European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 30, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday March 302007 stars and stripes Pace 3 How would you like to get your air Force info service sets up a Volunteer group of airmen and civilians to find out by David Allen stars and stripes Kadena air base Okinawa so How do Pacific airmen want their information to see How Best to get the word out to its airmen and civilian workers the air Force is setting up a Volunteer advisory group members of the new internal communications assessment group will fill out monthly sur Veys to give feedback to senior leaders about How the air Force communicates senior air Force leaders will use the i cars monthly inputs to inform and Aid them in making Deci Sions on when and How to communicate important information to our airmen and civilians said Brig Gen Erv Lessel air Force director of communication according to a press release a tiny investment of just five minutes every month from participants will make a big difference the group will include airmen men said they thought it was a Good idea tech sgt Richard Yost from Lokotas 374th aircraft maintenance Squadron said he gets most of his information about the air Force online but likes that his ser vice is surveying people on ways to improve internal communications a handful of airmen inter viewed at Misawa air base said they haunt heard of the program however they All agreed that important messages need to be de tiny investment slivered in person rather than via email or the in ternet our online training is get Ting overwhelm ing said a Mas Ter sergeant who did not want to be named everything seems to be going More towards email than personal facet face communications senior leaders or Junior cos with their troops have to talk facet place once a Day or three times a week whatever it May have that personal effect i feel we spend Way too much time with online of just five minutes every month from participants will make a big difference f f Brig Gen Erv Lessel air Force director of communication Saaw Vevay Jiuu 111uu1i Lara in Vyalda and civilians from diverse ranks training and communications and n am is career Fields and locations selected by the air Force manpower Agency people selected will receive an email from Lessel ask ing them to participate confidentially according to the release word of the program has been slow to reach Pacific air bases no airmen questioned in a ran Dom Survey on Okinawa said they knew about the advisory panel capt Warren Comer a spokes Man for Yokota air base said no one there currently is participating in the program but some air sometimes the message gets misinterpreted As it goes Down Lessel said his goal is to ensure that the right message gets out to All airman if we hear from airmen that some of the information channels Are working Well while others Are broken Well know where to focus our attention he said stars and stripes reporters Jennifer h Svan and Bryce s Dubee contributed to this Story email David Allen at Keating assumes command of Pacoma adm Timothy j Keating assumed the Lead of us Pacific command in a ceremony monday at Pacos Camp he Smith Hawaii head quarters according to a Navy news release Keating takes Over from it Gen Daniel p Leaf Pacoma Deputy commander who served As acting commander after the departure of adm William j fallen on March 12 to us Central command Keatings last assignment was commander of us Northern com Mand a 1971 us naval Academy graduate and a native of Dayton Ohio Keating has served numerous Tours in the Pacific according to Navy officials As the largest geographical command in the department of defense Pacoma encompasses 43 countries bordered by two oceans and Over More than 100 million Square Miles from the West coast of the United states to the East coast of Africa from staff reports an army uh60 Black Hawk comes in for a Landing on the Back deck of a us vessel in March 2006 unfortunately the Black Hawks that tried to land on the uss John s Mccain and uss Statham during exercises off the coast of South Korea on wednesday were unable to do so be cause of the weather to Flack stars and stripes rough seas make chopper landings on ships too risky by Erik Slavin stars and stripes Camp Humphreys South Korea the army helicopter pilots were ready to Fly and the uss Statham and uss John s Mccain were ready for their land ing tuesday and wednesday unfortunately for them nature didst give final approval for the extensive exercise planned be tween the Navy and the 2nd infantry divisions 3rd battalion 2nd infantry regiment the Black Hawk helicopter pilots whose primary missions in clude medical evacuation and travel with High ranking officials had been practising How to land on a moving ship for weeks something army pilots dont get to do much instead the landings became an exercise in restraint and safety when visibility near the ship plummeted to half a mile tues Day that like driving a car with your eyes closed one Pilot in a crowd of others remarked at the medevac hangar in an actual War the level of acceptable risk changes dramatically officials said but poor visibility and Choppy seas make flight too risky for an exercise rough sea conditions can change the movement and angles of a ship in a hurry said Crew chief sgt Leon Eldridge of com Pany a anytime youre dealing with Mother nature the Roll and for foal Eagle s Korea us create joint amphibious group stars and stripes us and South korean ships and personnel combined forces to create a combined amphibious task Force this week As part of the foal Eagle training exer Cise according to a Navy news the shift was crucial Accord Casebo naval bases Essex expeditionary strike group in a tiding the uss Essex uss Juneau uss Tortuga and the uss Cowpens with South korean amphibious forces and destroyers for a sea Tran sit and defense drills the embarked us amphibious Squadron 11 and South to in order to shift command and control Over to the korean everyone needed to be on the same Page it Jug Brad Ford c Tonder foal Eagle Assis Tant action officer stated in the release everyone performed Well to achieve this All communication was in English but the korean accent challenged watch standers to be attentive in taking the re ports from the according to the release South korean and us marines some from Okinawa rear amphibious Squadron s3 spent the transit time planning shifted warfare commander re an upcoming amphibious Beach Ding e a possibilities to tiie South Kore an Corvette Squadron 32 for the exercise Landing exercise Emal the Korea Bureau at Kari r of the us Navy army helicopters were to practice Landing on the guide missile destroyer uss John s Mccain seen Here at Yokosuka Japan last week but bad weather cancelled the exercises pitch can always throw you off he said in the past few weeks the pilots landed their helicopters on decks in flight simulators and on patches of land designed like the ship pilots had to land their Craft in Small areas a skill that avoids damaging the ship or missing it Al together the helicopters would have to land quickly in a roughly 40foot by 20foot space while the ship moved said company As 1st it Jerrett Tynes we cant hover around waiting for a Landing spot be cause the ship will slide out from under Neath us Tynes said we also have to be cognizant of the fact that the ship is moving Ursoi and foal Eagle away from us As we take off each Pilot must land and take off five times to receive deck qualification the training preserves qualification for 180 Days and then pilots can be re certified either in a helicopter or in a flight simulator the simulated ship is pretty real in every aspect said maj John Mcmahan in some ways they make it More difficult in the simulator than in real life pilots recognized the importance of their Crew chiefs and backs eaters during real flights they must communicate with sail ors on deck and the pilots up front to coordinate the Landing its pretty much a big Battle buddy group out there Eldridge said if you dont have your Bud Dys Back theres no reason for you to be on the aircraft email Erik Slavin at