The White Falcon - 02.10.1998, Page 5

Armed Forces News Briefs 1#
Combined Federal Campaign kicks off
San Diego (NWS) — It’s that time of the year when federal
employees and service members are asked to help worthy causes
through the Combined Federal Campaign. This year’s campaign slo-
gan is “It all comes back to you.”
“The Department of the Navy has set Thanksgiving as the time to
reach and exceed our goals for CFC - an appropriate benchmark,
because it’s a holiday when we specifically take the time to recall
how fortunate we are as Americans,” said Secretary of the Navy John
H. Dalton in a ceremony last week at the Pentagon.
Money donated during this campaign usually returns to the com-
munity in the form of community and human services. Donations
from service members account for more than half of all CFC contri-
butions, bringing in more than $100 million annually.
More than 1,500 agencies worldwide participate in the CFC. Some
agencies rely solely on CFC funds to operate.
Each agency must apply for eligibility. Volunteers from federal
agencies review the applications. Charities must be administered by
a board of directors, produce an annual report and be audited by the
CFC in order to become CFC members.
The cost for an agency to participate is basically no-cost. As a
result, funds received by the agencies through the CFC effectively
reduce their administrative costs, thus making available more money
to be spent on community services.
“The 1998 San Diego CFC has 1,509 separate charitable organiza-
tions to which federal employees may designate their contributions.
The services of the agencies cover every area of human health and
welfare and serve all corners of the world,” explained Jay Gardella,
director, of the San Diego County Combined Federal Campaign.
“CFC is the largest single campaign in the world. Nationally, the
CFC raised more than $197,100,000.
“Many federal employees and their families have benefited direct-
ly from many of the programs and services provided by agencies list-
ed in the campaign brochure. Support exists in such areas as: med-
ical research; health diagnosis and care; human rights safeguards;
environmental improvements; educational development and
improvement; and human welfare changes. The CFC is one way a
federal employee can change tomorrow, today.”
The CFC’s goal is to eliminate waste and shrink overhead, consol-
idate contributions to streamline operations, and to let donors know
what their selected charities do and how efficiently they do it.
New Defense Travel Service unveiled
Alexandria, Va. (NWS) — The Defense Travel Service was offi-
cially unveiled recently during the Society of Travel Agents in
Government annual travel conference held in Alexandria, Va.
Project Manager Army Col. A1 Arnold announced that the Defense
Travel Service is designed to consolidate all travel functions into a
service member’s desktop computer. A Military Traffic Management
Command project office in Crystal City, Va., is managing work on the
system.
When fully implemented, military and DoD civilian workers will
conduct all phases of travel - requesting orders, booking tickets and
filing vouchers - from the computer system at their desks. The
Defense Travel System will rely on such features as digital signatures
to speed paperwork movement and the maximum use of official gov-
ernment credit cards to ensure efficient payments.
Training and implementation of the system will take place within
the next three years. The first phase will begin next
spring. An initial contract valued at $263.7 million was awarded
for Defense Travel Region Six, an 11 -state area in the upper Midwest
with an estimated 200,000 travelers.
“Time and money will be saved by a travel system as sophisticat-
ed as anything in private enterprise,” Arnold said.
One big change from the current travel environment may be the
elimination of staffed contract travel offices in major government
buildings and military installations.
“We don’t feel we necessarily need staffed locations any more,”
October 2,1998
said Arnold. “That’s the concept.” Testing of the Defense Travel
System is scheduled for November. Deployment of the system is
anticipated in the spring of 1999.
Secretary, CMSAF answer questions
Pope AFB, N.C. (AFNS) — Giving the straight scoop on retention
and the DoD budget were major items on the agenda Sept. 24 during
a visit to Pope AFB, N.C., by F. Whitten Peters, acting secretary of
the Air Force.
Peters, along with Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Eric Benken,
came to Pope as part of a three-day, five base tour. The secretary
brought information about two of the Air Force’s biggest undertak-
ings - the Expeditionary Aerospace Forces and the proposed DoD
budget. Peters outlined some of what the new EAF structure will
look like starting in 2000.
Peters’ first agenda item was speaking to enlisted people and get-
ting their view of the Air Force. Many questions centered on the rela-
tionship between retention and manning. As many experienced and
career airmen separate, they are replaced by brand-new faces straight
from a technical school. It takes nearly two years for the new airmen
to become experienced members of the team.
“Unfortunately, we can’t get a person with two years experience
without giving them two years of experience. We have a terrible
‘chicken and egg’ problem,” Peters said. “I am depending on all of
you to convince people to stay.”
He also talked candidly about the time he and other service secre-
taries spent on Capitol Hill, trying to convince the president and
members of Congress to increase defense spending. “The peace div-
idend is spent,” Peters said. “We’ve had 14 years of flat and declin-
ing top line. That’s too long. All of the services have been taking
money out of programs like real property maintenance to buy neces-
sities like parts, and facilities have suffered.”
Senior Airman Michele Harrigar of the 43rd Airlift Wing, said
those who attended the question-and-answer period were satisfied
with the responses they received. “We were told if we asked the
tough questions, we would get tough answers,” she said. “That’s
what we got.”I was impressed with the level of knowledge the secre-
tary had on so many issues,” said Tech. Sgt. Dennis Blocker, 43rd
AW. “He answered all the questions honestly, without skirting the
issues. I was satisfied with most of the responses.”
|News you can use ... |
ESC
Drawing Contest. The FSC is sponsoring a drawing contest for
children. Pictures should depict the child’s family doing something
together in Iceland. The 12 best will decorate the FSC’s 1999 cal-
ender. Entries must be received by Oct. 30. Calenders will be
available during National Family Week, Nov. 23 - 27.
Navv-Marine Corps Relief Society
Spouse Ttiition Assistance. Applications for Term 2 are available
at the FSC and must be returned no later than Monday.
PTSO
PTSO Craft Fair, tomorrow, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. at A.T. Mahan
High School. This is the largest craft fair of the season. More than
35 craftsmen have already reserved tables. For more information,
call Brenda at ext. 7228.
A.T. Mahan Elementary
Child Find Screening, Oct. 13 and 14 at the elementary school.
This program is designed to identify children who may be exhibit-
ing developmental delays and need early intervention. For an
appointment, call ext. 3134 before Oct. 9.
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