BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. –
News Briefs is a list of unit events and information for 940th Air Refueling Wing personnel.
Medical Clinic hours
The medical clinic will be open from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, June 7. The clinic will be closed Sunday, June 8 for training. Services include physical and occupational examinations and the Immunization Clinic.
940th ARW Command Chief applications
The 940th Air Refueling Wing Command Chief Master Sgt Anthony Armstrong is retiring this fall. The 940th Air Refueling Wing Commander is accepting applications for the wing Command Chief Master Sergeant (CCM) position. The position is located at 940th ARW, Beale AFB, CA; AFSC: 9E000; Auth Grade: CMSgt. This is a traditional reserve (TR) assignment. Applicants must be in the grade of CMSgt or SMSgt immediately eligible to attend Chief Orientation Course or Chief Leadership Course (required prior to promotion to CMSgt). The suspense for applications is July 13. For more information, please contact Lt. Col. Uptegraff at DSN: 368-0940 or commercial 530-634-0940.
Wing picnic
The Wing Family Day Picnic is Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008 from noon to 4:30 p.m. in the grassy area near Bldg 1086. Wing members are welcome to bring their families. Festivities include food and drinks, music, games, children activities, and a silent auction on "Themed Baskets" and quality "White Elephant" items. The squadron with the highest earning basket will receive an early release from a unit training assembly day with wing commander approval. Proceeds from the auction go to the Wing Top Three. For more information, call Master Sgt Eva Beckner, 530-634-1813; or Master Sgt. Ellen Hatfield, 530-634-1818.
Worship service
A non-denominational worship services is scheduled for Sunday, June 8, at the Valley Chapel, Beale Air Force Base, Calif. The 30 minute service begins at 7 a.m. For more information or questions, please contact the 940th ARW Chaplain's office at 530-634-1813/1814.
Recruit the recruiter
Recruiters with the Air Force Reserve Western Recruiting Squadron assigned here with the 940th ARW, will be visiting units during the June drill weekend to recruit new Air Force Reserve recruiters. Reservists in the grades of E-4 to E-7 are eligible. For more information, contact Senior Master Sgt. Christina Emmett, assistant Senior Recruiter, at 530-634-1809.
Enlisted PME courses change
Beginning June 1, 2008, senior noncommissioned officer distance learning Courses 12 and 14 were changed. The enrollment period changed from 12 months to open-ended, with a maximum time of 72 months. Also, there is no longer a need for an extension, and the penalties of six months for failure and 12 months for non-progression have been removed. This does not affect any other professional military education courses at this time. 940th ARW Reservists currently under the non-progression or failure penalty should contact CMSgt. Kathy Primrose, 634-1846, Master Sgt. Bob Prillwitz, 634-1843, or Ms. Susan Piaskowski, 634.1845 to enroll or for more information. Students needing to reenroll must start from the beginning of the course, as partial course credit is not granted.
vPC-GR e-mail notifications launched
Air Reserve Component Airmen (including ANG members) began receiving e-mail notices May 30 when pending vPC-GR transactions have been assigned to them for their coordination or approval. The daily e-mail informs them of the type and number of actions required. Airmen should check their profile on the vPC-GR Dashboard and ensure their e-mail addresses and notification preference settings are correct.
Healthcare insurance available
The majority of Reserve members may now be eligible to purchase health care coverage under the restructured TRICARE Reserve Select program. Qualification is determined by members' DEERS status. For more information about TRS visit,
www.tricare.mil/reserve/reserveselect.
Cell phone use while driving
All vehicle drivers must use a "hands-free" device to talk on a cell phone while driving off and on Beale Air Force Base. The state of California will begin requiring hands-free cell phone devices beginning July 1, 2008. For more information regarding the base law, please contact the 940th Judge Advocate at 634-1824. For more information regarding the state law, please see the department of motor vehicles website at
www.dmv.ca.gov/.
Gold Sox free admission for military
Military members and their families receive free admission to Friday and Saturday night Marysville Gold Sox games. Members show their military ID at the All Seasons RV Stadium on Ellis Lake in Marysville. For more information, or game schedules, visit the Gold Sox Web site at
www.goldsox.com.
Early receipt of RESERVE retired pay announced
Effective Jan. 29, 2008, a new law approved early receipt of Reserve retired pay for some members of the Ready Reserve who perform specific types of service. This law is not retroactive to any periods of service before that date. The statute allows credit for specific kinds of tours. To help identify qualifying tours, order publishing authorities should ensure proper statutory authorities are included on orders and encourage Airmen to maintain copies. However, if Airmen performed 90 days of active duty service since January of this year, and are approaching age 60, they should contact ARPC to determine if their tour qualifies them for an early retired pay effective date.
Support expanded two weekends
The Air Force Reserve Personnel Center, Contact Center will provide service two weekends per month in addition to regular weekly hours. Regular service is 6 a.m to 6 p.m. MT, Monday - Friday. Expanded hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. MT, first and third Saturday of each month; and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. MT, first and third Sunday of each month. Counselors will assist customers with personnel issue and can be reached by calling 1-800-525-0102 (preferred) or DSN 926-6528. Or visit the vPC-GR at
http://arpc.afrc.af.mil.
SGLI premiums decrease
Effective July 1, 2008, the SGLI premium rate will be decreased from the current level of 7 cents per month per $1,000 of coverage to 6.5 cents per month per $1,000 of coverage. This will decrease the premium rate for a service member with the maximum coverage of $400,000 from $29 to $27 a month. The premium includes an additional
$1 per month for Traumatic Injury Protection coverage (TSGLI), which is mandatory and added automatically. For information visit the ARPC Web site,
http://www.arpc.afrc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=8313#C.
California Army National Guard positions
The California Army National Guard has positions available in Northern California as well as Guard bonuses, flying positions, the Warrant Officer program and Commissioned Officer positions. For more information, please call Sgt William Jones, 530-237-6183.
Time for employment review
All Airmen in the Ready Reserve, whether the Air National Guard or the Air Force Reserve, are legally required to update a civilian employment information review (CEI) annually. Airmen failing to do so could face administrative action or a charge of dereliction of duty. Accessing the self-service application at
https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/Guard-ReservePortal only takes a few minutes.
Portland Reserve wing reunion
The 304th Rescue Squadron/939th Rescue Wing and 939th Air Refueling Wing 50th Year Reunion is June 20-22, 2008. All past and present wing members are invited. For more information, visit the reunion website at
www.rescuereunion.org.
Annual Tuskegee Airmen Convention
The 37th Annual Tuskegee Airmen Convention is scheduled to be held at the Downtown Marriott Hotel in Philadelphia, Penn., from July 17 - 20, 2008. More than 1,000 military and Department of Defense civilians are expected to attend, in addition to surviving Tuskegee Airmen. The convention provides opportunities for training, mentoring, community outreach and networking. Participation by all organizations within the Total Force is encouraged, especially amongst junior enlisted, officers and civilians. For more information please visit:
http://www.tuskegeeairmen.org/.
California aerospace museum free admission
The Aerospace Museum of California located at Sacramento's former McClellan Air Force Base, Calif. is open Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p. m., and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p. m. Military members with ID and their families are free! Tickets currently cost: Adults $8, seniors 60+ $6, youth ages 13-18 $6, children ages 6-12 $5, children 5 and under free. Museum members are free with a membership card. Visit the museum website for more information:
http://aerospacemuseumofcalifornia.org/home.html.
Tricare Reserve select available
TRS offers coverage comparable to Tricare Standard and Extra and features open enrollment, increased availability to survivors, and no activation requirements. Tiers, service agreements and differing premium levels are no longer elements of the program. The only restriction is that Selected Reserve members eligible for the Federal Health Employee Benefits program, or currently covered under FEHB, may not participate in TRS. Monthly premiums are $81 for servicemembers and $253 for member-and-family coverage. Reserve members can find out more about TRS and download the information through "My Benefits" portal at
http://www.tricare.mil. Additional information is available on the "Entitlements" Web page at
http://www.arpc.afrc.af.mil/entitlements/.