Put life s blessings in perspective

Transcription

1 December 2017 Vol. 59, No. 11 Air Force Outstanding Unit 08, 11 & 13 Distinguished Flying Unit

2 Put life s blessings in perspective By Col. Jarrod Frantz Commander, 190th Air Refueling Wing Thanksgiving is getting smaller in the rear view mirror and Christmas is rapidly approaching. The holiday season can be a stressful time for a variety of reasons. It can also be the one time of year where we put things in perspective and focus on what s important in life, no matter what challenges you may be facing. That perspective can vary widely from person to person and it can often lead us into comparison and drive us to focus only on the negative aspects of our life. For some, the stress of shopping, arranging dinner and being around family members with differing political views is all we need to raise our blood pressure. For others, the question is will I be able to afford food, let alone gifts this year. For many of our Airmen and their families, being separated by deployment from their loved ones will make this a difficult season. For some of us, celebrating the holidays will be a bittersweet reminder of friends or loved ones who are no longer here in life to share the season with us. Putting things in perspective and focusing our thoughts on the positive aspects of our lives, no matter how tough it seems some days, is critical to both our mental and physical health. During this time of year if you find your biggest stress and agitator is DTS being down for maintenance or Outlook not responding, maybe find the time to check in on one of your fellow Airmen or their families who may have a far different perspective on the stress faced this time of year. If you are one of many who may be facing real challenges or stress this season, know that you don t have to face these challenges alone. In addition to the support of your fellow Airmen and your 190th family, we all have access to powerful resources that can help tackle 2 the difficulties often made more apparent during the holiday season. From Military OneSource, financial counselors, and a whole list of other resources available through Adrienne Dickey of our Airman and Family Programs office, to spiritual and legal advice from the Wing Chaplain and legal office respectively, support is available to help navigate life s challenges. I m also extremely pleased to promote the services of Mr. John Kriss, the new Director of Psychological Health here at the 190th. I have already had the privilege of sharing some of my own personal challenges with John and I can assure you he is passionate about caring for our Airmen as well as their privacy. John has been busy out and about the wing trying to get to meet everyone, but admits it might take a while. Please welcome Mr. John Kriss when you meet him and never hesitate to seek his advice or counsel. No matter what cards you are being dealt in life, when you look around the globe and put things in perspective, it should be easy for us to count our blessings. Talk to anyone who has supported humanitarian efforts in a third world country like Haiti, or witnessed firsthand the impact of years of war in a tumultuous Middle East. The enormous loss of the things we take for granted, overshadowed even more tragically by the enormous loss of life, should cause us to all take pause and thank God for what we have. Every day is a gift, even if it is spent navigating DTS and waiting on Outlook. I am very blessed to serve alongside an elite and narrow section of our society who puts service before self and strives for excellence in all they do. A team of men and women who sacrifice personal gain for the greater good of our organization, our nation and the world around them. A family where the wisdom and experience of its most senior members (no, I didn t say senior citizens but I m right there with ya) is only outmatched by the energy, enthusiasm and creativity of our most junior Airmen. This season, put things in perspective, focus on the positive and count your blessings. Keep our deployed members and their families in your thoughts and prayers and wish them a safe journey home. And always, please be safe and responsible as you celebrate the holidays! COYOTE LOG STAFF Col. Jarrod Frantz COMMANDER, 190TH AIR REFUELING WING Lt. Col. Tanya Wehrli WING EXECUTIVE STAFF OFFICER Master Sgt. Allen Pickert PUBLIC AFFAIRS MANAGER Tech. Sgt. Jake Meyer BROADCAST JOURNALIST Staff Sgt. Kayla Köhn PHOTOJOURNALIST Senior Airman Emily Amyotte PHOTOJOURNALIST Senior Airman Erick Punches BROADCAST JOURNALIST On the cover: Scenes of Staff Sgt. Ryan Ramshaw s family and their race to defeat his cancer. (Photo collage by Staff Sgt. Kayla Köhn) 190th Public Affairs/Coyote Log usaf.ks.190-arw.list.coyote-log@mail.mil POC: Lt. Col. Tanya Wehrli (785) usaf.ks.190-arw.list.pa-public-affairs@mail.mil The Coyote Log, published monthly, is a newspaper for members of the U.S. Military Services. Contents of the Coyote Log are not necessarily the official view of, or endorsed by, the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense, or the Department of the Air Force. The 190th ARW Public Affairs Office edited, prepared and provided editorial content.

3 New challenge for Ramshaw and you can help By Staff Sgt. Kayla Köhn 190th Public Affairs Ryan s Race 2.0 is commencing. During one of his most recent post cancer check-ups, Staff Sgt. Ryan Ramshaw was told he needed to stay for further blood testing. The testing discovered he has myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a blood disease side-effect of the chemotherapy he received during cancer treatment. A successful bone marrow transplant is Ramshaw s only cure. The 190th is holding a bone marrow and stem-cell donor drive during December drill in honor of Ramshaw s continuing battle. The drive will be held Saturday right after Commander s Call. Members wishing to participate in the drive will only have to give a mouth swab. The swabs will be processed and members genetic information will be added to a global bone marrow and stem cell donor registry. The registry successfully found a match and donor for Ramshaw. We would be happy to get volunteers, Senior Master Sgt. Doug Stowe, 190th Comptroller Flight said. That s how many it would take for the processing company, Salute To Life, to consider this to be a successful drive. Ramshaw, 190th Comptroller Flight, is recovering from his treatment of a rare and aggressive pediatric cancer, Ewing s sarcoma. After completing chemotherapy and being in remission Ramshaw was positive his future would be cancer free. He moved to less frequent medical check-ups and recently proposed to his fiancé. The diagnosis of MDS is a sad setback causing him to drop out of his college classes for a semester and take a temporary technician position at the base. Ramshaw s two brothers were tested first as possible matches. Being brothers, there was a 25 percent chance of being a match, but they were not. Seventy percent of patients needing a bone or stem cell transplant have to look for an unrelated donor. With two brothers, I had a pretty The Ramshaw brothers Airman 1st Class Cooper, Staff Sgt. Ryan and Airman 1st Class Jackson are all 190th unit members. (Photo provided) high chance of having a donor but that didn t happen. I had to rely on the registry to find my donor. Ramshaw said. If you would have wanted to save my life with a bone marrow transplant, then you should join the registry and do it for someone else. Ramshaw is now preparing to receive his transplant by receiving lowdose chemotherapy shots to prevent the MDS from turning into acute myeloid leukemia and to rid his body of all cancer causing faulty chromosomes. If all the bad chromosomes aren t killed before the transplant he could continue to have MDS afterward. Ramshaw and Stowe are coordinating the drive through Salute To Life, the exclusive donor recruitment and service provider for military, Department of Defense employees and their families. Salute To Life registers their donors in a joint single database with the National Marrow Donor Program, also known as Be The Match. It is important that volunteers understand that being added to his list is a serious commitment of money for processing fees and if chosen in the future they should be prepared and committed to donating their bone marrow or stem cells. Only about one in 540 registered donors will ever actually donate according to the National Marrow Donor Program. While donating tissue has its discomforts, donors would have all expenses paid for themselves, a support person and children if necessary for any travel needed for donation. 3

4 The most fun and useful part of the app By Senior Airman Emily Amyotte 190th Public Affairs Of the many available features on the new Wing app, the Chat feature is potentially the most useful and versatile. Once members sign up and use this feature, it can become a key component to mission-essential communication and casual, fun conversations. Chat is the fastest way to connect and instantly communicate with your office, squadron, club, committee or any type of group. Using Chat is easy, intuitive and safe. Once you join, members will have access to important information such as messages, schedules, event details, photos, notifications and more. There are many ways you can use Chat features. You may join existing Chat rooms or create your own Chat room and invite other Wing members to join. Currently, there are existing Chat rooms for all 190th groups and squadrons. You can find them by entering the corresponding Group Code which is unique to each Ideas For Your Own Chat Rooms My Dining Out table My car pool group My Coyote Mudder team My prayer group For people in my building My lunch group First Five Council CG Officers group Etc... etc.. etc Chat room. Within each Chat room, you can send private messages, send photos, create calendar events or reply and react to original posts. Existing Chat rooms will have leader roles assigned to commanders, first sergeants and superintendents to easily differentiate between users. You can customize your own notification settings as well. You may opt out of and push-notifications or choose to only get notifications when a leader creates an original post, such as roll-call requests or an important groupwide message. You may also create your own Chat rooms for friends, smaller offices, carpooling, office parties or whatever you desire. There is no limit to the number of Chat rooms available and all Chat rooms will be approved. The Chat feature is meant to be a casual, laid-back means of communication where Airmen can speak their minds without any threat of repercussion. However, admin can monitor the Chat rooms for harassment, bullying, hazing, sexual content or otherwise inappropriate content and will take action accordingly. Chat Room Rules Sign up using only a military so an admin can approve your account s authenticity. Any accounts created with a civilian address will be deleted. Maintain work-appropriate language and remember that all conversations can be monitored if given a reason to investigate. Be mindful of any suspicious activity and report any inappropriate content to public affairs. The Chat feature can be found by downloading the 190th Air Refueling Wing app on the App Store or Google Play. Chat rooms are located in the bottom navigation bar and are easy to join by following the provided prompts. Chat Room Group Codes Wing Staff: th Buy, Sell and Trade: Buy190 Operations Group: 1901 Force Support Squadron: 1905 Maintenance Squadron: 1902 Communication Squadron: 1907 Mission Support Group: 1903 Security Forces & SRPOs: Defenders Medical Group: 1904 Ask Leadership: Ask190 Ask Finance: AskCPTF For any questions regarding the 190th Wing app or Chat feature, contact Public Affairs at or Or, chat with us on the app. 4

5 190th fi refi ghter Dan Oetting works a controlled burn of the natural vegetation used in the drainage system around the Ops building. (photo by Senior Master Sgt. Rob Bolin) Holiday Party Saturday December 2 1:00-4:00pm Hangar 662 The party is for all ages and family During Deployment Support Groups Joint Forces Chaplain & the Airman and Family Readiness Office will host meetings once a month in both Topeka and Lenexa locations. The meetings are open to anyone who has someone deployed. These meetings will give you a chance to talk about concerns, ask questions and share successes. Information will also be provided regarding deployment issues and resources. Meetings start at 6:30 pm on the second Thursday in Topeka, and third Thursday in Lenexa of each month. Children are welcome to attend; however, childcare is not available. To join the notification list, please contact Adrienne Dickey at adrienne.l.dickey. civ@mail.mil or You will get a reminder a week before the event with time and location. Upcoming dates and locations (Subject to Change) Nov. 16 & Dec. 14 at VFW Post 7397, Lenexa-9550 Pflumm Rd.-One block south of 95th on Pflumm on the west side right next to the firehouse. Turn into our driveway Veteran s Way and park in the back lot with the flag poles. Dec. 7, at Topeka Red Cross SW 17th St. Park in the back parking lot, enter on the south side entrance. Go down the stairs to the meeting room. 5

6 P ORTRAIT OF AN AIRMAN AIRMAN 1ST CLASS MORGAN BROWN ORGANIZATION Force Support Squadron JOB TITLE: Installation Personnel Readiness MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES: Personnel processing and eligibility for all contingencies, exercises and deployments CIVILIAN CAREER Full-time technician EDUCATION: Graduated Santa Fe Trail High School and completed some college (Allen County) while in high school MILITARY EXPERIENCE: Two and a half years GOALS AND AMBITIONS: I am going to complete college with a major in business and a minor in psychology. After I have my degree I would like to commission and continue school HOBBIES/ACTIVITIES: Lifting weights, playing slow pitch softball, gardening, taking shelter dogs for walks. I spend most of my free time either at the gym or with my sister, nieces and nephew. MOST MEMORABLE 190TH MOMENT: The Airman s Run during basic. My family was not supportive of my choice to enlist. Even though I only expected one or two family members to attend my graduation I still had most of my family on the access letter to attend. The Airman s Run is the first time you get to see your family and to my great surprise my entire family was present, all wearing blue shirts that read Keep calm and love our Airman Morgy Brown Run, fight, hide and the after work By Major Nkumu Mandungu 190th Inspector General Freeze! Put your hands where I can see them! During the October drill, the 190th Wing Inspection Team conducted a multi-day active shooter exercise. As Wing members reacted to a would-be shooter during the functional part of the exercise, 190th inspectors evaluated the effectiveness of our installation s notification systems. In addition, inspectors scrutinized how well individual units and work centers carried out lock down procedures and performed accountability. We also tested 190th Airmen s basic awareness of how to interact with responding law enforcement agents. Overall, Wing members performed 6 Ph otoi oill ustr trat atio n well. The inspection team noted several strengths and areas that could be improved, both in the response and the exercise design. The table top portion, which followed the active shooter scenario, involved nearly three dozen participants including Joint Forces Headquarters and local emergency response and law enforcement agencies. The event also yielded several benefits in addition to recommendations for improvement. Among these benefits are the increased understanding gained by all attendees for how the response to an active shooter incident would actually unfold, what specific roles external agencies would fulfill and the weeks long nature of the recovery phase. Given the somewhat complex and unpredictable nature of the active shooter threat, and our efforts towards continuous improvement, Wing members ought to expect more of these types of exercises. Sharpen the axe and stay ready!

7 PROMOTIONS Senior Airman Jackson Hishmeh, FSS Kristian Needham, ARW Staff Sergeant Denise Long, FSS Keelan Barger, MDG David Glassman, LRS Kimbre Fritz, MXG Benjamin Heiliger, ARS Brandon Martino, LRS Samantha Poirier, LRS Tech Sergeant Adam Gilfillan, LRS Jordan Maxwell, CES Jason Dolan, FSS Master Sergeant Matthew Aldrine, MXS Holly Baker, OSS Kyle Cochran, FSS Randy Hansen, MXS Richard Hurla, MXS Ryan Miller, MXS Captain Ana Tavares, MDG Distracted Drivers Kill For your information Coyote Grill December Drill Menu Saturday, Dec. 2 Grilled Chicken Tenders Raspberry Glazed Pulled Pork Homestyle Baked Beans Mustard potato Salad Cole Slaw Cornbread Dessert Apple Crisp Spice Cake Sunday, Dec. 3 Spaghetti with Meat Sauce Chicken Parmesan with Alfredo Sauce Italian Seasoned Green Beans Amaretto Carrots Parmesan Breadsticks Dessert Apple Bread Pudding Lemon Sunshine Cake My companions before working out: Should ve, would ve, could ve. My companions after working out: Accomplishment, strength, swagger. Be in good company. Work, Sweat, Repeat! APPOINTMENTS/ENLISTMENTS A1C Megan Laubhan, MXS Enlistment Date: November 4, 2017 A1C Haley Lindell, MDG Enlistment Date: October 15, 2017 A1C Kyle Shackelford, FSS Enlistment Date: October 12, 2017 A1C Kodie Thorsen, MXS Enlistment Date: October 15, 2017 SSG Brandon Gray, ARS Enlistment Date: November 4, 2017 SSG Justin Hankey, LRS Enlistment Date: October 19, 2017 TSG Kelly Van Allman, MDG Enlistment Date: November 4, 2017 CPT Josh Thomas, CF Enlistment Date: October 1, 2017 MAJ Matthew Romig, ARS Enlistment Date: October 17, 2017 TELL A FRIEND 190 TH OPEN POSITIONS Weather BONUS $ Aviation Resource Management Airfield Management Aircrew Flight Equipment Maint/Crew Chief BONUS $ Aerospace Propulsion BONUS $ Aerospace Ground Equip BONUS $ Aircraft Fuel Systems BONUS $ Aircraft Hydraulic Systems BONUS $ Aircraft Electrical & Enviro BONUS $ Aircraft Metals Technology Non Destructive Inspection Aircraft Structural Maint BONUS $ Maintenance Comm Nav BONUS $ Maint. Inst Flight Controls BONUS $ Fuels BONUS $ Maintenance Management Analysis Maintenance Management Production Traffic Management Vehicle Operations Air Transportation BONUS $ Fleet Management & Analysis Administration RF Transmissions BONUS $ Electrical Power Production BONUS $ Heavy Equipment BONUS $ Water & Fuel Systems Maint BONUS $ Operations Management Services Radio and Television Broadcasting Photojournalist Security Forces BONUS $ Personnel Aerospace Medical Service BONUS $ Paralegal Chaplain Assistant 7

8 The Coyote Log 190th ARW Public Affairs 5920 SE Coyote Drive Forbes Field (ANG) Topeka, KS OFFICIAL BUSINESS Moving? Don t forget to update your address: Visit vmpf to update your address. Please allow 2-3 months for updates to reflect on your log. To the Coyote family of: