Squadron held their an-nual Hearts Apart Deployed Spouses Holiday Party atthe base theater Dec. 13 on Joint Base Andrews.

The holiday party brought together 22 families ofdeployed, remotely-located and 30-day temporary dutyservice members.

“It’s always difficult to miss out on the traditionsand bonding of the season,” said Chief Master Sgt.Vance Kondon, 11 WG command chief master ser-geant. “As an Air Force family, we can help familiesdeal with this separation in a positive way.”

The event featured face painting, care packages, ascavenger hunt, family photos, a DJ, pin the nose onRudolph and cookie decorating after a lunch providedby the 11th Wing Chaplaincy.

The party’s goal was to compensate for separationwith holiday cheer and fun.

“Our mission is to serve families who have a loved-one away this season,” said Tech. Sgt. Amanda Moca-nu, 11th FSS readiness NCO. “It’s important for thesefamilies to know they aren’t alone.”

The party was generally well received by attendees.“We’ve never had this much support,” said Stepha-

nie Akins, the spouse of a deployed service member. “Itgives the kids something out of the norm to do.”

Hearts Apart supports deployed families

U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO/AIRMAN 1ST CLASS J.D. MAIDENS

Attendees play freeze dance at the Hearts ApartDeployed Families Holiday Party Dec. 13 at JointBase Andrews.

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