12th TFW Association, June 2008 Newsletter
Please note:If you can open email attachments, which will be the “reader friendly” version of this same email, it will follow this newsletter with short stories, and the latest reunion update, and membership roster dated Memorial Day 2008. All are available on the Members Only site.
1. 12th TFW Web Reminder: The Members Onlysection for you and the link is located on the left side of the home page in the light blue menu selection. This is the depository for both current and past Newsletters, the latest Membership Roster, and our short story library.
Click on access labeled Members Only then enter Password (temporarily allow scripts).
The 12th Association roster is proprietary, sokeep contact info away from solicitors. Roster is organized, with non-email and deceased/widows at the rear portion. Please check the web page for periodic updates and photos recently added to the album at the What’s New? Link is on the front of the home page.
2. Air Force has new Web site for retirees: RANDOLPH AFB, Texas (AFRNS)
The Air Force has a new Web site just for its retiree community that is full of news and information, plus it is easy to access and navigate. This public Web site offers the retirees family community in-depth information on the Survivor Benefit Plan, plus a list of Air Force Retiree Activities Offices worldwide and various other resources. There are also sections dedicated to the Afterburner and Air Force Retiree News Service. The site is located at
3. DOD phasing out full Social Security numbers on Ids: by Gerry J. Gilmore WASHINGTON (AFRNS) -- As a means of combating identity theft, the DOD will issue ID cards without full Social Security numbers printed onto them, a senior official said here April 3.
The DOD cares about protecting personal information as well as increasing database security.
Criminals who pilfer SSN-bearing ID cards can virtually assume someone's identity through a few computer keystrokes and clicks of a mouse. Tricare, the military services' health maintenance organization, already has removed Social Security numbers from its members' ID cards. Plans are to remove the Social Security numbers from ID cards issued to military family members by the end of this year and between 2009 and 2010, all department-issued identification cards will feature only the last four digits of a holder's Social Security number.
4. VFW has a new web site: (forwarded by Harrison Hamer)The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)launched a new website to honor Vietnam era veterans. The VFW's new websiteis an extension of VFW's "Honor a Vet" campaign and offers Vietnam era veterans an opportunity to share their experiences, connect with other Vietnam veterans and receive help in applying for government benefits and entitlements, as well as updates.
5. 12th TFW Web Site: We'd be glad to get any inputs for the web page,
You are invited to check in regularly for news; just click on the "What's New" button.
Ron "Rowdy" Doughty, Webmaster, 557 TFS pilot, Cam Ranh Bay, 1969
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6. DFAS begins account review for ‘Paid-Up Survivor Benefit Plan’ - Release No. 04-07-08, April 18, 2008 ARLINGTON, Va. (AFRNS) The Defense Finance and Accounting Service is reviewing all military retiree accounts. Under the law, reductions in retired pay for the Survivor Benefit Plan will be terminated effective Oct. 1 for eligible retirees. The law applies to retired members who are 70 years old and have paid SBP or Retired Serviceman’s Family Protection Plan premiums for at least 360 months, or 30 years. Retirees who are at least 70 years old and have paid at least 360 months of premiums on Oct. 1 will have their monthly premiums terminated. The change will be reflected in the November 2008 pay statement. If a retiree does not meet the eligibility criteria on Oct. 1, the premiums will stop when the retiree has met both criteria: reached age 70 and paid SBP premiums for 360 months. Eligible retirees will be notified by the DFAS via mail regarding the status of their account and premium payment.
7. Please Welcome our New Members since March 2008:
Phillip Bentz, Pilot, 558th TFS, July 1969-70.
Thomas Crouch, Base Disaster Prep. Officer, Pilot & Flight Examiner for Base Flight
C-47’s, 12th CSG, Cam Ranh Bay, Jan.1968-69.
Ronald Hopkins, 37th & 12th Supply Sqd., Computer guy, Phu Cat, July 1969-70.
Manny Roybal, 12th Security Police, Cam Ranh Bay, 1966-67.
Henry R Scott, 558th TFS, Crew Chief & Expeditor, MacDill 1962-65, CRB 1965-66.
8. USAF Thunderbirds announce 2008 schedule;
July
4 and 6 -- Battle Creek, Mich. 12 and 13 -- Milwaukee, Wis.
19 and 20 -- McChord AFB, Wash. 23 -- Cheyenne, Wyo.
26 and 27 -- Rochester, N.Y.
Aug
8 and 10 -- Abbotsford, Canada 16 and 17 -- Offutt AFB, Neb.
20 -- Atlantic City, N.J. 23 and 24 -- Kansas City, Mo.
30 and 31 -- Travis AFB, Calif.
Sept
6 and 7 -- Westover ARB, Mass. 12 and 13 -- Reno, Nev.
14 -- Mountain Home, Idaho 20 and 21 -- Scott AFB, Ill.
27 and 28 -- Salinas, Calif.
USAF Thunderbirds announce 2008 schedule
Note: The Thunderbirds are currently transitioning to a newer, faster version of the F-16 Fighting Falcon -- the Block 52 aircraft. An all-Block 52 demonstration should take place in 2009. The 11 current Block 32 Thunderbird jets will eventually be refurbished and returned to combat-capable status for use in squadrons around the Air Force.
9. Short stories in the 12th Assoc. Log Entry by Gerald French
These stories are not only on the Members Only web site, but will be placed in hard copy form in our new log book that I am putting together for display at all future reunions. If you have not submitted your memory or short story of humor or memorable incident from WWll, Korea, RVN or the Gulf, please do so before they are lost in time. Send to Trenton Pauley at
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10. 12th and 37th TFW History: (by Norman Malayney)
A. History Project Update: Before planning aresearch visit to the National Archives, College Park MDto review 12th TFW combat missions reports, I first require information fromvarious records on file at Maxwell AFB. I have contacted the USAF Historical Research Center there, requesting a Mandatory Declassification of various 12th and 37th TFW files which are necessary for the unit history project. So far no reply.
11. POW/MIA Update: Airmen MIA from Vietnam War identified. Release No. 05-07-08 WASHINGTON (AFRNS) extract – Officials from the Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced May 27 that the remains of four more U.S. Airmen have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors. They are Maj. Barclay B. Young, of Hartford, Conn.; and Senior Master Sgt. James K. Caniford, of Brunswick, Md. The names of the two others are being withheld at the request of their families. All men were U.S. Air Force. Sergeant Caniford will be buried May 28 in Arlington National Cemetery, and Major Young's burial date is being set by his family. Among the group remains is Air Force Lt. Col. Henry P. Brauner of Franklin Park, N.J., whose identification tag was recovered at the crash site.
On March 29, 1972, 14 men were aboard an AC-130A Spectre gunship that took off from Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, on an armed reconnaissance mission over southern Laos. The aircraft was struck by an enemy surface-to-air missile and crashed. Search and rescue efforts were stopped after a few days because of heavy enemy activity in the area.
12. 2008 DenverReunion Update: Wilbur “Andy” Anderson
We are negotiating and focusing on the following activities for 18 – 21 Sept. in Denver, CO. These events are still tentative with final details in process, but wanted to share with you our proposed direction and plan;
18th – Thurs.: All Early Birds are invited to a tour of the Coors Brewery. That evening, a welcome reception in our hospitality suite, with drinks and munchies provided.
19th – Fri.: Short tour of AF Academy, then Freeport Airpark in Canon City for memorial re-dedication. On the return to Denver, we will do a stop at Solo’s KC-97 for a drink and a look.
20th – Sat.: Steam Train tour about 45 miles West of Denver, a stop for lunch, and a tour of Denver on the return. If the 12th FTW participates, we will do a quick tour of Buckley Field.
21st – Sun.: Business meetings in the morning, with group photos and hospitality hour, followed by our banquet. Usually this will also include the POW/MIA ceremony, a guest speaker, and if Andy and Mary do not find any entertainment, they will have to tap dance for us.
22nd – Mon.: You on your own, and local museums and botanical garden are possibilities.
Special event or activity registration forms will soon follow, and will have pricing which includes bus transportation both to and from. You can then select your activity level.
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13. Soldier To Receive Posthumous Medal of Honor – Armed Forces News 30 May 2008
Spec. Ross McGinnis, who saved the lives of comrades at the cost of his own during an ambush by insurgents in Iraq, will receive the Medal of Honor on June 2. McGinnis, of Knox, Pa., becomes the second soldier who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom to earn the nation's highest military award for valor. The 19-year-old mechanic served with 1st Platoon, C Company, 1st
Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division at Combat Outpost Apache in Adamiyah, Iraq, an area rife with insurgent activity, on December 4, 2006. McGinnis was riding in a vehicle, when a grenade landed in his Humvee which was carrying McGinnis and three comrades. Once he determined that if he leapt for safety his comrades would likely be killed, McGinnis jumped on the grenade and took the brunt of its explosion. He died instantly when the grenade detonated, but his fellow soldiers survived. McGinnis' parents, Tom and Romayne McGinnis, accepted the award from President Bush.
14. Short Stories – This month we will begin with chapter 1 of a 4 chapter story submitted to us by member Henry James Knoch, a pilot from the 557th TFS at Cam Ranh Bay. “Jim” as he is known, holds the record with a Navy pilot for having three rides in a Marten Baker seat and surviving. For those non-maintenance folks, this is the ejection seat that can save a pilots life when the plane is lost, if the option to use it is selected at the right moment in time. This story is a condensed version of the copy righted one he wrote for his family and agreed to share with us.
The bottom-line reminder is, we need more stories from your past for our history book, and before your memory goes T--- U-. Sharing a day in your life isn’t bragging, it’s just recording a funny or serious happening, and allowing us to enter it into our time capsule. You pilots have been way too shy, and the Crew Chiefs and Weapons Troopers are beginning to think you went sight seeing with a bomb load while listening to Hanoi Hanna on VHF. Let’s have it guys….
E J Sherwood, Member Comm., 12th TFW Assoc.
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