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Thursday, December 14, 2017

MACDILL THUNDERBOLT Thursday, December 14, 2017 WWW.MACDILLTHUNDERBOLT.COM 3

NEWS/FEATURES

The Air Force Non-Commissioned Officer Van-guard Award recognizes one enlisted member from each branch of service for a heroic act, on or off duty, which results in saving someone’s life or preventing a serious injury.

One of MacDill’s own is among those nominat-ed. The following is his story:

It was late April in the Lake Worth, Florida, inlet. The skies were clear and sunny but with high winds lingering from a storm a few days earlier. Master Sgt. Julian Cordova, a resource advisor assigned to the 6th Maintenance Squad-ron, was out on his boat with a few Airmen, en-joying the spring weather and a day of fishing.

Mid-morning, Cordova and his passengers decided to return to land as the waters became rough from the winds.

On their way back, they noticed something un-usual.

“We were coming into the channel, when we

saw two guys wearing life jackets on a boat 200 to 300 feet to the left of us,” explained Cordova. “As one of the boaters stood up, he put his hand in the air and sounded his air horn just before a wave pulled them and the boat under water.”

The boaters emerged clinging to a floating ice chest.

Cordova and his team immediately took ac-tion and veered to the left, positioning their boat between the capsized boat and the two victims. Doing this prevented the victims from being smashed between the two boats.

Cordova tied one of the victims to a dock line, preventing him from being lost in the waves. As his crew lifted the first victim out of the water, Cordova made his way to the second.

As they began rescue operations, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation and a sheriff ’s deputy arrived, but remained at a distance to avoid having too many boats in the area during the rescue effort.

“We were getting hit by six-foot waves from multiple directions,” explained Cordova. “The

Christmas is around the corner and while some are hanging stockings from their chim-neys with care, others are still searching for the perfect gift for their friends and family.

This year, one of the trendy gifts is the small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS), more com-monly known as a drone. A drone is a small, unmanned, remote-controlled aircraft that can also be equipped with a camera capable of tak-ing pictures and videos.

Over the last few years drone sales have been on the rise, and unfortunately, so has the prob-ability of a drone encounter with a passenger aircraft.

According to MacDill’s Small Unmanned Air-craft Systems Guidance, small unmanned air-craft systems will not originate from, cross, or overfly the installation, as defined by perimeter boundaries, fences, signs, and markings. Recre-ational use of sUAS on MacDill Air Force Base is strictly prohibited for both civilian and gov-ernment agencies without a letter of agreement between the 6th Operations Support Squadron and the coordinating party. In the interest of safety, requests to operate unmanned aircraft

DRONE, Page 12

See COURAGE, Page 15

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WEEK IN PHOTOS


When it comes to maintaining the structural integrity of our aircraft at MacDill Air Force Base, it takes the hard work of the fabrication flight to keep our aircraft mission capable.

Aircraft structural maintenance, also known as sheet metal, is one sec-tion of the fabrication flight that specializes in repairing and replacing parts as well as maintaining corrosion control surfaces.

“As far as the structural component goes, we basically fix anything made of sheet metal,” said Tech. Sgt. Joseph Caldwell, an aircraft struc-tural maintenance shift leader assigned to the 6th Maintenance Squadron. “When it comes to corrosion control we have to rely on inspections done by ourselves or the crew chiefs in order to identify and fix the corrosion before it becomes a bigger issue.”

Sheet metal Airmen need to constantly communicate with other flight-line maintainers to ensure everyone is on the same page about inspection, preparation, deconstruction and repair times for every job.

“One of the biggest things we need to do is be able to break down our timeline for each job and be confident enough to pass that up the chain of command,” said Caldwell, “The last thing we want is for someone to ignore a grounding write-up for an aircraft because they don’t feel like they can communicate with leadership.”

Communication is crucial within the sheet metal shop.

NEWS/FEATURES

See FABRICATION, Page 11


In the military, strong leadership is needed to complete the mission and is paramount for any organization’s success.

But where does someone learn some of the skills neces-sary to become a stronger leader?

A good place to start is Toastmasters International, an organization with the motto: “Where Leaders Are Made.”

Toastmasters International was founded by Ralph Smed-ley in 1924, with the purpose of improving the communi-cation, public speaking, and leadership skills of its partici-pants. Members don’t need a title, rank or position to be in a leadership role, just a desire to learn and speak to a group.

“There are a total of 352,000 members in 141 different countries with 15,400 chapters,” said Vijayn Nair, the dis-trict 48 director of Toastmasters International. “District 48 alone, which includes Hillsborough County, there are 139 chapters and 3,200 members.”

In 2012, MacDill established its own Toastmasters Chap-ter, which has provided military personnel, civilian employ-ees, and dependents a venue to develop public speaking and leadership skills.

During Toastmasters club meetings, members can expect an experiential learning style, where members learn by doing.

See TOASTMASTERS, Page 10

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“When we get called out to do a job, we need to know exactly what it is that they need,” said Staff Sgt. Robert Duke, an aircraft structural maintenance craftsman assigned to the 6th MXS. “If we don’t know exactly what they need then we can’t relay if we need a part moved or taken off in order for us to do our job.

If we can’t tell them exactly what we need to do for our job then we could cause the aircraft to be grounded longer than needed, therefore, hin-dering the mission.”

In addition to communication, every Airman needs to be well rounded with skills such as pro-fessionalism, and job knowledge to ensure they can get each unique job accomplished

“We stress the importance of our job, soaking up as much knowledge as possible and getting that experience level quickly to our new Airmen,” said Caldwell. “They have the lives of the pilots and crew in their hands, and we need them to make the right decision and not second guess themselves.”

In order to train each new Airman to make those decisions, they bring younger Airmen with them to mentor and develop them.

“We have a very important job,” said Caldwell. “We make it a priority to teach our new Airmen as they come in how important we are to the mis-sion and how much of an impact we can make.”


“When they come down here it makes it easier for us. “After they visit I feel refreshed and more comfort. I am

able to take what they teach me and work with it.”Lourens suffers from pain in his shoulder and was

treated by Walter and given exercises to strengthen spe-cific muscles by Dillow. This was his second visit with the PT team.

Walter has received feedback from the units and their commander’s highlighting the benefit of the program. He has tracked less units coming into the clinic for therapy after embedding into the unit. The plan going forward is to utilize the system for upcoming rotations to help ensure Airmen are mission ready.

“I thank God for the opportunity to serve the men and women who are so close to the mission,” said Walter. “It’s an honor to serve alongside Staff Sgt. Dillow, who I wouldn’t be able to do this without.

“Finally, it is a blessing to be able to help rehab and strengthen the world’s greatest Air Force.”

within flight corridors will not be permitted.The guidance and policy simply states that recreational

use of sUAS is strictly prohibited on base, said Capt. Dan-iel W. Knick, the airfield operations flight commander of the 6th OSS.

According to Knick, since drones are still relatively new to hobbyists, policy changes are currently being consid-ered to allow owners to use drones on the installation in the future.

“The MacDill Airfield Operations Flight is working with Air Mobility Command on the usage of sUAS and are looking into the possibility of developing airspace on the installation for the purposes of authorizing limited, rec-reational use of these devices within MacDill’s airspace,” said Knick.

Until that day comes, MacDill’s airspace remains re-stricted to government-approved operations only.

“MacDill Air Force Base is a no drone zone,” said Capt. Sam Waterman, the operations officer for the 6th Security Forces Squadron. “Anyone who operates a drone should be at least five miles away from base.”

While the 6th SFS is the only reporting agency for il-legal drone usage, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the actual federal enforcing agency. Anyone inter-ested in purchasing a drone for the holidays or planning on giving it as a gift, can find more information on rules and regulations for flying in the area at www.faa.gov.


COMMUNITY

For all other faith groups or for any questions, please contact the Chapel by visiting http://www.macdill.af.mil/macdillchapel or calling 828-3621

Surf’s Edge Club Holiday Luncheon from 11 a.m. -

1:30 p.m. Free for members; $11.50 family member; $12.50 all oOthers. Featuring rosemary-rubbed roast with horseradish cream, apple rai-sin pork loin, salad, assortment of sides and desserts

Bay Palms Golf ComplexClub Member Appreciation – free

golf and cart to AF Club card mem-bers. Call 840-6904 to reserve a tee time. Must show valid club card when checking in at the pro shop.

Base TheaterFree movie: “Almost Christmas”

(PG-13). Doors open at 1:15 p.m. Movie starts at 2 p.m. Overflow parking available in the SOCOM parking garage.

Base TheaterFree movie: “Dunkirk” (PG-13).

Doors open at 6:15 p.m. Movie starts at 7 p.m.

New Year’s Eve celebration – Lights Over Tampa New Year’s Eve dinner special is Dec. 31 at the Surf ’s Edge Club.

Dinner is 6-9pm; desserts/cock-tails from 9 p.m.-1 a.m.

Complete package for members: $49.99; all others: $54.99

Dinner for members: $36.99; all others: $41.99

Desserts/Cocktails for members: $21.99; all others: $24.99

Dinner Menu: BLT Caesar Sal-ad, Cucumber Feta Black Eyed Pea Salad, Seafood Medley Cioppino, Fresh Parslied Linguine, Gruyere Thyme Encrusted Beef Carving Station, Champagne Parmesan Ri-sotto, Steamed Broccoli and Pepper Medley, Roasted Vegetable Medley, fresh baked rolls and butter

Dessert Menu: Warm Cher-ries Jubilee à la mode and Double Chocolate Mousse Trifle and cham-pagne toast


crew and I helped the second person into the boat and started the motor to move, but we were hit by a big wave and the boat began to fill with water.”

As the boat accelerated to an adequate speed to bail the water out, they nearly collided with the capsized boat. Shortly after, they were hit by a sec-ond wave.

The wave caused one of the victims to fall back into the water and the boat to flood to calf-level.

“I went into survival mode as I looked at the passengers on my boat and realized we needed to get to shore,” said Cordova.

The crew began scooping the water out with a bucket and an ice chest and turned on the bilge pump to get some of the water out as the victim in the water floated to the other rescue boats.

Cordova throttled up and began navigating through the channel. The forward momentum bailed out some of the water and his crew, passengers and boat made it to safety.

In hindsight, Cordova attributes his decisive actions that day to the training he has received over the course of his career.

“My military experience has taught me to be calm in difficult situations

and remain situationally aware so I know what to do next,” said Cordo-va. “The Florida Boater’s Safety Course and knowing how to operate and maintain my boat was vital in this situation.”

His noble efforts reach far beyond that day back in April.“Cordova is in charge of my commander’s support staff where he leads

our team to take care of the needs of the entire squadron,” explained Lt. Col. Leah Vanagas, the commander of the 6th MXS. “This is the perfect job for him due to his selfless nature and willingness to help others succeed.

“He has always been a good mentor for the Airmen and exhibits servant leadership on a daily basis.”

Although he is now going up for the Vanguard Award for courage, he says what he did wasn’t about him.

“Whether it’s this situation or serving in the military, I don’t do it for the recognition, it’s about helping one another out and doing the right thing,” said Cordova. “It’s not about you, but what you have to offer others.”

Even so, many call him a face of courage for risking so much to save others.“He risked his own life and boat to save helpless civilians from a deadly

situation; he is the personification of service before self,” said Vanagas.

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