Alaska From the Air
While in Alaska in July, Stephen P. “Pat” Condon, the then-Air Force Association Chairman of the Board, viewed the vast Pacific Alaska Range Complex twice—from the back seat of an F-15 and on board a helicopter.

Condon was in the 49th State to touch base with Air Force personnel, civilian business leaders, and AFA’s Edward J. Monaghan Chapter and the Fairbanks Midnight Sun Chapter.

In Anchorage, his military hosts were Lt. Gen. Douglas M. Fraser, commander of NORAD’s Alaskan Command and 11th Air Force; Maj. Gen. Craig E. Campbell, the adjutant general; Brig. Gen. Herbert J. Carlisle, commander of 3rd Wing at Elmendorf Air Force Base; and CMSgt. David K. Andrews, 11th Air Force command chief master sergeant. Gary A. Hoff, Northwest Region president, was Condon’s AFA host.

Flying from Elmendorf, Capt. Jared Santos, 12th Fighter Squadron F-15D pilot, took Condon over the PARC, a 67,000 square-mile area where the training exercise Red Flag Alaska—formerly called Cope Thunder—takes place. Viewing snow-covered mountains, rolling hills, and long stretches of flat terrain, Condon got a feel for the variety of training scenarios the range offers.

On the ground in Anchorage, Condon listened to briefings on Air Force operations in Alaska and joined Fraser in a wreath-laying ceremony at Merrill Field’s Eleventh Air Force Memorial. The black-granite memorial, built and maintained largely with funds raised by the Monaghan Chapter, pays tribute to a unit famous for having driven the Japanese out of the Aleutians in World War II. Condon later spoke at a Monaghan Chapter luncheon for ceremony participants and attended the Alaska State Convention.

Condon’s military hosts at Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks were Brig. Gen. David J. Scott, 354th Fighter Wing commander, and CMSgt. Bruce A. Kenney, the wing’s top enlisted airman. Condon spoke at an airmen’s luncheon and visited with security forces personnel, the 168th Air Refueling Wing (ANG), and the 210th Rescue Squadron (ANG), which arranged for a 90-minute helicopter tour of the PARC.

AFA National Treasurer Steven R. Lundgren and Midnight Sun Chapter President Butch Stein coordinated several Fairbanks AFA activities for Condon, as well as an address to business leaders at the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce.

Awards in Texas
The Texas State Convention in Houston in July featured the presentation of more than 40 Air Force and AFA awards to Total Force personnel: active duty, Guard, Reserve, civilians, Civil Air Patrol, AFROTC and AFJROTC cadets, and AFA members.

The awards luncheon speaker was Robert E. “Bob” Largent, then AFA’s National President. He spoke about his recent fact-finding trip to Southwest Asia and about challenges facing both the Air Force and AFA.

Retired Gen. Gregory S. Martin, former commander of Air Force Materiel Command and a Lance P. Sijan Chapter (Colo.) member, was keynote speaker for the evening banquet.

State-level AFA honors included Chapter of the Year, awarded to the San Jacinto Chapter; Texas Member of the Year, presented to David Dietsch, of the Fort Worth Chapter; and Teacher of the Year, Kyle Mantel of the Concho Chapter. (Texas AFAers who received national-level awards will be listed in convention coverage in the November issue.)

New state officers are Robert L. Slaughter of the Denton Chapter, president; Dietsch, executive VP; Joan B. Lopez from the Alamo Chapter, secretary; and Robert Cantu, also from the Alamo Chapter, treasurer.

AFA on CNN
The Frank Luke (Ariz.) Chapter’s effort to help a soldier recover from war injuries came to the attention of CNN this summer.

On July 28, the news and commentary cable TV show “Lou Dobbs Tonight” aired a short piece, for its “Heroes” segment, on medically retired Army Specialist Erik Castillo. Reporter Bill Tucker explained how a mortar attack in Baghdad in 2004 shattered almost half of Castillo’s skull and how the 23-year-old from Tucson continues to work on overcoming the resulting paralysis.

The CNN reporter said, “Helping him stay positive and focused on the future? An unlikely new friend—an Air Force veteran.” The video segment then cut to a short comment from Chapter President Harry Bailey and noted that the chapter arranged to send Castillo on a vacation.

An earlier Arizona Republic newspaper article on the chapter’s help for Castillo generated interest, as well, inspiring readers to offer donations, including timeshare vacations for other wounded veterans. Castillo has been featured in many newspaper articles, web sites, and radio and TV programs, to the point where one traveler, passing through Phoenix, happened to catch news coverage of the former 1st Cavalry Division soldier’s rehabilitation and contacted Bailey with an offer to help.

The story has made at least one Community Partner proud to be part of AFA. With the headline “AFA Supports Injured Soldier,” the newsletter for Credit Union West reported on the chapter’s vacation gift to Castillo and noted proudly that it is a Luke Chapter Community Partner.

News at 5, 6, and 10
When the Meridian Chapter (Miss.) presented $400 worth of phone cards to the local Air National Guard unit in August, it brought media attention to AFA, also.

The Meridian Star newspaper ran a photo of Chapter President Roy P. Gibbens and Vice President Sam Forbert presenting the donation to 186th Air Refueling Wing officials.

The local ABC television affiliate, WTOK, aired the story three times that evening—on the 5 o’clock, 6 o’clock, and 10 o’clock news—and posted the story on its online edition.

Funds for the 48 phone cards came from the chapter’s Community Partners, as well as individuals, most of them solicited personally by Gibbens and Forbert.

Gibbens, who founded the chapter in 2005 and last month handed over leadership to Langford Knight, pointed out that the 186th ARW personnel are deployed to eight countries from their home base at Key Field. He said the unit’s members do not usually deploy together but instead go as individuals or small groups.

Knight said that in the past, military personnel on temporary duty could sometimes use the Defense Switched Network phone system, but there were restrictions on the length and number of phone calls. It’s why these phone cards are such a morale booster.

As for this donation? “That’s just a start,” said Knight. The chapter plans to make fund-raising for phone cards an ongoing project. It has also signed up the 186th as a chapter Community Partner.

Happy 90th Birthday!
In June, the Bill Harris Chapter in Klamath Falls, Ore., celebrated the 90th birthday of retired Lt. Col. Bill Harris—chapter namesake, World War II triple ace, and mentor to new pilots.

The chapter joined forces with the Air National Guard’s 173rd Fighter Wing at Klamath Falls Airport-Kingsley Field to carry out the festivities. It was a fitting partnership since Harris regularly gives what are called heritage speeches to the unit’s new student fighter pilots.

Wing commander Col. Thomas R. Schiess, a chapter member, led a ceremony dedicating the wing’s new Heritage Hall to Harris. The hall displays memorabilia about the P-38 ace, who is credited with 16 aerial victories—on two occasions knocking out three in a day—most of them while assigned to the 339th Fighter Squadron, based in New Caledonia.

Following the Heritage Hall ceremony, the guests went to the flight line. With local TV and newspaper reporters on hand, Maj. Curtis McLain, a 114th Fighter Squadron instructor pilot, unveiled an F-15 training aircraft decorated with the same nose art that Harris’ fighter airplane bore during the war: the symbol branded on cattle at his father’s ranch.

At a luncheon after the flight line unveiling, Chapter President Curtis A. Waite presented AFA polo shirts to Harris and his wife, Roslyn. Northwest Region President Gary A. Hoff, who had flown in from Anchorage, Alaska, gave Harris an AFA commemorative coin and read a letter of congratulations from AFA National President Bob Largent.

Other AFA out-of-town VIPs who drove down from Portland to take part in the celebration were Tom Stevenson, state president; Jerry Moore, Columbia Gorge Chapter president; Barbara M. Brooks-Lacy, a former Northwest Region president; and John Lee, former state president.

Florida State Convention
At the Florida State Convention, hosted by the Hurlburt Chapter and Eglin Chapter at Fort Walton Beach, a teacher who seeks out new ways to cover aerospace topics in her classroom received the state Teacher of the Year award.

Kathleen A. Foy is a seventh-grade teacher for pre-engineering magnet science classes at Crystal Lake Middle School in Pompano Beach. “Every year, Kathy has either taken a course in aerospace, attended a week-long course, or presented at conferences,” said E. Max Friedauer, state president, when he introduced Foy to the convention audience. “She is motivated by the need to make new curriculum available to her students.”

During the convention, 47 delegates, representing 10 chapters, participated in a golf tournament and barbeque, hosted by Hurlburt Chapter President James B. Connors, and toured an airpark with Chapter Secretary Leslie Matheson as guide. Convention-goers visited an assisted living facility at the Air Force Enlisted Village in Shalimar and received a briefing from CMSAF James C. Binnicker. Other briefings covered Air Force Special Operations Command, Eglin Air Force Base, and the Air Armament Center.

Convention luncheon speaker was Maj. Gen. Donald C. Wurster, vice commander of AFSOC. He delivered a slide presentation on anti-terrorism missions in the Philippines in the months following 9/11. Wurster received AFA Florida’s Jerry Waterman Award at the convention. Other awardees were Judy Stokley of the Eglin Chapter, who received the Gen. Lewis H. Brereton Award, and Bryan B. Paul, Central Florida Chapter treasurer, named Florida State Member of the Year.

More AFA News
Hosted by the Carl Vinson Memorial Chapter, the Georgia State Convention and State Awards Luncheon brought three guest speakers to the podium: AFA National President Bob Largent; Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Owen, commander of Warner Robins Air Logistics Center; and Col. Bradley Heithold, WRALC vice commander. Gregory A. Bricker of the Dobbins Chapter received the Denise Camejo Spirit of AFA Award, while Medals of Merit went to John F. McCreary and John G. Walther Jr., both from the Dobbins Chapter, and Donald R. Michels of the Carl Vinson Chapter.

The Ark-La-Tex Chapter honored its chapter and state Teacher of the Year at a June social, held at Barksdale AFB, La. Nearly 50 guests gathered to recognize Martin D. Bourgeois Jr., who received both the chapter- and state-level awards, based on 19 years as an educator. Chapter member Ivan L. McKinney calculated that Bourgeois has taught more than 39,000 Bossier Parish middle school students. A retired senior master sergeant, Bourgeois teaches aviation to all eighth graders in the parish. His courses culminate with each student completing a “check ride” in a Cessna simulator.

Columbus-Bakalar Chapter members in Columbus, Ind., got a firsthand account of the Korean War, including one of its fiercest battles—Heartbreak Ridge—from a former US Army corporal who survived it. Frank J. Biehle was drafted into the Army in December 1950 and arrived in Korea in August 1951. In September, a month-long back-and-forth battle began over a seven-mile-long hill mass that was nicknamed Heartbreak Ridge. The Army division that finally captured the area suffered 3,700 casualties. Biehle was hit by mortar shrapnel and began his recovery in Japan, where he received a bedside visit from Army Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway, the Supreme Allied Commander in the Far East.

Langley Chapter (Va.) President Fred C. Richardson reported that the group recently established a Heritage Honorary Fellowship to thank its exceptional contributors. The six recipients for this year are Clement Moore, Margaret Moore, Bud West, William H. Russell, Ivan R. Frey, and Lester J. Rose. As part of the fellowship, the chapter donated $500 in their names to AFA’s educational programs.

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