NJ
Dept of Military and Veterans Affairs
BG
Glenn K. Rieth
The
Adjutant General
COL
Maria Falca-Dodson
Deputy
Adjutant General
COL
(Ret) Emil H. Philibosian
Deputy
Commissioner for Veterans Affairs
Contacting
us is easy!
Office
of the
Joint
Chief of Staff
Col
(Ret) Michael B. Smith
Mrs.
Laura A. Branham
Phone:
(609)
530-6987
Fax:
(609)
530-7109
Email:
branham@njdmava.state.nj.us
We're
on the Web!
www.state.nj.us/military
"Try
not to become a man of success, but rather to become
a man of value."
.Albert Einstein
Columbus Day
Monday, 13 Oct 2003
All state offices will be closed in observance of the holiday.
National Boss Day
16 October 2003
|
177th Fighter
Wing honored with the Air Force Outstanding Unit
Award.
The
177th Fighter Wing received the Air Force
Outstanding Unit Award (AFOUA) for exceptionally meritorious
service from January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2001. In
a ceremony held on October 5th, members
of the Wing watched in admiration as Senior Airman
Matthew McCune, a crew chief, unveiled the AFOUA emblem
on one of the Wing's aircraft. The Air Force Outstanding
Unit Award, established by the Department of Defense
in 1954, recognizes units that have distinguished themselves
by exceptionally meritorious service or outstanding
achievement that clearly sets the unit above and apart
from similar units. The 177th Fighter Wing
accomplished its mission with a high degree of war
readiness and combat capability. The Wing deployed
highly trained, combat ready personnel to support Aerospace
Expeditionary Force 9. The 177th Fighter
Wing was one of the first units to have its aircraft
generated with live missiles and ready to fight shortly
after the attacks on the World Trade Center. In addition
to these accomplishments, the unit and its members
have been recognized for its outstanding environmental
stewardship, recruiting efforts, and community support. "I'm
honored and extremely proud of the Wing for receiving
this award," said Colonel Michael Cosby, Commander,
177th Fighter Wing, seconds after the unveiling. "We
have great people, and this award is testimony to the
important role we play on the war on terrorism." Congressman
Frank LoBiondo, 2nd District NJ, said "The
efforts of the 177th Fighter Wing have been
essential to America's homeland defense and this award
honors those efforts. Congratulations to the men and
women of the 177th Fighter Wing on receiving
the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for their ongoing
homeland defense efforts as part of Operation Noble
Eagle."
Veterans
are honored with the Distinguished and Meritorious
Service Medals.
Brigadier
General Eugene Chojnacki presented New Jersey Distinguished
and Meritorious Service Medals to 177 veterans at a
ceremony held on 7 October 2003 at the Ocean City Music
Pier in Ocean City, New Jersey. Honored guests at
the ceremony included Assemblyman Nicholas Asselta
and Assemblyman Jeffrey VanDrew. Department employees,
Karen Hansen, Michele Johnson, TSgt Barbara Harbison,
and
Mr. John Valenta, Veterans Service Officer for Atlantic and Cape May
Counties, assisted Master of Ceremonies CW5 (Ret) Robert Wimberly with
the award ceremony.
Defense
Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) myPay customers
cautioned against "look alike" sites.
Two
million military and civilian users of myPay are being
cautioned to use only the official myPay site (https://mypay.dfas.mil) when seeking to
access pay account information. "Personal information
is valuable and should be safeguarded," said Claudia
L. Bogard, Director of Corporate Communications for
the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. "Don't
provide your personal information to any website unless
you know it can be trusted." Look-alike sites have
recently frustrated myPay customers who have been confused
by accidentally finding their way to a commercial site
that is in no way affiliated with DFAS or the Department
of Defense. DFAS' myPay is a secure, DFAS-operated
website that lets active duty, National Guard and Reserve
military members, civilian employees, and military
retirees and annuitants take charge of their pay accounts
online.
Distinguished,
Meritorious, and Vietnam Service Medal Presentation
Ceremonies are scheduled.
22
October
11
a.m.
|
Vietnam
Service Medal
|
National
Guard Armory
1060
Hamilton Avenue, Somerset, NJ
|
29
October
11
a.m. & 1 p.m.
|
Distinguished
Service Medal
Meritorious
Service Medal
|
National
Guard Armory
National
Guard Training Center
Sea
Girt, NJ
|
Congratulations
for Outstanding Support.
The
USPFO Purchasing & Contracting Office, along with
the Base Contracting Offices of the 108th Air
Refueling Wing and the 177th Fighter Wing,
successfully closed out Fiscal Year 2003 on 30 September
2003. All three contracting officers were able to
support their customers with a multitude of end-year
purchases. Procurements included information technology
equipment, commodities for use by NJ National Guard
soldiers and airmen, and construction projects at both
the 108th ARW and 177th FW.
NJ
Vietnam Veterans' Memorial and Vietnam Era Education
Center Announces its Calendar of Events.
For
more information about any of these events, please
call the NJ Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation office
at (732) 335-0033.
17
Oct
|
9
a.m.
|
Capturing
the Imagination - The Art, Music, Theater,
Poetry, and Prose of the Vietnam Veteran
|
11
Nov
|
11
a.m.
|
Veterans
Day Ceremony
|
13
Dec
|
6
p.m.
|
Holiday
Lighting Ceremony
|
Offering
Help and Hope Through Difficult Times.
Offering
help and hope through difficult times is not only the
Atlantic City Rescue Mission's goal, but also the 177th Fighter
Wing's Airmen's Council. The Airmen's Council collected
an array of clothing and much needed items for The
Mission during this year's donation drive. The Wing's
donations of used clothing, shoes, and household linens
in good condition were collected at designated sites
located throughout the base. At the end of the drive,
council members loaded their vehicles with the donations
and dropped them off at The Mission where the items
were sorted and distributed to the poor and homeless
in the greater Atlantic County region. Senior Airman
Anna Ayars, Airmen's Council Secretary, stated, "We
would like to thank all the Wing members and their
families for supporting this year's drive, our first,
it was a huge success. The Airmen's Council is proud
of this "Wing for rising yet again to serve the needs
of this area."
Notable
Notes from the HRO.
As
many of our full-time support personnel are reaching
retirement age, we thought you would like to hear the TOP
5 WORST MISTAKES when retiring.
1. Failing
to elect survivor benefits for a spouse who may have
their own income or retirement package. Just
because you die doesn't mean your expenses die with
you.
2. Heading
for warmer climate after picking up your first retirement
check. Make sure you do serious soul searching
prior to picking up and leaving.consider financial,
emotional, cultural, medical, and other realities
of leaving your home, family, and friends.
3. Failing
to consider a spouse's routine when retiring. After
25, 30, or more years, do they want you around an
additional 10 hours a day?
4. Failing
to realistically review life insurance needs at retirement. Monthly
premiums for FEGLI increase by nearly 50% at age
55 and again at age 60. Do you still need the same
coverage you have had, now that the mortgage is paid
off, and the children are independent?
5. Enrolling
in the High Option health plan. Look at the
Low or Standard plans.they may provide good benefits
at a substantially lower premium.change to a less
expensive plan at age 65.
We
will try to provide thought provoking information each
week to better support the full-time personnel. If
you have questions or concerns, call MAJ Mahon at 609-562-0853
and we will answer them.because it is a good bet other
people are thinking about the same thing.
Armory
Happenings - Check to see what's happening at an
Armory near you.
12
October
|
Sports
Card, Comics & Beanies
|
Bordentown
Armory
|
19
October
|
Toy
Show
|
Freehold
Armory
|
24 - 26
October
|
Craft
Show and Sale
|
Morristown
Armory
|
24
- 26 October
|
Tool
Show
|
Woodbridge
Armory
|
25
October
|
Fundraiser - Breast
Cancer 5K Race
|
NGTC,
Sea Girt
|
31
Oct - 2 Nov
|
Antique
Show & Sale
|
Morristown
Armory
|
2
November
|
NASCAR
Collectibles
|
Bordentown
Armory
|
7 - 9
November
|
Craft
Show
|
Westfield
Armory
|
21
November
|
Boxing
Match Benefit
|
Westfield
Armory
|
21-23
November
|
"Home
for the Holidays" Gift Fair
|
Morristown
Armory
|
30
November
|
Toy
Show
|
Freehold
Armory
|
12-14
December
|
Craft
Show and Sale
|
Morristown
Armory
|
26-28
December
|
Wrestling
Tournament
|
Teaneck
Armory
|
Today
is Friday, October 10th, the 269th day of
2003. There are 82 days left in the year.
◊ In
1845, the United States Naval Academy opened in Annapolis,
MD.
◊ In
1959, Pan American World Airways announced the beginning
of the first global airline service.
◊ In
1973, U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned after
being charged with federal income tax evasion.
◊ In
1977, Joe Namath played the last game of his National
Football League (NFL) career.
◊ In
1987, Tom McClean finished rowing across the Atlantic
Ocean. It set the record at 54 days and 18 hours.
◊ In
2001, President George W. Bush presented a list of
the 22 most wanted terrorists.
NJ
Advisory Committee for Women's Veterans schedules
luncheon.
A
Women Veterans luncheon sponsored by the NJ Advisory
Committee for Women Veterans will be held on 25 October
2003 at 11:30 a.m. at McAteers, Easton Avenue, Franklin
Township, NJ. The luncheon will honor the Minutewoman,
who was designed by Dorothy Dempsey, a veteran SPAR
(Coast Guard) from World War II. Ms. Dempsey will
also be the guest speaker. All women who have served
or are serving in the military and their guests are
invited to attend. Cost is $25 per person. Contact
COL (Ret) Kathleen Morrissey at 609-530-6967 or Anna
Hoffman at 908-534-4617 to make reservations. A silent
auction will be held at the conclusion of the luncheon.
CW5
Al Curving, Command Chief Warrant Officer, reports
that English is a crazy language.
There
is no egg in eggplant, no ham in hamburger; neither
apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't
invented in England, nor French fries in France. Sweetmeats
are candies, while sweetbreads, which aren't even sweet,
are meat.
We
take English for granted, but if we explore its paradoxes,
we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings
are square, and guinea pig is neither Guinea nor is
it a pig. And, why is it that writers write, but fingers
don't fig, grocers don't groce, and hammers don't ham? Why
doesn't Buick rhyme with quick?
If
the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural
of booth beeth? One goose, two geese; so one moose,
two meese? One index, two indices? If you have a
bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of
them, what do you call it? If a vegetarian eats vegetables,
what does a humanitarian eat?
Sometimes
I think all the English speakers should be committed
to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what other
language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship
by truck and send cargo by ship? Have notes that run
and that smell? How van a slim chance and a fat chance
be the same, but a wise man and a wise guy be opposites? Is
there a logical reason that we drive on the parkway
and park in the driveway?
You
have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in
which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which
you fill in a form by filling it out, and in which
an alarm goes off by going on. People not computers
invented English, and it reflects the creativity of
the human race, which of course, is no race at all.
Author(s)
are anonymous.
Interesting,
but useless facts:
Ř The
largest ball of twine in the United States weighs over
17,000 pounds.
Ř 1.3
billion pounds of peanuts are produced in Georgia every
year.
Ř Galapagos
turtles can take up to three weeks to digest a meal.
Ř The
average koala sleeps 22 hours each day.
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