COMMANDER’S CORNER: CARE FOR OTHERS BUT CARE FOR YOURSELF - PAGE 2 Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
Thursday, September 28, 2017 Vol. 61 No. 39
Helping after the Hurricane By Steve Kotecki 21st Space Wing Public Affairs
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — While Hurricane Harvey was leaving its mark on the greater Houston area, Airman 1st Class Spenser Allison, 21st Communications Squadron red switch technician, was in Arizona attending a job training class. Allison, a Houston resident, knew his family was threatened by the storm, and he was anxiously awaiting news from his relatives. When the storm petered out and Allison finally heard from his family, he knew he needed to get home to his family and his community. After talking with his supervisor and noncommissioned officer in charge he took some leave to go see what was left of his hometown. A week after Irma caused an estimated $180 billion worth of damage according to Moody’s Analytics, Allison arrived at his family’s home. “You don’t understand the destruction of something like this until you see it,” said Allison. “I’ve known this area my entire life, and it was almost unrecognizable.” Besides just the physical change in the area the first thing Allison noted was the smell. “All that water, mixed with storm drain water, sewage and all the other stuff made the whole area smell like a swamp or marsh,” Allison said. See Hurricane page 10
(Courtesy photo)
SABINE PASS, Texas — A boat run aground in Sabine Pass, Texas, Sept. 9, 2017, after Hurricane Harvey struck the greater Houston Area in August, 2017. The hurricane initially hit Houston on Aug. 25, 2017, and continued to make landfall two more times before moving back out into the Gulf of Mexico.
Home on the Range By David Meade 21st Space Wing Public Affairs
(U.S. Air Force photo by David Meade)
CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN AIR FORCE STATION, Colo. —Col. Robert Moose, 721st Mission Support Group commander, prepares for a media visit at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colorado, Sept. 12, 2017. Moose took command of 721st MSG June, 2017.
CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN AIR FORCE STATION, Colo. — He’s back. An Airman returns to his mountain roots, looking to not only introduce his family to his childhood memories, but to tap into his experience as a space operator to inspire his Air Force family. Col. Robert Moose is the 721st Mission Support Group commander at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colorado. He leads 540 total force personnel, providing secure systems and facilities for North American Aerospace Defense Command, U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Strategic Command and Air Force Space Command crews to perform air defense, space surveillance and missile warning missions. Moose assumed command in June 2017, but this is not his first time in Colorado. While some Airmen may end up returning to a base where they were previously assigned, Moose’s history goes further back to when he was a young teenager attending Mitchell High School.
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“It’s a sense of familiarity. As a kid in high school, my dad was stationed here and we lived on Peterson (Air Force Base). Now I live on Peterson again,” said Moose. “It’s awesome having my own kids now that I can point out different things on base, or tell them how it’s changed over the years. Or even driving around town, ‘oh I remember when I used to go there, there’s my high school!’” Being able to share his childhood with his kids, Moose feels they get a better sense of a family connection with his past they didn’t get at any other duty location. “It’s comfort and going back to your roots,” said Moose. Schriever AFB, Colorado, was Moose’s first duty location. Sharing his childhood roots along with his first assignment in the Air Force also encourages him to share mountain adventures with his children. “It’s a great place to raise my kids and get them to experience the outdoors. We’re excited about the mountains and getting out hiking, hunting and fishing,” he said. See Commander page 8
SPECIAL SECTION
21st CES is snow ready Page 6
Going the distance Page 7
Recreation and Lesure Events Page 1B