Southwest Region

Newsletter
Volume II Issue IV December 2004

Inside This Issue them to be men of great integrity. They are a great
team which has been shown already many times in
their tenure as our top management. Both are dedi-
What’s Good About cated to the principals of doing all things right, in
America 2 accordance with our regulations, and safely. We are
indeed fortunate that our leadership communicate
Goal Setting 2 and work so well together. We are also fortunate to
have our former National Commander, Maj Gen
SWRLO Corner 3 Rick Bowling as our new member of the Board of
Former Texas Cadet 3 Governors. Col Bob Bess has been our representa-
tive on the BOG since it came into being and has
New Chaplain for SWR done a great job for Civil Air Patrol in that position.
And National 4 September was the month of our Southwest Region
Conference. We were very fortunate to have our
From Thanks to Giving 4 National Commander M/Gen Wheless, our National
Vice Commander B/Gen Tony Pineda, USAF M/
Microsoft Windows Gen George Harrison, our featured speaker, USAF
Update 5 National Headquarters Senior Air Force Advisor Col
2004 is just about over and I want to thank all of George Vogt, at our conference. We also were privi-
SWR Staff College 5 you in Southwest Region for a great year. You leged to have Col Lynda Robinson, Rocky Mountain
have accomplished many things in your wings. As Region Commander, Col Rex Glasgow, North Cen-
the year ends, all of our wings are operating and tral Region Commander, and Col Merle Starr, Pa-
Publication Information 5 cific Region Commander present. Ltc Rebecca
training in an efficient manner. The latest accom-
plishment is the Louisiana Wing getting an Excel- McGinley was our project Officer and she and her
Ops Corner 6 lent on their SAR/EVAL. staff performed in an outstanding manner. It was a
great conference because of their unselfish dedica-
Bean Counting 7 July was very significant for the Region when we tion of time and commitment to its success.
had teams at the National Cadet Competition from
Telephone Scam 7 Arizona and Texas. Both teams were outstanding October brought on the Southwest Region Air Crew
and brought home several trophies. I sure hope all Competition in Amarillo, Texas. We had great par-
Louisiana Conference 8 Wings in the Region will have teams in the compe- ticipation and we had Col Russell Hodgkins, USAF
tition in 2005. On the following week we had the Vice Commander from National Headquarters. It
Southwest Region Staff College at Kirtland AFB, was a great competition. Col Frank Buethe, Ltc
Oklahoma-Conference 9 Mike Du Bois, Ltc Joe Macklin, Ltc Blake Fentress,
New Mexico. The College was a great success.
Connie and I were totally impressed with both ac- Ltc Andre Davis, Ltc Rick Simmerson and many
Texas Conference 10 tivities. While we were on this trip we stopped at others worked hard to put together a very successful
Bowling Green Kentucky to see the Corvette mu- competition. I anticipate that next year will be just
New Mexico Conference 11 seum. Connie's Corvette looks as good as any of as great or even better. From the Air Crew Competi-
the ones on display so we might loan it to the mu- tion, we went to the New Mexico Wing Conference.
Arkansas Conference 12 seum for display. Col Buethe and his folks had a wonderful conference
with the National Commander, Gen Wheless as the
I encourage all of you Wing Commanders to start Guest Speaker. Just to show how flexible our people
Arizona Conference 13 are, the week before the conference, the Hotel was
now getting your senior members who are eligible
to make plans to attend the College in 2005. It is a sold and the restaurant in front of the hotel burned to
SWR Christmas Party 14 great experience and the lessons learned at the Col- the ground. Even with these distractions, the Con-
lege are easily applied to their work and personal ference was wonderful the people attending received
SWR Conference 15 lives. It is a very rewarding time. a great welcome by the New Mexico Wing people
16 and the staff of the hotel. Connie and I had the op-
17 August brought about the National Board meeting portunity to visit with many long time friends.
in Tampa Florida and the election of a new Na-
tional Commander and Vice Commander. We are November was pretty calm. We had the NEC meet-
very blessed to have M/Gen Dwight Wheless as our ing in Atlanta Ga. and Falcon Virgo in El Paso. Loc
new National Commander and B/Gen Tony Pineda Lou Thomas and Loc Joe Mack did an outstanding
as our National Vice Commander. I have known job putting the planning and execution together. We
both of these gentlemen for several years and know
 VOLUME II ISSUE IV
had great participation and from all reports
we did a great job.
This month is the Christmas Party and we
will introduce several new staff members.
Two things that are really bothering me are
(1) our former Region Commander and
National Chief of Staff Col George Way is
very ill and we need to pray for him and his
family and (2) we are loosing Ltc Joe
Macklin to retirement. We will also need to
pray for Joe and his family that they will be
happy and prosperous in all that they do in
the future. Joe has been an outstanding
supporter of Civil Air Patrol and a wonder-
ful teacher for all of us. We will truly miss
him.
To our Air Force Partners, Ltc Blake Fen-
tress, Ltc Joe Macklin, Major Vic Del
Moral, Ken Skelton, MSGT Rod Watson,
Mary J Conner, words cannot express my
appreciation for all of you. You all are,
without a doubt, the best Region LR Staff in
the USA. You are all such a very important
part of our team and it would be impossible
to do our job without your help, coopera-
tion, and correction when it is needed.
2004 has been a great year for Southwest
Region. 2005 will be better because we
have more experience working as a team,
serving our wonderful Nation. There will be
some pit falls but we will overcome all of
them and be better for the experience.
I must also give special thanks to my two
Vice Commanders Don Jakusz and Hal
Parker, my Chief of Staff Randy Loveless,
my Director of Administration Joan Jakusz,
and my Finance Director Ron Forey. You
all have spent many hours this year taking
care of the mail and other knit picking de-
tails that are so very vital to any successful
organization. Bo and Penney Caldwell got
the computers out of the office before I
threw them out of the third floor window.
God Bless
Tom
Connie and I saw some
very interesting
sights on our trips
this year including
this dromedary.
S O U T H W E S T R E G I O N N E W SLETTER
With a positive direction
focusing on our goals, we
can achieve anything!
Photo courtesy Col Tom Todd
Once we set our creative minds in
the right direction, there are no ob-
stacles that can’t be overcome. This
is simply setting our goals, focusing
on them, affirming them, making a
plan, and taking the first steps to
attaining them.
That is the secret of success in a
nutshell: Have a clear goal in mind
and persist. James Allen put it this
way, in his inspirational book As
You Think, “You will become as
great as your dominant aspiration.
If you cherish a vision, a lofty ideal
in your heart, you will realize it.”
PAGE 2
What’s Good About
the USA?
We have the freedom and obligation to
choose our leaders.
Have you watched kids playing Little
League Baseball? That's good about the
USA.
We are a nation where everyone has the
opportunity to achieve any goal we choose.
We have the greatest Military in the World.
We have more compassion for others than
any other Country in the World.
Each Month I will add to this list.
We just went through an extremely conten-
tious election. It was resolved by the ballot
and not the bullet which happens in so
many countries that do not like the way the
results turn out. God has truly Blessed
America.
Thanks
Tom
New Year — New Goals!
The turn of the new year is the time when we
start thinking about what we want to accom-
plish in the year to come. In the process new
goals are set along with objectives for meeting
these goals. Short term goals, less than one
year in duration, are stepping stones to longer
term goals, five years or more, for example
working two more hours a day and depositing
the proceeds in the bank for retirement or col-
lege for the children.
Five major areas of concern to us are our spiri-
tual, family, business, personal, and social
goals. We need to have goals in all of these
areas in order to have a balanced life.
In goal setting keep in mind that goals
should be specific, measurable, lofty but at-
tainable, and completed in a specific time
frame.
These goals should be written and posted
where they can be easily seen regularly. Under
each goal should be written the action plan, or
list of smaller objectives which will lead to the
accomplishment of the main goals.
Review the progress regularly. Is the road you
are taking going to get you there, or will you
need to make a detour? Sometimes you need
to adjust your route or compass heading to
make up for prevailing winds. Take it in stride,
adjust, adapt, overcome, and persist. All of
this equals SUCCESS! Happy New Year!
 VOLUME II ISSUE IV
SWRLO CORNER
Maj Victor Del Moral, Lt. Col. Blake Fentress, and Lt. Col. Joe Maclin
pause a moment from there busy schedule. You can bet they have opera-
tions plans!
Counter Drug
Activities
Southwest Region Wings have been very
active during June and July conducting a
variety of missions under the CD caveat.
Louisiana, Texas and New Mexico were
busy performing reconnaissance missions
while Oklahoma and Arkansas was busy
providing High Bird communications plat-
forms for law enforcement officials. Other
activities include ICE Intercept Training
Missions.
While all of the Wings in Southwest Re-
gion are involved in CD activities, I would
like to single out Louisiana Wing's CDO,
Major Don Rodriguez, for special recogni-
tion. For the past year, Louisiana Wing
has had a very high CD ops tempo. Major
Rodriguez has been and outstanding man-
ager and has developed an excellent rela-
tionship with local Federal and State Law
Enforcement officials and has worked
diligently with the NOC. He has consis-
tently been on top of problems and issues
and has worked through and successfully
solved each.
Homeland Security
Southwest Region Wings have participated
in several HLS mission during the sum-
mer.
Texas supported a SEADS operation off the
coast of Texas utilizing a member owned multi-
engine aircraft from Louisiana and aircrews in
CAP corporate aircraft from Texas and Missis-
sippi. Texas also supported the U. S. Air Force
by conducting Low Level Route Survey near
Sheppard AFB.
Arizona Wing provided support to ICE with
reconnaissance on the Mexican Border. The
requirement was to report any unusual activity,
included Photographs.
Louis C. Thomas
SWR CDD and HLS
903-561-4764 home
903-521-3467 cell
West end of the Bloomsburg Airport
Runway. “Next!”
PAGE 3
FORMER TEXAS
CADET LEAVES
TEXAS
Greetings Everyone,
As much as Texas Wing and its out-
standing Cadet Program has grown over
the past few years, many of you may not
know or remember me. I was a 7-year
cadet (95-02) as a member of the Lackland
Cadet Squadron and later, Texas Wing
Staff, and have recently left Texas.
For those of you who know me, I am writ-
ing you, after a two year break from CAP
to graduate and commission, to update you
on my whereabouts and contact informa-
tion. Briefly, I graduated in May from UT
- San Antonio with a BS in Mechanical
Engineering and received my commission
as a 2d Lt through AFROTC, assigned as a
Mechanical Engineer. I went active duty
in July, attended the Air & Space Basic
Course at Maxwell AFB AL, then PCS-ed
to Wright - P a t t e r s o n A F B O H
in August where I am now a student at the
Air Force Institute of Technology where I
will graduate with my masters in Aeronau-
tical Engineering in March 06.
If you would like to get in touch with me,
my personal contact information is below
and I will be keeping the same information
as I move around with the AF. If you are
in the AF, just find me on global. As an
open invitation to any cadet looking for
more information about the AF, AFROTC,
UTSA, or engineering, please feel free to
contact me and I will provide any guidance
I can.
Overall, things are going well and have
gone very well for the past couple
years. Where I am now and all the oppor-
tunities and experiences I have had are a
direct result of my experiences as a cadet
in Texas Wing, especially in interacting
with all of its great members. Thank you
for the great memories and please, keep in
touch.
By the way, congratulations to all the new
Spaatzen (C/Colonels Broussard, Leano,
and Lamonte). And, lastly, good luck to
everyone in their future endeavors; main-
tain the standard that the Texas Wing Ca-
det Program has become for the rest of the
n a t i o n .
V/R,
-Paul M. Wilson
<><><> #1407
210-392-6127
cdtwilson@hotmail.com
 VOLUME II ISSUE IV S O U T H W E S T R E G I O N N E W SLETTER PAGE 4

New Region Chaplain for Southwest Region

By Chaplain Lt. Colonel Robert Whitley, SWR Chaplain

From Thanks To Giving

The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is
an exciting time of the year. The aftermath of
giving thanks (Thanksgiving) leads us to a sea-
son of giving to others (Christmas). It is the time
when many who have give to those who have
not. Many who have little still give generously.
"Out of... extreme poverty welled up rich
generosity... They gave as much as they were
able, and even beyond their ability." 2 Corin-
thians 8:2-3. Civil Air Patrol members are givers
and servants. Each volunteer gives both time and
money to serving the public as well as other CAP
members.
Thank you for your generosity all year round. If
the CAP Chaplain Service can be of help please
let us know. My email is: ca-
pames@juno.com (capjames is in remembrance
of my dad, Lt Col Jim Whitley, who served in
the Shreveport Composite Squadron for about 25
years). Pictured above Col. Tom Todd and MGen Dwight Wheless preside over the change of
service ceremony as Chaplain Lt. Col. Charles Sharp, at that time SWR Chaplain, turns
SWR Chaplain College 2004 over his position with a passing of a Bible to Chaplain Lt. Col. Robert Whitley our new
SWR Chaplain. Chaplain Sharp is now the National Chaplain. We are very fortunate to
By Chap Lt Col Charles Sharp have both of these Chaplains in our service.
The Southwest Region Chaplain Service Staff
ership Officer received a Moral Leadership the Chaplain training regulations. All
College was held at NAS JRB Fort Worth, Texas
Officer Mentoring notebook with a CD participants were presented a Certificate
on 19-22 April 2004. There were 37 in atten-
containing the power point presentation. of Attendance.
dance. Training included 17 hours of instruction
Each wing chaplain received a copy of
by Captain David Simonson, NM WG Emer- Distinguished guest at the Southwest
both mentoring programs.
gency Services Director on Red Cross First Aid Region Chaplain Service College 04 in-
and CPR. Chaplain (Major) William J. Bryan gave a cluded Colonel Tom Todd, SWR Com-
presentation on Working Together as a mander, Colonel H. G. (Hal) Parker,
Chaplain and Cadet Programs by Major Brooks
Team. This presentation included each SWR Deputy Commander, Chaplain
Cima, TX WG Cadet Programs Director gave a
participant in the college taking the Myers- (Col) James Melancon, CAP National
presentation on Chaplains and Cadet Programs. Briggs Inventory. Chaplain Bryan scored Chief of Chaplains, Captain Paul F.
A presentation was made on Wing Compliance
each of the completed inventories and gave Paine, USN NAS JRB Commander, and
Inspections led by Chaplain (Lt Col) Charles E.
each participant their temperament analy- Chaplain (CDR) James F. Looby, NAS
Sharp, SWR HC, and instruction on Subordinate
sis. Chaplain Bryan then led the partici- JRB Chaplain.
Unit Inspections was conducted by Lt Col Tho- pants in an exercise in which they had to
mas Mundt TX WG Inspector General. work together with different temperaments Southwest Region Chaplain service Staff
in solving a problem. College staff included Chaplain (Lt Col)
In order to prepare Civil Air Patrol Chaplains to
Ray Twa, Jr. Director, Chaplain (Maj)
assist with and conduct military funerals, Chap-
The College began each day and con- William J. Bryan Deputy Director, Chap-
lain Sharp gave a presentation on the proper
cluded the day with a devotional time led lain (Lt Col) Robert A. Whitley Registrar
protocol of conducting military funerals. Chap- by Chaplain (Lt Col) Robert Hicks and and Finance officer and Chaplain (Lt Col)
lain (Lt Col) Robert Hicks, Deputy Director of
assisted by Chaplain (Lt Col) Kenneth Van Charles E. Sharp SWR Chaplain.
Chaplains Services and CAPO NHQ gave an up
Loon National Deputy Chief of Chaplains
date on chaplain services.
and Chaplain Sharp with music.
Chaplain Sharp developed a Chaplain Mentoring
The graduation banquet was held on
Program and a Moral Leadership Officer mentor- Thursday evening at Southwestern Baptist
ing program. These programs included a note-
Seminary with Chaplain (Lt Col) Robert
book for each course and a power point presenta-
Hicks as the guest speaker. There were 6
tion. Each Chaplain present received a Chaplain
participants who completed two years
Mentoring notebook with a Compact Disk of the
attendance at a Region Chaplain Service
power point presentation and each Mortal Lead-
College as per the requirement outlined in
 VOLUME II ISSUE IV
MICROSOFT WINDOWS OPERATING SYSTEMS
NEED UPDATING!
Microsoft has announced some critical up-
dates to their Windows operating system. If
you have not been receiving the routine
updates from Microsoft, you can go to their
website and download these Windows up-
dates.
Use your web browser to go directly to the
Windows update website found at
URL "http://indowsupdate.microsoft.com."
Use the Microsoft tool found at that web
location to search your Windows installa-
tion and find the updates you need. This
tool should update most versions of Win-
dows (98, 2000, ME, and XP).
It is suggested to install all the critical up-
dates, all the Windows updates, and all the
driver updates. Follow the instructions at
that website to download and install those
Windows updates. You may have to
reboot your computer several times to get
them all installed. After rebooting, return to
that website and use the tool to search for
more updates. Sometimes another update
will show up after you have installed an
update. This process may take some time,
especially if you are using a low speed dial
up service.
If some of these updates do not install, run
the Clean Manager Windows utility to free
SWR Staff College 2004
By Lt Col Sharon Lane, CAP, SWRSC PAO
Southwest Region senior members of
the Civil Air Patrol attended a SW
Region Staff College 17-24 July. The
college was held at the Kirtland AFB
NCO Academy. “Outstanding” has
become the norm for the annual col-
lege and this year was no different.
Officers came from Louisiana, Arkan-
sas, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.
They were, once again, awed by the
talented and professional instructors
at the NCO Academy. The food was
yummy at the Thunderbird Inn, the
rooms were comfortable and well
cared for by the housekeeping staff.
The college's director this year was
Lt Col Mike Swanson from Louisiana.
His multi-talented staff included Dep-
uty Director and Admin Coordinator -
Chaplain Lt Col Robert A. Whitley -
Texas, Commandant of Students and
Evaluations - Lt Col Amos A. Plante -
S O U T H W E S T R E G I O N N E W SLETTER
up some disk space. In Windows 2000 this
utility is found at "C:\WINNT\system32
\CleanMgr.exe". Next run the Disk Defrag
Windows utility to rearrange files on your hard
disk. In Windows 2000 this utility is found at
C:\WINNT\System32\Defrag.exe". You can
use the Windows search utility to find these
files. The search utility can be started in Win-
dows 2000 by clicking on "Start" then
“Search" then "For Files and Folders..." now
enter a name to search for.
After installing all the Windows updates, rerun
the Clean Manager and Disk Defrag utilities to
get your computer to work better after all of
the updates have been installed.
These Windows updates are designed to close
some holes that have been found in the Win-
dows Operating System that could allow hack-
ers access to your computer. Hackers then
could then steal information from or corrupt
your computer.
I hope this will help you improve your com-
puter operations and better
protect your programs and files.
By: John C. Samuel, Lt Col, CAP, Texas
Wing, Plans and Programs Officer
Louisiana, Curriculum Coordinator – Lt
Col Don Fisher - Texas, Assistant Cur-
riculum Coordinator – Maj Edmond
Jones - Louisiana, Finance - Maj William
T. Brown – New Mexico, Chaplain -
Chaplain Lt Col Charles E. Sharp – Ar-
kansas, Information Systems Officer - Lt
Col Robert M. Efros – Arizona, Public
Affairs Officer - Lt Col Sharon M. Lane –
New Mexico, Public Affairs Photographer
– Lt Col Beverly A. Pepe – New Mexico,
Protocol – 1 Lt Nettie S. Breaux - Louisi-
ana, Logistics – Maj Jean Fisher - Texas,
Medical Officer/Safety Officer – Capt
David Simonson – New Mexico, Senior
Advisor – Col Colin Fake - Louisiana.
Students in attendance were Seminar
1 Advisor Lt Col Scott Trepenski - Texas,
1Lt John M. Eggen – Arizona, Capt
Daniel W. Wray – New Mexico, Capt
Blake M. Cole – Arkansas and Maj Ted J.
Mooney - Louisiana. Seminar 1 was cho-
sen as this years Outstanding Seminar.
PAGE 5
Publication Information
SWR Newsletter
The deadline for submitting articles
for publication in the SWR Newsletter
is the 1st day of each month of issue..
Publication will be the second Satur-
day of each month. Newsletters will
be distributed by email every two
months in Adobe PDF format. Adobe
Reader can be down loaded on the
internet site at no cost.
Articles and comments are strongly
encouraged and should be sent to:
Lt. Col. Rebecca McGinley,
SWR/PAO, Editor
rmcginley@awesomenet.net
P. O. Box 8147
Bacliff, TX 77518
1-281-339-1076 Evenings
1-281-384-7886 Days
Seminar 2 included Seminar Advisor
Maj Thomas W. Barnard - Louisiana,
Maj Stephen L. Napper – Louisiana,
who was "Mr. Vice" of the Mess at
the Saturday night Dining Out, Capt
Joseph T. Streetman – Louisiana,
Maj Robert B. “Bucky” Britton – Ar-
kansas and Maj Brooks Cima –
Texas. Seminar 3 included Seminar
Advisor Lt Col Donley Pochop – Ari-
zona, Maj Mark S. Ducote – Louisi-
ana, Capt Michelle R. Inzunza -
Texas who was the President of the
Mess and was also the Outstanding
Student of SWRSC 2004, Capt Law-
rence E. Armstrong – New Mexico
and Maj Ronald W. Fett – Arizona.
The Dining Out was held at the
Mountain View Club which is still
referred to as "the Officer's Club".
Special honored guests who attended
were Aerospace Education Program
Manager of AE Lt Col Beth White,
SW Liaison Region Commander Lt
Col Joseph B. Frentress, USAF, SWR
Commander Col Tom Todd, SWR
Vice Commander Col and Mrs. Don
Jackusz, State Director NM Wing
CAP-LO Mr. Frederick Harsany,
USAF(Ret), State Director Oklahoma
Wing Liaison Officer Mr. Hal Gary,
USAF(Ret), (Cont’d page 7)
 VOLUME II ISSUE IV PAGE 6

The OPS Corner

be accessed by a direct link from FEMA's
home page, www.fema.gov <http://
www.fema.gov>. In addition,
prospective NIMS users to share questions
and concerns by submitting email to
nimsintegrationcenter@dhs.gov
mailto:nimsintegrationcenter@dhs.gov

The recently announced NIMS Integration

Center, called the NIC, will develop and
facilitate national standards for NIMS educa-
tion and training and refine the system over
time. James Warneke, Lt. Col., CAP

The NIC organization and Web page reflect a SWR Director Stan/Eval
focus on key areas and functions, including
Standards and Resources; Training and Exer-
cises; System Compliance and Evaluation; FEMA also initiates proactive mitigation
Technology, Research and Development; and activities, trains first responders, and man-
Michael Dubois, Lt. Col., CAP Publications Management. ages the National Flood Insurance Program
and the U.S. Fire Administration.
SWR Director Operations. NIC Standards and Resources will focus on --
the development of a national system of Candace "Candy" Adams, Area Coordinator
guidelines, protocols and standards for NIMS
WASHINGTON - The Department of Home-
implementation.
land Security's Federal Emergency Manage-
ment Agency has announced the creation of a
The Training and Exercises Branch will de-
centralized Web portalto serve as a resource Pictured below are Odessa SAR Cadets.
velop a national program for NIMS education
for emergency managers and first responders
and awareness and facilitate the definition of
Related to the National Incident Management
general training
System (NIMS).
requirements and national-level training stan-
dards as well as course curricula associated
The NIMS Web page, www.fema.gov/nims, is
with the NIMS.
designed to offer emergency managers on an
on-going basis a complete listing of NIMS
The System Compliance and
requirements, tools and resources, and general
Evaluation part of the NIC will manage the
information on Homeland Security's new inci-
development of assessment criteria for the
dent management and maintenance tool.
various components of the
NIMS, as well as compliance requirements
President Bush directed the creation of NIMS
and compliance timelines for federal, state,
as a means to develop a standardized incident
local and tribal entities regarding NIMS stan-
management approach to emergency incidents
dards and guidelines.
and streamline coordination at the federal,
state and local levels. "This Web page reflects
The Technology, Research and Development
our emphasis
Branch and the Publications Management
on developing tools and sharing information
Branch will be established at a later date.
that will help incident managers and respond-
ers at all levels integrate NIMS into their op-
The NIMS Integration Center was established
erations," said Michael D. Brown, Under Sec-
by the Secretary of Homeland Security to
retary of Homeland Security for Emergency
provide strategic direction for and oversight
Preparedness and Response. "Our ability to
of the NIMS including both routine mainte-
provide a central location that col
nance and the continuous refinement of the
lects the most current resources available to
system and
support NIMS integration allows us to directly
its components over the long term.
support states' and
communities' preparedness and response ac-
On March 1, 2003, FEMA became
tivities related to NIMS.
part of the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security. FEMA's continuing mission Above SWR Commander advises press of
The assessment process, compliance criteria,
within the new department is to lead the ef- our mission status at Odessa SAR.
NIMS-related training, and implementation
fort to prepare the nation for all hazards and
timelines are some of the issues that will be
effectively manage federal response and re-
addressed via the Web page. As NIMS imple-
covery efforts following any national inci-
mentation moves forward, relevant informa-
dent.
tion will be posted on the page, which also can
Volume II, Issue 1
Bean-Counting and Disappointments
By Major Ron Forey
Today’s topic is one never dear to any-
one’s heart, since it has to do with
doing our jobs and getting paid for it.
For instance, I have recently proc-
essed with great success a request to
have my pay doubled, since I was bold
enough to ask. COL Todd, under-
standing how important such an in-
crease was to me (I’m just a MAJ, you
know), approved it retroactively to the
date I took the office!
When it comes to travel expenses for
the SWR staff, it’s a bit different, how-
ever. The current policy was designed
to assist you who are volunteers and
must therefore foot the bills for your
contributions, but only in certain
situations. The key word here is
“assist,” because SWR will not fully
subsidize staff travel, meals and lodg-
ing unless the Commander considers
it essential under the circumstances.
Travel expenses are reimbursed on
the basis of $0.12 per mile, regardless
of the mode of transportation; per
diem is $25 per day maximum. Note
that this is less than the gummint
allows, so anything you aren’t reim-
bursed for can be itemized deductions
on your 1040 Schedule A (if you are
qualified to itemize). The sad part
from the staffer’s view is that there is
no cash flowing at the time to pay
those bills in large amounts.
Further, just because a staff member
travels somewhere for a CAP event, it
is not necessarily a given that they
will receive any reimbursement: the
travel must be in support of a direc-
tive from the commander, and must
be approved in advance. No advance
approval, no authority for me to pay.
Since the commander always knows
why he tells someone to go some-
where, there is never any problem
with advance approval, because he’s
kind enough to tell me when it hap-
pens.
This policy is not meant to be bureau-
cratic: it is meant to safeguard the
assets (in this case cash assets) with
which we as an organization have
been entrusted. We are checked on a
periodic basis by National to insure
that we follow their regulations and
procedures. It’s called an audit, and it
Page 7
Beware Telephone
Scam
is a very serious issue. Just so you un-
derstand the importance of it, there are
former members of CAP who are living in
government-supplied accommodations
(that is, prison) for violating those regula- PASS ON TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW
tions. Others have simply lost their jobs I received a telephone call last evening
and reputations. Some of those are for- from an individual identifying
himself as an AT&T Service technician who
mer finance officers, some are former
was conducting a test on telephone lines.
commanders. Your region commander
He stated that to complete the test I should
and his finance officer have no intention
touch nine (9), zero (0), the pound sign (#),
to experience that on a personal level. a n d t h e n h a n g u p .
So, when you have questions about what
you can be reimbursed for from the Re- Luckily, I was suspicious and refused.
Upon contacting the telephone company, I
gion, please ask me. If I can’t give you a
was informed that by pushing
solid answer, I’ll take it to a level where a
90#, you give the requesting individual full
solid answer can be gained. But if you access to your telephone line, which enables
make assumptions, you may find yourself them to place long distance calls billed to
disappointed, maybe even angry with the y o u r h o m e
bean-counter who’s had to rain on your p h o n e n u m b e r .
canopy.
I was further informed that this scam has
Finally, please note that this article is been originating from many local jails/
applicable to SWR staff only, since we do prisons. I have also verified this information
not reimburse travel for other levels of with UCB Telecom, Pacific Bell, MCI, Bell
the organization. Again, if you have Atlantic and GTE. After checking with Ver-
questions, please ask me. Thanks in ad- izon they said it was true, so do not dial (9),
vance for your consideration… I promise zero (0), the pound sign # and hang up for
you mine when you need it. anyone. Please beware.
DO NOT press 90# for ANYONE.
PLEASE pass this on to everyone YOU
SWRSC 2004 (cont’d know. If you have mailing
lists and/or newsletters from organizations
from page 5) you are connected with, I
encourage you to pass on this information to
Arizona Wing Commander Col and Mrs. them.
John J. Varljen, New Mexico Wing Com-
mander Col Frank A. Buethe, NCO Judy Samuel
Academy Instructor MSgt and Mrs. Paul
SWR
A. Jenkins, USAF, Former SWRSC Di-
rectors Col Robert Haulenbeek, Jr., Col
Joseph Gold, Col Colin Fake, Lt Col Bev-
erly Pepe, Lt Col Amos Plante and Lt Col
Margo Sothard.
Lt Col Swanson, who was pinned on
during the college, said “I would really
like to thank the staff for all its hard
work this week. I’ve been to a lot of Staff
Colleges and I believe I can honestly say
this is the best one I’ve ever seen!”
Staffers thought the successful Staff Col-
lege was due to Lt Col Swanson’s pa-
tience and simply turning his talented
staffers loose to do their jobs!
Warm congratulations to the SWRSC
Class of 2004!
Louisiana Wing Conference Louisiana Wing Commander
Colonel Rod Ammons

Mrs Rock Palermo and Mr Rock Palermo National

Legal Officer with National Vice Commander Tony
Pineda in center.

Colonel and Mrs. Rod Ammons

Pictured right is Lt Colonel Chuck Ferry

from SWR.

Lt Colonel Joe Macklin and Mr. Kenneth Skelton are never

at a loss for words.
Oklahoma Wing Conference Oklahoma Wing Commander
Colonel Virginia Keller
A Picture is worth a thousand words!

Pictured above: Colonel Thommie Herndon and Major General Rich-

ard Bowling present Oklahoma cadet with Billy Mitchell Award.

Pictures courtesy of Mrs. Connie Todd

Texas Wing Conference 2004 Texas Wing Commander
Colonel Frank Eldridge

Pictured to the left from left to right: Colo-

nel Bob Bess, Mrs. Connie Todd, Senator
Kay Bailey-Hutchison, Colonel Tom Todd,
and Colonel Frank Eldridge, Texas Wing
Commander.

Pictured left: Lt Colonel Blake Fentress and

daughter.
Photo’s courtesy of Mrs. Connie Todd.
New Mexico Wing Conference 2004 New Mexico Wing Commander
Colonel Frank Buethe

Pictured to left from right to left: Colonel

Frank Buethe, New Mexico Wing Commander
and Colonel Tom Todd.

Pictures courtesy of Mrs. Connie Todd.

Pictured left: New Mexico Cadet re-

ceives Billy Mitchell Award from Ma-
jor General Dwight Wheless, Na-
tional Commander and Colonel Tom
Todd, Southwest Region Commander
Arkansas Wing Conference 2004 Arkansas Wing Commander
Colonel Reggie Chitwood

Pictured above: Colonel and Mrs. Reggie Chitwood. Colonel

Chitwood is the Arkansas Wing Commander.

Pictures courtesy of Mrs. Connie Todd

Picture to the left are Four generations of

chaplains all the way up the chain of com-
mand.. From left to right: Chap Lt Col

Peter Nortier, Arkansas Wing Chaplain;

Colonel Charles Sharp, National Chaplain;
Chap Lt. Larry Killian, Little Rock Comp
Squadron; Chap Lt Colonel Robert Whitley,
SWR Chaplain; and Robert’s wife Brenda
Whitley.

Pictured left and above: Colonel Tom Todd and wife

Connie enjoy the conference with friends.
Arizona Wing Conference 2004
Arizona Wing Commander
Colonel John Varlven

Colonel Hal Parker speaks at Arizona Conference.

Below Colonel Varljen presents Lt Colonel Pete Feltz

with Aerospace Education Award.

Above Colonel John Varljen presents award to 1Lt Jean Hurley

Pictures Courtesy of Colonel Hal Parker.

Below Colonel Varljen presents Major Laherty with the

Grover Loening Award.

Lt. Colonel McMillin and Colonel Varljen present Com-

mander’s Commendation to Major Nelson center.
Southwest Region Conference 2004

Left to right: Colonel Tom Todd, Mrs Connie Todd,

Colonel Hal Parker, Mrs Joyce Parker, Mrs. Brenda
Bess, and Colonel Bob Bess. Lt. Colonel John Samuel and Lt Colonel
Judy Samuel.

Colonel Don Jakusz and Capt Joan Jakusz are pre-

sented Exceptional Service Awards by Colonel Todd Lt Col Beau Caldwell and Lt Col Elsie Caldwell re-
right and Lt Colonel Blake Fentress to his left. ceived Exceptional Service Awards for 50 years of ser-
vice from Colonel Todd and Lt Col Blake Fentress.

Colonel Ben Davis received a Life Time Achievement

Award for his many years of service. Pictured with
him on his right is Mrs. Erlene Davis and on his left is
Colonel Jackie Floyd-Stonebraker a long time friend.
More SWR Conference Pictures

Pictured right is Colo-

nel Virginia Keller
Oklahoma Wing com-
mander.

Major Vic Del Moral, Colonel Virginia Keller, Chap Lt Below are Colonel John Varljen and Mrs Varljen
Col Ray Twa, Maj General George Harrison, and Chap of Arizona Wing.
Colonel Charles Sharp show off their fancy shirts!

Above is Colonel Jackie Floyd-Stonebraker of

RMR, Lt Colonel Randy Loveless, and our com- Below are Colonel Don Jakusz and wife Captain Joan Jakusz
mander Colonel Tom Todd.
Below M/Gen George Harrison, USAFR and MGen
Dwight Wheless, National Commander.
That’s All of the Conference Folks

Colonel Hal Parker , Colonel Todd, and Colonel

Bob Bess look like they are having a good time.

Below is Colonel Thommie Herndon.

Major Ron Forey and Mrs. Forey pictured above.

Pictured on the right are Lt Colonel Randy Loveless

and Mrs Loveless.
VOLUME II ISSUE IV S O U T H W E S T R E G I O N N E W SLETTER PAGE 17

Happy Holidays, and

Happy New Year to All!

Colonel Tom Todd pictured left and Mrs.

Connie Todd pictured below.

Pictured above Mr. Kenneth Skelton

and Lt. Colonel James Warneke.

Pictured left TSgt Watson from

Region Liaison Office at Lt Colonel Randy Loveless and Mr.
Christmas Party. Kenneth Skelton pictured below.

Pictured left are Colonel Thommie Herndon,

Colonel Ed Jones and Major McCamet.

Pictured left: Lt
Colonel Blake Fen-
tress and Son.

Pictured right: Ma-

jor Ron Forey.