The Air Force has a new mascot to help its recycling awareness campaign and fight against solid waste.

CHUCK-IT, the recycling mascot, targets children between the ages of 5 and 12 and is the latest addition to the "Win the War Against Waste" tool kit -- an outreach campaign developed to support the Air Force's worldwide environmental objectives for solid waste management.

The Air Force Civil Engineer Center recently developed animated CHUCK-IT public service announcements, posters and a sticker -- all available for Air Force installations to download and use locally.

The CHUCK-IT mascot targets children but has appeal for those of all ages, said Nancy Carper, AFCEC's integrated solid waste management specialist.

"Children often get stuck taking out the trash and recycling, so CHUCK-IT brings some fun to this not-so-fun chore," she said.

The tool kit provides Air Force installations with outreach materials to help keep their campaigns fresh as they move toward achieving higher levels of waste diversion, Carper said.

In addition to the CHUCK-IT materials, the kit also includes the Air Force's full color recycling logo, magnet designs, banner designs, poster designs, newspaper articles and other video public service announcements.

The Win the War Against Waste program, started in 1999, continues Air Force efforts to exceed the Department of Defense strategic sustainability performance plan goal. The service is working toward diverting 55 percent of non-hazardous solid waste, not including construction and demolition waste, by 2015 and 65 percent by 2020, Carper said.

In addition to CHUCK-IT and the Win the War Against Waste campaign, Carper encourages Air Force-wide participation in November's America Recycles Day and suggests people check with their installation recycling manager for information on local America Recycles Day events or activities.

"We need to continue to educate all members of our Air Force family on how their efforts -- large or small -- can and do make a difference," Carper said.

"CHUCK -IT helps us reach a whole new demographic and help get children of all ages in the habit of recycling," she said.

For more information on Win the War Against Waste or CHUCK-IT, visit www.afcec.af.mil.

Air Force officials reestablished squadron commander support staffs on Oct. 1 to help commanders manage administrative duties and other personnel and knowledge operations functions.

The decision to recreate squadron CSSs was made by Air Force senior leaders during a Corona South conference in February to help squadron commanders who were overburdened by personnel, knowledge operations and administrative support workloads.

To jump start this effort, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Manpower, Personnel and Services was given functional oversight of the CSS organization throughout the Air Force and will be responsible for developing guidance. Group-level knowledge operations personnel will provide initial support for squadron CSSs and be distributed to squadrons according to local requirements and priorities. These personnel will work directly for unit commanders and provide a variety of support functions to squadron leadership and personnel.

Additional billets are scheduled to be added to CSSs in fiscal year 2014. These additional billets will be filled by Air Force personnelists. Senior leaders are also considering options for standardizing Air Force Specialty Codes and grades within each CSS and adding additional manpower in future funding cycles.

"CSSs are the building blocks of strong squadrons. They support commanders and the mission. By rebuilding our CSS, we are helping commanders focus on their top priorities: the mission and the outstanding Airmen who accomplish our mission every day," said Lt. Gen. Darrell Jones, Air Force manpower, personnel and services deputy chief of staff. "This initiative to rebuild unit CSSs will greatly enhance mission effectiveness."

For general information about personnel services and programs, visit the myPers website at https://mypers.af.mil.

More than 3,200 lieutenants, captains and majors have been selected for promotion, Air Force Personnel Center officials announced today.

Promotion-selects were considered during the July Medical Service Corps lieutenant colonel and major, and line of the Air Force captain central selection boards.

Go to the following links to see the full list of selectees:

Lieutenant colonel: http://www.afpc.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-121005-018.pdf
Major: http://www.afpc.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-121005-019.pdf
Captain: http://www.afpc.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-121005-020.pdf

The boards considered 162 majors, 61 captains, and 3,478 first lieutenants for promotion to the next grade. Results are as follows:

Selection statistics in-the-promotion zone for promotion to lieutenant colonel: 32 selected from 44 considered for 72.7 percent select rate

Selection statistics above-the-promotion zone for promotion to lieutenant colonel: 3 selected from 18 considered for 16.7 percent select rate

Selection statistics below-the-promotion zone for promotion to lieutenant colonel: 3 selected from 100 considered for 3 percent select rate

Selection statistics in-the-promotion zone for promotion to major: 54 selected from 57 considered for 94.7 percent select rate

Selection statistics above-the-promotion zone for promotion to major: 1 selected from 4 considered for 25 percent select rate

Selection statistics below-the-promotion zone for promotion to major: None considered

Selection statistics in-the-promotion zone for promotion to captain: 3,098 selected from 3,333 considered for 92.9 percent select rate

Selection statistics above-the-promotion zone for promotion to captain: 69 selected from 145 considered for 47.6 percent select rate

For more information about promotion opportunities and other personnel issues, visit the myPers website at https://mypers.af.mil.

People give to their communities in different ways. Some serve at soup kitchens. Others might read to the blind or coach a youth sport team. But one 446th Airlift Wing Citizen Airman finds joy in helping her own ... fellow veterans.

Senior Airman Michelle Mastrorocco, a 446th Security Forces Squadron patrolman, volunteers as a community outreach leader with the Wounded Warrior Project, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization designed to assist wounded veterans through a variety of programs and services. They work to encourage injured troops as they adjust to civilian lives.

"Having people like Michelle in the unit remind us why we do what we do," said Senior Master Sgt. Michelle Helpenstell, 446th SFS operations superintendent. "We value service and integrity, and she proves there is always something more that can be done in order to take care of our own."

Taking care of her own gives Mastrorocco gratification.

"There is a certain feeling of fulfillment and satisfaction I get from helping others," said Mastrorocco, who joined the 446th SFS in January 2012. "Community service fosters a sense of belonging and ownership. We are responsible not only for our community and ourselves, but also for each other. Our military community is what we make it. If you volunteer and get involved, it can be pretty awesome."

Volunteering with the WWP isn't her first time helping those in need of assistance.

"I have always been active in the military community, from volunteering in my children's school classrooms, to becoming a certified victim advocate with the Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program," Mastrorocco, said. "I believe there are roles that need to be filled. If you have the time and the skills, then you should do all you can to help others and give back to the community."

Mastrorocco, a prior active-duty Airman, has been volunteering for the WWP since early 2012.

The vision of the Wounded Warrior Project is "to foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded service members in our nation's history," she said. "I wanted to work with them because I believe in that vision."

Mastrorocco doesn't let her successes go to her head.

"It's an amazing feeling when I am able to assist," she said. "I had one client tell me I was an angel after I helped him secure funds to move into an apartment and pay his first month's rent. But I can't spend too much time focusing on the successes I have, because there are always more veterans or family members who need help."

Mastrorocco explains how she and her WWP team contribute to the aid of veterans.

"We recruit volunteers to sign up for events on the Outpost and make sure all pertinent information is posted and sent out," she said. "I also send event information out to various contacts on base to give military members and their families the opportunity to get involved with Wounded Warrior Project events. I also act as a representative of the WWP at community events. We also work closely with and support events held by the Warrior Transition Battalion (at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Main)."

In her full-time civilian career, Mastrorocco assists veterans as an outreach and case manager for Valley Cities Counseling and Consultation, Veterans' Services Department.

"I provide resource and referral information and assistance to veterans, active-duty (service members), National Guardsmen, Reservists and their families," she said.

"We can provide them with referrals to confidential counseling, and assist them with finding housing, emergency financial assistance, education benefits, employment assistance, and anything else they may need assistance with."

Mastrorocco and her coworkers strive not to leave any vets behind.

"If someone contacts us and we can't help them, we'll find someone who can," she said. "There are many resources and benefits available to veterans, military members, and their families. It is our job to help them find those resources and tap into those benefits."

Mastrorocco doesn't plan on abandoning her "service-before-self" attitude any time soon.

"I'm looking at various opportunities that include working with incarcerated veterans and expanding my role with the Wounded Warrior Project," she said. "I would also like to go back and finish my second (master's degree) in counseling psychology, so I can work with veterans in a greater capacity."

Helpenstell puts Mastrorocco's efforts into perspective.

"She takes pride in the thankless," she said. "She recognizes the sacrifices veterans put on the line, and makes sure they don't go unnoticed."

More than 80 Airmen from McChord Field's 4th Airlift Squadron, 62nd Operations Group and 446th Airlift Wing were greeted by family and friends Monday after a 68-day deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The Airmen were deployed as the 817th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron. Their mission was to provide global strategic airlift, airdrop, aeromedical evacuation and humanitarian relief, to create an air bridge for personnel, equipment and supplies throughout the assigned areas of responsibility.

"The members of the 817th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron once again knocked it out of the park. I am very proud of all the hard work these Airmen accomplished," said Lt. Col. Jason Ginn, 817th EAS commander. "The efforts of the 4th and their sister squadrons of the 62nd Operations Group combined with our total force brethren of the 446th here at McChord and active duty, Guard and Reserve partners out of Elmendorf and Hickam ensured this was a successful deployment."

During their deployment, the C-17 squadron flew 670 sorties, equaling more than 1,670 hours, moved more than 45,500 passengers and delivered more than 24.2 million pounds of combat sustainment cargo for U.S. military forces in and out of the U.S. Central Command area of operations. In addition, they completed 282 missions with a 96 percent mission effectiveness rate.

"The herculean actions of our Airmen resulted in over 282 combat missions and resulted in the movement of over 24.2 million pounds of cargo and 45,505 passengers in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and the presidential-directed redeployment of surge troops from Afghanistan," said Ginn. "This was a great command experience for me and I hope I have the privilege of commanding these fine Airmen in the future."

The 62nd AW's four active-duty flying squadrons share responsibility for the deployed squadron and rotate operating the 817th EAS continuously. The deployments allow Air Mobility Command to consistently position assets closer to the areas of responsibility.

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand - Thousands of New Zealanders visited the Christchurch International Airport for a chance to get a glimpse inside the cockpit of a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft, which deployed Saturday to Christchurch, New Zealand from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, in support of Operation Deep Freeze 2012.

Airmen from the 62nd and 446th Airlift wings guided visitors onto the aircraft and answered questions about the plane's capabilities. The tour was one of the many attractions arranged for the city's first ever New Zealand IceFest, an event with Antarctic-themed attractions throughout the city.

The event, which started Sept. 14 and is scheduled to last until Oct. 14, is a celebration of New Zealand's long history with Antarctica.

Upon arrival into Christchurch, the aircraft made a grand entrance performing a low-altitude flyover of various parts of the city. This included a flyover of Hagley Park, in the city center, where hundreds of school children gathered in a large formation to spell the word "IceFest" as a gesture to welcome the jet and its occupants to Christchurch.

The following day, people waited in line for as long as three hours for their chance to tour the jet that will soon be transporting cargo and National Science Foundation personnel to McMurdo Station, Antarctica.

"Christchurch is celebrating a century of being the gateway to Antarctica," IceFest director Jo Blair said. "The goal of this event is to showcase our heritage with Antarctica and to help get kids interested in science, as well." Getting a chance to tour the C-17 that will be transporting hundreds of NSF personnel is great for the kids in that respect, she said.

Also in attendance was the U.S. ambassador to New Zealand, David Huebner.

"This tour helps put a human face on U.S. military personnel," Huebner said. "Often, people tend to form their opinions from what they see on TV, and this tour is a great way to interact with U.S. Airmen and meet them face to face."

Christchurch got hit hard by the earthquakes in the past couple years and it hurt the city's morale and the people's confidence in the city's future, he said.

"This tour is a very tangible sign of the relationship the U.S. has with Christchurch," Huebner said. "It's great for the city to have friends demonstrate that they care."

Edwina Cordwell, a resident of Christchurch and one of the local attendees on the C-17 tour, described her amazement at seeing the large aircraft maneuver so effortlessly over her home.

"It gives you goose bumps," she said. "Seeing how nimble that huge plane can be. It's almost acrobatic."

Cordwell got choked up describing how she felt seeing the U.S. Air Force visiting Christchurch, especially in light of the devastation the city has suffered over recent years.

"It's quite emotional knowing someone cares," Cordwell said. "Seeing all this is just magical."

According to a representative of the event, more than 10,000 people showed up to tour the aircraft.

The first of 52 main season ODF missions departed Christchurch International Airport Monday, en route to McMurdo Station, Antarctica.

Adventures Unlimited on McChord Field re-opened its doors to a brighter and updated facility Sept. 18.

The rental shop houses equipment needed for any outdoor adventure from mountain climbing to kayaking to camping. The facility closed May 12 and underwent a 90-day $156,000 renovation. Joint Base Lewis-McChord Commander Col. H. Charles Hodges Jr., welcomed the crowd and cut the ceremonial ribbon along with JBLM Director of Outdoor Recreation Laura Lad, Northwest Adventure Center Business Manager Kristin Sutich, Adventures Unlimited Recreation Assistant Tarah Strouse and Adventures Unlimited Lead Recreation Assistant Megan Rorabaugh.

"This is our commitment to all service members, not just the Airmen on McChord Field, but all service members have the opportunity to utilize this facility," Hodges said. "It's very much inviting."

Located on Battery Road on McChord Field, the rental facility's renovations included new wood flooring, new interior and exterior paint, new outdoor signage, a new garage door, new displays and fixtures, new ski and snowboard equipment and an upgraded kitchen and restrooms.

"It's updated and fresh, and it's more 2012," Sutich said. "We wanted to showcase more of what we have."

The warehouse feel of the old facility gave way to more of a store-like atmosphere with clothing and equipment racks. The customer service counter was also moved to a more central location to increase visibility and better assist patrons. The renovation included taking down the indoor rock climbing wall that didn't get much use and took up valuable space.

The new space allows for more displays of available rental items for service members, DOD civilians and family members. The rental floor displays include camping, mountain climbing, snowshoeing and a ski shop. None of the displays is seasonal, as all equipment is available to rent at any time of the year.

"We don't have anything you can't rent at any time," Sutich said. "You can come in in June and say, ‘Hey I'm going skiing at Whistler, can I get some skis?'"

What can't be seen on the rental shop floor is stored in a large storage facility located behind the store.

Adventures Unlimited is one of two outdoor recreation facilities on JBLM. The Northwest Adventure Center is located on NCO Beach Road on Lewis North.

Adventures Unlimited is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays, 7:30 a.m. to noon, closed on Sundays and holidays.

U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. David Knutzen was in a different world.

He dropped the water jugs and kept moving. The magazine fell out of his weapon and he paused, wanting to go back for it.

"This is not the way to start things off," thought Knutzen, a communications officer with the 5th Air Support Operations Squadron, The instructor running with him did not care. Press on.

On Knutzen ran across Range 16 until he came to a jeep: take cover, shoot, continue. Out into the open now, shoot some more, climb over a trailer, stop again to shoot, then fire the weapon while moving. Another run with water jugs, uphill this time, then drop to the prone and shoot some more. During all of this, his instructor was blowing an air horn, shaking him or hitting his helmet with the horn.

This is how the 1st Air Support Operations Group prepares Airmen for combat.

The stress shoot at Joint Base Lewis-McChord was part of an annual training exercise for tactical air control parties, or TACPs, attached to the 1st ASOG. TACPs consist of support personnel and some of the Air Force's elite units, joint terminal attack controllers, or JTACs, a group critical to deployed operations for the military. In addition to support and the attack controllers, Airmen also serve as apprentices to become JTACs.

"(JTACs) are spread out across combat units all across the United States military - whether it be Army conventional units, Rangers, Special Forces, Navy Seals, Marines - and a JTAC is basically someone that the Department of Defense has recognized through their training that has the ability to provide final control for fixed wing aircraft, providing close air support to ground troops in close proximity to the enemy," said 1st Lt. Brandon Temple, an air liaison officer with the 5th ASOS.

To earn that recognition, the JTAC trainees have their skills tested in stressful situations. After more than two to three years training, the apprentices can become JTACs. Attack controllers often deploy with little support from other Air Force personnel on the ground, Temple said, meaning a JTAC needs to know every aspect of combat operations without relying on others.

This is why the training week at JBLM, which included convoy operations and exiting and loading an aircraft while under fire, focused on the details that make up each mission. JTAC training must instill attention to these details or weed out those who cannot handle the responsibility.

"If you don't have that attention to detail then, you pass a wrong grid, drop a bomb on friendlies instead of, you know, whatever your target is," said Tech. Sgt. Jeremy Bowling, a JTAC with the 17th ASOS. "Things like that make attention to detail very important, you know, because you've got guys lives in your hand and whenever you got enemy 100 meters away ... and you're trying to drop a bomb on them versus you, all that stuff comes into play."

The kind of training necessary to create a JTAC does more than just check a box for a candidate.

For Knutzen, much of this training was new and it instilled a new respect for what these service members do.

"A lot of the stuff that we did this week, I've never seen before. I'm new to the unit; even though I do have a tactical (communications) background and coming from kind of big Air Force, this is a slightly different world for me, and if nothing else I have a lot more appreciation than I did previously for what these guys - the TACPs, the infantrymen, all the combat arms types - do in the field," Knutzen said.

Passing the Air Force's new Rifle Qualification Course just got a little more challenging for 446th Airlift Wing Reservists.

In November 2011, the Air Force began rolling out an updated rifle fire course for the M-4, which is the assault rifle replacing the M-16 as the standard-issue deployment weapon. The new standards and training were implemented at JBLM McChord Field in July.

"The principles of instruction haven't changed in the course," said Staff Sgt. Daniel Becker, 446th Security Forces Squadron Combat Arms Training and Maintenance instructor. "The primary changes are on the range."

The course will still include basic weapon skills such as loading and clearing, assembly and disassembly, basic rifle marksmanship, and preventative maintenance. Changes include using dummy rounds to simulate a jammed weapon, tactical movements with a loaded weapon, and multiple target engagement. In addition, there are stringent time constraints and wearing the combat helmet and body armor are now required.

"This new course is challenging and requires participants to step outside their comfort zone while rising to the challenges they might face in a real-world situation," said Becker. "People have a good understanding of what they are doing and why they are doing it. They have to apply what they've learned in the classroom in a more direct way." "I like the new training; it's reinforced everything I've learned in my career and it's more in line with what the other services are using," said recent course participant Master Sgt. Ray Escott, 446th Maintenance Squadron Munitions Flight section chief. "When I first came in the Air Force 23 years ago, we fired for a short time at one target. Now the training incorporates moving and multiple targets. Realistically, this is closer to what we'd be facing in a combat situation."

Becker encourages students like Escott, who hasn't fired a weapon in five years and has never fired the M-4.

"As an instructor, I can usually tell in the classroom who is getting it and who needs more time before we get to the range. Some students need to handle their weapon more to let the training sink in," Becker said. "My goal is for everyone to be qualified and go home with the knowledge so they can go on to the next step. For some, that might mean a deployment, for others it might mean having a better understanding of the weapon system in general."

Though Escott hunts and is familiar with many types of firearms, this training introduced him to firing a weapon in a tactical situation.

"The old training didn't incorporate using the weapon in burst mode or firing while moving," Escott said. "This is likely what we'd be doing if we actually needed to use our weapon. The training used to be pretty generic, but I think they made some good changes to the training."

Becker advises his students to pay attention to both the fundamentals and safety, des-pite any changes to the curriculum.

"The better able you are to fire your weapon safely and accurately, the more likely you are to use that weapon effectively in a combat situation," he said. "It's a sobering thought and we hope our students never have to use their weapons, but there is always the chance they will. It's our job as CATM instructors to make sure they are able to use the training we give them in a way that saves lives."

Photo:

Jami K. Lancette

Staff Sgt. Alasdair Earley, 434th SFS combat arms specialist, monitors other 434th SFS Airmen as they fire their M-4 carbine rifles during a recent weapons training event held on JBLM. Earley and other SFS Airmen participated in the training that is meant to keep them ready to deploy around the world at a moment’s notice.

Despite operating in harsh conditions and experiencing multiple weather delays, the 304th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, comprised of Airmen from the 62nd and 446th Airlift Wings at Joint Base Lewis-McChord McChord Field, completed its winter flying period into McMurdo Station, Antarctica, Aug. 29, in support of the U.S. Antarctic Program and the National Science Foundation.

During the period, known as WinFly, crews completed six missions aboard a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft. The aircraft was deployed from McChord Field and delivered 319 passengers and more than 230,000 pounds of cargo to the remote, icy airfield. Additionally, 69 passengers and more than 35,000 pounds of cargo were transported out of McMurdo.

Using Christchurch International Airport, New Zealand, as the base of operations, the mission of WinFly is to deliver advance teams and cargo to the remote research center in preparation for the main season of Operation Deep Freeze.

During the period leading up to main season, the research center will swell from approximately 150 NSF and support personnel to roughly ten times that size, helped largely by the efforts of the 304th EAS, said Lt. Col. Brent Keenan, the 62nd Operations Group deputy commander and ODF commander.

These operations are unlike any other U.S. military operations and present unique challenges for all members involved.

Weather and visibility are the two major factors which increase the difficulty of the mission, said Capt. Rok Dedic, 62nd AW instructor pilot and one of the pilots involved in the missions.

"In Antarctica, the weather changes at a moment's notice," said Dedic.

The unpredictable weather caused the first mission into McMurdo to be aborted after takeoff.

"The weather was good, we launched our mission and by the time we reached our point of safe return, we had to turn around and come back to Christchurch due to a change in weather," said Dedic.

Despite the delays, the crews completed all six missions just slightly behind the estimated completion time. "The weather support team did an excellent job analyzing weather trends to assist in determining the best launch times," said Keenan. "The 304th maintenance team also did an outstanding job keeping the jet mission capable," said Keenan.

The final five missions were completed over the span of just 86 1/2 hours and only 16 1/2 of those hours were spent on the ground at Christchurch, said Keenan. This shows how well the weather and maintenance teams worked to ensure the aircraft had minimal downtime.

In addition to delivering NSF personnel and cargo into and out of McMurdo, the 304th EAS also completed valuable training to include seven pilots getting trained and certified to perform nighttime landings at McMurdo using night vision goggles.

"This training has better equipped us to perform emergency support operations for the NSF during the winter months," said Keenan.

The main season of ODF is scheduled to begin Oct. 1.