COLORADO S PRINGS M ILITARY NEWSPAPER GROUP
Thursday, November 16, 2017
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Vol. 11 No. 46
Ellicott community pays tribute to veterans
The 21st Medical Squadron will hold a flu line Friday from 7:30-9:30 a.m. in the event center? Vaccinations are first come, first-served.
Base Briefs Spouses are invited to events marked with
THIS WEEK Legal Office changes operating hours
The 50th SW Legal Office will be closed daily from 11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. The office will also be temporarily closed Thursdays until further notice. If you have a deployment-related issue or need to contact a member of the staff, call 567-5050 for assistance.
Citizen Soldier Connection holds car care class
Citizen Soldier Connection will host car care class 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Saturday at Autosmith Professional Auto Service located at 528 E. Pikes Peak Avenue. The class will inform attendees about automotive knowledge and communication skills with mechanics. The cost is free for all military members and their families.
ON-BASE Kidde recalls fire extinguishers with plastic handles
Fire extinguishers can become clogged or require excessive force to discharge, which can fail to activate during a fire emergency. More Briefs page 4 Sign up for weekly Schriever announcements, news and more. Visit www.schriever.af.mil and click “Public Affairs” under featured links.
Public Affairs
Inside
Great American Smoke Out ............ 6 Basketball....................................... 12 State of the Air Force ..................... 14
U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class William Tracy
Ellicott students give thank you letters and hand-made flags to a Vietnam veteran during the Ellicott School District Veteran’s Day ceremony at Ellicott, Colorado, Nov. 9, 2017. The Ellicott community event honored veterans, both past and present. By Airman 1st Class William Tracy today to pay tribute to veterans and their ESD certified financial officer, and Navy vet50th Space Wing Public Affairs families,” said Chris Smith, Ellicott School eran, highlighted the community’s ties with The Ellicott community honored veter- District superintendent. “We have prepared the military. “To be a veteran, you must have served for ans, including Schriever Airmen, during this ceremony for them.” Veterans, varying in age, service and wars, at least 180 days; many of our own family a Veteran’s Day assembly at Ellicott High including World War II and those actively members here at Ellicott have done that,” School Nov. 9. Ferriman said. “We pay tribute on this day “We are proud to have so many service serving today attended the event. Veterans honored during the event includmembers affi liated with the Ellicott School See Veterans page 7 District, and are honored to gather here ed district staff and faculty. Sherry Ferriman,
I am Schriever: Cultivating tradition, innovation By Halle Thornton 50th Space Wing Public Affairs
When global positioning systems, or GPS, are mentioned, cell phones and car navigation flood the mind. For Senior Airman Michael Fruit, 2nd Space Operations Squadron satellite systems operator, GPS means keeping the family farm afloat. Although he was born in a small town in Texas, Fruit has worked on his family’s farm in Emporia, Kansas, since he was 11-years old. “I obtained a tractor permit at 12 and a driver’s license at 14,” he said. “I was driving vehicles the size of houses when I was 12. That’s not something you see every day.” During the fall and summer months, Fruit would help his grandfather, Dan Fruit, cultivate and harvest wheat, soy beans and corn. “It was his (Dan’s) dream to do what he does since the 40’s and 50’s,” Michael said. In 2008, Michael and his grandfather began utilizing a new GPS system, which helps take the “what-if” scenarios out of farming, providing increased accuracy and efficiency. “It became a whole different way of farming,” Michael said. “It wasn’t cheap, but it put more technology into it than just your average eyesight.” The system also helps with land erosion, and gives the farmer an estimate of how many bushels each acre of land is expected to produce. “It is set up to where it shows plant rates, so I know how much seed is going in as we plant,” Dan said. “It also sets up the guidance, so we don’t have any rows too wide or too narrow.” Michael added machines are now able to do four times as much work in a quarter of the time thanks to GPS. “In farming you have windows, and if you don’t hit those windows, you’re losing crops,” he said. “That could be the difference of thousands of dollars.” Eighty years old, Michael’s grandfather wakes up every morning to take care of the farm to this day. “He (Dan) realized this past year he is not a young man anymore,” Michael laughed. “He has a bad back and hip, but is still able to do See Tradition page 8
Courtesy photo
Senior Airman Michael Fruit, 2nd Space Operations Squadron satellite systems operator, left, and Dan Fruit, Michael’s grandfather, smile at their soy bean, wheat and corn farm in Emporia, Kansas, Nov. 14, 2017. The global positioning system has helped increase efficiency and accuracy of planting and cultivating crops at farms like theirs.