HAVE YOU READ YOUR KA TODAY?
August 4, 2017
Volume 41, number 31
Operation Nighthawk educates, curbs drug abuse by Staff Sgt. Jonathan Bass 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs An Airman pulls up to the gate after a night out. The Airman shows an ID card expecting to be waved through. The Airman is greeted with something else, however — a white sheet of paper with the subject line “URINALYSIS INSPECTION ORDER.” This past weekend, Operation Nighthawk commenced on Ramstein and Vogelweh. “Operation Nighthawk is one aspect of deterrence measures available to a commander,” said Chief Master Sgt. Aaron Bennett, 86th Airlift Wing command chief. “It allows a wing commander to implement mass drug testing for military members in an effort to curb drug use and enforce existing policy regarding military members’ use of drugs.” While several states have either decriminalized or legalized some types of recreational drugs, federal See NIGHTHAWK, Page 2
Photo by Senior Airman Lane T. Plummer
Staff Sgt. Nigel Carl, 86th Security Forces Squadron raven patrolman, radios in with his communication headquarters during his night shift March 6 on Ramstein. As the largest career field in the Air Force, it’s the job of security forces to protect, defend and fight global enemy forces. They are responsible for missile security, defending air bases, law enforcement, combat arms and handling military working dogs.
• Never mow when the grass is wet • Always keep feet from beneath the mower • Never leave a mower unattended with the engine operating
with officials of those units to provide consultation. Master Sgt. John Gott, 86 AW XP superintendent, leads the office’s operations security program. Gott emphasized the importance of operational security and mentioned that it is a major aspect of XP’s mission. “If we didn’t practice (operations security), we would be basically giving our adversaries all the information they could piece together so they could know our mission,” Gott said. Gott explained an adversary does not need a whole document with complete information to find out about the
Coming to grips with domestic assault, Page 6
wing’s operations. In contrast, bits of information can come together like a puzzle to reveal a bigger picture, he said. Gott recently participated in a basewide dumpster dive, the objective of which was to assess OPSEC risks and look for improperly disposed information. “It’s the little stuff that you can take,” Gott said. “I could take a piece of this unit’s information, a little bit of information from another unit, piece it together and find out the wing’s See XP, Page 6
LIFESTYLES
Tip of the Week:
Lawn mower safety:
Photo by topseller / Shutterstock.com
Benjamin Franklin, one of the U.S. founding fathers, is often quoted as saying, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” This is why Airmen of the 86th Airlift Wing’s Plans and Programs office, or XP, strive to diligently carry out their duty of anticipating the future and managing the present. The 86 AW XP office serves as the nucleus for operations on Ramstein.
The office acts as a liaison between incoming missions and the agencies they need to meet. “It’s a unique organization,” said Robert Lala, 86 AW XP chief. “We’re really a team builder, integrator of information and problem solver. That’s the primary focus of our group. If it’s cross functional, if you need airfield support, if you need fuel, security, logistics, if there’s a mission or airplane coming here, we deal with it first and get it bedded down.” Lala and his Airmen not only serve units within the 86 AW; they also serve tenant wings on Ramstein, meeting
FEATURE
Story and photo by Airman 1st Class Joshua Magbanua 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
FEATURE
86 AW/XP builds teams, solves problems
Run all night: 11th annual KMC Viking Challenge, Page 7
Sankt Wendel lures magicians, Page 15