Air Force Association Mile High Chapter 127

Transcription

1 Volume 2017, Number 3 Air Force Association Board of Directors: Stephen Gourley -President (Acting) -(Vacant) Exec VP Kenn Bowens Treasurer Chip Deyerle Secretary (Acting) Steve Gourley VP/Programs Chip Deyerle-VP/Communications Neil Burroughs-VP/Community Partners (Vacant)-VP/Aerospace Education Inside this Issue: CO State AFA 1 Presidents Corner 1 CyberPatriot Update 2 State Convention Update State AFA Awards StellarXplorer Update Colorado State AFA Convention A Tremendous Success The 2017 Colorado State Convention was held on August 6, 2017, at the Weisbrod Air Museum in Pueblo, Colorado The event was led by Colorado AFA State President Linda Aldrich This year s convention was hosted by the Mel Harmon Chapter 128 with a number of AFA members in attendance as well Linda Aldrich, Colorado AFA State President, Mike Sumida of the Mel Harmon Chapter and Margaret Eichman, President of the Mel Harmon Chapter Attendees described the event as a Classy night in Pueblo, Colorado Air Force Association Mile High Chapter 127 Linda Aldrich, Colorado AFA State President, Mike Sumida of the Mel Harmon Chapter and Margaret Eichman, President of the Mel Harmon Chapter Several military honorees expressed their appreciation for recognition and for the event The President s Corner Richard Wendt Outgoing Chapter 127 President Rich Wendt meets with? (Continued on Page 2 StrellarXplorer Medal of merit & VVA Activities Calendar Attention Community Partners! Show your support for Aerospace Education: Sign up today to be a part of the Mile High Chapter 127 Community Partners Contact: Neil Burroughs burneil@aolcom 5 7 This past quarter we have been busy We supported the finals for the StellarXplorers high school competition in early April in Colorado Springs and Denver Rangeview HS in Aurora was in the StellarXplorers finals while Highlands Ranch HS from Highlands Ranch was in the Cyber Patriot finals in Baltimore, MD The United Veterans Committee (UVC) of Colorado Banquet was on 9 Apr 17 in Denver The Armed Forces Recognition Luncheon was held on 5 May 17 also in Denver Both Detachment 90 of AFROTC at CSU and Detachment 105 of AFROTC had their annual awards ceremonies and Spring commissioning ceremonies in April and May We also assisted in the awards ceremony of the CO-21 AFJROTC Detachment at Aurora Central and Hinckley HS L Thomas Brown who has successfully led the Rangeview HS teams in the StellarXplorers competition, is our Mile High Chapter Teacher of the Year The State AFA held their quarterly meeting on June 5 th in Grand Junction The next big event for the State will be the awards banquet and State Convention at the Weisbrod Air Museum in Pueblo, CO on 5 & 6 Aug 17 Mr Ron Sega is the guest speaker

2 CyberPatriot Update Message to Commissioners August 21, 2017 Eclipse taken in Torrington, Wyoming Photo By Charles Deyerle COMMISSIONER S CACHE Here we go! The CP-X season has arrived, and we are confident it will be the biggest and best Cyber- Patriot season in history And speaking of history, we just rewrote it As I type this, CyberPatriot just broke the 5,200 registered teams level for CP-X By any measure, that is amazing! There is plenty to read in this issue of The CyberSentinel You can take a look at a picture of yours truly presenting a token of appreciation to executives of our newest sponsor, The Boeing Company Also note the photo of our outstanding National Coach of the Year, Mandy Galante, and CyberPatriot National Mentor of the Year, Rob Karas, being recognized at AFA s recent Air, Space & Cyber Conference We are so proud of them and of all of our wonderful coaches and mentors Also, pay attention please to information in these pages regarding availability of air cards from our generous sponsor AT&T As always, thank you for your support of CyberPatriot To our sponsors led by Northrop Grumman Foundation we couldn t do it without you, truly To our coaches and mentors, thank you for your generous volunteerism To our AFA evangelists, thank you for promoting the nation s biggest cyber defense competition And to our competitors, it s go time! Bernard K Skoch National Commissioner Colorado State AFA Convention Continued Football combines the two worst features of modern American life: It s violence punctuated by committee meetings! George Will, in Baseball, produced by Ken Burns for PBS 1994, Page 2 Linda Aldrich then gave a summary of the AFA status to include upcoming events and deadlines for various State Programs The State Aerospace education Programs are going well as are the National education programs Steve Gourley summarized the growth of the StellarXplorers high school space competition Each chapter gave a summary of their status and future plans Regional VP Bob George reported on a number of topics, chief among them are candidates for Director at Large (To be elected at the AFA National Convention) Mark Tarpley, Rick Hartle and Mark Buster Douglas called in to the State Convention Spencer and Vice Chairman Mac MacAloon each called in to report status of the AFA and its programs Their reports focused on organizational and financial issues that need to be addressed The support of the Chief of Staff of the USAF and Secretary Heather Wilson for the AFA has been outstanding More to follow after the Aerospace conference Annual meeting later this month Article and pictures by Rich Wendt

3 Volume 2017, Number 3 Colorado AFA State Awards for 2017 The 2017 Colorado State Awards Banquet honoring the men and women of the Air Force in the State, volunteers of the Colorado AFA and the State Teacher of the Year was held on August 5, 2017 at the Weisbrod Air Museum in Pueblo, CO The event was led by our Colorado State President Linda Aldrich with the Mel Harmon #128 Chapter and Chapter President Margaret Eichmann of the AFA hosting the all day event The afternoon festivities began with patriotic presentations at the River Walk in Pueblo The afternoon saw the Buffalo Soldiers Riding Demonstration outside the Air Museum, followed by the banquet reception inside the Air Museum The guests were entertained by the Nationally recognized Omawari Mexican Folkloric Dance Group showcasing several traditional Mexican regions in dance The guests and honorees were also serenaded by the Air Force Academy Band ensemble both before and during the Banquet Col Linda Aldrich USAF (Ret) our Colorado State President opened the banquet by welcoming the awardees and the guests The Master of Ceremonies for the Banquet was Col Jeff Chostner USAF (Ret), the District Attorney for Pueblo and a long time member of the Mel Harmon Chapter The keynote speaker was Major General Ron Sega USAF (Ret) Dr Sega holds degrees from the U S Air Force Academy, the Ohio State University and the University of Colorado He has been or is associated with the Colorado State University, the Air Force Academy and the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs He retired from the Air Force Reserve in 2005 after serving in various assignments for Air Force Space Command and as a pilot A former astronaut, he flew aboard Space Shuttles Discovery (1994) and Atlantis (1996) Gen Sega described his career progression and background, noting that education is often the springboard to advancement He highly encouraged the Air Force Association s continued recognition of teachers and support of STEM related programs such as StellarXplorers and Cyber Patriot The Military awards were presented first, followed by the AFA volunteer awards The Colorado State Teacher of the Year award went to John Musso of Pueblo County High School and the Francisco Garcia Scholarship Lt Reeder follows his Dad (Maj, USAF, (Ret) (Left), Brother and Sister also on USAF Active duty went to Xavier Mercer-Roberts of Swallows Charter Academy, Pueblo Xavier plans to study engineering or science at Colorado State University in the Fall Congratulations to him, Mr Musso, all the other winners of the awards and and congratulations to the Mel Harmon #128 Chapter for a very successful Awards Banquet CV-22 on training flight along the Gulf Coast In the simplest of terms, what we are doing in Korea is this; We are trying to prevent a third world war Harry S Truman, address to the nation, April 16, 1951, [The occasion of the President s address was his recall of of General Douglas MacArthur for insubordination State President Linda Aldrich and BGen Paul Maye USAF (Ret) honor the late Col Dr Doc Schultz USAF (Ret) of the Mel Harmon Chapter at Pueblo s Riverwalk ceremony The Buff and the Bat in formation Page 3

4 Aurora New VA Center On Track For Early Opening In 2018 KC-135 Maintenance Bay Flag Loadmaster s View! AURORA, Colo -- After years of delays and claims of gross mismanagement, the new Veterans Affairs medical center in Aurora is getting closer to opening in early 2018 The cost of building a quarter-milelong concourse rose from $81 million to more than $120 million, just one of the reasons the project was more than $1 billion over budget when Congress asked the US Army Corps of Engineers to take over a year ago It is collaboration It's the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Veteran Affairs working together to build a state of the art medical facility for the veterans of Colorado, said Eileen Williamson with the Army Corps of Engineers The complex features 12 buildings covering 12 million square feet of space The facility is located near a Regional transportation District light rail station, providing easier access from the Denver Metro area With more than 200 years of construction experience, the corps said they re back on schedule for a 2018 opening with the complex more than 95 percent complete Despite the ongoing controversy about construction costs, 1,000 workers keep working on the complex seven days a week Meanwhile, the Medical Center continues an intense campaign to identify, hire and train new medical staff and support personnel to expedite an early 2018 facility opening plan For more details, contact the VA s Eastern Regional Medical Center, Aurora, CO Football combines the two worst features of modern American life: It s violence punctuated by committee meetings! George Will, in Baseball, produced by Ken Burns for PBS 1994, Page 4 AFA Awards Colorado Medal Of Merit To Space Foundation Bryan DeBates, Space Foundation Vice President Education and Elias Molen, Manager Space Education, were recently honored by the Colorado Air Force Association with the Colorado Medal of Merit The award was given to DeBates and Molen for their work in the partnership between the Space Foundation and the Air Force Association s (AFA) StellarXplorers program Each year, schools from across the US and from overseas Department of Defense locations compete in a series of challenges using Systems Tool Kit, modeling software created by Analytical Graphics, Inc (AGI) The top 10 teams competed last April in the National Finals in the AGI Space Missions Simulation Lab at the Space Foundation Discovery Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado For this school year, the top 10 teams will compete at the Space Foundation Discovery Center, April 5-9, 2017 The competition is scheduled so that the finals coincide with the Space Foundation s Space Symposium each year Students competing in the event will also have the opportunity to tour the 33rd Space Symposium s Boeing Exhibit Center during their time in Colorado Springs The event has grown in popularity over the past two years In 2016, 27 teams registered for the StellarXplorers program, and that number has grown to 135 for the 2017 competition The partnership between the Air Force Association and the Space Foundation to inspire, enable and propel students to future careers

5 Volume 2017, Number 3 AFA Awards Colorado Medal Of Merit (continued) in this event These students are our future space leaders and workforce, and they are learning valuable tools for their future careers This partnership also shows what kind of programs can be created when schools, industry and organizations such as the Space Foundation and the Air Force Association, work together for the good of students and the good of our future workforce, said Debates I am deeply honored by this award, and look forward to working with the Air Force Association for many years to come The StellarXplorer program is an ideal example of the perfect partnership between our mission here at the Space Foundation to inspire, enable and propel students to future careers, and the missions of the Air Force Association, the educational outreach of Analytical Graphics, Inc, and the inspiration of the Space Symposium, Molen said This is a powerful Bryan DeBates, Space Foundation Vice President Education, and Elias Molen, Manager Space Education, with their Medals of Merit in the Space Foundation Discovery Center s AGI Space Missions Simulation Lab, in Colorado Springs, Colorado Image Credit: Space Foundation The Air Force Association is an ADVOCATE for aerospace power and STEM education In February 2009, AFA s CyberPatriot program began with a demonstration focusing on real world cybersecurity challenges That program has matured into a full spectrum cyber education program extending from elementary through high schools In August 2014, AFA received an enquiry from the US Air Force STEM Outreach Office on the possibilities of a high school competition with a space theme similar to CyberPatriot the 2015 Stellar Xplorers Concept Demonstration is the result Eventually, the AFA s objective is to grow this demonstration into a national program with a well-grounded educational component and with objectives of: Stimulating in students an appreciation for the criticality of an enduring US space presence; Educating students on fundamental aspects of space systems engineering, space support systems, and space operations; Exposing students to space industry career opportunities; and Facilitating space industry internship and scholarship opportunities for participants In the simplest of terms, what we are doing in Korea is this; We are trying to prevent a third world war Harry S Truman, address to the nation, April 16, 1951, [The occasion of the President s address was his recall of of General Douglas MacArthur for insubordination F-22 Raptors On Patrol over the Pacific Page 5

6 Vietnam War: 50th Commemorative Gift I m violently opposed to losing wars LTGEN Lewis B Chesty Puller In Marine, 1964 In cooperation with the Library of congress Veterans History Project, the Naval Historical Foundation, and the Colorado Vietnam veterans of America (VVA), and the Cripple creek Veterans Rally, you are invited to join with us to recognize our Colorado Vietnam Veterans and their families with a meaningful gift of gratitude Together with the rest of the nation, we take part in Vietnam War 50th Commemoration by telling their stories of service, duty and sacrifice as it should have been all along, and presented as a gift to our Vietnam Veterans during the commemorative period This national gift is only available as a state-customized edition The Colorado Edition will have our veterans, and messages of gratitude from the private sponsors Overview: The Commemorative Gift is a 175-page hardbound book, feature documentary and interactive ebook that is meant for all Colorado Vietnam-generation Veterans to receive as a gift during the peak years of in recognition of their service, duty and sacrifice A first edition Commemorative Gift has been presented to the President of the United States, all members of Congress, all Governors and all state presidents of the Vietnam Veterans of America This gift is a strategic communications platform to express gratitude and respect to Vietnam Veterans in a format that can easily share with children and grandchildren, and display in their home This is considered an heirloom gift that will be preserved and cherished by families all throughout Colorado-a memorial that will fit in their homes The Vietnam 50th gift is based on the overwhelming success of the Korean War 60th Commemoration which RMS completed in collaboration with the the Department of Defense Defense and the Republic of Korea on Veterans day 2013; 250,000 copies were presented to Korean war veterans in all 50 states, fully funded by Korean companies and individuals, and distributed in cooperation with the National Guard, State Veterans agencies and Veterans Service Officers Similarly, the Desert Storm 25th commemorative is currently in distribution The gift will include a hardbound copy of the 175 page book, A Time to Honor: Stories of Service, Duty and Sacrifice ; A 60 minute feature documentary, The Journey Home with interviews from Vietnam Vets; An ebook with no sharing restrictions and an online repository with print function for all Colorado-Specific stories NOTE: AFA Chapter 127 will consider a group purchase of the book provided our membership is interested in obtaining a personal copy of the book 3rd Quarter State AFA Meeting Held In Aurora Page 6 The quarterly state AFA Board meeting was held in Aurora, Colorado which was hosted by AFA Chapter 127 State President Linda Aldridge conducted the meeting, which was attended by representatives from Chapter 127 as well as others from the Colorado Springs-Pueblo area The meeting was called to order at about 1:30 following difficulties in establishing a telephone conference call Following the Pledge of Allegiance the meeting began with welcoming comments from President Aldridge followed by a report on the state of the organization at the State level It was noted during the session that the CyberPatriot Program had set a record of over 5500 teams competing this school year while StellarXplorer had reached over 178 teams President Aldridge handed out copies of 3rd quarter chapter news letters to the group A discussion then followed about the AFA National Convention and some new directions that AFA is expected to take in the coming months At 3:00 pm, there being no further business, the meeting was adjourned

7 Air Force Association Chapter 127 Mile High Chapter 8544 E Arapaho Road Unit Box J-109 Greenwood Village, Co Activities Calendar Sept 2017 AFA Air and Space Convention, National Harbor, Maryland 19 Sep Chapter Meeting, Aurora Chamber of commerce, 1600L 13 October :00PM State Quarterly Meeting, Aurora Chamber of commerce, 1300L 17 Oct- Chapter Meeting, Aurora Chamber of commerce, 1600L 1 Nov-Aurora Veterans Salute Wings Over the Rockies Air Museum 14 Nov-Chapter Meeting, Aurora Chamber of commerce, 1600L 19 Dec-Chapter Meeting, Aurora Chamber of commerce, 1600L TO: The Air Force Association (AFA) is a 501c(3) nonprofit, independent, professional military and aerospace education association, promoting public understanding of aerospace power and the pivotal role it plays in the security of the nation AFA publishes Air Force Magazine, conducts national symposia and disseminates information through outreach programs To this end we: EDUCATE the public on critical need for unmatched aerospace power and a technically superior workforce to ensure US National Security ADVOCATE for aerospace power and STEM education SUPPORT the total Air Force family & promote Aerospace Education