Then, the member can go to the site and download their DA Form 31 (leave form) and use it. The approved leave charges to their pay automatically. The system also includes an easy to use supervisor leave module, where a supervisor can en-ter and track leave changes and departure/arrival times and dates. This is a true marvel for our service, and it is one step closer to digi-tally integrating all of our personnel management. Beginning in July 2012, all Army leave MUST BE MAN-AGED THROUGH FTSMCS. Take note of it.

FTSMCS Leave Log User's Guide.pdf

FTSMCS State Getting Started Guide for Users and Admins.pdf

CHANGE IS THE KEY: DTS and LEAVE Policy Changes that will save money and time. The latest policy changes should cut costs in the De-fense Travel System for the Georgia National Guard, and could save money, while managing government leave more effectively. A recent Georgia Army Na-tional Guard Defense Travel System (DTS) Whitepaper defined a huge problem of default charges and mis-charges when a DTS authori-zation for military travel is not approved by the unit within 72-hours of the actu-ally travel. This can occur when the member fails to notify the unit of the travel in time, the member is in-formed of the travel within the 72-hour timeframe and makes the reservation using DTS (and Carlson Wagonlit Travel), the member may arrive at the airport with an AFCOS (Automated Funds Control Order System) order and no DTS Authorization causing the emergency fund-ing number to charge the ticket (eventually) twice, or, last, the member has a mis-managed profile in DTS (their information is incor-

rect) causing charges to the wrong accounts and account error fees. The Whitepaper gives clear guidance on the fixes and is attached below:

The other change is inherent in the way the Army, DA Ci-vilians, and eventually all services manages leave. Prior to this change, leave was difficult to track, leave forms were ambiguous and often inaccurate, and leave was either over-or-under charged more often than most would expect. Now there is a new system for leave management called FTSMCS (Full Time Support Management Control Sys-tem), which is a unified, online leave tracking sys-tem. It works like DTS and evaluations to a very great degree. The member cre-ates a leave event in the sys-tem and submits it. The su-pervisor digitally signed the leave. The member gets an email notifying him/her about the approved leave.

WHITE PAPER.pdf

JOINT STAFF, GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

August 3, 2012 Volume 3, Issue 8

A Newsletter

Production of the J-9 Joint and Family Services

Directorate Special points of in-

terest:

CHANGE IS THE KEY

DISABLED IN

DEERS?

CPR to save a life!

ONLY A HEART-

BEAT AWAY

EDITORIAL

FOUNDING FA-

THERS SERIES

Inside this issue:

CHANGE IS THE KEY: DTS and LEAVE Policy Changes that will save money and time.

1

From S1Net: DISABLED IN DEERS?

2

CPR to save a life!

2

ARTICLE: ONLY A

HEARTBEAT

AWAY

2

EDITORIAL:

...BRINGING IT

HOME

3-4

Founding Fathers:

Thomas Paine

3

- CW2 Barry Long

TAKE A CPR COURSE!

First, find out which Cardio

-Pulmonary Resuscitation

Course your organization

accepts, then contact either:

1. American Red Cross:

http://www.redcross.org/

or;

2. American Heart Associa-

tion: http://www.heart.org/

HEARTORG/

Pressure, fullness, or a

squeezing pain in the center of

the chest, which may spread to

the neck, shoulder, or jaw

Sweating

Shortness of breath

Lightheadedness

Nausea

Recent studies have shown that

women may not experience all of

the classic symptoms. Instead of

chest pain, women may complain

of shortness of breath, weakness,

and extreme fatigue, along with

discomfort in their lower chest

which many mistakenly attribute

to a stomach ailment. Both

women and men tend to deny

that there is a major problem. A

friend’s husband was not feeling

well and told her he was going to

rest for an hour. Sometime dur-

ing that hour his heart stopped.

The most important thing you

can do during a heart-related

emergency is to act immediately.

For each minute that CPR is de-

layed, the chance of survival is

reduced by 10%. Doctors credit

This week I sat down with 10

teenage boys to help them learn

to save a life. To complete one

of the merit badges from summer

camp, the young men of Boy

Scout Troop 973 got on their

hands and knees with bright blue

mannequins to practice CPR.

When I asked them when you

should stop CPR one replied, “You just don’t stop. You do

what you have to do.”

There is an extraordinary story

from last year of nearly two

dozen people in a small Minne-

sota town who did just that.

They dropped everything and

took turns performing CPR for

96 minutes to save the life of one

man that they barely knew. The

man was released from the hospi-

tal after only a 10 day stay!

Sudden cardiac arrest happens to

roughly 1,000 people each day.

Unfortunately, we hear of high

school athletes every year who

are lost due to undiagnosed heart

abnormalities. Do you know the

signs and symptoms of a heart

attack and what to do about it?

Symptoms may include:

the survival of the Minnesota man

to witnesses seeing him collapse

and beginning CPR right away.

Immediately call 911, and

have someone retrieve an AED if

there is one nearby.

Loosen constrictive clothing Begin CPR, and - like the Boy

Scout said - just don’t stop.

If you are not trained in CPR,

what are you waiting for? You

may wonder about the newer

“Hands-Only” technique. Many

people were hesitant to perform

CPR in the past due to fear of the

mouth-to-mouth component.

Hard, fast compressions still cir-

culate blood to the brain and buy

precious time for advanced medi-

cal care to arrive. If you do noth-

ing, a life is lost.

http://abcnews.go.com/

Health/96-minute-cpr-

marathon-saves-

minnesota-mans-life/

story?

id=13048099#.UBv825GC

nCY

CPR to save a life!

If we maintain our faith

in God, love of freedom,

and superior global air

power, the future of the

US looks good. ~ General Curtis Lemay

I feel about the airplane

much as I do in regard to

fire. That is, I regret all

the terrible damage caused

by fire. But I think it is

good for the human race

that someone discovered

how to start fires, and

that it is possible to put

fire to thousands of

important uses. ~ Orville Wright

Page 2

DISABLED IN DEERS? 100% DISABLED VETERAN (DAV) STATUS (DEERS). The military services re-ported inconsistency regard-ing the Department of Veter-ans Affairs' letters that are used by DoD to determine eligibility for 100% Disabled Veteran (DAV) status, spe-cifically when a veteran is rated less than 100% disabled but is determined to be un-employable. As a result, we have received clarifying guid-ance from DHRA: All Veter-ans that are determined to be unemployable by the VA shall be enrolled as 100% DAV even if the letter shows a lower disability rating. Visit the following link for more information. https://forums.army.mil/communitybrowser.aspx?id=1795538&lang=en-US ***MUST BE A MEMBER OF S1 NET and USE CAC***

By CW2 Jennifer Long, A Co CO, 4/1 GSDF

Americans tend to struggle with our place in the world and our definition s of suc-cess. We are ever concerned with being “the Best,” while we rarely define clearly just what “the Best” means. “Success,” “Achievement,” “Number One,” “losing,” “failure,” and “defeat,” to name a few terms, have very subjec-tive meanings. We tend to view our lives in terms of our heroes. How do we win? What should our definition of success be? How should we define our-selves? The definitions we seek are as difficult to ob-tain as it would be for most of us to win an Olympic Medal. So called successful people will often define success as having money, cars, land, houses, and many things that are usually just beyond their grasp. Depression over-whelms Americans who define their successes based on the achievements of so-called “great people”. Many businessmen face defeat at the hands of their hopes and dreams for great financial success. Sports stars achieve a dream, only to find that success was not in the medal after all. That eternal drive to be something better is not new, nor is it something we should ever quench in our society. A worthy point of contention, though, is how we meas-ure the success (the “BIG WIN”) and what it means to us.

So many people argue that success is something “kept from them”, “just out of (their) reach,” or “unachievable.” Others feel it is “having style,” “being rich (with money),” or having power. Think for a minute. Ask yourself: 1. What are my goals? Are they reason-able? Can I achieve them? Are there limiting factors (i.e. is someone or something REALLY holding me back), or is that my perception only” 2. What is the true value (to everyone else) of my definition of success? Do clothes, jewelry, fine cars, etc create a true measure of success, or does that really matter in the longer view, the scheme of things? 3. When I get there, am I truly there? Once I win, now what? Did I succeed, truly, or is there another hurdle further along? 4. What did I get out of all of this? “Success is not in the end result, but success is in the journey.” My grandparents made this state-ment often throughout my childhood. Several Olympic champions made this statement (or something similar) during the 2012 Olympic Games in London. It is a statement of principle, rather than result, and it changes the entire game

-plan, when dealing with life. Many people won’t agree with that statement, but if you don’t, consider this statement: “At their death bed, nobody wishes they made more money, had more business meetings, or bought better clothes, but almost everyone wishes they spent more time with family, had more time to for-give others, or could fix the damage they’ve done in life.” In previous editorials this writer questioned our values, and how we use/teach/manage them. The article before this one addressed leadership and historical perspective. This article, hopefully, brings the series to a close. In a nutshell, what are success, achievement, winning, failing, losing, and failure? When is a person, or organization “Number One?” All of these terms seem to imply an end result, such as a medal won at the end of a race. While watching the 2012 London Olympic Games, a thought occurred to the writer of this article… It is not the end result, but the journey. It is not the win, but the fight.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 ...

young Paine began apprenticing for his father, but again, he failed. So, now age 19, Paine went to sea. This adventure didn't last too long, and by 1768 he found himself as an excise (tax) officer in England. Thomas didn't exactly excel at the role, getting discharged from his post twice in four years, but as an inkling of what was to come, he published The Case of the Officers of Excise (1772), arguing for a pay raise for officers. In 1774, by happenstance, he met Benjamin Franklin in London, who helped him emigrate to Philadelphia.

His career turned to journalism while in Philadelphia, and

suddenly, Thomas Paine became very important. In 1776, he published Common Sense, a strong defense of American Inde-pendence from England. He traveled with the Continental Army and wasn't a success as a soldier, but he produced The Ameri-can Crisis (1776-83), which helped inspire the Army. This pam-phlet was so popular that as a percentage of the population, it was read by or read to more people than today watch the Super Bowl.

But, instead of continuing to help the Revolutionary cause,

he returned to Europe and pursued other ventures, including working on a smokeless candle and an iron bridge. In 1791-92, he wrote The Rights of Man in response to criticism of the French Revolution. This work caused Paine to be labeled an outlaw in England for his anti-monarchist views. He would have been arrested, but he fled for France to join the National Convention.

By 1793, he was imprisoned in France for not endorsing the

execution of Louis XVI. During his imprisonment, he wrote and

"These are the times that try men's souls." This simple quotation from Founding Father Thomas Paine's The American Crisis not only describes the beginnings of the American Revo-lution, but also the life of Paine himself. Throughout most of his life, his writings inspired passion, but also brought him great criticism. He communicated the ideas of the Revolution to common farmers as easily as to intellectuals, creating prose that stirred the hearts of the fledgling United States. He had a grand vision for society: he was staunchly anti-slavery, and he was one of the first to advocate a world peace organization and social security for the poor and elderly. But his radical views on religion would destroy his success, and by the end of his life, only a handful of people attended his funeral.

Brief Biography On January 29, 1737, Thomas Paine was born in Thetford,

England. His father, a corseter, had grand visions for his son, but by the age of 12, Thomas had failed out of school. The

distributed the first part of what was to become his most fa-mous work at the time, the anti-church text, The Age of Rea-son (1794-96). He was freed in 1794 (narrowly escaping execution) thanks to the efforts of James Monroe, then U.S. Minister to France. Paine remained in France until 1802 when he returned to America on an invitation from Thomas Jeffer-son. Paine discovered that his contributions to the American Revolution had been all but eradicated due to his religious views. Derided by the public and abandoned by his friends, he died on June 8, 1809 at the age of 72 in New York City.

- An Editorial by

CW2 Barry D. Long

Page 3 Volume 3, Issue 8

Born: January 29,

1737, Thetford Died: June 8, 1809,

New York City Spouse: Mary Lam-

bert (m. 1759) Education: Thetford

Grammar School Parents: Joseph Pain,

Frances Pain

"Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and

preserve order in the world as well as property... Horrid mischief

would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them." -

Thomas Paine, Thoughts on Defensive War, 1775

"Such is the irresistible nature of truth that all it asks, and all it

wants, is the liberty of appearing." - Thomas Paine, Common

Sense, January 10, 1776

"As parents, we can have no joy, knowing that this government is

not sufficiently lasting to ensure any thing which we may bequeath to

posterity: And by a plain method of argument, as we are running the

next generation into debt, we ought to do the work of it, otherwise

we use them meanly and pitifully. In order to discover the line of our

duty rightly, we should take our children in our hand, and fix our

station a few years farther into life; that eminence will present a

prospect, which a few present fears and prejudices conceal from our

sight." - Thomas Paine, Common Sense, January 10, 1776

NATIONAL GUARD BUREAU Family Programs (NGB-FP) Mission: To establish and facilitate

ongoing communication, involvement,

support, and recognition between Na-tional Guard families and the National

Guard in a partnership that promotes

the best in both.

Family Programs Web Sites

GuardFamily.org - The National Guard

Family Program

GuardFamilyYouth.org - The National

Guard Family Youth Program

Newsletters

Air National Guard Family Guide [PDF]

Contact Information

Phone: (888)777-7731 Fax: 703-607-0762

Email: ngb.J1.fp@ng.army.mil

away, or the weight becomes a little too heavy. Think carefully. The next time you think of second place as first loser, consider what you lost to cause that thought. Did you miss the point of the run? Was your travel too easy, when another person took every hurdle to get last place? In Olympic terms: Is number 8 in the final 200m Backstroke race in last place? No, they are 8th in the world! Can you do that? Can you beat every backstroke competitor in the world to get to 8th place? Would you be so disappointed with 8th in 7 billion people in the world? What about 8th in 35 of the top competitors in the entire world? Is that a failure to you? Was the win more important than the skills, abilities, and values tested in the journey to get there? You can only define this ambiguous concept of achievement or success to

The medal winner, leaving the Olympics, has fleeting fame. The hero of five Olympics has storied success, but eventually fades into the realm of statistics. The runner, crossing the finish line first, is for one second the fastest in the world. But the journey gets them there, defines their character, and teaches them the lessons that make the medal more than a shiny disk on a neck strap. For each person, success is differ-ent. Consider that winning and losing are simply the results of the trip, but it is the trip that generates perspective. The work that you do, the values you uphold, the efforts you put into your journey and the distance you travel make the jour-ney all that more valuable, and the win so much sweeter. The efforts given and the values learned in the journey cushion the failure when the distance becomes just too far

yourself and (should you believe in one) your creator, but consider the journey most of all. You will find that in the journey to get there, you found the strength to carry you to the next journey, and lift you far above the win or loss. Bring home the lessons from the effort, travel and trials, and one day; realize yourself that the result is in the quality of work, not just the final product. Bring home the values, lessons, and benefits from the road…

Serving the Georgia DoD, The U.S. Military, and our Veterans, One Family at a Time.

We are on the web:

www.georgiaguardfamilyprogram.org

J-9 JOINT AND

FAMILY SERVICES

DIRECTORATE

Georgia Department of Defense

1388 First Street, Bldg 840 (Finch Bldg)

1000 Halsey Avenue, Bldg 447,

Mailroom

Marietta, GA 30060

Point of Contact:

CW2 Barry D. Long

Human Resources/Systems/ATSO/

Safety Officer

barry.long@us.army.mil

“Military Personnel, Families, and Veterans First!”

Our directorate services the military community of Georgia, providing those

services, support and information that are vital to their care. Our staff is com-

mitted to providing the best care, in a timely manner, and followed-thru to a

successful conclusion so that Military Personnel, their families, and Veterans in

Georgia will have the resources, help, and information they need to thrive.

The J-9 Joint and Family Services Directorate and The Georgia Guard Family

Program:

EDITORIAL—

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3.

Two roads diverged in a

wood and I - I took the one

less traveled by, and that has

made all the difference. —Robert Frost, “The Road

Not Taken.”