From: bergman@AFPAN.PA.AF.MIL (CMSgt Mike Bergman)
Newsgroups: soc.veterans
Subject: AF Feature Package No. 5
Date: 27 Jul 92 14:12:55 GMT
Organization: Hq Air Force News Agency/SCC

015.  The NCOA helps market job skills
016.  Super labs detect space debris
017.  Women's memorial
018.  Take three seconds - use your seatbelt
019.  At the scene of an accident?
020.  First U-boat kill of World War II
021.  Joining a World War II commemorative committee
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015.  The NCOA helps market job skills
By SSgt. VIRGINIA CADENA
     Air Force people separating or retiring from active duty can learn to 
market their military skills and dress for success free of charge, courtesy of 
the Non-Commissioned Officers Association Veterans Employment Assistant 
programs.
     Air Force people enter the job market with outstanding employable skills, 
however, most military people do not know how to market themselves, according 
to retired Army Command Sgt. Maj. William G. Fitzpatrick, career program 
director for the NCOA.  
     The association sponsors an active program designed to help veterans find 
jobs after release from active service.  Family members are also welcome.  The 
program, which is open to all ranks, is free to all participants, even if not 
NCOA members.
     Approximately 60,000 veterans and their families participate in the VEA 
program annually; however, with the draw down in the military, participation 
has increased about 40 percent, Fitzpatrick said.
     The multi-faceted, four-tiered program offers job fairs, franchise 
expositions, job-seekers workshops and a people bank-resume registry.
     The job fairs bring companies and corporations together with job seekers 
leaving the service.  The first day of the two-day fair offers a career 
transition seminar focusing on proven job search techniques.  The second day, 
job seekers interview with prospective employers.  
     Job fairs generally attract a range of corporate participation and 
feature companies that realize the value in hiring military trained workers, 
Fitzpatrick said.
     In addition, through an agreement with the International Franchise 
Association, the NCOA co-sponsors eight regional franchise expositions 
annually.
     "The expos offer free admission to veterans, and provide information and 
seminars on franchising opportunities," Fitzpatrick said.  Veterans get a 
chance to talk with a large number of franchise companies from all facets of 
the business community to explore the opportunity to become small business 
owners. 
     For individuals not near military installations that host job fairs, the 
NCOA offers job seekers workshops conducted by the NCOA's transition 
specialists.  The workshops consist of four-hour programs designed to prepare 
separating or retiring military personnel for the civilian job market.  
     "Topics focus on actions the job seeker can use to find meaningful 
employment, as well as skills they need to land a job," Fitzpatrick said.  "We 
place heavy emphasis on developing a personal marketing package and becoming 
your own job search manager.  We train people to sell themselves."  
     A significant part of the program is the completion of the NCOA 
mini-resume, which is then collected and entered in the NCOA VEA Data Bank of 
Job Seekers.
     Through the use of NCOA's unique mini-resume, the association offers 
thousands of separating service people the opportunity to be considered for 
employment by a large number of hiring companies.  By completing a 
mini-resume, each individual is entered into a computer data bank according to 
their interests, training, location desires and availability date, Fitzpatrick
said.  This data base is accessed by companies seeking to hire separating 
veterans.  Resumes are collected at job fairs, job seekers workshops and at 
all of the NCOA's 140 worldwide service centers.  Resumes are also accepted by 
mail from any veteran or spouse.  
     Each year, the NCOA sponsors about 20 job fairs in major cities with 
heavy military populations, including two in Germany at Ramstein AB and 
Heidelberg.  This year the NCOA enters unchartered waters, hosting job fairs 
in Japan and Korea.
     As the Air Force downsizes, the already saturated civilian job market is 
bombarded with thousands of military members joining the job hunt; however, 
"the NCOA VEA program is working to help those who served," Fitzpatrick said. 
     For information on any aspect of the NCOA Veterans Employment Assistance 
Program, write to:  Director, Veterans Employment Assistance Program, NCOA 
International Headquarters, P.O. Box 33610, San Antonio, TX 78265 or call 
(512) 653-6161.  (AFNS Features.  Cadena is NCOIC, Air Force newspaper 
programs branch, AFNEWS.)


016.  Super labs detect space debris
By Kari J. Paseur
     A couple of the Air Force's super laboratories are combining their unique 
capabilities to collaborate on space debris research.
     The Phillips Laboratory at Kirtland AFB, N.M., is working with Wright 
Laboratory at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, to detect and record small particles 
of space debris.
     Two Phillips Laboratory directorates, Geophysics and Advanced Weapons and 
Survivability, have installed a charge-coupled device camera system on Wright 
Laboratory's 100-inch Newtonian telescope to detect space debris.
     The combination of the CCD detector and the collecting power of the large 
Wright Laboratory telescope (called a collimator) will allow Air Force 
scientists to detect objects in the centimeter-size range.  This enables the 
Air Force to begin to baseline the debris population in a size range not 
available in existing data bases.
     Phillips Laboratory is the lead organization in the Department of Defense 
for space debris research.  DOD recognizes the potential threat that space 
debris can pose to space satellites.  The lab's goal is to measure the debris 
environment, especially debris one to 10 centimeters in size.  The research is 
vital to protect space assets belonging to the United States and other 
space-faring nations.
     Using the Wright Laboratory's collimator is a unique and cost-effective 
way to test the CCD detector on a large telescope device without impacting 
operational surveillance systems.  The Phillips Laboratory plans to apply the 
technology learned from this path-finding effort at Wright-Patterson to 
research it will perform at its Air Force Maui Optical Station in Maui, 
Hawaii.
     The collimator, built in 1967, was originally designed to test aerospace 
electro-optical systems in their operating environment.  Over the years, the 
facility has been used for several scientific experiments, including laser 
imaging and ranging systems.  (AFNS Features.  Paseur is assigned Phillips 
Laboratory public affairs.)


017.  Women's memorial
By Brig. Gen. WILMA VAUGHT (Ret.)
     The fourth of July, or Independence Day, has become the national 
celebration of the courage and spirit that marks the American people.  
American independence was achieved at the hands of a bold group of men.  Their 
exploits are taught in schools; their names are part of our national lexicon: 
George Washington, Paul Revere, the Boston Tea Party, Minutemen.
     You probably did not find Ann Trotter Bailey, Sarah Bradlee Fulton, Emily 
Geiger, Margaret Corbin, Deborah Sampson and Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley in our 
history books.  Yet they are all women of history whose achievements during 
the Revolutionary War defined the word "heroine."  An estimated 20,000 women 
served as nurses, spies, and in battle, taking over for their fallen husbands 
or sometimes even disguised as men.
     Ann Trotter Bailey was a scout, spy and messenger for the 
revolutionaries.  She could shoot, ride and had medical skills that were of 
great value to the military.  In 1774, she carried messages and ammunition 
through enemy territory, successfully eluding the British and hostile Indians. 
     Sarah Bradlee Fulton, known as the "mother of the Boston Tea Party," also 
delivered dispatches through enemy lines.
     In 1781, Emily Geiger, serving as a spy, was captured and searched when 
she attempted to deliver a message to General Sumter.  She had memorized and 
destroyed the message, so the British were forced to release her and she was 
later able to reach Sumter.
     Margaret Corbin took over her husband's cannon during a battle when he 
was killed.  She fought through the entire battle until she was wounded and 
carried off the field.  She later received a military pension, one half the 
monthly pay of a soldier and one suit of clothes.
     At the age of 18, Deborah Sampson left the farm where she had been 
raised, donned a homemade suit of male clothing and enlisted in Army as Robert 
Shurtleff.  During one battle, she was shot and slashed in the head with a 
bayonet.  Only four months later, she was wounded again, shot in the thigh 
with a musketball.  She crawled away from the wounded and hid in the woods 
tending her own wound, rather than let a doctor discover her secret.  She was 
finally discovered in 1781 when camp fever incapacitated her and a doctor was 
called in to treat her.  The doctor wrote a personal letter to George 
Washington who promptly issued her an honorable discharge from the Army.
     Mary Ludwig married John Caspar Hays, and eventually joined him in New 
Jersey where he served in the 7th Pennsylvania Regiment.  She worked in the 
camp washing clothes, cooking food and nursing the wounded.  During the 
battle, she carried water to the troops.  She also took over loading her 
husband's cannon when he collapsed during the battle.
     These are just a few of the women whose stories have survived through the 
generations.  But now, there is a project underway to ensure that all 
servicewomen, past and present, are remembered for their courage and service.  
The Women in Military Service Memorial to be built at the gateway to Arlington 
National Cemetery will honor women from the Revolutionary War to Desert Storm; 
those who served in peacetime and in war; and those who will serve in the 
future.
     A lieutenant stationed in Europe recently wrote to us: "I read about the 
memorial in the Stars and Stripes recently.  Although only a second 
lieutenant, I decided I had to contribute something in honor of all the women 
who have gone before me, to forge a path for myself and others like me.  I may 
be new to the service, but I'm eager to follow in their footsteps, serving 
with pride."
    The Women in Military Service Memorial will not only pay tribute to the 18 
million women who have served throughout history, but will also create a 
lasting legacy for the generations to come, documenting the history and roles 
women have played in our armed forces.
     Authorized by Congress in 1986, the Women in Military Service Memorial 
needs the support of the American people.  With 16 months left to raise $12 
million, the Women in Military Service Memorial Foundation is calling on all 
Americans, male and female, to contribute to the project.
     The foundation is also trying to locate servicewomen and veterans, or 
their dependents, to preserve their stories and document them in the 
Memorial's computerized database.  Registration is available by calling 
1-800-4-SALUTE.  
     Let's make sure that our children learn about the Deborahs and Marys and 
Emilys who fought for freedom so long ago and taught us all that heroism was 
and is universal.  (AFNS Features.  Vaught is president of the Women in 
Military Service for America Memorial Foundation.)


018.  Take three seconds - use your seatbelt
By 1st Lt. Mike Richmond
(Editor's note: The following editorial was written by a participant in a 
highway accident involving a busload of American service members in Korea.  
The bus, referred to as the Wolf Pack Wheels, was traveling from Kunsan AB to 
Osan AB.) 
     Three seconds.  That's about how long it took to put on my seatbelt that 
day.
     Eight seconds.  That's about how long it took for the Wolf Pack Wheels to 
lose control on a patch of highway ice, fishtail wildly, strike the curb with 
its front tires, bounce into the air, flip upside down, strike a small 
concrete post, whiplash violently to the ground, and tumble down an embankment 
before coming to rest in a cold, muddy field 15 feet below highway level.
     As a participant in the accident, I'd like to share the series of 
emotions that raced through my mind during the accident, at the scene, and the 
one emotion that stays with me today.
     The first was confusion, being flung violently upside down and from side 
to side, not knowing what was happening as thunderous crashes exploded with 
every violent jerk.
     Then fear, realizing was happening and being powerless to do anything 
about it.
     Then reassurance, feeling myself being held firmly in place by my 
seatbelt, even as we tumbled down a hill.
     Then relief, realizing I was unhurt when we stopped rolling.
     Then horror, when I looked to my left to check on the passenger who had 
been sitting next to me, only to discover she was no longer there.
     Then a deeper horror after I scanned the rest of the seats and noticed 
that the bus was missing about half its original occupants.
     A quick glance outside revealed a number of bodies strewn throughout the 
surrounding field.
     Unbuckling and climbing through what used to be a window, the next 
emotion was apprehension over what I might discover.  With so many people 
flung from their seats and through windows, there was no telling.  I expected 
the worst... severed limbs, gushing wounds, protruding bones and death.
     Miraculously, everyone was in one piece, although one was either already 
dead or would be soon. 
     Others were unconscious, suffering from broken bones, cut and bruised, 
going into shock, and/or immobilized from probable spinal injuries.
     At that point, other emotions were shoved aside as those of us who were 
unhurt tended to the wounded as best we could.
     For about an hour, we slogged around in the cold muck, administering 
whatever first aid and comfort possible and cautiously hauling the movable 
injured up the steep, muddy slope on improvised litters.
     Eventually, all the injured were loaded onto available civilian cars, 
flatbeds, vans and a Korean ambulance, forming an ad hoc rescue caravan to the 
nearest hospital.
     Though the injured would still have to suffer through treatment and 
rehabilitation, some of it quite painful and lengthy, for me the physical was 
already over.  But later that day, another emotion emerged, and it remains 
with me.
     Anger.
     At the same time that I feel sympathy for the dead and injured, I'm 
genuinely angry that everyone on that bus didn't take three lousy seconds to 
fasten their seatbelts.  They were right there.  Available to all.  Yet more 
of them were pushed aside or sat on than buckled.
     Would they have spared injury or death?  The statistics from this 
accident indicate an emphatic "yes."  The 33 passengers on the bus can be 
divided into two groups: 13 who were wearing seatbelts, and 20 who were not.
     None of the 13 who wore seatbelts suffered anything more than a scratch, 
a small cut or a bruise.  All were treated and released on the spot.  Yet all 
those inflicted with any injury more serious than that (fatal head injury, 
concussion, multiple trauma, fractured scapula, broken jaw, broken ankle, eye 
laceration, fractured nose, broken pelvis, internal bleeding, broken ribs, 
skull fracture, broken clavicle, to name a few) were from the group not 
wearing seatbelts.
     Is there a better testament of the importance of buckling up than those 
two statistics?  I don't think so.
     I'm not saying that it's impossible to escape injury without a seatbelt. 
Even in this accident, a handful of passengers who were not buckled in escaped 
injury.  Some of them were even ejected from the bus.  Surely, these 
individuals should thank God or their lucky stars or their guardian angels 
that at 50 miles per hour they struck soft ground instead of a telephone pole. 
 Or a tree.  Or oncoming traffic.  Or a concrete highway divider.  Or a sharp 
stick at an unfortunate angle.
     So take your pick.  Opt for the proven protection of a seatbelt, or take 
your chances with dumb luck.
     Still, though, why am I angry?  Because it all could have been avoided. 
We've all been beat over the head with the seatbelt message more times than we 
can count.  It's in the base newspaper.  It's in the bulletin.  It's at 
commanders call.  It's on the radio and TV.  It in the newcomers' orientation. 
It's in the regulations.  It's in every available means of communication aimed 
at the military audience.  Everyone on that bus had been told again and again 
to buckle up.
     So why did some do it while others chose not to?  I have no idea.  But I 
do know that if 33 people had taken three seconds apiece to buckle up, a 
horrific, fatal, painful nightmare may have been nothing more than a bumpy 
eight-second tumble down a hill.  (AFNS Features.  Richmond is assigned to the 
8th Fighter Wing public affairs division at Kunsan AB.) 


019. At the scene of an accident?
     One in every eight drivers will be involved in a motor vehicle accident 
this year, according to the National Safety Council.  That may mean you!  Are 
you prepared?  Would you know what to do and what questions to ask?  Since 
most people are reasonably upset after an accident, the National Safety 
Council offers this list of 11 easy steps to remember.
     - Stop your vehicle if it is clear, safe and legal.
     - Move the vehicle out of the traveled roadway, if it is clear, safe and 
legal.  (In some states it is against the law to move the vehicle from the 
place where the accident occurred.  Check the ordinance in your area.)
     - Turn off the ignitions of the cars involved.
     - Make a first aid check of all persons involved in the accident.
     - Call the police and, if necessary, emergency medical services.
     - Mark the scene of the accident with flares or retroreflective 
triangles.
     - Gather the names of all persons in the motor vehicles and people who 
witnessed the accident.
     - Make a quick diagram of where the vehicle occupants were seated and 
indicate the vehicles' direction of travel and lane.  Also note the date, time 
and weather conditions.
     - Ask to see the other driver's license and write down the number.
     - Exchange insurance company information.  Do not discuss "fault" or make 
statements about the accident to anyone but the police.
     - Get a copy of the police report of the accident from the local 
precinct.  (AFNS Features.  Courtesy National Safety Council.)


020.  First U-boat kill of World War II
By A. TIMOTHY WARNOCK
     On July 7, 1942, the Army Air Forces scored its first U-boat kill of 
World War II.  On that day, Lt. Harry J. Kane of the 396th Bombardment 
Squadron, flying an A-29 Lockheed Hudson, attacked and sank a German 
submarine, the U-701.  The official history of I Bomber Command described the 
attack:
     "Lt. Kane attacked by the book.  He was flying a routine patrol from 
Cherry Point, N.C.  He sighted a submarine seven miles away.  Since he was 
using cloud cover, he was able to approach it undetected, closing in on a 
course of zero degrees relative to the track of the submarine.  He attacked 
from fifty feet at 220 miles per hour, releasing three MK XVII depth charges 
in train about twenty seconds after the target submerged.  The submarine was 
still visible underwater as the bombs fell.  The first hit short of the stern; 
the second, just abaft of the conning tower; the third, just forward of the 
conning tower.  Fifteen seconds after the explosions, large quantities of air 
came to the surface, followed by seventeen members of the crew."
     Lieutenant Kane put a fitting end to U-701.  Sailing from Lorient, 
France, in late May 1942, it had operated along the American coast from 
Chesapeake Bay to Cape Lookout, N.C.  During June, it had unsuccessfully 
attacked a freighter, sunk a Navy patrol vessel by gunfire, and torpedoed two 
tankers.
     Kane's attack also marked the growing effectiveness of the Army Air 
Forces' contribution to the Battle of the Atlantic.
     Beginning in December 1941, the Army Air Forces increased its 
anti-submarine force from a few obsolete aircraft, all without radar, to 286 
aircraft equipped with microwave radar and other detection equipment.  On Aug. 
24, 1943, when it withdrew from antisubmarine operations, its aircraft, alone 
and in cooperation with the U.S. Navy or the Royal Air Force, had participated 
in 14 successful attacks on German submarines.  By then, Germany had lost the 
strategic initiative in the Battle of the Atlantic, and its submarines never 
seriously menaced Allied shipping the rest of the war.  (AFNS Features.  
Warnock is assigned to the Air Force Historical Research Agency at Maxwell 
AFB, Ala.)


021.  Joining a World War II commemorative committee
     Fifty years ago America was embroiled in the most violent and destructive 
confrontation the world has ever seen -- World War II.  An estimated 15 
million combatants and 25 million civilians died worldwide.  The direct 
economic cost is estimated at $1.6 trillion dollars with the cost to the U.S. 
alone set at $288 billion.  
     But the raw numbers do not tell the whole story.  The war's impact 
touched the lives of Americans in every walk of life.  More than 12 million 
men and women, inducted into all branches of the armed forces, left loved ones 
to join "the great crusade for freedom."  Of those, over 300,000 died.  Nearly 
 672,000 returned wounded.
     Presently the Department of Defense is in the middle of a commemoration 
to the 50th anniversary of World War II to "honor the World War II veterans 
and their families, recognize the contributions and sacrifices made on the 
home front, provide Americans with a clear understanding and appreciation of 
the lessons and history of World War II and acquaint Americans with World War 
II as the central event of the 20th century."
     A cornerstone of the commemoration is the Commemorative Community 
Program.  Military and civilian communities which agree to develop programs 
that honor veterans and educate the public about the role of the military and 
the civilian contribution during the Second World War can become World War II 
Commemorative Communities.
     There are some compelling reasons all communities, military and civilian, 
should consider becoming commemorative communities.  For example, 60 percent 
of the U.S. population today was not alive during the war, and this 
anniversary will be the last major commemoration in which many of the 9 
million war veterans will be able to participate.
     To become a commemorative community, communities must file an application 
which outlines their commemoration plans.  The commemorative community must 
agree to conduct at least three or more activities each year during the 
commemorative period ending Veteran's Day 1995.
     In turn, the DOD WWII Commemoration Committee will provide communities 
with sample educational resources to assist in designing and implementing 
their programs.
     Communities are asked to apply at their local military installation's 
public affairs office or through the National Guard or Reserve organization in 
their area.  When there are no military units nearby they may apply directly 
to the DOD committee.
     Some possible activities that communities could conduct include: 
publishing service, unit, ship or activity history brochures; dedicate or 
rededicate an armory, reserve center or other facility to honor a Second World 
War veteran; participate in local parades with color guard or marching units 
in war uniforms; install a 50-year time capsule of war artifacts; develop 
Second World War themes for graduation ceremonies, festivals, balls, races, 
runs, and organization days and organize volunteer groups -- military and 
civilian -- to visit veterans homes, hospitals and assist schools with war 
commemorative programs.
     As a commemorative community, communities have several entitlements.  
They receive a certificate of designation from the DOD; are authorized to use 
the two 50th anniversary logos for approved purposes and are authorized to 
obtain and display the DOD Second World War commemorative flag.
     Presently, there are seven officially designated commemorative 
communities, including three associations.  They are Camp Robinson, Ark.; 
Sterling-Rock Falls, Ill.; Columbia, Miss.; Atlantic City, N.J.; the Reserve 
Officers' Association; Confederate Air Force and the California Historical 
Group Association.
     In addition, there are 84 other communities and organizations, including 
congressional districts, counties, cities, universities, associations and 
various other organizations, that are in the process of applying to become 
commemorative communities.
     The war commemorative community program is truly a great way to honor the 
veterans by letting them know "a grateful nation remembers."  (AFNS Features. 
Courtesy World War II Commemorative Committee.)

-- 
         
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    //     \\                    Air Force News Agency 
   |         |               Kelly Air Force Base, Texas, USA
   \\  {*}  //                   bergman@afpan.pa.af.mil  
   \  CMSgt  /      ___________________ /____________________________________
   \  Mike   /   
   \ Bergman /
     \     / 


Newsgroups: soc.veterans