2119136 Friday, August 14, 2015 THE RED 7 .NET PAGE 4 Milley confirmed as CSA; Murphy nominated for under secretary INSIDE Philpott ............................................ 2 Briefs ................................................ 3 New social app connects spouses across the globe PAGE 7 NICK TOMECEK | Daily News A group of Ranger students march along a road recently at Camp Rudder. RANGER SCHOOL PROGRAM VETS OUTLINE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A RANGER | PAGE 4
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A group of Ranger students march along a road recently at Camp Rudder.
RANGER SCHOOL
Program vetS outlINe what It takeS to be a raNger | Page 4
Page 2 | THE RED 7 | Friday, August 14, 2015
Year No. 5 edition No. 33
The Red 7 is published by the Northwest Florida Daily News, a pri-vate firm in no way connected with the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) or the U.S. Army.
This publication’s content is not necessarily the official view of, or endorsed by, the U.S. govern-ment, the Department of Defense, the Depart-ment of the Army or 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne). The official news source for 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) is http://www.soc.mil/.
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Defense officials appear ready to ask Congress to repeal a law that commissaries must sell products at cost plus 5 percent, a formula that for decades has ensured commissary shoppers everywhere pay the same prices.
Officials have drafted a replacement formula that would allow prices to vary from store to store to meet a new twin goal: reducing taxpayer support for commissaries while maintaining still attractive savings for patrons.
Variable pricing would seek to keep savings consistent across the commissary system by pegging local commissary prices for a market basket of goods at some target percentage level below prices of “lowest-price” competitors nearby such as Wal-Mart stores.
Critics of the plan, including suppliers and manufacturers of commissary products, say it would cut shopper savings overall and hit particularly hard those patrons who live in high-cost areas of the country.
That’s because setting grocery prices at, for example, 15 percent below competitive offbase retailers would affect shoppers differently if assigned to high-cost San Diego than to low-cost Fort Sill, Okla. Military members of equal rank and years served get the same basic pay regardless of location. If grocery prices are set not by cost but tied to local prices, the San Diego shopper would see a higher proportion of pay go to groceries than the shopper at Fort Sill, where food prices, on and off base, are lower.
Defense officials contend, however, that through variable pricing, shopper savings can be preserved and stores can operate with business-like efficiency. That, in turn, would allow cuts
in the $1.4 billion annual appropriation of the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA), an announced goal of the department for the past couple of years.
“DoD’s stated objective all along has been to reduce appropriations for the commissary benefit,” said Candace
Wheeler, spokesperson for The Coalition to Save Our Military Shopping Benefits, which includes groups representing suppliers and manufacturers of goods for military stores as well as military associations and veterans organizations.
“The problem is that their ‘business speak’ does not match their ‘budget speak,’ ” Wheeler said. Defense officials use “a myriad of business arguments…about a better commercial approach. The fact is they want to increase the costs to military patrons and make them feel good about it.”
The idea of replacing cost-plus-5-percent with variable pricing is presented in DoD’s “draft” response to recommendations for reforming on-base store operations from the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission, which released its report last January.
Defense officials intend to reject, at least for now, the commission’s call to consolidate DeCA and the three military exchange services into a single defense resale system. They note that DeCA and exchange services, which run base department stores and other retail outlets, serve different purposes. Commissaries offer groceries at a discount and rely on appropriated funds. Exchanges sell products and services that generate profits and help fund on-base morale, welfare and recreational activities. Exchanges get little taxpayer
support. Indeed, the deeper discounts offered at commissaries help to attract exchange customers.
A merger now, before adopting common business processes and developing a solid business plan, would be impractical, officials contend. But they also assert that with some legislative relief, including repeal of cost-plus-five-percent pricing, they can maintain current shopping benefits and achieve efficiencies that “result in significant savings for the taxpayer.”
To do this they need more flexibility in how commissary products “are sourced, where they are sold and how they are priced.” This would free commissaries “to adopt best commercial practices and act in a more business-like manner without reducing the benefits” to shoppers.
Requiring that all goods be sold at cost plus a five percent surcharge is a disincentive to efficient business practices, says DoD’s draft document. Any retailer forced “to charge the same markup across its entire stock assortment will not be able to achieve the same efficiencies as a private-sector entity operating within a profit-driven market,” it says.
Congress ordered DoD a year ago to commission a study of the military resale system by business experts who could propose changes to make stores more efficient while preserving the benefit. That study by the Boston Consulting Group is almost complete. An early draft runs to 270 pages and identifies actions to save DeCA by as much as $700 million a year.
Topping its list of “win-win opportunities” for taxpayers and patrons is transition from cost-plus-five-percent to variable pricing. This would allow the introduction of private label goods
if Congress removes a mandate that commissaries can stock only national brands. Commercial grocers use private labels to offer lower prices and raise profit margins. DeCA could too, it says.
Current commissary pricing, it says, prevents DeCA from capturing any profit beside the five percent surcharge. That means DeCA, in effect, incurs a loss on each transaction. With cost-plus, it says, higher sales mean higher costs, a perverse incentive for retailers. That leaves DeCA with few levers to pull to cut costs that aren’t negative for shoppers, such as reducing store hours. It also dampens its incentive to lower prices because that would mean lower surcharge revenue on which it relies to modernize stores.
Critics say many costs targeted by consultants actually are the unavoidable expense of delivering a prized shopping benefit to the military.
One part of the Boston Consulting Group study that can’t thrill DeCA casts doubt on its claim of 30 percent average savings. Most patrons don’t believe that claim, the report says citing its own survey, and the claim doesn’t survive price comparisons with popular grocery stores off base.
“When compared to the lowest priced nearby competitor, we believe most patrons are actually experiencing 15 percent [to] 20 percent savings in [continental U.S.] locations,” the report says.
It cautions against narrowing savings too sharply, however. One finding of its patron survey is that a 5 percent price increase would shift 30 percent of commissary spending elsewhere.
Tom Philpott is a syndicated columnist. You may write to him at Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA 20120-1111; or at [email protected].
Commissary reformers eye repeal of ‘cost-plus-5-percent’ pricing
tom PhilpottMilitary Update
From staff reports
FSU Football Military Appreciation DayFSU Football is holding
its annual Military Appreciation Day at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 11, as we take on USF. By using the promotional code “USA,” you can receive a ticket package of only $30, which includes a ticket to the game and a commemorative T-shirt. Purchase your tickets at http://bit.ly/1LXQFT3.
Florida Institute of Technology
Register now for the Florida Institute of Technology’s fall semester that begins Aug. 17. Earn a Master of Science degree in technology management, a program designed to help students bridge technology with business through innovation to use in the marketplace or battlefield. Courses are
taught in a hybrid format (in class one night a week and online) or all online. We work with you during TDYs or deployments. Active-duty student tuition cap available. Call Dr. Jeff Cerny, FIT Eglin Ed Center, at 850-398-5958.
50th anniversary of RED HORSE,
Prime BEEFAttention all USAF,
USAFR, and ANG RED HORSE and Prime BEEF members past and present: Reunion is Oct. 12-16 in Fort Walton Beach. Contact Dick Aldinger at 407-859-7436 or email [email protected]. Website is www.rhassn.us.
ITEA Emerald Coast Chapter
The International Test and Evaluation Association (ITEA) Emerald Coast Chapter is hosting a short course on the “Fundamentals of the T&E
Process” in the Shalimar GTRI office Sept. 22-24. The course addresses the role of T&E in systems development, the determination of effective test requirements, integrating developmental and operational T&E, preparing a T&E master plan, coverage of T&E requirements in government contracts, and the role of modeling and simulation in T&E. For details and registration, go to www.itea.org.
Multi-purpose mat demonstrations
The Eglin Fitness Center owns a new multi-purpose mat and is asking fitness customers how they would like to see the mat used. Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Zastrow will conduct two demonstrations at 4 p.m. Aug. 11 and 13 including wrestling, Brazilian Jujitsu and Sambo (Russian martial arts). The mat is in the Circuit Fit Room at the Main Fitness Center. If
you are interested in new fitness options, the Fitness Center asks that you take a short survey at www.eglinforcesupport.com. Surveys are also available at customer service areas at Fitness locations. For information, call John Frost at 883-2129 or SrA Kendall Hope at 882-9042.
Back-to-School Brigade
Join Operation Homefront for a school supply distribution event at 10 a.m. Aug. 15. Eligible recipients include active duty, E1-E6 or all ranks of post 9/11 wounded, ill or injured. Event is open only to qualified Eglin families and their immediate school-aged children. First come, first served; preregistration not
required this year. Military ID must be presented and a sign-up sheet will be used. Parents are asked to bring the list of school supplies for their child’s school and grade level. Supplies will be available for pick-up at Building 2579, the Bubble Building between Eglin Elementary and the Fire Station. Information POC is Larry Lumpkin, [email protected], 850-882-4319.
Team Eglin Crud Tournament
All interested personnel are invited to form teams of four people and enter a Team Eglin Crud Tournament at the Bayview Club Aug. 14 at 4 p.m. Play is free to club members and $5 each for all other team players. To
register, email your team name and names of team members to the event POC – Lt. Anthony Brunson, [email protected], 882-1416.
Youth Fall Soccer, Flag Football
Registration for Youth Soccer and Flag Football is open now through Aug. 14 at the Eglin Youth Center, available Monday-Friday from noon to 6 p.m. Cost is $50 per child, or $100 per family. Soccer players must be age 5 prior to Sept. 1, and under age 12 prior to Nov. 7. Flag football players must be age 6 prior to Sept. 1, and under age 12 prior to Nov. 7. Player evaluations for ages 9-11 will be held Aug.
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Page 4 | THE RED 7 | Friday, August 14, 2015
At left, Col. David Fivecoat, commander of the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade, talks recently about being a Ranger at Camp Rudder on Eglin Air force Base. Above, Ranger students paddle down the Yellow River on zodiac boats.
Photos by NICK TOMECEK | Daily News
By KELLY HUMPHREYnorthwest Florida Daily news
EGLIN AFB — What does it take to be an Army Ranger?
On average, only about 45 percent of students who embark on the process will graduate from the physically and men-tally demanding Ranger School. Before a candidate can even begin the 61-day, three-stage course, he or she must be able to pass a physical fitness test that includes 49 push ups in two minutes, 59 sit ups in two minutes, a 5-mile run in 40 minutes, six chin ups, and a 12-mile foot march carrying a 47.5-pound rucksack in under three hours.
“The students also have to pass a land navigation test,” said Col. David Fivecoat, the commander of the Army Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade, which is headquartered at Fort Ben-ning, Georgia. “They have to find five different points in a 10-kilometer area. They have two and a half hours of search time in the daylight, and a half hour in the dark.”
If all that sounds daunting, it’s noth-ing compared to the challenges waiting in the next three stages of the course.
First up is the Darby Phase, held at Camp Darby, near Fort Benning.
‘You know what you’re going to get’Program vets outline what it takes to be a Ranger
SEE RAngERS | 6
Friday, August 14, 2015 | THE RED 7 | Page 5
By DAVID VERGUNArmy news Service
WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed Gen. Mark A. Milley, Aug. 5, to become the 39th chief of staff of the Army.
He will succeed Gen. Ray Odi-erno in a change of responsibility ceremony scheduled for Aug. 14, at 10 a.m., on Summerall Field, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Va.
Also on Aug. 5, President Barack Obama nominated Patrick J. Mur-phy to be the next under secretary of the Army, a post currently held by Acting Under Secretary Eric Fan-ning. The office was assumed by Fanning, July 6, after Brad Carson became the acting under secre-tary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.
No date has yet been set for Murphy’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate is cur-rently scheduled to be on recess until Sept. 7.
MURPHY’S LAW CAREERMurphy was the first Iraq War
veteran elected to the U.S. Con-gress, according to an Aug. 5, White House press release. Mur-phy represented the 8th District of Pennsylvania in the House of Rep-resentatives from 2007 to 2011.
As a lawmaker, he served on the House Armed Services Commit-tee, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Appropriations Committee.
Murphy received his law degree in 1999 from Widener University School of Law in Harrisburg, Penn-sylvania, after earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pennsylvania’s King’s College in 1996.
While in college, he attended ROTC at nearby Scranton Univer-sity and was commissioned a sec-ond lieutenant in the Army Reserve upon graduation. He went on active duty in 2000 as a staff judge advo-cate and then became a faculty member at West Point.
From 2003 to 2004, he was deployed to Iraq, where he earned
a Bronze Star Medal with the 82nd Airborne Division.
MILLEY: ‘WINNING FUNDAMENTAL’
At his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing, July 21, Milley told lawmakers, “Our fundamental task is to win, to win in the unforgiving crucible” of combat.
Milley currently is commander of U.S. Forces Command, head-quartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Besides combat, there are many other tasks the Army does every day and does very well, he said. It provides humanitarian assistance, shapes outcomes, builds partner capacity and deters the nation’s adversaries.
“But our very reason for being, the very core of what it means to have an Army, it’s to win and to win decisively in ground combat against the enemies of our country
so that the American citizens can enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” he continued.
“I have huge confidence in our Army today,” he said, calling it “the most skilled and combat experienced Army in the nation’s history.”
CHILDHOOD HEROMilley told some 300 ROTC and
U.S. Military Academy Cadets at the George C. Marshall Award and Leadership Conference at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, March 31, that his childhood hero was Green Bay Packers’ winning football coach, Vince Lombardi.
When Lombardi was younger, he looked up to World War II heroes like Gen. George Patton and Gen. Douglas MacArthur and tried to pattern himself after them and their leadership techniques, Mil-ley said.
The two points Lombardi took away from those heroes was, first, “you’re in it to win, so winning
matters and your team matters.” The second was, “We don’t break the rules,” Milley said.
Milley promised the lawmakers that if confirmed, he would work to keep the Army the best in the world and take on the “significant challenges” it faces “in manpower, readiness and modernization.”
The general also told the sena-tors he’d ensure upholding Army values and ethics would continue to be a top priority.
During his visit with the cadets, he exhorted them: “Playing by the rules involves internalizing the war-rior code of ethics. It is something you have to practice at 24 hours a day. Unethical actions not only can get you or your Soldiers killed, they can also hurt the Army.”
HERITAGE OF SERVICEMilley told the senators he comes
from a family who proudly served. His mother treated wounded ser-vice members in a military hospital near Seattle and his father served in the 4th Marine Division in the Central Pacific seeing combat in Kwajalein, Saipan, Tinian, and Iwo Jima.
Unfortunately, both of his par-ents passed away, but he said he still feels their presence.
He noted he’s lucky to have been married for the last 30 years to the “most dedicated and strongest woman in the world,” his wife Hol-lyanne. “She’s a constant source of inspiration and love.”
She represents all the Army spouses “for their resilience and sacrifice,” he continued, having raised their two children while he was away on seven deployments and thousands of days of training.
Milley’s operational deploy-ments include Iraq, Afghanistan, Panama, Haiti and Bosnia-Herze-govina. Most of his 35-year career has been spent leading infantry and Special Forces Soldiers.
Finally, Milley thanked Odierno and his wife Linda for their “self-less service.” He added that the nation and the Army have been well served by them.
The 7th Special Forces solider who died Friday following an attack on a coalition facility has been identified.
1st Sgt. Peter McK-enna, 35, a Special Forces oper-ations ser-geant died of injuries sustained during the attack.
McKenna was a native of Bristol, Rhode Island. He entered the army in 1998 as an infantryman and assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group as a commu-nications sergeant in May 2003 after completing the qualifications course.
McKenna’s military awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Meal, Army Good Conduct Medal, Army Achievement Medal and National Defense Service Medal.
The soldier earned a bachelor’s degree in stra-tegic studies from Norwich University this year and is a graduate of the Warrior Leader Course, Advanced Leader Course and Senior Leader Course.
He is survived by his par-ents Peter and Carol McK-enna of Bristol.
1St Sgt. Peter mckeNNa
Solider killed in action identified
Milley confirmed as CSA; Murphy nominated for under secretary
DAVID VERGUN | Army News Service
Gen. Mark A. Milley tells 300 ROTC and U.S. Military Academy cadets his winning philosophy. Milley, commander of U.S. Army Forces Command, spoke during the George C. Marshall Award and Leadership seminar on Fort Leavenworth, Kan., March 31.
Page 6 | THE RED 7 | Friday, August 14, 2015
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Here students receive air-borne training, techniques training, go on patrols, and tackle the legendary Darby Queen: an advanced obsta-cle course.
Students who survive the Darby Phase move on to the Mountain Phase, which takes place near Dahlonega, Georgia. In this stage, the students must demonstrate mountaineering skills and continue to work on skills needed to lead patrols.
During the winter months, they often must endure below-freezing temperatures. As with all phases of the school, the students must get by on little or no sleep, and on the bare minimum of food. The isolation from the out-side world is considerable: no phones, no Internet, no television.
“The sleep deprivation is the hardest part,” said Staff Sgt. Coty Burns, a Ranger Instructor at Camp James E. Rudder at Eglin. “I’ve had students start to ask me a question, and literally fall asleep mid-sentence.”
Capt. Jackson Wittkam-per, also an instructor at the camp, agrees.
“I always tell people that Ranger School taught me that it really is possible to fall asleep while standing up,” he said.
The combination of no sleep and extreme cold resulted in a freak accident for one Ranger student.
“I remember when I was going through the school in the mountain phase, we had a kid fall asleep on his machine gun,” Burns recalled. “It was so cold, the gun froze to the side of his face. We had to medevac the poor kid out of there.”
Stories about Ranger students who suffer hal-lucinations after weeks of physical and mental stress make up a large part of Ranger lore.
“Everybody’s heard the story about the guy who was so delirious, he went up to a tree and was trying to put quarters in it like it was a soda machine,” Fivecoat said. “I distinctly remem-ber having a moment
myself where I thought I was standing in line at the chow hall with a tray in my hands. Turns out I was just standing in the woods.”
By the time the students reach the Swamp Phase at Camp Rudder, most are physically and emotion-ally spent. Having suffered nearly two months of iso-lation and physical depri-vation, “they’re probably in the worst shape of their lives,” Burns said.
In the summer months at Camp Rudder, the stu-dents must contend with sweltering heat and humid-ity, mosquitoes, and water-based activities that can be challenging for weaker swimmers.
What’s the toughest phase of Ranger School?
“Whichever one you’re in at the moment,” Fivecoat said.
Those happy few who make it through the entire process usually come out a different person, both physi-cally and mentally.
“I lost 40 pounds when I went through Ranger School,” Burns said. “My
wife almost didn’t recognize me.”
So what does it take to become an Army Ranger? Wittkamper says it all boils down to two words.
“Mental toughness,” he said. “You have to keep tell-ing yourself that you can do this, even when you want to quit.”
In addition to the cov-eted Ranger tab that they can wear on their uniforms, soldiers who graduate from Ranger School enjoy an immediate bond with oth-ers who have shared the experience.
“Whenever you meet a fellow Ranger, you can look him in the eye and know what you’re going to get,” Fivecoat said. “You now that you’ve both lived through something that few people will ever experience.”
ON THE WEBView a video of Col.
David Fivecoat talking about Ranger training at nwfdailynews.com
NICK TOMECEK | Daily News
Ranger students tie one end of a rope bridge during a recent training at Camp Rudder.
raNgerS from Page 4
Friday, August 14, 2015 | THE RED 7 | Page 7
R E S TO N , VA . — SpouseLink.org, a web platform developed by the American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association (AAFMAA) as a resource l inking U.S. Military Spouses around the world through supportive, infor-mative and inspiring con-tent, today announced the launch of its social com-munity app. The app is available for Apple mobile devices and was exclu-sively designed for Military Spouses and their families to connect and engage with one another.
The platform allows users to create a profile, add friends and create their own content. A unique feature of the SpouseLink app is the ability to create groups tailored to specific bases and interests, facili-tating engagement for those who may be living in
a new region or connecting with friends who’ve moved to a new duty station. Since SpouseLink.org’s launch in 2012, the site has become an engagement tool for U.S. Military Spouses in all branches and various locations.
The app automatically syncs with SpouseLink.org to publish original content such as important U.S. mili-tary information, lifestyle and career tips, parenting stories and educational
resources from the web platform.
The app also has a mes-saging feature that allows U.S. Military Spouses to have private conversations with one another; cultivat-ing valuable communication that would ordinarily dimin-ish when friends experience the same separation that comes with military reloca-tion. Similar to other social networks, the SpouseLink app also offers detailed privacy options that allow
users to determine how public or private they would like their created profile, content or group to be.
“The release of the SpouseLink app represents one of the first mobile tools for U.S. Military Spouses across the globe to connect and engage with each other — all during a time when they are generally discon-nected,” said Winnifred Tse, marketing coordinator at AAFMAA. “U.S. Military Families deserve a social
platform that supports the unique and ever-changing lifestyle known only by their peers. In releasing this app, we hope to establish a go-to resource for the U.S. mili-tary community to form and sustain lasting relation-ships, connect for support, and to address the specific challenges that accompany those who serve our great country.”
“The app was designed with the needs and inter-ests of U.S. Military Spouses in mind, with a great emphasis on both pri-vacy and engagement,” said Elizabeth Samet, manag-ing editor and community manager of SpouseLink.org. “The SpouseLink app allows users to share their thoughts and concerns with as much privacy as they see fit, and without the noise found on other social media platforms due to the robust
privacy and filter options.”The app, currently
available for Apple mobile devices, can be downloaded through the App Store.
About AAFMAAFounded in 1879, AAF-
MAA is the oldest private, non-profit organization exclusively serving the America Armed Forces community. The Associa-tion provides life insurance, wealth management, and member and survivor ben-efits to service members from all branches of the U.S. military and is oper-ated solely for the benefit of its members and their survivors. Today AAFMAA membership exceeds 90,000 with more than $25 billion of insurance in force. For more information please contact AAFMAA at 800-522-5221 or email [email protected].
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Boots to Business is a worldwide program. The standardized curriculum enhanced by the experience, expertise and tailoredapproach of the SBA (Small Business Administration) partner network ensures that every transitioning Service member has accessto training and the resources they need in their local communities to start and operate small businesses, achieve post-servicecareer success and strengthen the Nation’s economy.
Learn more about Introduction to Entrepreneurship, two-day course:WWW.SBA.GOV/BOOTSTOBUSINESS
30-SEAT CLASS LIMITCourses offered at Tyndall, Eglin and Hurlburt Bases
Contact your Family Readiness Center for more information
Boots to Business is a worldwide program. The standardized curriculum enhanced by the experience, expertise and tailored approach of the SBA (Small Business Administration) partner network ensures that every transitioning Service member has access to training and the resources they need in their local communities to start and operate small businesses, achieve post-service career success and strengthen the Nation’s economy.
Learn more about Introduction to Entrepreneurship, two-day course:WWW.SBA.GOV/BOOTSTOBUSINESS
30-SEAT CLASS LIMITCourses offered at Tyndall, Eglin and Hurlburt Bases
Contact your Family Readiness Center for more information
Are you active duty or recently retired?
Are you a transitioning service member thinkingabout business ownership as a post-service vocation?
“The release of the SpouseLink app represents one of the first mobile tools for U.S. Military Spouses across the globe to connect and engage with each other — all during a time when they are generally disconnected.”
Winnifred Tsemarketing coordinator at AAFMAA
New social app connects spouses across the globe
Page 8 | THE RED 7 | Friday, August 14, 2015
25 for Soccer and Aug. 26 for Flag Football, at 5:30 p.m. on Field 4. (Players under age 8 will be placed on teams according to age groups, without evaluations.) Practices begin the week of Sept. 1, with games played every Saturday from Sept. 19 to Nov. 7 at either Eglin or Hurlburt. A mandatory parent orientation meeting is scheduled for Aug. 31 at 5:30 p.m. in the Eglin Youth Center Gym. All youth participating in sports must have a current sports physical and a birth certificate on file before participation can begin. Full registration details and forms are available at the Youth Center. Volunteer coaches and officials are needed. Contact Terry Evans at 850-882-5074 or to volunteer. For information, contact the Eglin Youth Center & School Age Program at 882-8212 or 882-8291.
CAMP Program needs volunteersThe Eglin Chapel
CAMP, Chapel Arts and Music Program will start again on Aug. 27 and needs volunteers for singing, crafts, and devotional time. If you play an instrument, we can use your talent. If you are athletic, we can use your talent during the break time. CAMP meets every Thursday during the
school year immediately after school from 3 to 5 p.m. for grades K - 6 at the West Gate Chapel. If you would like to assist with this great program, call Audrey Bonanno at 863-9559.
Scuba Diving TripsThe Eglin Dive Flight
hosts Gulf of Mexico Dive Trips on various Saturdays throughout the month. Divers are required to have at least an Open Water certification. Most trips depart the Eglin Yacht Club dock at 7 a.m. Dive locations vary but include both man made reefs, shipwrecks and natural reefs. For information, contact Mike Graham at 803-3163
Crestview Photo Club seeks new
members The Crestview Photo
Club is seeking new members, especially military members and their dependents, to join them during their monthly meeting held the third Thursday of each month at 6 pm at the Knights of Columbus meeting hall, 701 E James Lee Blvd, Crestview, FL 32539. Club membership is free and members range from the very amateur photographer to the most advanced professional photographers in NWFL. During the monthly meeting, members learn how to use their camera’s properly, how to take better pictures and how to print quality images as well as how to use the latest photo software. There are also outings that give the members opportunities to showcase their skills and monthly challenges to enhance the photographers skill behind the lens. To sign up or
to get more information on the Crestview Photo Club, contact MSgt Jayly Jackson, [email protected].
Aquatics Fitness Class
Injured, but still wanting to exercise? Or interested in Deep Water Survival? Try the Eglin Fitness Center’s Aquatics Class, offered FREE for active duty military at the Eglin Pool on Tuesdays and Thursday at 2 p.m. Classes consist of 40 minutes of intense exercise in deep water, and are perfect for those with mild orthopedic injuries limiting their workout choices, or for individuals with significant orthopedic issues of the lower extremities and/or back injuries. Class is free for active duty military members; other personnel are required to pay the pool entrance fee of $4. Space is limited to 10 participants per class. For more information, call SSgt. Henry Velasquez at 850-883-9127.
ERAUBeat the summertime
heat – go to classes in the AC! We are currently registering for the August, September, and October terms. Embry-Riddle offers Associate, Bachelor and Master Degrees in Aeronautics, Business, Emergency Services, Engineering, Project Management, and Unmanned Systems. Courses are held in-residence, eagle-vision home and online POC: Dawn Hitt or Lauren Lee, ERAU Eglin Campus, 678-3137.
To submit an item for the briefs, email us at [email protected]. Deadline for Friday’s edition is noon Monday.
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