Kaiserslautern American
May 24, 2019
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Airlifter of the Week drives innovative idea Story and photo by Airman 1st Class Jennifer Gonzales 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs Senior Airman Josh Pedigo, 86th Vehicle Readiness Squadron vehicle operator, received the honor of being Ramstein’s Airlifter of the Week, May 16. After 86th VRS transitioned to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators standards there were increased training requirements for certification on commercial driver’s license class vehicles. Pedigo designed
and produced training aids which allowed Airmen to be trained and certified more efficiently, and they have since been implemented in the six primary squadrons impacted by the transition. Additionally, Pedigo was directly responsible for 300 hours of on-the-job training for assigned 86th VRS ground transportation Airmen which resulted in the completion of 400 core tasks and the certification of 17 Airmen on three vehicle types. Brig. Gen. Mark R. August, 86th Airlift Wing command-
er, said Pedigo’s work at the level of a Lt. Col to Col., and to have it adopted by six other squadrons was impressive. “That’s not senior airmanlevel work that you’re able to do and get it adopted by everybody else,” August said to
Pedigo. “I don’t think you have any idea how big it is what you did, and for you to say ‘hey, here’s a problem, here’s a solution, here’s some training aids. I can still get my guys certified with all these CDL requirements and get to the standard’
is more than impressive. It’s unprecedented.” The Airlifter of the Week program recognizes Ramstein Airmen who, through hard work and dedication, make the 86th Airlift Wing the World’s Best Wing.
Service secretaries tackle employment challenges for overseas spouses by Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs All three military service secretaries signed a memorandum today to jointly explore how military spouses can find employment and sustain careers at overseas bases. “Military service is a team sport that begins with the family,” said Secretary of the Army Mark Esper. “Helping our spouses pursue their careers while they support their service members is not only the right thing to do, it improves the readiness of the force and our retention of top talent.” The joint memorandum directs each service assistant secretary for manpower and reserve affairs to support a tri-service team that seeks to understand the barriers to military spouse employment overseas. The team is expected to make recommendations to policies, programs and laws that would make employment for spouses overseas easier. The tri-service team is expected to provide an update of their work to service secretaries by September 2019, with a final report and recommendations by December 2019. “We must be mindful that while we recruit indi-
viduals, we retain families,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “Our military spouses support us without hesitation and it is only right to support them. That is why we are committed to removing barriers and helping our military spouses find employment overseas.” The effort is part of a broader initiative to holistically address readiness challenges, including retention. Additionally, each service has released memorandums directing officials to implement re-licensure cost reimbursement for spouses based on authorities provided in the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act. The policy offsets the cost, up to 500 dollars, of professional re-licensure incurred by military families as a result of qualified military assignments that move the family across state lines. “We’ve made an impact on reciprocity for licensure for family members stateside,” said Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson. “When I was visiting Aviano recently, the issue of spouse employment overseas came up and things we might be able to do to make it easier. I’m glad we are doing this together.”
U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Josh Pedigo, 86th Vehicle Readiness Squadron vehicle operator, speaks with Brig. Gen. Mark R. August, 86th Airlift Wing commander, on Ramstein Air Base, May 17. Pedigo received the honor of being Ramstein’s Airlifter of the Week for creating training aids that allowed Airmen to be trained more efficiently and effectively in order to meet the new standard of certification for commercial driver’s license equivalent vehicles.
AMERICAN LOGISTICS ASSOCIATION
22 ND ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT 4 PERSON BEST BALL SCRAMBLE, SHOTGUN START
FRIDAY, 28 JUNE 2019, TEE TIME 08:00 AT WOODLAWN GOLF COURSE, RAMSTEIN AIR BASE
AWARDS & PRIZES: • 1st Place Team (trophies & gift certificates) • 2nd Place Team (trophies & gift certificates) • 3rd Place Team (trophies & gift certificates) • Surprises for all at the Raffle and the BEST Prizes! OTHER ACTIVITIES: • Closest to Pin competition for men and women • Longest Drive competition for men and women • Raffle for MEGA prizes • Refreshment cart on the golf course ENTRY FEES: (Note: Woodlawn Club Members have reduced fees) $75.00 ALA Members $85.00 Non-ALA Members $65.00 DeCA, AAFES, NEXCOM, MW $55.00 Military E-4 & Below
ALL PROCEEDS GO TO THE American Logistics Association (ALA) Charity Fund TO HELP NEEDY FAMILIES IN THE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES IN EUROPE.
Golfers and non-golfers are welcome and invited. This is not a professional golf tournament but a fun way for friends and colleagues to get together to raise money for the American Logistics Association (ALA) Charity golf tourney to help benefit our community.
EUROPEAN CHAPTER
The ALA Charity Fund was established twenty one years ago to help and assist DeCA, AAFES, MWR, SVS and fellow constituents within Europe and industry members in time of need or family crisis. The ALA European Chapter is proud to continue this annual tradition in our non-profit event. VIP Guests: DeCA, AAFES, MWR, AFN & Stars & Stripes, Command and partners & friends are invited. Following golf and included in the registration fee will be a lovely - full steak dinner – preceding the fantastic and legionary raffle/tombola for all to enjoy!
CONTACT: Chris Harvard Harbur Marketing Int. Tel. 06371 - 6 02 91 Cell: 0172 - 6 81 07 36 Dave Kumler MDV Tel: 06332 - 56 86 70 Cell: 0171 - 8 27 19 65