Dennis Fred, who served both in the 154th Wing and the 201st Combat Communications Group recently signed up to “Follow the Blog”. Retiree News asked for a personal update and Dennis sent the following.
As for my update, hmmm, where do I start….
I moved to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan in 1997 working for the Navy as an I-Level F/A-18 Radar Tech Rep as the base I was working at in Florida got BRAC’d. This was after being forced to move to Florida when the F/A-18’s left Kaneohe in 1993. In 2004 the Navy decided to close our detachment and move me to NAS Lemoore, CA. Base closures seem to follow me.
Not being too keen on the idea of moving to Lemoore, I didn’t argue when the wife said to quit. In order for her to become the sponsor, she had to transfer (she’s a school teacher on base.) so she transferred here to Kadena AFB. I couldn’t find a job here so I took a job at the Marine Base in Barstow, CA until I could retire in Jan 2008. I then returned here to be a house husband until she retires.
During the time in Barstow we bought our retirement home in Las Vegas near Nellis AFB and we’ve spent every summer and Christmas vacation there since.
The battle between the regular Army and the National Guard, which we all knew would blow up one of these days, has blown up. At 3:30 this afternoon, the spokesman of the 54 state and territorial Guard commanders, Kentucky Adjutant General Ed Tonini, raised the standard of revolt against the active-duty leadership who had, he said, “slammed their minds shut” on any compromise. Meanwhile, much more quietly, and with many caveats, the regulars have broken a 13-year taboo: In an exclusive interview with Breaking Defense, Army Quadrennial Defense Review director Maj. Gen. John Rossi questioned aspects of the Guard’s much-lauded combat performance since 9/11. Read more http://ow.ly/uz1Ju
Interest in viruses, malware, and all things cyber, continues to increase. The start of good protection for your computer and programs starts with passwords. Gordon Lau emailed this link to the Microsoft website has a small utility program which checks your passwords. According to a statement on the site, the utility checks and validates passwords entered on your computer.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/security/pc-security/password-checker.aspx
The Air Force plans to remove almost 500 aircraft in total from across its three components between Fiscal 2015 and Fiscal 2019, announced the service leadership on Monday. This proposed reduction is part of the service’s Fiscal 2015 budget request and accompanying five-year budget program.
“This force structure plan balances capability, readiness, and capacity and prioritizes global, long-range capabilities and multirole platforms required to operate in a highly contested environment,” said Secretary Deborah James in the service’s March 10 release.
Service officials have discussed plans to divest the A-10 ground-attack and U-2 reconnaissance fleets to save potentially billions of dollars. The chart accompanying the release shows the states from which those drawdowns would come; it also highlights the intended reductions in other aircraft types.
The other platforms include: C-20s, C-38s, C-130Hs, E-3s, E-8Cs, EC-130Hs, F-15Cs, and MQ-1s, according to the chart.
“In addition to fleet divestment, we made the tough choice to reduce a number of tactical fighters, command-and-control, electronic-attack and intratheater airlift assets so we could rebalance the Air Force at a size that can be supported by expected funding levels,” said Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh.
The Hawaii Air National Guard loses four tankers and the active duty associate squadron is deactivated.
This is an artist rendering from Lockheed Martin of a potential sixth-gen fighter.
The Air Force’s Fiscal 2015 budget request includes $15.7 million to start work on a sixth generation fighter to succeed the F-22, according to budget documents. Air Force Undersecretary Eric Fanning told reporters in Washington, D.C., Tuesday that maintaining USAF’s technological edge was a “guiding principle” in building the budget, and there was recognition that “to develop these types of platforms requires long leads.” Even as the Air Force is producing the fifth-gen F-35, he said, “We need to be investing in the research and science and technology necessary to be looking at sixth generation.”
Armed Forces News report on the beginning of the first 2014 Sentry Aloha exercise in Hawaii. http://t.co/M75FxPj7a7
A Danish fighter pilot has gone viral with a ‘selfie’ taken at the moment he fired an air-to-air missile. Thomas Kristensen is one of the Royal Danish Air Force’s most experienced F-16 Fighting Falcon pilots, having completed missions over Afghanistan, the Balkans and Libya. Check out the photo http://ow.ly/up1Bi
From the Adjutant General’s Facebook page.
Colonel Keith Y. Tamashiro, Assistant Adjutant General and Director of the Joint Staff for the Hawaii National Guard, became Brigadier General Tamashiro yesterday at the State Capitol. See more http://t.co/FjCZBoZGMv
Thanks to these Retiree News readers who registered to “Follow Blog via Email”: Richard Hastings, Dennis Fred
Garrett Miura was the new registered reader last week that had a email address with an unrecognizable name. Thanks to Preston Nishie and Randy Tom for emailing in this information.
Elsie M. Coopman, 50, of Kapolei, a retired Air Force Reserve major and a manager with the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, passed away on March 5, 2014. She was born in Honolulu. She is survived by husband Kevin, son Alec, brother Edmund Manzano Jr. and sisters Theresa and Cynthia Manzano. Email condolences to: coopmanfamily@gmail.com
Elsie Manzano, as she was known prior to her marriage, served several years in the Hawaii Air National Guard before transferring to the Air Force Reserve.
Sharnell Valeho, the current president of the Hawai‘i National Guard Association (HNGA) asked Retiree News to post this information about the upcoming HNGA Annual Conference and Exhibition.
Hawai‘i National Guard Association Annual Conference and Exhibition
Date: Saturday, March 22, 2014 Place: Hickam Officers Club Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam Time: 0900-1100, 1330-1430 * Industry Day exhibits open all day *See flyer for more information: HNGA Events Info
Hawai‘i National Guard Association Golf tournament
See flyer for more information and application form: HNGA Golf Flyer
Reservists would be eligible to begin receiving military retirement pay immediately after completing 20 years of part-time service under a new Pentagon proposal for overhauling the retirement system.
The plan would blur the lines between active and reserve careers by allowing both to qualify for “working age” retirement checks that for decades have been limited to the full-time active-duty force.
The fundamental change for reservists — who today must wait until age 60 to collect their first nickel of retirement pay — is one element of a broader set of proposals that the Defense Department unveiled Thursday in a report sent to Capitol Hill and also to the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission, which is conducting an in-depth study on the issue and preparing recommendations for Congress early next year. Continue reading http://ow.ly/unO6r
The ubiquitous nutrition label on food packages is about to get its first overhaul in 20 years, a change that is likely to have a dramatic effect on what people choose to eat and drink and what products sell in supermarkets.
Obama administration officials say the update, unveiled Thursday at a White House event, is necessary to keep pace with the science of nutrition and to reduce confusion about what qualifies as healthful food.
The new label, which could take a year or more to appear on store shelves, includes more than half a dozen significant changes — such as more prominent calorie counts and more realistic serving sizes — that advocates see as key in fighting the country’s obesity epidemic. Years of research show that tracking calories may be more important than tracking fat consumption when it comes to your health. Read more http://ow.ly/ucWrB
Webmaster’s Comments 14.03.14
Retiree News received it’s 50,000 hit sometime yesterday.
Mahalo to everyone who loged on to check the Retiree News website over the past 15 months. Your support is appreciated.
The site started slowly but has improved as we progressed through the months. We continue to grow. Please spread the word about the website to other retirees and others who might be interested.
Maybe we can hit 100,000 hits before the end of 2014!
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