Features

Operation Santa: Helping families during Christmas
December 10, 2008 — He's making a list, checking it twice, gonna find out who's naughty or nice... Santa Claus is coming to town. Before Santa heads to town though, Vince Bowker and his Operation Santa team are helping him spread Christmas cheer. His team is currently gathering new and used toys, which they refurbish, for local families in need during the... MORE

Ken Brannon, a seven-year volunteer with Operation Santa, inventories and stocks a donated gaming system that a local child will receive Christmas morning. Operation Santa is a non-profit organization that accepts financial and toy donations for children of military families E-4 and below. Operation Santa will collect donations for this Christmas until Dec. 23 at the BX and Fort Dix Bldg. 5343. (U.S. Air Force photo/Charles Russell)

Specific training prepares legal Airmen for deployment success
December 9, 2008 — For four days prior to attending the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center's Advanced Contingency Skills Training Course, Airmen in the Air Force's legal career field receive training specialized for their upcoming deployments. That training, known as the Judge Advocate Functional ACST Course, combines both classroom and field training and in 2008... MORE

Capt. Paolino Caliendo, U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center legal officer and course director for the Judge Advocate Advanced Contingency Skills Training Course, teaches a class Oct. 7, 2008 inside the center. Captain Caliendo helps teach areas such as rules of use of force and engagement and the Law of Armed Conflict. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Tech. Sgt. Lionel Castellano)

Home sweet home: Habitat, volunteers make it possible
December 3, 2008 — Mary Gallagher doesn't see anything special about her life. She says she does what she must to get by, but many see it differently. This 25-year-old single mother is raising three children, one of whom is disabled, and her 16-year-old sister. Mary works her shift job putting together circuit boards and lived in a cramped home that didn't adequately... MORE

Left, Capt. Jack Schroeder, 305th Communications Squadron deputy commander, and Senior Master Sgt. John O’Donnell, 305th CS Operations Flight superintendent, hang up siding on a house while volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. The 305th CS has been volunteering with Habitat for more than one year. (U.S. Air Force courtesy photo)

HAWC: Promoting healthy living
November 12, 2008 — "If you don't take care of your body, where will you live?" This quote is a favorite of the Health and Wellness Center team, which aims to help McGuire Airmen, family members and retirees take care of themselves, in all aspects of wellness, so they have a healthy place to "live" for a long time. "Everyone wants to live a long and healthy life, but... MORE

A Health and Wellness Center staff member gives out educational information and fruit during National Nutrition Month in March. The HAWC staff works year-round to spread information about eating healthy and being fit. (U.S. Air Force courtesy photo)

Do you have the happiest baby on the block?
November 12, 2008 — What is the most irritating sound in the world? While some may picture a certain scene from the movie "Dumb and Dumber", any parent would probably tell you it's the sound of a baby crying - and so would any person stuck in an airplane for several hours with an unhappy infant. Studies have shown that sound of a baby crying raises the heart rate of... MORE

Amy Thomas, Family Advocacy nurse, demonstrates principles of the Happiest Baby on the Block program by first swaddling 1-month-old Trinity Castle, then shifting her to her side, bouncing her and "shooshing" until she calms and eventually begins drifting off to sleep. The Happiest Baby class is provided free of charge by Family Advocacy and is designed to give parents of newborns the tools they need to calm their baby and help him or her sleep longer. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Danielle Johnson)

3 decades of safety, loving every minute
November 12, 2008 — He's dedicated the past 30 years to keeping servicemembers and their families safe. His hard work, commitment and passion about safety prove he loves what he does. His nationally and internationally recognized awards from his peers, Air Mobility Command and the Air Force prove he's great at doing it. Tom Diveley, the 305th Air Mobility Wing... MORE

Tom Diveley, the 305th Air Mobility Wing (acting) safety chief, was recently named the International Instructor Trainer of the Year for 2007 (for Defensive Driving Courses) by the National Safety Council. (U.S. Air Force photo/Carlos Cintron)

EOD gets the mission back on the road, in the air
November 12, 2008 — While supporting an operation targeting Al Qaeda in Iraq, the platoon leader spotted some points of interest he wanted to check out. The unit started moving on foot toward the location. Five minutes into the movement, heavy machine gun fire broke out and mortars started landing on their position. Everyone fell back to an abandoned house, and that's... MORE

Air Force Warriors: Military working dog team clicking; soon to wrap up successful deployment
October 8, 2008 — This is the third in a series of three stories following a military working dog team from training in the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center's Phoenix Warrior Training Course through a deployment.) BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan -- Soon their adventures in Afghanistan will be over, but success is defined in how well they have bonded as a team and a... MORE

Military working dog Dena, a 6-year-old German Shepherd, and her handler, Staff Sgt. Christopher Dion, get in a walk at their forward operating base in Afghanistan Sept. 26, 2008. The MWD team has been in Afghanistan since May and have been supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Before deployment, they both trained in the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center's Phoenix Warrior Training Course at Fort Dix, N.J. Both Sergeant Dion and Dena are deployed from MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. (U.S. Air Force Photo)

Expeditionary Center armory fires up training for Airmen
September 25, 2008 — Aided by having the largest store of foreign weapons in the service, the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center's armory and its staff help Airmen get more "bang for their buck" for pre-deployment training. "In any 30-day span, we've had from 50 to more than 800 guns out at any given time," said Tech. Sgt. Sean Heraty, assistant NCO in charge at the... MORE

Tech. Sgt. Sean Heraty, U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center armory assistant noncommissioned officer in charge, inspects the forward assembly of an M-9 pistol while working in the armory on Fort Dix, N.J., Sept. 22, 2008. Sergeant Heraty and three other Airmen manage 48 different weapons systems and 153 different types of foreign weapons in the USAF EC armory -- the most foreign weapons than any armory in the Air Force. The weapons they care for support more than 7,000 students annually who attend the center's expeditionary courses. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Tech. Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol)

Phoenix Raven training highlights capabilities of security forces Airmen
September 9, 2008 — Students in the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center's Phoenix Raven program here face many challenges in their quest to attain a coveted security forces Raven patch. The course, taught by the 421st Combat Training Squadron, originated in the late 1990s after a need was seen to better protect military aircraft in an expeditionary environment... MORE

Students in the Air Force Phoenix Raven Course, fight back an "attacker" during an evaluation session in the course on a Fort Dix, N.J., range Aug. 20, 2008. The course, taught by the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center's 421st Combat Training Squadron, trains security forces Airmen to become Ravens where they specialize in protecting Air Force aircraft in austere environments. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Tech. Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol)