Killer Raptor

The Air Force’s most advanced weapon system is ready for combat. The F-22A Raptor will give the United States the leading edge in combat around the globe and is qualified to perform homeland defense missions when required.
 
“Our warfighters now have an unprecedented lethal mix of air-to-air and air-to-ground capabilities at their disposal,” says Gen. Ronald E. Keys, Air Combat Command commander.

The F-22A Raptor flew its first two operational sorties over the United States in support of Operation Noble Eagle Jan. 21 and 22. Operation Noble Eagle provides air defense over the United States and Canada.

The first Raptors are assigned to the 27th Fighter Squadron, one of three squadrons assigned to the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley AFB, Va. The Raptor is the newest fighter aircraft for the Air Force, combining stealth, supercruise, maneuverability, and integrated avionics.

With its advanced sensor package, the F-22A has the capability to detect and track targets better than other fighters, says squadron commander Lt. Col. James Hecker. “And its supercruise allows us to intercept targets faster and further out,” Hecker says. Supercruise is the F-22A’s ability to remain at supersonic speeds without using its afterburner; this allows faster sustained speeds with lower fuel consumption.

Navy Log

Now through the end of July 2006, all members and veterans of the sea services, active duty and reserve, can enroll in the U.S. Navy Memorial’s Navy Log without charge. The Navy Log is the permanent public registry where sea service members and veterans can record their service information — name, duty stations, awards, photos, and memories.
>> On the web: Visit www.lonesailor.org.

Military Careers on Film

How can those interested in the military learn about an exciting life of service? DoD hopes a new documentary will help educate the American public about military service. The one-hour film, Today’s Military: Extraordinary People; Extraordinary Opportunities, takes viewers around the country and overseas and features 11 active and reserve servicemembers who talk about opportunities in the military.

The featured servicemembers represent all branches of service and showcase jobs many people don’t associate with military service, including a journalist, a motion-picture liaison, a musician, an animal-care specialist, and a language instructor. Other participants show the excitement of some military careers, including a combat helicopter pilot, a joint terminal attack controller, and instructors who teach aviation pararescue skills.

DoD will use the film to help educate “adult influencers” — parents, teachers, guidance counselors, and coaches — about opportunities in the military. Today’s Military will be broadcast through April in syndication in many major markets throughout the country. DoD will mail 40,000 DVDs to guidance counselors, and a 13-minute version of the film will be shown in April during in-flight programming on domestic United Airlines flights.

 In Review

The Boys of Pointe Du Hoc: Ronald Reagan, D-Day, and the U.S. Army 2nd Ranger Battalion By Douglas Brinkley. William Morrow, 2005. $22.95. ISBN 0-06-056527-6.

On June 6, 1984, the 40th anniversary of D-Day, President Reagan spoke on the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc, the site of a ferocious battle between soldiers of the U.S. Army’s vaunted 2nd Ranger Battalion and entrenched German infantry.

In a clever blend of history and politics, Douglas Brinkley describes that bloody fight on D-Day and the political maneuvering in the White House 40 years later, resulting in a brilliant policy speech that praised veterans, wiped out the national malaise of the 1970s, and began a proud era called the “New Patriotism.”

The Last Shot: The Incredible Story of the CSS Shenandoah and the True Conclusion of the American Civil War By Lynn Schooler. Harper Collins, 2005. $25.95. ISBN 0-06-052333-6.

In a first-rate Civil War naval history, Lynn Schooler tells the little-known story of the rebel cruiser Shenandoah, “the only Confederate vessel to circumnavigate the globe and the last Southern military force to lay down its arms.” This is high-seas adventure about an ill-equipped, short-handed warship burning half the Union whaling fleet in the stormy North Pacific, evading Yankee pursuit, and barely avoiding mutiny, all the while not knowing the war was already over.

From October 1864 to November 1865, the British-built raider flummoxed Union patrols as she sailed around the world on her mission of economic warfare. Schooler vividly describes the poor shipboard conditions, the captain’s erratic behavior, and the extraordinary luck that allowed the Shenandoah to survive. She also skillfully tells of espionage and spies and of the twisted diplomatic and legal maneuvering over the Shenandoah’s “piracy” that ended in a landmark lawsuit and court decision in 1871.

— William D. Bushnell

Big Bird Helps Military Kids

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Sesame Workshop are teaming up to help the hundreds of thousands of children who have a parent serving in the military. Through a donation of nearly $1 million from Wal-Mart, Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, will develop an outreach project to help young children of servicemembers deal with the stresses of military life. The New York State Office of Mental Health also will serve as a partner.

Research shows that 483,514 children of active duty military members and 177,888 children of Reserve and Guard members are younger than 5 years old. The project, which will launch in July, will help military families manage common challenges, including the possible stress caused by a parent’s deployment or reunion after a period of absence, frequent relocation, and other difficult issues. The project will include DVDs starring the Muppets from Sesame Street, as well as online and print materials.

Sesame Workshop will produce and distribute 125,000 of these kits at no cost to schools, child care programs, family support centers, and other organizations serving the needs of military families.

Career Shop

Get ready for MOAA’s sixth annual career fair, May 2 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Washington, D.C., Convention Center, Hall E. Employers from federal and state government, law enforcement, DoD contracting, and other fields will be there. The fair is free, and servicemembers of all grades — active duty, Guard, Reserve, former, and retired — and their spouses are invited. In 2005, the career fair attracted 198 employers and more than 1,500 job seekers. Get there early and take advantage of the free classes.
>> On the web: For more information, visit MOAA’s Web Base at www.moaa.org/tops.

Better Giving

Want to make sure your charitable gift delivers bang for the buck? The Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance helps donors make informed giving decisions by offering evaluations of national charities, various “tips” publications, and a quarterly magazine, the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Guide. The alliance produces reports on nationally soliciting charitable organizations. About one-third of the local Better Business Bureaus in the United States report on regionally soliciting charities. The alliance does not rank charities but seeks to assist donors in making informed judgments about charities soliciting their support. The alliance’s Web site also includes news alerts and frequently asked questions.

MOAA Talks Transition with Air Force Officers at Dover

Miscellany: For the Mind and Body

Remembering Sept. 11 Where were you Sept. 11, 2001? Share your memories, thoughts, or personal experiences from this tragic day that changed the nation. Send feedback to editor@moaa.org or 201 N. Washington St., Alexandria, VA 22314 (Attention: Editor). Submissions will be compiled and used for a feature in the September edition of Military Officer magazine.

>> Nutrition Notes Soy is a good source of nutrition and can help reduce cholesterol. To learn more about soy, visit MOAA’s Web Base at www.moaa.org and click on Health and Wellness under Services.

Survivor Benefit Plan and Taxes

A New Jolt

The Army is now offering its soldiers some added punch to combat fatigue, with Stay Alert caffeine gum. Each piece of cinnamon-flavored gum contains 100 mg of caffeine, about the amount found in a 6-ounce cup of coffee.

The gum, tested at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, was found to be a safe method of improving alertness and physical and mental performance. Because it’s absorbed through tissues in the mouth rather than the stomach, it delivers caffeine to the body four to five times faster than a liquid or a pill.

The DoD Combat Feeding Program of the Natick Soldier Center in Massachusetts also tested and approved the gum to become part of the experimental “First Strike Ration,” the lightweight ration designed for Special Operations forces. In 2004, 300 cases of the gum went to soldiers in the field, including in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it is now available to all military personnel.

Tee Time

Join us for the 3rd Annual MOAA/Jeff Peck Memorial Golf Classic May 16, 2006, at Westfields Golf Club in Clifton, Va. MOAA members, government and uniformed services leaders, and corporate sponsors support the MOAA Scholarship Fund through this popular event. This year, MOAA will provide financial assistance to more than 1,500 college students who are sons or daughters of military servicemembers.

>> Resources: For more information or sponsorship opportunities, contact Capt. John Plehal, USN-Ret., MOAA’s deputy director for Professionalism, at (800) 234-6622, ext. 530, or johnp@moaa.org.

Retiree Spotlight

Col. Eileen Collins, USAF-Ret., is commander of STS-114, NASA’s return-to-flight mission on the space shuttle Discovery.

When did you first become interested in aviation? We lived near the National Soaring Academy when I was young, and I loved to watch the gliders fly overhead. I started taking flying lessons when I was 19 years old.

How did the military help prepare you to be an astronaut? It helps you build self-discipline and the ability to handle several different jobs at once. Being an aircraft commander on a C-141 helped me learn to work with different types of people.

What are your duties as a space shuttle commander? Before the flight, ensuring that my crew is trained to carry out the mission objectives. During the flight, the commander is responsible for the on-orbit execution of the mission. The main tasks are flying the rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station, as well as re-entry and landing.

What’s the most challenging part of the job? The leadership role. That’s harder than the flying or any of the on-orbit activities. It’s a challenge to bring together a crew and hundreds of support personnel and have everything go smoothly.

Will you be sorry to see the space shuttle program retire? The shuttles are old; they’ve flown for twice their projected lifetimes. They’re amazing technical achievements, but it’s time to move on.

— Mark Cantrell

Attention!

Check out these military-related entertainment offerings.

Book >> Under the Sabers: The Unwritten Code of Army Wives (St. Martin’s Press, 2006, $23.95): Tanya Biank, a journalist and the daughter of a career Army officer, follows the lives of four women at Fort Bragg, N.C., to offer an insider’s account of the strains that military life puts on families.

Film >> Roving Mars (Walt Disney, 2006): This new film shown in IMAX Theatres documents the remarkable NASA mission that sent two intrepid, death-defying explorers — Spirit and Opportunity, the Mars rovers — to the red planet.

Television >> Over There: The Complete Series (Fox Home Entertainment, 2006, $39.98): Fox has released on DVD this gripping drama from legendary television producer Steven Bochco that depicts the war in Iraq. The four-disc collection features all 13 episodes of the TV series, along with commentary from Bochco and the cast.

New Payments for Traumatic Injuries