Community meeting - address issues, get answers

September 27, 2013

Home of the Arctic WarriorsVol. 4, No. 39

ALASKA POSTFort Wainwright, Alaska

RECYCLED

Recycled material is used in the making of our

newsprint

Weekend Weather BrIeFs

Community action Council Vote tuesday

FridayDecreasing clouds; patchy fog in the a.m.; light windsHighs in the lower 50sLows around 30

saturdayMostly cloudy Highs around 50Lows around 30

sundayMostly cloudy Chance of rainHighs around 50Lows around 30

see traInInG on page 8

an edition of the

17414330SN/ BIRCHWOOD HOMES

Soldiers assigned to Alaska are educated and exposed to all types of terrain, conditions and environments, and continually expanding their capabilities, knowledge and careers in the Army while working together to complete their mission goals. Family members and civilian employees likewise experience challenges and learning opportunities. Communication and working together is key to any successful venture and for many, getting the right information from a key source is a task too great to take on alone. For just that reason, the Community Action Council is open to all post residents and employees to attend and hear the latest in service-oriented organization programs and events. It is also a great opportunity to get informa-tion straight from department leaders and subject-matter experts. CAC meetings take place monthly. The next meeting is set for Wednesday at 10 a.m. in the Last Frontier Community Activity Center, building 1044. Leaders from the garrison, U.S. Army Alaska, medical and other agencies will share information on deployment preparation and training, support programs, activities and events affecting the Fort Wainwright community. This is a great opportunity for Soldiers, Families and civilian community members to ask questions and get answers in an open forum. Issues requiring further research and debate may be addressed at the next meeting. For more information on the Community Action Council, visit the installation’s official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/FortWainwrightPAO for links to council resources, video and more information or call the Garrison Public Affairs Office, 353-6780. (File photo by Brian Schlumbohm/Fort Wainwright PAO)

staff sgt. trish McMurphy,U.S. Army Alaska PAO

The 472nd Military Police Company participated in a site security simulation as part of a training and certification ex-ercise in preparation for an upcoming deployment.

The exercise gave Soldiers and their leadership an opportunity to apply their military occupational specialty skills and rehearse military drills in a simulated theater of operations.

The Soldiers planned, organized and ran missions on several scenarios that could possibly occur while deployed.

“MPs are always ready to do any of our functions, from law and order, area security to detainee operation, we just have to train up to be ready for what-ever is asked for,” said Staff Sgt. John Lum, a squad leader assigned to the 472 Military Police Company.

“We are training on different tasks on area security,” Lum said. “We can be called to provide security to (Forward Operation Bases) or any location the Army deems needs to be secured.

“We are doing everything from checks and maintenance on our weapons and equipment to make sure it is operable and training on anything from first aid, reacting to contact and any skill level tasks that we may come under,” he said.

Armed with various weapons includ-ing M4 carbine rifles, M240 machine guns, body armor, night vision devices and motion-sensor alarms, the Soldiers guarded their posts and communicated with each other consistently throughout

Jim Garamone,American Forces Press Service

Although Defense Department offi-cials believe a government shutdown can be avoided when the new fiscal year be-gins Tuesday, they want DOD employees to be prepared for the possibility, Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a memo issued to the workforce Monday.

The fiscal year ends Sept. 30, and Con-gress has not passed a budget. If Con-gress does not approve a budget or pass a continuing resolution, the portions of the government funded via appropriated funds will be forced to close.

“The department remains hopeful that a government shutdown will be averted,” Carter wrote in the memo. “The administration strongly believes that a lapse in funding should not occur and is working with Congress to find a solution.”

Congress still can prevent a lapse in appropriations, but “prudent manage-ment requires that we be prepared for all contingencies, including the possibil-ity that a lapse could occur at the end of the month,” the deputy secretary wrote.

Sujey “Savy” Cuadrado, army reservist and wife of Sgt. Misael Cuadrado, B Troop, 5th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, is cheered on by her two children as she approached the finish line during the 51st annual Equinox Marathon Sept. 21. (Photo by Capt. Patrick Sawicki/USARAK PAO)

472nd Military Police Company prepares fordeployment

Encouragement at the Equinox

see MeMO on page 8

Sujey “Savy” Cuadrado, Army reservist and wife of Sgt. Misael Cuadrado, B Troop, 5th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, is cheered on by her two children as she approached the finish line during the 51st annual Equinox Marathon Sept. 21. (Photo by Capt. Patrick Sawicki/USARAK PAO) See story, page 3.

Memo prepares DOD employees for government shutdown

Wednesday, 10 a.m.LFCAC, building 1044

All are welcome

Municipal electionsLFCAC, building 1044

Open for voting 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

COmmeNTAry2September 27, 2013 ALASKA POST

ALASKA POSTHome of the Arctic WarriorsEDITORIAL STAFF

Fort Wainwright Garrison CommanderCol. Ronald M. Johnson

U.s. army Garrison Fort Wainwright PaO

Linda DouglassCommand Information Chief

Connie Storcheditor

Trish Munteanstaff writers

Brian SchlumbohmAllen Shaw

ContributorsSgt. Michael Blalack, 1-25th SBCT

Staff Sgt. Trish McMurphy, USARAK PAO

Capt. Patrick Sawicki, USARAK PAO

The ALASKA POST is authorized by Army Regulation 360-1 and is published by the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, a private firm in no way connected with the U.S. Army, and is under exclusive written contract. Contents of the ALASKA POST are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by, the Department of the Army. The editorial content of this publication is the responsibility of the U.S. Army Garrison Ft. Wainwright Public Affairs Office. The ALASKA POST welcomes responsible comments from its readers and will publish letters, articles or photos submitted at least one week prior to the next publication. The ALASKA POST reserves the right to edit or reject submissions. All submitted material will become official Army property unless otherwise indicated. To advertise call (907) 459-7548 Everything advertised in this publication shall be made available for purchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, marital status, physical handicap, political affiliation or any other non-merit factor of the purchaser, user or patron. The Editorial office is located on Ft. Wainwright in Building 1047 #1; Mailing address is Public Affairs Office, 1060 Gaffney Road, 5900, Ft. Wainwright, AK 99703. Call 353-6779 or 353-6701, or send emails to pao.fwa@us.army.mil

The ALASKA POST – Home of the Arctic Warriors

trish Muntean,Fort Wainwright PAO

Editor’s note: Septem-ber is Suicide Prevention Month and as part of the mission to improve readi-ness through development and enhancement of the Army Suicide Prevention Program the Alaska Post will be providing informa-tion on activities and assets available to Soldiers, Fam-ily members and Depart-ment of the Army civilians. What I want people to know is that while the pain may end for you when you take your life, it never ends for the family and friends you leave behind.

On March 1, 2000, my brother, John Michael, chose to end his life and committed suicide. Even 13 years later the memo-ries are as clear to me as if it happened yesterday.

John ended his life on a Wednesday night at his home in New Castle, Pa. I was living in Weisbaden, Germany, at the time. I woke up Thursday morn-ing feeling like something was wrong, but just could not figure out was both-ering me. I went to work and came home at lunch time to call my mother, just to make sure that ev-erything was OK at home. As soon as she answered the phone I knew some-thing was wrong, but I did not know my life was about to change forever.

She wanted to know if my husband, Ralph, was with me. I guess she didn’t want me to be alone when she told me. I told her no, but forced the issue, insisting that she tell me, thinking whatever it was, I could handle it. I was wrong.

She did and I can still hear her voice in my head and her exact words even now: “Honey, John took his life last night.” My brain just wouldn’t pro-cess what she had told me and she had to tell me two more times before I finally understood.

My first reactions were a mix of shock, disbelief and anger, and with it came the use of language I consider inappropriate for any occasion and I found myself using it on the phone with my mother.

Just a few minutes lat-er, I hung up the phone, telling her that I had to get hold of my husband and that I would call her back. I didn’t want her to know I was throwing up in the kitchen sink.

Ralph, who never came home for lunch, had for-gotten something that morning and did come home that day. He found me sitting on the kitchen floor, crying and shak-ing. He thought some-thing had happened to our child or to me. I just couldn’t get the words out to tell him. All I could do was shake my head in response to the questions he was asking me.

A co-worker called me when I did not come back from lunch, wondering why I had not come back to work. I told her my brother had died and to please tell my boss and re-lay a message to my friend Trina, asking her to pick up my son after school, but not to tell her why, just that I would get him later.

It took me a while to calm down and call my mother back, but I had to so I could get the details on the funeral arrange-ments and we could ar-range flights home. I had to explain to her about how the military works and why she had to send a Red Cross message. She just didn’t get it and I lost my temper with her try-ing to explain it.

Later that afternoon I started having chest pains and problems breathing. Both Ralph and I thought I was having a heart at-tack and off we went to the doctor. All I kept thinking was that sure-ly God wouldn’t let my mother lose two children in such a short amount of time. It turned out that I wasn’t having a heart at-tack, but a panic attack. Scary. For me and my husband. I never did tell my mother and I won’t be sharing this commentary with her.

We told our son, Da-vid, about John’s death later that night. Without a doubt, it was one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my life.

How do you tell your kid that his uncle, someone he worshipped, has died, let alone that he committed suicide? We decided to do it the way we talked about everything else. Straight forward and to the point. Yeah, right. I got as far as “kiddo, I have some really bad news for you, your Uncle John” and couldn’t get the rest of the words out. Just the look on his face made it impossible for me to continue speaking. Ralph had to finish telling him. I just couldn’t speak.

After David went to bed, I called my Aunt Carol, to ask questions I needed an-swers to, but just couldn’t bring myself to ask my mother. What method did he use to complete the act? Who found him? Was his body so badly destroyed that we would have to have a closed casket funeral? How was my mother do-ing? Had my sisters gotten home yet? How was Linda (John’s significant other)?

I spent the next day trying to get ready to fly home. I packed and un-packed several times. I just couldn’t figure out what we needed. My friend Trina finally did my packing for me. She also took David shopping, because he didn’t have any clothes appropriate for the funeral. Ralph had to find a kennel and then take our dog, which was already stressed be-cause of the way we were acting, to a place he had never been for two weeks. Seems silly now, but it was so upsetting for both of us at the time.

We flew home on Sat-urday morning. My sis-ter Debbie met us at the airport. She didn’t hug any of us, just talked to us like we had come in for a holiday. She told me later that she was afraid if we had any physical contact or spoke of John’s death that we would fall apart right there in the airport.

We went straight to my mother’s house and Linda was just leaving when we got there. She and my mother were standing there hugging and crying. My mother’s pastor was there. He wanted to pray

with us. I had no desire to talk to God right then. My brother was dead, I wasn’t even sure God existed at that moment. But my mother is a woman of faith and I knew it would make her feel better so I sat there with my head bowed thinking very unchristian-like thoughts while he went on and on for what seemed like forever.

The next day was the viewing. The funeral home let us come in early so we could spend some time alone with John be-fore other folks arrived. It was such a shock to come in and see my brother, the guy who couldn’t sit still or shut up, lying there, silent and unmov-ing. None of us spoke for a few moments and I was the first to speak, asking my brother, as if he could hear me “Oh John, what have you done now?”

My mother commented that John did not look like himself, that she had giv-en the funeral home a pic-ture of him, but they had gotten his hair wrong. I was standing at the casket while Deb tried to rear-range it. We soon figured out why his hair was the way it was, it was to cover the exit wound from the gunshot that killed him.

The visitation was a long, difficult day. I saw family I hadn’t seen in forever. A lot of them I was surprised to see. John probably would have been too. He had made a mess of his life years ago, and hadn’t had contact with some of these folks since he was a teenager. I kept thinking “what were they doing here? They hadn’t wanted anything to do with John while he was alive, but they were here now?” After stopping by the casket and extending their sympathies to my parents, some of them sat and visited. They talked and they laughed as if they were at a family re-union, not at a funeral home. I found it hard to be civil when they asked me about Germany, and tried to catch up with what had happened in my life since they had seen me last. How could they expect me to make small talk when my brother was lying over in the corner in a box?

I wanted to spend time talking to my brother’s friends though and rushed to them when they came through the door. I want-ed to know when they had last seen John, what they had talked about, how he seemed. I desperately wanted to know about John’s last days, but they couldn’t tell me anything. John had not been in touch with any of them for a long time.

John’s funeral was the

next day. When I woke up, I actually had a minute that I forgot. But once I opened my eyes and saw I was at Aunt Carol’s, not home in Germany, I remembered and all the pain came rushing back.

That morning, before we went into the chapel and they closed the casket I put some pictures of us siblings and of his nieces and nephews in John’s pocket so he wouldn’t be alone. I wanted to put his coffee cup and some ciga-rettes in there, but for some reason my mother objected, so I didn’t. I wish to this day I had asked the funeral director to put them in after we left the room and before they closed the casket.

When the service was over they carried the cas-ket to the hearse. We fol-lowed it to the cemetery while police held traffic at red lights for the pro-cession. My sisters and I rode in the car with my parents and we joked that this was probably the first time John ever ran a red light and didn’t get a ticket. We were shocked to find ourselves laughing and fell silent again.

During the funeral I had the thought that if I could just get through it, it would get better. I wouldn’t have believed the pain could actually get worse, but it did. Watch-ing the coffin that held my brother being lowered into the ground made me sick to my stomach. Walk-ing away from the grave, leaving him alone, I can’t even describe the pain.

I went to John’s grave several times before re-turning to Germany. I sat beside it for hours on end, talking to him, frequently crying and often yelling at him. I said a lot of mean, ugly things. I told him I would never forgive him for leaving us this way, not giving us a chance to say good-bye, doing this to my mother right before her 60th birthday and so much more. I was deter-mined to say it all before I went home.

Ralph had to leave for a field problem a day after we got back to Germany, Dave went back to school and I went back to work. I came back expecting the love and support of my friends and co-workers; instead it seemed as if I had the plague. Like if they acknowledged John’s death, suicide would hap-pen in their family. I can’t explain it, but have ex-perienced it many times through the years. People just don’t know what to say to someone who has lost a loved one to suicide. I expect I will experience the same thing after this article comes out, but

that’s ok. I have learned to deal.

I wondered if I was just being overly sensitive and had tried to come back to work too soon. I had. The first classroom I was working in that day had a new student. His name was John Michael. I have no idea why that was so upsetting to me, but it was. I excused my-self, and made it out of the classroom before the tears came. A short time later I walked out of the school and never went back again.

The next few months were hell for me and my family. I fell into a hor-rible depression and no matter what drugs the doctors gave me I couldn’t seem to snap out of it. My house was a disaster, my family had to take care of the laundry and cook-ing if they wanted clean clothes or something to eat. There were days I couldn’t even get out of bed to shower and dress.

I don’t know how I fi-nally managed to climb out of that dark hole, but eventually I did. But life didn’t get any better for my family. I was still in a tremendous amount of pain and I wanted every-one around me to hurt as much as I did. I started engaging in risky behav-ior and did things to hurt the very people I loved the most. I started hav-ing marital problems and my child had problems in school, with his grades and his behavior, some-thing that had never been an issue.

It took a year before I was finally able to get my act together with the help of medication, counseling and support from others who had lost a loved one to suicide. It was a long road back and to this day my family still hasn’t recovered from the damage. I don’t know that I ever will.

Suicide is sometimes referred to as a perma-nent solution to a tempo-rary problem. People con-templating suicide need to know while the pain of the individual may be ended, the suffering of family and friends just begins and for them the agony never ends.

John Muntean: A single pebble in the pond can send ripples that never end

trish Muntean

Municipal elections will be held Tuesday in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, City of Fairbanks and City of North Pole. There are three school-board seats, three bor-ough assembly seats and two propositions on the ballot for the Fairbanks North Star Borough. City residents will vote for a new mayor, two city council seats and one proposition in addition to the Fairbanks North Star Borough ballot. North Pole resi-dents will fill five city council seats, as well as the borough ballot. Fort Wainwright residents are within Fairbanks city limits, so they vote both the Fairbanks North Star Borough and City of Fairbanks ballots. The Fort Wainwright poll is located at the Last Frontier Community Activity Center and is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

VOTE TUESDAY

NeWS 3September 27, 2013ALASKA POST

11413963IMAGE OPTICAL

AK POST/AK POST-COLL3 x 3.0

11414109UPS STORE

AK POST/AK POST 3 x 3.0

Capt. Patrick sawicki,U.S. Army Alaska Public Affairs

A thunderous report cracks through the brisk Alaskan morn-ing, marking the start of the 51st annual Equinox Marathon Sat-urday and the beginning of Sujey Cuadrado’s journey of meeting and overcoming challenges.

Cuadrado, the wife of Sgt. Mis-

ael Cuadrado, a scout team leader in B Troop, 5th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th In-fantry Division, is running a mar-athon not just to run one but to overcome personal challenges and motivate her family to move on.

Although she has run in previ-ous races like the Law Day Half Marathon at Fort Polk, La., and

Tough Soldiers, tougher Army Familiesthe Louisiana Marathon, “this is personal for me,” she said. “My brother recently took his own life and my family has been devastated. I need to do something to motivate them, to get them to move on.”

If it was motivation, the challenge or just the right time, she chose the Equinox Marathon as her next obsta-cle to overcome.

Fairbanks’ Equinox is one of the top 15 toughest mara-thons in the world, accord-ing to The Weather Chan-nel’s sports and recreation department. So the newly arrived wife, mother and grieving sister saw it as an opportunity. The family ar-rived at Fort Wainwright in June from Fort Polk.

A move over lengthy dis-tance to a state removed from the continental U.S. impacts the whole Family. “The move was not that big a deal,” Cuadrado said. “We have been challenged the last few years, and it has made us a strong Family.”

Savy (her nickname since she can remember) was ac-tually living in Mexico un-til 2009, when she married Misael Cuadrado, a U.S. citizen. The following year she decided to join the U.S. Army Reserves and headed to basic training.

“Although living in the U.S. for a year was a great ex-perience, I still did not know much English or know what to expect,” she said, “On my first physical fitness test I took at basic training, I could not even do one pushup or run two miles even close to the required time standard.”

Those initial results are common among new re-

cruits, but the improve-ments and results she dis-played are not. Within two weeks she could do 27 push-ups and run two miles in 14 minutes. She was the only female who ran with the fast group during training.

Joining the Army was an immersion experience like no other. “I did extra work-outs in the morning to get stronger and learned Eng-lish to be a better Soldier,” Cuadrado said.

Throughout Advanced In-dividual Training, where Sol-diers learn their specific job skills, she maintained her per-formance and desire to learn, grow and develop. She gradu-ated from the Power Genera-tion Equipment and Repair course as the distinguished honor graduate with the high-est grade-point average.

“The Army really taught me how tough I am and can be. I learned English and learned a whole new culture,” she said. “Being tough and just running wasn’t enough though. Until recently I had no idea how to run, training tips, racing information, all the things that define a run-ner as a runner. I was just go-ing out and running and do-ing exercises, but there was no methodical training plan or schedule to prepare for the upcoming marathon.”

It was not until recently that the mother of two de-cided to start reading publi-cations and learned more on training, nutrition and prep-aration methods to become an even better athlete. “Run-ner’s World was really the first professional informa-tion I read about running,” she said. “I read the articles, used the training plans for a

marathon and felt more con-fident in my abilities.”

Before proper guidance and training plans, Cuadrado entered and took first place as overall female in the Law Day Half Marathon at Fort Polk in 2012.

The pain and agony of failing the first physical fit-ness test during the initial days in basic training to rac-ing and winning the over-all female winner in a half marathon within two years, is a remarkable feat. The emotional impact of losing a younger brother and mov-ing across the country to Alaska away from friends and family seemed to slow things down for Cuadrado, she said.

“We were extremely close; this was very hard for me,” she said, teary eyed. “He was the youngest, and unfor-tunately I was the only one who made it back to attend the funeral.”

“The family, my family took this hard and personal, they needed something to wake them from the shock,” said Cuadrado. “This mara-thon is my way of telling them to start living again to start focusing on the present and be alive.”

With her husband’s sup-port, she began training with a greater drive and focus, do-ing 10-plus miles a few days a week and longer runs on the weekends. “I didn’t know I had this in me, until I joined the Army. I am thankful for that experience,” she said.

Sujey completed one of the toughest races in the world, her Army Family, husband and children there for sup-port as she crossed the finish line in 5 hours 24 minutes.

Sujey Cuadrado, the wife of Sgt. Misael Cuadrado, a Scout Team leader in B Troop, 5th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, crosses the finish line of one of the world’s toughest marathons, the Equinox marathon, Sept. 21. She completed the race in 5:24.5. (Photo by Capt. Patrick Sawicki/USARAK PAO)

Brandy Ostanik,Medical DepartmentActivity Alaska PAO

Medical Department Activity-Alaska has confirmed a case of per-tussis, better known as whooping cough, this past week and is ask-ing beneficiaries to ensure they are vaccinated.

“Vaccination works,” said Lt. Col. Paul Kwon, chief of preven-tive medicine for MEDDAC-AK. “Children should get at least five vaccine series at the 2-month, 4- month, 6-month, between 15-to-18 months and between 4- to-6 years old and booster vaccinations are necessary for adolescents 11 and older, pregnant women, Soldiers and other adults who have not yet received the booster.”

According to Kwon, many ba-bies and young children can con-tract whooping cough from adults or older siblings who don’t know they have the disease because of milder symptoms.

“The purpose of the vaccination is to protect the individual as well as the young and elderly who can-not receive the full series of vaccine and are therefore more susceptible to the disease,” says Kwon.

Pertussis is a very serious re-spiratory infection caused by bac-teria. It can be especially harmful and dangerous to babies who do

not have the full protection of the pertussis vaccine because of their young age.

Symptoms of pertussis include runny nose, sneezing, mild to se-rous cough that persists, breath-ing and eating difficulties. Fever may be mild or absent.

According the Centers for Dis-ease Control and Prevention, per-tussis can cause violent and rapid coughing until the air is gone from the lungs forcing the person to in-hale with a loud “whooping” sound. In adults and teens the “whoop” is often not there and the infection is generally milder, especially for those who have been vaccinated.

Pertussis spreads easily through the air when an infected person breathes coughs or sneezes.

As with many infections, per-tussis can be prevented by simple hand-washing, covering the cough or sneeze, cleaning surfaces and getting vaccinations.

To determine if vaccinations are up-to-date, beneficiaries may bring their shot records to the Bassett walk-in triage nurse or to preven-tive medicine. Due to Health In-surance Portability and Account-ability Act requirements, shot records cannot be verified over the phone.

Anyone with questions about pertussis can contact Preventive Medicine at 361-3057.

allen shaw,Fort Wainwright PAO

In my humble opinion there’s a super-human in-dividual playing for the Na-tional Football League Den-ver Broncos and his name is Peyton Manning. He’s been called overrated; he’s been beaten down and even sat out a season healing from neck surgery. Some people said he’d never play again or at least not at the level of a record-breaking starting quarterback. Take it back suckers and join the Peyton nation because the Broncos are going to the Super bowl. He once again dissected a defense.

As we make early season adjustments to this weekly column, many of the NFL teams also have to figure out what is working, what isn’t and how they’re going to fix it. Benching quar-terback Josh Freeman in Tampa Bay is a beginning, but I don’t even know if Brett Favre can save that program. That’s what I’m talking about.

Rather than laundry list-ing our picks and adorning the page with some (not so) pretty pictures, we’ll focus more on our prognostica-

tors rather than scores and stats from games. We’ll keep track of how they’re doing, why they’re doing it and their opinions. We might even throw down some smack talk.

Earp is a team that have agreed to disagree and that is why they keep fall-ing behind. Their problem is that one member of the duo always picks Denver (a good thing) and the oth-er is a diehard Cleveland Brown fan. Their problem is obvious.

Mr. Fischer, who is one of the leaders of the pack, said, “We will see the Steel-ers further self-destruct this time on an interna-tional stage; the clock will strike midnight for Miami and Chicago as both teams absorb their first of many losses and the comeback story of the century (great minds think alike) will con-tinue as Peyton Manning will present a passing clin-ic against the Swiss cheese defense of the Eagles.”

The only part I disagree with is the Bears; as al-ways, they have a serious defense, but now they’re showing some offensive oomph. Everyone in the group is picking Chicago to

win except Fischer, Binky and BeerBQ. We shall see.

As for the rest of the games, for some strange reason, everyone is ex-pecting last year’s Forty-niners to finally win a game, except the Brain. I guess we’ll see how smart he really is when St. Louis gives San Fran another whooping.

Everybody is picking the Ravens because we all know how bad Buffalo is, even the life-long, hard-core fans. It’s almost as pitiful as the Steelers fans that just can’t let go. Good luck to the two of you who expect a miracle across the pond. The Vikings de-fense will be cleaning Big Ben’s clock.

The Fort Wainwright football picking gurus are fairly split on the other games being played this week and although Tate and A-Team share the top spot with a slim lead over the rest of the front-run-ners, we don’t see eye-to-eye on one crucial game. Tate is the only one who thinks Houston can slow down Seattle Seahawks who are doing everything right. That’s what I’m talking about.

Snoozers, losers and Peyton Manning: That’s what I’m talking about

Whooping cough is back; vaccinations are key toprevention, further protection

NeWS4September 27, 2013 ALASKA POST

54410865FAIRBANKS PUBLISHING AK POST/AK POST-CLAS

6 x 10.5SPOT

allen shaw,Fort Wainwright PAO

There is a crazy looking, colorful, angular wall under construction that catches your eye as soon as you walk in the Outdoor Recre-ation building on Fort Wain-wright.

“It is hands-down awe-some,” said Lara Patter-son, Outdoor Recreation manager, Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation. “Our facil-ity was built with having a climbing wall in mind and we just made it a reality.”

“There are several rea-sons people should go climb-ing,” Patterson said. “First of all, it’s a great way to build confidence and chal-lenge your athletic abili-

ties. It’s a great way to get in shape and way more fun than running on a tread-mill.”

The way the wall is de-signed, climbers can choose a variety of ways to get to the top. “Climbing this wall will never be boring,” Pat-terson said. “There are al-ways new routes to climb.”

She also said it’s an es-cape. “It can help you forget about the stresses of every-day life and it does make you a cooler individual.”

Rock climbing is for all ages and great for fami-lies, Patterson said, and is a great team-building tool. “It requires communication and trust. Teamwork makes the dream work.”

DFMWR expects the wall to be completed within the

next couple of weeks, Pat-terson said. Hours of opera-tion will be October through April, Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Climbing-wall prices are $6 for open climbing, a 10-punch pass is $50, a single climb for children is $4 and skill clinics are $10. Group rentals are $125 an hour and the introduction to climbing and belay certifica-tion is free.

Patterson said the climb-ing wall would also help ful-fill four out of the five com-ponents for Comprehensive Soldier Fitness.

“The fact that the climb-ing wall and outdoor recre-ation in general helps for resilience, I think it would be a nice touch,” she said.

“In the physical category, it builds muscle strength, endurance, flexibility and is a great cardiovascular workout. Emotionally it is a stress reliever, escape, com-bats boredom and builds confidence.”

She also said it was a great way for Families or co-workers to rely on commu-nication skills, trust, team-work and confidence.

As for the social aspect, “It’s a great way to meet new people, Patterson said, “and did I mention, it makes you cooler.”

For more information check out the October issues of DFMWR’s Bear Neces-sities, visit www.facebook.com/fwaodr for the opening date or call the Outdoor Rec-reation Office at 361-6349.

The indoor climbing wall currently under construction at the Outdoor Recreation building is expected to be completed in early October said Lara Patterson, Outdoor Recreation manager, Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation. “Our facility was built with hav-ing a climbing wall in mind and we just made it a reality,” she said. (Photo by Allen Shaw/Fort Wainwright PAO)

sgt. Michael Blalack,1-25th SBCT Public Affairs

In a military area of opera-tions where there are no clearly defined front lines and the com-batants don’t wear uniforms, any situation can turn physical in seconds. In instances where opposing forces use the civilian population as cover and conceal-ment, it’s the things that most people wouldn’t notice that could mean the difference be-tween controlling the situation and being caught in a deliberate and well-constructed ambush.

“A bad guy is a bad guy any-where in the world,” said Joe Robinson, senior instructor for an Advanced Situational Aware-ness mobile training team that taught the class at Fort Wain-wright Sept. 5 to 24. “Once you’ve stripped away all of the differenc-es in the environment and cul-ture, the things we almost can’t

help focusing on, we’ll be able to spot the abnormal behavior or anomalies in an environment that will alert us to a possible threat and give us the ability to control the situation, instead of reacting once it’s too late.”

In early 2012 the Army launched a pilot program aimed at turning the U.S. Soldier, al-ready proficient in kinetic war-fare, into a highly observant and actively perceptive battlefield evaluator capable of detecting the almost invisible clues that could make them aware of, and thus able to anticipate and re-spond to, planned enemy action before a bullet is fired or an ex-plosive device triggered.

The Army calls it Advanced Situational Awareness Train-ing, and Soldiers from the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division conduct-ed ASAT at Fort Wainwright’s Combined Arms Centralized

Training Facility.“The purpose of this train-

ing is to become situationally aware of everything going on,” said Chase Ford, an ASAT in-structor. “Humans are the same all over the world; they act the same in certain situations, and we’re teaching students how to analyze and process the human behavior they observe.”

The five-day course consists of three days of classroom instruc-tion followed by two days of in-the-field practice. Topics included human behavior pattern recogni-tion and analysis and spotting behavior anomalies in any situa-tion or environment.

“In the classroom we teach them about how humans think and how the brain interprets what the eye records and ulti-mately how to use this knowl-edge to increase awareness of any situational shifts in the en-vironment that could indicate a

possible threat,” said Ford. “Of-ten we will see something, but we don’t know what we’re look-ing at because we’ve never seen it before.”

One of the main points of classroom instruction is that people are the same anywhere in the world; it is only the culture that is different.

“What we’re doing is helping students understand the process the brain is going through and be able to verbalize things they may have just experienced as a feel-ing of unease or a gut reaction to something they observed but didn’t really understand.”

The instructors showed stu-dents in the class how to see past the differences to the similarities that can reveal the real picture.

“Having this training before I deployed would have helped out tremendously,” said Sgt. Joseph Celeste, a team leader in B Com-pany, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry

Regiment, 1-25 SBCT. “You’re more aware of the big picture, all the things that are really going on. Your view of a situation isn’t as one dimensional anymore and you’re able to better predict all of the possibilities in a combat scenario.”

The focus of this training session was to enable battal-ion intelligence and operations personnel to operate with a common understanding of chal-lenges 1-25 SBCT Soldiers may face while deployed. However, all Soldiers stand to benefit from the course in the future.

“This kind of information will help you anywhere, not only in combat,” said 1st Lt. Joshua Sandler, a platoon leader in B Company, 1-5th IN, 1-25 SBCT. “Heightening the awareness of Soldiers on the ground is going to benefit any type of operation, and I think we should all get this training.”

New indoor climbing wall atOutdoor Recreation building rocks

Striker brigade hosts Advanced Situational Awareness training

NeWS�

September 27, 2013ALASKA POST

Advanced water rescue training, safety for searchersBrian schlumbohm,Fort Wainwright PAO

An elite team of firefight-ers who are part of the Fort Wainwright water search and rescue team partici-pated in an emergency re-sponse diving technician course culminating in an open water dive on post Sept. 12. During the five-day training, life-threat-ening situations such as a search and rescue diver becoming entangled while performing a water search scenario, are enacted. Be-coming entangled, the search and rescue diver relays his distress through

tugging on a rope to an-other team member known as the ‘tender,’ monitoring from the shore. The ten-der activates a rescue ac-tion to send a third diver down the rope to the en-tangled diver. The rescue diver provides a rescue air tank, untangles the first diver and brings him back to shore safely. Fort Wain-wright Deputy Fire Chief Charles Gibbs said, “The training we learned in this class will change the way we perform recovery op-erations. Our capabilities have increased, which will provide a better service to our customers.”

Not a sit-down class - 10 members of the Fort Wainwright dive team participated in a five-day emergency diver certification course, concentrating on diver safety and advanced search techniques. This certification allows them to continue providing professional search and recovery diving services to the Army and surrounding civil-ian community. (Photo by Jeremy Jex/FMWR)

Instructor Scott Anderson from Dive Alaska Inc., provided training during the week-long class. Anderson, a former firefighter with the Anchorage Fire Department, initiated the start-up of a public safety dive team on Fort Wainwright in 2008. (Photo by Brian Schlumbohm/Fort Wainwright PAO)

Using the Melaven Pool for dive training, members of the Fort Wainwright dive team practice in clear water to per-fect rescue procedures before going to an outdoor envi-ronment where visibility is limited. (Photo by Brian Sch-lumbohm/Fort Wainwright PAO)

Maurice Fischer, Emergency Services director and dive team member, simulates being an entangled search and rescue diver as Scott Anderson, the course instructor, makes adjustments before the scenario begins. Blindfolds simulate a dark environment or muddy water and block any visible communication. The rescue diver must com-municate through touch. In the rescue simulation, Fischer will be given a new bottle of air, untangled from any ob-structions and escorted back to shore by another diver. (Photo by Jeremy Jex/FMWR)

A diver is given the signal to dive and begin searching. Hand signals and rope tugging helps in communications between on-shore ‘tenders’ and the diver during water search and rescue team training at Melaven Pool Sept. 12. (Photo by Brian Schlumbohm/Fort Wainwright PAO)

As training goes on, divers practice search and recovery on the pond floor. Tethered to an on shore ‘tender,’ a team member responsible for keep-ing track and communicating with the diver through tugs on the rope, div-ers simulate becoming tangled in an underwater obstacle. Two divers on standby are ready to come to their aid with an extra air tank and to help untangle the divers and bring them safely back to shore. (Photo by Brian Schlumbohm/Fort Wainwright PAO)

Along with rescue procedures, divers are also training in decontamination processes when suiting up and coming back from a dive. (Photo by Brian Schlumbohm/Fort Wainwright PAO)

Friday – 27thFaLL FaMe FItness sessIOns, Monday, Wednes-day and Friday, 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. and 10:45 to 11:45 a.m., Melaven Fitness Center, building 3452. Child care sessions begin 15 minutes prior to Fame Fitness times and are $35 per month, per child, per session. Pre-reg-istration begins the 20th of the month prior to the next month’s sessions. Call 353-7713 for more information.

saturday – 28thPreParedness eXPO, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Carlson Center, Fairbanks. Alaska is the land of extremes, the free expo can help you prepare for the worst. Details at AlaskaRedCross on Facebook.

taBLe tOP MOUntaIn hIke, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Out-door Recreation Center, building 4050. Cost $15. Call 361-6349.

annIe OakLeY shOOt, noon to 5 p.m., Fischer Skeet Range, building 1171. Call 353-7869.

YOUth sPOnsOrshIP Meet and Greet, 1 p.m., Youth Center, building 4109. Call 353-9377.

Monday – 30thrOMP and stOMP PLaYGrOUP, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., Last Frontier Community Activity Center, building 1044. No cost. Call 353-7372.

FaLL FaMe FItness sessIOns, Monday, Wednes-day and Friday, 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. and 10:45 to 11:45 a.m., Melaven Fitness Center, building 3452. Child care sessions begin 15 minutes prior to Fame Fitness times and are $35 per month, per child, per session. Pre-reg-istration begins the 20th of the month prior to the next month’s sessions. Call 353-7713 for more information.

tUrBO kICk, 5 to 6 p.m., Physical Fitness Center, building 3709. Call 353-7223.

tuesday – 1stdOMestIC VIOLenCe aWareness, Kick off of month long observance, Army Community Services, building 3401. Call 353-4227.

Veterans’ BeneFIts, 10 a.m., building 3414 Rhine-land Ave. Call 353-4335.

GrOUP CYCLInG CLass, 6:30 to 7:30 a.m.; 5 to 6 p.m., Physical Fitness Center, building 3709. Call 353-7223.

hOUr OF POWer GrOUP strenGth CLass, noon to 12:45 p.m., Physical Fitness Center, building 3709. Call 353-7223.

Wednesday – 2ndCOMMUnItY aCtIOn COUnCIL, 10 a.m., Last Fron-tier Community Activity Center ballroom, for active duty and civilian members of the community, hosted by Fort Wainwright Garrison Command. For more information call 353-6780.

FaLL FaMe FItness sessIOns, Monday, Wednes-day and Friday, 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. and 10:45 to 11:45 a.m., Melaven Fitness Center, building 3452. For child care information and reservations, call 353-7713.

LUnChtIMe head-PIn BOWLInG, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Nugget Lanes Bowling Center, building 3702. Call 353-2654.

GrOUP CYCLInG CLass, noon to 1 p.m., Physical Fitness Center, building 3709. Call 353-7223.

tUrBO kICk, 5 to 6 p.m., Physical Fitness Center, building 3709. Call 353-7223.

ZUMBa FItness CLass, 6:15 to 7:15 p.m., Physical Fitness Center, building 3709. Call 353-7223.

BOUnCY hUt nIGht, 5 to 7:30 p.m., Last Frontier Com-munity Activity Center, building 1044. Call 353-7755.

hUnGrY hOUr, 5 to 7 p.m., Nugget Lanes Bowling Center, building 3702. Call 353-2654.

karaOke WednesdaY, 7 to 10 p.m., Nugget Lanes Bowling Center, building 3702. Call 353-2654.

thursday – 3rdBaBY sIGns: sIGn, sInG, and PLaY CLasses, 9 to 9:30 a.m., Last Frontier Community Activity Center, building 1044. No cost. Call 353-7372.

rOMP and stOMP PLaYGrOUP, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., Last Frontier Community Activity Center, building 1044. No cost. Call 353-7372.

Veterans’ BeneFIts, 1 p.m., building 3414 Rhine-land Ave. Call 353-4335.

GrOUP CYCLInG CLass, 6:30 to 7:30 a.m.; 5 to 6 p.m., Physical Fitness Center, building 3709. Call 353-7223.

hOUr OF POWer GrOUP strenGth CLass, noon to 12:45 p.m., Physical Fitness Center, building 3709. Call 353-7223.

LUnChtIMe head-PIn BOWLInG, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Nug-get Lanes Bowling Center, building 3702. Call 353-2654.

stOrY tIMe and CraFt hOUr: Bat aPPreCIa-tIOn MOnth, 4 p.m., Post Library, building 3700. Call 353-2642.

PUMPkIn ManIa with edGe, 4:30 to 6 p.m., Youth Center, building 4109. Call 353-7713.ZUMBa FItness CLass, 6:15 to 7:15 p.m., Physical Fitness Center, building 3709. Call 353-7223.

Friday – 4thFaLL FaMe FItness sessIOns, Monday, Wednes-day and Friday, 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. and 10:45 to 11:45 a.m., Melaven Fitness Center, building 3452.

FaLL FaMe ChILd Care sessIOns, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 to 10:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. to noon; Melaven Fitness Center, building 3452. Cost is $35 per month, per child, per session. Pre-registration begins the 20th of the month for the next month’s ses-sions. Call 353-7713.

COmmUNITy CALeNDAr�September 27, 2013 ALASKA POST

40410609TRUE NORTH

FEDERAL CREDIT AK POST/AK

POST 1 x 2.0

18411943ESTHER BARBER

& STYLES FF AK POST/AK

POST 1 x 2.0

11414206FAIRBANKS ORTHODON-

TIC GROUP AK POST/AK POST

2 x 3.0

Late adAmerican Tire

AK POST3 x 5.25

ReligiousServices

Northern Lights Chapel, 3430 Luzon AvenueSundays

8 a.m. Early Catholic Mass10 a.m. Catholic Mass

11:30 a.m. Protestant Worship Service

Bassett ArmyCommunity Hospital

4076 Neely Road

Tuesday through FridayNoon

Roman Catholic Mass

Southern Lights ChapelClosed for renovation

For more information, call 353-9826.

ESTATE NOTICEAnyone having claims against or who is indebt-

ed to the estate of Staff Sgt. Anton Epshteyn, of C Company, 73rd Engineer Company, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, may contact Capt. Ken-neth D. Morrison, 1-25th SBCT, HHC, BTB, Fort Wainwright, Alaska 99703, phone 353-6135.

Holly Days Bazaar

A vendor sets up her display in the hours before a Holly Days Bazaar. Planning is currently underway for this year’s event. The bazaar, hosted by the Fort Wainwright Community Spouses Club will be open from 4 to 8 p.m. Oct 18 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 19 in the Physical Fitness Center. The bazaar features dozens of vendors selling a variety of handmade items, many of which are unique to Alaska. All proceeds are returned to the com-munity through welfare grants and scholarships. Admission is $3; children 11 and younger are free. There will be an opportunity to have a picture taken with Santa. (File photo by Trish Muntean/ Fort Wainwright PAO)

SOLDIERS AGAINST DRUNK DRIVING

353-6610Have a Plan,

Call Someone.

FOr yOUr INFOrmATION7

September 27, 2013ALASKA POST

11413352NORTHWIND BEHAVIOR-

AL HEALTH AK POST/AK POST

2 x 2.0

11414850MIDNIGHT SUN SUBWAY AK POST/AK POST-CATE

2 x 3.0

The installation Combined Federal Campaign is underway for the 2013 season and continues through Oct. 25. For more information, contact the instal-lation campaign coordinator and CFC key worker trainer, Cindy Blum, at 353-7633.

Fort Wainwright’s fire department issued a chal-lenge to all installation units and organizations: Cre-ate a 4-by-8-foot sign inspired by the 2013 Fire Pre-vention Month theme, “Prevent Kitchen Fires: Go to FPW.ORG and get cookin’ with safety.” Judging will consist of four categories: creativity, use of theme, use of unit and overall appearance. Deadline: Enter by placing signs in the designated area by Oct. 4. For complete rules, contact assistant fire chief, Darren Amos, 353-9164.

The staff would like existing and new customers to stop by the Thrift Store and give them some feed-back on the changes being made. Store hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday and Monday the store is closed. The store is located in building 1031 at the corner of 102nd and Chestnut in north post hous-ing. For more information call 356-1211.

Transitioning Soldier support is available through the Army Career and Alumni Program. Monday, Tran-sition Plan-Military Crosswalk, 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Monday, VA Benefits I Brief, 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday thru Thursday, Department of Labor Employment Workshop, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome during normal office hours to answer questions or sign up for future classes. Office hours are Mondays thru Wednesdays, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Fridays, 7:30 a.m. to 4: 30 p.m. Some ACAP sessions are mandatory for Soldiers. For more information or to reserve limited class space, call 353-2113 or 353-2099.

Changes to road conditions and reporting status are recorded on the post’s information line: 353-INFO. Smart phone users can also text the installation’s zip code to 888777 or sign up at www.nixle.com to receive text alerts of installation road conditions and changes to reporting status. For more information, call 353-6780 or visit us on Facebook at FortWainwrightPAO.

The Retiree Council will begin holding monthly meetings starting Thursday, from 6 to 8 p.m., at the Last Frontier Community Activity Center, building 1044. Open to all military retirees – Guard, Reserve and active duty - from all branches of service, the first meeting will discuss the agenda for the 2014 year. For more information call 353-2099.

Bassett Army Community Hospital will have a Family walk-in flu clinic starting Oct. 15. The clinic is available to beneficiaries and will be available from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Oct. 15 thru 19 and 21 thru 25. For more information call 361-5172.

All organizations and units planning to host a haunted house on post must be coordinate through the Directorate of Emergency Services Fire Preven-tion Branch for a fire and life safety inspection prior to the event. Call 353-9164 for information. All fund-raisers on Fort Wainwright require the approval of the garrison commander. Fundraisers need to be sub-mitted a minimum of three weeks before the planned event. For more information, email cynthia.a.blum.civ@mail.mil or call 353-7633.

During the Army Career and Alumni Program brief-ing, ACAP staff shares information about how to ap-ply for federal jobs with the Department of the Army and with other agencies, completing applications and how to use the U.S. Office of Personnel Management website to search for federal positions at www.usa-jobs.gov. For more information, call 353-2113.

Arctic Health Link offers monthly classes on diabe-tes, cholesterol, tobacco cessation and hypertension. For more information or to sign up for a class, call 361-4148.

The office of the Judge Advocate General is now accepting applications for the Army’s Funded Legal Education Program. Under this program, the Army projects sending up to 25 active duty commissioned officers to law school at government expense. Select-ed officers will attend law school beginning the fall of 2014 and will remain on active duty while attend-

ing law school. Submission of application is due by Nov. 1. For more information call (907) 384-0313 or 384-0420. Visit the Judge Advocate Recruiting office at https://www.jagcnet.army.mil/Sites/jaro.nsf/home-Content.xsp?open&documentId=8594D29C91B06ED385257B2D00513A2B.

Housing residents who no longer want home de-livery of the Alaska Post should e-mail the Public Af-fairs Office at pao.fwa@us.army.mil or call 353-6780. Share news tips or request submission guidelines by calling the editor, 353-6760.

Before heading out on the road, find out where driving delays may be occurring around Alaska at the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Fa-cilities’ Navigator website. http://www.alaskanaviga-tor.org/.

Soldiers Against Drunk Driving are here to help and provide a free ride home for those who are buzzed or inebriated and should not get behind the wheel of a vehicle. Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers are available with safe transportation from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. weekends. Make a plan before drinking and save this number in your phone: 353-6610.

Grass is still green and the course is still open from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., for more information call 353-6223.

The finance customer service desk will be open during lunch hours in September. Located in the Wel-come Center, building 3401, second floor, office hours are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Unless clearing post, Sol-diers should always go to their S-1 for assistance be-fore going to the finance office. For more information call 353-1307.

MilConnect is a website provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center that allows sponsors, spouses and their adult children to access information regard-ing their personal information, health-care eligibility, personnel records, and other information from a cen-tralized location. Update addresses, phone numbers on DEERS record by signing in, choosing “My Profile Information” and clicking “Update Address.” Scroll to the bottom and click “Submit” to add or update

any of your contact information at the DMDC site: https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/milconnect.

Family members of active and retired military can consult the Child and Family Assistance Center for assistance with youth and Family issues. Individual and group therapy is available. Referrals are not re-quired. For more information or an appointment, call 361-6284 or 361-6059.

Help for abused and neglected children is available locally and through a toll-free hotline. Call the 24-hour Child Help National Child Abuse Hotline at (800) 4A-CHILD or on post, call Army Community Service at 353-7317. If you suspect a child is being hurt or ne-glected, contact the local police. Tips and resources are available for parents, educators, caregivers and volunteers at www.myarmyonesource.com.

Recreational users can access Army training lands by obtaining a free recreational Access Permit. Ob-tain a RAP card online at http://usartrak.isportsman.net or at a self-service kiosk at the Fort Wainwright. Prior to using the land, recreational users may check-in online at iSportsman, through a self-service kiosk or call the automated USARTRAK phone system, toll free at (877) 250-9781, Fairbanks: 353-3181 and Delta Junction: (907) 873-3181.

Are you on the waiting list for post housing? If your phone number, email address or lease end date changes, contact North Haven Communities at 356-7000 (press 3, then 1) to update your status.

Questions and concerns about divorce can be an-swered Tuesdays at 9 a.m. These briefs are offered by the Legal Assistance Office located in building 1562 on the corner of Gaffney and Freeman Road. The di-vorce briefing is available to military members and spouses. For more information about legal services or to make an appointment, call 353-6534.

ChENA bEND GOLF COURSE

ARMY CAREER AND ALUMNI PROGRAM

ALASKA POST hOME DELIVERY

APPLY FOR FEDERAL jObS

RECREATE ON ARMY LANDS

FINANCE OPEN DURING LUNCh

RETIREE COUNCIL

ThE GIVING SEASON

UPDATES TO ROAD CONDITIONS

hAUNTED DEADLINE

ThINK IF YOU DRINK

LEGAL EDUCATION PROGRAM

ALASKA DRIVING DELAYS

DIVORCE bRIEFINGS

Welcome to winter

A Boy Scout builds a shelter in this file photo. The first Welcome to Winter orientation of the season, presented by Army Community Service and Installation Safety is slated for Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Last Frontier Community Activity Center, building 1044. This informative briefing for Soldiers, civilian employees and Fami-lies new to the community includes preparing your vehicle for winter, winter driving techniques, what to carry in your winter kit in the car, proper clothing and even caring for your pets in the cold. Limited winter survival supplies will be available at no cost. For more information call 353-4227. (File photo by U.S. Army Alaska)

FIRE PREVENTION CONTEST

STEALS AND DEALS

FLU SEASON

FOR YOUR hEALTh CLASSES

EASY PROFILE UPDATES

MILITARY ChILD, FAMILY ThERAPY

PREVENT AbUSE AND NEGLECT

hOUSING ALERT

ALASKA POST�September 27, 2013 ALASKA POST

21414980FAIRBANKS PUBLISHING AK POST/AP-2MONTHSFR

3 x 10.5Full / olor /

Memo: A shutdown would put severe hardships on workforceContinued from page 1

allen shaw,Fort Wainwright PAO

A tragic accident oc-curred less than two miles from the Badger gate Monday claim-ing the life of a woman loved by her family and friends. Although the ac-cident is under investiga-tion, preliminary reports said a vehicle traveling southbound lost control on a shaded, icy spot in the road, crossed into the northbound lane, hitting the vehicle head-on.

Operating a vehicle in Interior Alaska is a chal-lenge and is often under-stated. Once someone sits behind the wheel and turns the key a prudent driver should be ready for anything. Interior Alaska drivers experience road conditions at their worst. A mixture of snow and fluctuating temperatures, along with wind, affect the driving surface, trig-gering a melt-and-freeze making ruts, bumps and humps often causing the driver to lose his grip, sending him skidding out of control. “It requires time and a conscious ef-fort to adjust to the lack of traction and the new

driving style vital to cope with snow and ice,” said Robert Tanner, United States Army Garrison Fort Wainwright Safety Office.

Many vehicles already visited the ditch earlier this week. Just because you were issued a license or have a big nasty four-wheel drive truck doesn’t mean you know how to drive on ice. Unfortu-nately one of the things they don’t test for is com-mon sense.

When driving, don’t an-swer the phone. On post it will get you a ticket. It is most likely something that can wait until you can safely find a place to pull over and concentrate on one thing at a time, and by all means don’t text. You’re not fooling anyone and it is so obvi-ous when you’re doing it if you’re glancing at your lap when your eyes should be on the road. It is dangerous, people die, and you know it. So just don’t – ever. Pay attention to the vehicle you are operating. Quit glancing up and down at the stoplight because you will get in trouble. Put the darn thing down,

leave your phone alone; end of story.

Alaska has a unique law where you can be cited for driving too fast for conditions. No mat-ter what type of surface or situation, you are re-sponsible to move, steer and stop that vehicle in a safe manner. If you are unable to do these things, perhaps you shouldn’t drive in the winter.

“Driving in snow and ice requires an increase of three times the braking and following distances necessary for dry pave-ment,” Tanner said.

In addition, your ve-hicle should be in good operating order with working headlights, tail-lights, windshield wipers, proper tires and decent brakes. There should not be pieces of the body, trim or bumper flapping in the wind and everything should be attached to the undercarriage so you’re not clanking, dropping debris or spitting sparks as you travel down the road.

Always use extreme caution when coming to an intersection. These are some of the slickest spots on the road. The

intersection is where many skid to a stop and then spin out to get mov-ing again. Whenever oth-er drivers are involved, watch what you are do-ing, try to anticipate what everyone else is going to do and what you are go-ing to do if you encounter someone who isn’t a sen-sible driver like yourself. There are people who think when a light turns from green to yellow you are supposed to give it more gas, while others think it means slam on the brakes. These are the dweebs fish-tailing or sliding out of control through a red light. Do whatever you can to avoid these people. Watch for them every time you are out there and don’t give them an opportunity to ruin your day.

Learn to stay in your lane. If you can’t or don’t want to stay in your lane, signal, make sure other cars around you are well aware of what you plan to do, then execute the operation with caution. Merging into traffic is an-other one of these often misinterpreted actions. It is the responsibility of the vehicle who wants

to join the traffic flow to blend into the activ-ity that’s already taking place. It always requires a signal, but sometimes it’s necessary to increase or decrease your speed to merge. The herd does not have to make accommo-dations for you to join. If someone can safely make it easier for you then so be it. This is another ac-tion that requires your full attention, patience and good sense.

Another avoidable road hazard this time of year is often caused by some-one just being neighborly. Without the assistance of safety personnel, flares or warning lights, roadside assistance is another ac-cident waiting to happen and is frequently fueled by a lack of good judg-ment. It’s just like every-thing else written so far; just because you’ve got a big truck and a tow strap doesn’t mean you have a license to ignore the rules of the road and put others in danger while you drag your buddy’s truck out of the ditch. You don’t have the credentials to drive down the opposite side of the road and take up an extra lane of traffic while

you find something to hook to. You should only “be nice” when public safety is being protected.

There are awesome, highly trained individu-als who know how to do this and do it safely.

Historically, after the first snowfall there are way too many incidents and accidents, and as someone who has been hitting these roads for more than three decades I feel qualified enough to share an opinion on the subject.

For more information on safe winter driving call the garrison Safety Office at 353-7079 or visit www.facebook.com/FortWain-wrightSafety.

Winter driving requires proactive participation, not reactive contributions

the mission, keeping ev-eryone informed and on their toes.

The training scenar-ios, created to simulate real-world situations, were designed to test the Soldiers on their abil-ity to react under pres-sure and to put their battle drill rehearsals to the test, such as a simu-lated Nuclear Biological Chemical alarm activa-tions that sent everyone rushing to don their pro-tective masks.

“NBC hasn’t been a big thing around the military

(until recently),” said Sgt. Detrick Rogers, a military policeman with 472nd MP. “Chemical warfare is be-coming a big thing again in other countries.”

“We are getting guys used to donning their masks and just feeling comfortable wearing the masks,” said Rogers.

The overall scope of the company’s training event was to ensure its Soldiers are trained and ready to deploy.

The unit is scheduled to provide security for the Air Force on their upcoming deployment and though they do not know what to

expect as far as site set-up and available resources, Rogers said he felt his unit was up for the task.

Nearly 100 Soldiers are scheduled to deploy to Anderson Air Base, Guam for a three to six month deployment in support of Task Force Talon. Providing site se-curity one of the many military police functions will be their primary mis-sion while they are away.

“We will have to as-sess what is already set up there and improve it and make it better,” said Rogers. “But ultimately I think we are ready for it.”

The absence of funding would mean a number of government activities would cease. “While military per-sonnel would continue in a normal duty status, a large number of our civilian em-ployees would be temporarily

furloughed,”Carter said. “To prepare for this possibility, we are updating our contingency plans for executing an orderly shutdown of activities that would be affected by a lapse in appropriations.”

President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Chuck

Hagel understand the hard-ships such a shutdown could cause civilian employees, the deputy secretary wrote. “The administration strongly be-lieves that a lapse in funding should not occur and is work-ing with Congress to find a solution,” Pentagon Press Sec-

retary George Little told re-porters today. “The secretary has made it clear that budget uncertainty is not helpful for us in executing our budget effi-ciently, and a shutdown would be the worst type of uncer-tainty. A shutdown would put severe hardships on an already

stressed workforce, and is to-tally unnecessary.”

Carter vowed to provide more information as it becomes available. The Office of Person-nel Management’s website has more information, http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/furlough-guidance.

Soldiers from the 472nd Military Police Company, 793rd Military Police Battalion set up concertina wire to reinforce perimeter security near the entry control point of a mock secured site as part of a certification exercise held on Fort Wainwright in prepa-ration for an upcoming deployment. (U. S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Trish McMurphy, USARAK Public Affairs)

allen shaw

Training: Ready to deployContinued from page 1