Jbjournal 121914

Joint Base Journal

www.facebook.com/jointbase JOINT BASE ANACOSTIA-BOLLING www.cnic.navy.mil/jbab

News and information for and about the premierJoint Base and its region

Vol. 5, No. 49 December 19, 2014

Happy Holidays

BY NICOLE M. WOODSJOINT BASE ANACOSTIA-BOLLING

PUBLIC AFFAIRS

President Barack Obama andfirst lady Michelle Obama vis-ited Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling(JBAB) Dec. 10 to help a local U.S.Marine Corps Reserve unit withtheir annual Toys for Tots cam-paign.

For the past six years, the firstlady has helped with collectingdonations and sorting throughtoys here at JBAB. This year shebrought along a new “helper,” thepresident, who entered the roomcarrying two large duffle bags,filled with toys, as he shouted ajolly “ho, ho, ho,” in his best SantaClaus voice.

“That’s a pretty serious ho, ho,ho,” Mrs. Obama said with a laugh.Together, the president and firstlady, along with several Marinesand their children, sorted throughthousands of unwrapped toys,placing them in separate boxes tomake it easier for packaging anddistribution.

The first lady said the leader-ship behind this effort is really theheart of what makes it all possible.

She thanked several people inattendance including the Presi-

dent and Chief Executive Officerof the Toys for Tots Foundation,retired Marine Lt. Gen. Henry P.Osman and the Commander of theMarine Forces Reserve, Lt. Gen.Richard P. Mills, for their hardwork in making the toy drive a suc-cess.

“And of course, thank you toall the Marines here at JBAB, plustheir spouses and all of our mili-tary kids,” she added.

Toys for Tots collection box-es were set-up at 300 locationsthroughout the greater Washing-ton, D.C. area during October, No-vember and December for dona-tions. Distribution of the toys washeld at RFK Memorial StadiumDec. 15-19, bringing holiday cheerto thousands of less fortunate chil-dren and families living in the re-gion.

“It’s just a tremendous privilegeto be a part of making Christmas alittle brighter for a few kids acrossthe country,” saidMrs. Obama, be-fore introducing the president.

President Obama explainedthat military service membersdon’t just work to keep us safe,but they are also strengthening

President, first lady deliver toys to Joint Base, help Marines with Toys for Tots

U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY NICOLE M. WOODS

President Barack Obama and Marine 1st Sgt. Ocie Lowery sort through boxes of toys at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Dec. 10 in support of the annual Toys for Tots toy drive. The U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Totsprogram collects unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distributes thosetoys as Christmas gifts to less fortunate children throughout the greater Washington D.C. area.See TOYS, Page 10

BY ANDREW DAMSTEDT

JOINT BASE ANACOSTIA-BOLLING

PUBLIC AFFAIRS

At first, the student shrugged.That didn’t deter Linda Turner.She had grown used to her fifth-grade student using non-verbalresponses to questions she askedabout math.

“Have you talked about nega-tive numbers before?” Turnerasked.

Fifth-grader Aaliah L. initiallyshrugged no, but after hearingTurner explain further, Aaliahbrightened and responded, “Yeah,I have talked about negative num-bers before.”

Turner, financial managementdirector at Air Force Rapid Capa-bilities Office, has been volunteer-ing at Kramer Middle School sinceSeptember. She moved to workat Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling(JBAB) from Dayton, Ohio thissummer and said she was lookingfor a meaningful volunteer experi-

ence when she heard about HigherAchievement, a mentoring pro-gram aimed at fifth to eighth gradestudents.

“It’s fun when I explain a con-cept. We do problems and exam-ples together and then watch theirfaces light up when they catch onto the main ideas and really un-derstand,” Turner said. “Since I’mno teacher, I’ve had some trial-and-error moments in figuring outhow best to explain and work withthem.”

Turner found out about theprogram through Maj. AndrewAnderson, JBAB’s lead volunteercoordinator for Higher Achieve-ment. Currently, there are 12 JBABvolunteers who mentor studentswithin the program. Andersonsaid he’d like more participationfrom the base because it is only ashort drive to the four schools thatparticipate in the program. Theyare all located within Washington,D.C., in Wards 7 and 8.

Anderson has been volunteer-

ing for 18 months, and said he’s al-ready experienced several successstories, such as seeing programgraduates accepted to elite charterschools in the district.

“I talked with one kid who wasplanning on quitting school, butI talked with him for a couple ofhours, and he decided to stay inschool,” Anderson said.

Logistics is one of the mainproblems in getting people to vol-unteer in Wards 7 or 8, said JackieRoss, Higher Achievement’s com-munication director.

“People are not willing to crossthe river and go east of the river,”Ross said.

Washington, D.C. Ward 8 hasthe greatest need for volunteermentors, she said. AchievementPrep School has a need for 33volunteers, and Kramer MiddleSchool has a need for 10 volun-teers. Ward 7 schools, Kelly Miller

Service members needed to mentor area youth in DC schools

U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY ANDREW DAMSTEDT

Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office financial management director LindaTurner, right, explains the concept of negative numbers to fifth-graderAaliah L. during their mentoring session Dec. 8 at Kramer Middle School.Turner is one of 12 volunteers from Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling who tu-tor local youth with the Higher Achievement program. See MENTOR, Page 3

2 Friday, December 19, 2014 Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling Joint Base Journal

BY ANDREW DAMSTEDT


PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Seventeen Airmen graduatedfrom the U.S. Air Force HonorGuard Technical Training SchoolDec. 12 at a ceremony held at JointBase Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB).

The graduates will now bebased at JBAB to perform cer-emonial duties such as full hon-ors funerals at Arlington NationalCemetery and presenting the na-tion’s colors throughout the areafor presidential and other officialevents.

Maj. Gen. Lee K. Levy, vice di-rector for logistics at the JointStaff, the Pentagon, addressed theClass 2015-A Honor Guard gradu-ates and family members.

“We need tomake sure we bringour fallen comrades home withhonor, dignity and respect,” Levysaid. “On that day, when that sadeventuality occurs, we’ll be there.You’ll be there to represent the AirForce and the nation to help healthe wounds of broken-heartedfamily members.”

He reminded the graduates that

the purpose of the Air Force is tohelp defend the nation.

“It is now your turn to not onlyrepresent the best in AmericanAirmen, but the best in America,”Lt. Col. Timothy Thurston, II said.“Congratulations once again on thesuccessful completion of training.Always keep near the reasons youjoined the Air Force and why youvolunteered for the Honor Guard.”

Graduates included: Tech Sgt.Dwight Hine, Staff Sgt. JeromeBryan, Staff Sgt. Alexander Nevsky,Staff Sgt. Kharim Fourcand, Air-man 1st Class Larry Brown, Airman1st Class Rigby Carter, Airman 1stClass Anicia Davis, Airman 1stClass Merick Kruml, Airman 1stClass Grambling Madise, Airman1st Class Samantha Madrid, Air-man 1st Class Cameron Moose,Airman 1st Class Chase Phelps,Airman 1st Class Torrian Tatum,Airman 1st Class Andrew Zander,Airman Quashawn Johnson andAirman Dustin White.

Levy presented Brown withthe Top Gun Award; Madrid, thePhysical Fitness Excellence Award;and Zander, the Honor GraduateAward.

Airmen graduate fromHonorGuard Technical Training School


Maj. Gen. Lee K. Levy, vice director of logistics at the Joint Staff in the Pentagon, addresses the Class 2015-AHonor Guard graduates and family members at a ceremony held at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling.

Holiday fire safety reminder

U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY JEREMY K. JOHNSON

At the Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB) holiday safety stand down Nov.19, Chief Operations Specialist Timothy Freeman (pictured) was one ofthe many employees who received a refresher course in using an extin-guisher to combat a fire. According to JBAB Fire Chief Jeff Williams, theproper method is to stand a safe distance from the fire, but close enoughto aim at the base and sweep from side to side, approaching slowly untilthe fire is out. To prepare for a possible re-flash, he added, always backaway from the fire so you can immediately respond to any flames thatmay arise from the fire reigniting.

BY NICOLE M. WOODS


PUBLIC AFFAIRS

As the holiday season contin-ues over the next few weeks, so dothe parties and festive celebrationsat the office, at home, at a friend’shouse and anywhere else you canimagine a good time to be had.

For many people, this involvesdrinking alcoholic beverages, andthat’s okay as long as you drinkresponsibly and don’t drink anddrive. One way to make that pro-cess easier is to take advantage of

the Washington Regional AlcoholProgram’s (WRAP) 2014 HolidaySoberRide program.

For a free ride (up to a $30 fare)home from Dec. 12 to New Year’sDay, between the hours of 10 p.m.to 6 a.m. nightly, call 1-800-200-TAXI (8294). AT&T customers maydial #WRAP (9727) from their wire-less phones. If the fare is more than$30, you are expected to pay the dif-ference. You must be 21-years-oldor older to use the SoberRide. Formore information on the SoberRideservice, visit www.wrap.org site.

Don’t drink and drive, call SoberRide

BY ERIC D. RITTERJOINT BASE ANACOSTIA-BOLLING

PUBLIC AFFAIRS

It was supposed to be rou-tine maintenance on the electri-cal system at the 579th MedicalGroup (MDG) clinic Saturday,Dec. 6. But after a flip of theswitch, it became anything otherthan routine.

The main power source intothe building was shut down, tak-ing advantage of a slow Saturdayon Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling(JBAB) in order to install newmedical equipment. However,when they went to turn the pow-er back on, it didn’t work.

“We anticipated there wouldbe some issues you may have toface with equipment when youturn power off, so we properlyshut down our servers and pre-pared the labs for time we antici-pated to be down,” said interim579 MDG Commander, Air ForceLt. Col. Matthew Hanson. “Wedidn’t anticipate a catastrophicpower outage to happen.”

The 30-year-old electricalbreaker wasn’t able to comeback on line due to its age. Theemergency generator was use-less as well, because it would re-quire patching through the samebreaker that was bad. It was get-ting serious for the group, Han-son said.

“All of the facility mainte-nance crews from JBAB likePublic Works, our maintenancecontractors and our BMETs[Biomedical Equipment Techni-cians] were called to assess the

situation. We even reached outto our Navy counterparts hereto see if they had anything thatcould help,” Hanson said.

Facilities management wasultimately able to locate a spareout in town, but it was a refur-bished one, he added. No newmodel was available, becausethe model needed is no longermanufactured. They did haveaccess to a few smaller genera-tors they were able to provide tokeep lab specimens from goingbad. To be able to reach custom-ers who would be affected, theycame up with a solution to usethe clinic’s wireless devices.

According to the group’sinformation technology sitecommander, 2nd Lt. SamanthaBrown, they’ve never used theirwireless devices for this purposebefore, but it was the perfect wayto reach out and communicate.

“We procured wireless devic-es we could use with our issuedlaptops that provide a mobile In-ternet ‘hotspot’, because we’rein the field a lot,” she said. “Wewere able to network into [JointBase] Andrews’ secure serverwhile ours were down. We wereable to communicate throughsocial media throughout the out-age and provide important infor-mation like emergency phonenumbers so customers coulduse to reach us. By communi-cating through social medialike that, we were able to reach7,000 beneficiaries instantly aswe progressed through the situ-ation. We were able to let people

know their appointments wouldbe affected, and it was great, be-cause we were receiving instantfeedback from them at the sametime.”

After the power was fixedMonday, it took a couple of daysto get back on their feet. But,thanks to other area resources,like Joint Base Andrews, accept-ing some of the appointmentsof affected patients, processinglabs and filling some prescrip-tions, it made getting the clinicback on schedule easier.

The generator that originallywent bad will be sent off to berepaired. Between the newer,replaced generator and the onegetting repaired - which will nowbecome a spare - the group feelsconfident they will not run into aproblem like this during the cur-rent system’s lifetime. Hansonsaid a lot of the success they hadthroughout the situation wasdue, in large part, to training.The training they do every yearto prepare for situations like thispaid off and even showed ex-tra benefit by showing ingenu-ity with the use of social mediato communicate with patients.They’ve dubbed it a “Virtual En-counter Team.”

“I couldn’t have been moreproud of the team,” Hansonsaid. “There were no lights, noheat, and they still were able toreach out and perform their dutyfor that day and a half underthose conditions admirably.”

Medical group power outage generatesingenuity, effective teamwork

3Friday, December 19, 2014Joint Base Journal Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling

This commercial enterpriseNavynewspaper is anautho-rized publication for members of the U.S. military services,retirees,DoDciviliansand their familymembers.ContentsofJoint Base Journal do not necessarily reflect the official viewsof the U.S. government, Department of Defense, U.S. Navyor U.S. Air Force and does not imply endorsement thereof.The appearance of advertising in this publication, includinginserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement bythe Department of Defense, the Navy, Air Force, Joint BaseAnacostia-Bolling or Comprint Military Publications of the

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JOINT BASE ANACOSTIA-BOLLINGWASHINGTON, D.C.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE: PHONE: 202-767-4781EMAIL: [email protected]

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COMPRINT MILITARYPUBLICATIONS

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BY ANDREW DAMSTEDTJOINT BASE ANACOSTIA-BOLLING

PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Senior citizens from throughoutWashington, D.C. got into the holi-day spirit during a party held in theirhonor at theD.C. Armory onDec. 10.

More than 4,000 senior citizensattended the Mayor’s Senior Holi-day Party, where military membersescorted the seniors from buses andserved them lunch. The festivitiesalso included dancing, singing andplenty of food.

“It’s awesome,” said Seaman Na-than Winn, who attended the partyalong with about a dozen other JointBaseAnacostia-Bolling (JBAB) servicemembers. “I’ve never been a volun-teer at this big of an event before.”

Seaman Catherine Berwick saidthe holidays are always big with herfamily, and since shewon’t be able tospend itwith themthis year, thepartyhelped get her into the holiday spirit.

“It definitely put us in the Christ-mas spirit,” Seaman Carlos Garayagreed. “Just because we’re in themilitary doesn’t mean we can’t havefun.”

As shewas serving lunch, SeamanBrianna Johnson had people stop-ping her and thanking her for herservice. One of those to whom sheserved lunch was Dolores McMil-lian, a Southeast D.C. resident, whowas enjoying the party and said shewas grateful for the servicemen andwomenhelping at the event.

“I like the idea of this - it showsthemthatwe’re still lively at 65-plus,”said McMillian. “It could give theman insight into their ownparents andgrandparents.”

The party was sponsored by theD.C. Office on Aging, and ExecutiveDirector John Thompson said theycould not have done it without themilitarymembers’ help.

“Theyserve their countryoverseasand today they’re serving their com-munity in D.C.,” Thompson said. “Itmeans theworld to the seniors and totheOffice on Aging.”

Seaman Corvin Mitchell said hewas glad to help out at the party andfor him it was “great to be able to puta smile on people’s faces during thisholiday season.”

Joint Base spreads holiday cheer to DC seniors


Seaman Brianna Johnson talks with Dolores McMillian, a D.C. resident, at the Mayor’s Senior Holiday Party Dec.10. Military members escorted the seniors to the party as well as helped serve lunch at the event.

Middle School and Chavez-Park-side Middle School, need fewervolunteers.

Mentors work with students ineither math or literature or can askto do a seminar with the studentson various subjects such as robot-ics, geography, computer skills,Ross said. Volunteers are neededon a weekly basis for two hours onMondays, Tuesdays or Thursdayevenings.

“It’s an easy program to get in-volved with, and it’s a command-endorsed volunteer opportunity,”Anderson said. “That’s good, butthe real benefit is helping kids geton track to graduate from highschool and go to college, and thengraduate from college.”

Attributes of the ideal HigherAchievementmentor include beinga good listener, understanding themiddle school experience and be-ing someone who can be tough onthe students if needed, Ross said.

“I think it’s a combination ofcare, compassion, interest, andcommitment,” said Ross.

All the training, curriculum,structure and resources are pro-vided by the program. Mentorswork with small groups of stu-dents, teaching from approvedlesson plans.

Mentors gain benefits by par-ticipating in the program as well.Anderson said he’s improved histeaching skills by having to go overthe curriculum each week beforepresenting it to his students.

“It’s developed me as a teach-er,” Anderson said. “It’s fun to in-teract with the kids and they reallywant to learn.”

To get involved, volunteersmust go through a backgroundcheck (waived for those with fed-eral security clearance), verify theyhave an up-to-date tuberculosistest, and complete the program’smentor training.

For more information on vol-unteering, visit to www.higher-achievement.org, or e-mail Ander-son, [email protected].

MENTORn continued from 1

Air Force Band holiday caroling

U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY MICHELLE L. GORDON

The U.S. Air Force Band Blue 82 Brass Quintet played holiday tunes for the children and staff of Joint BaseAnacostia-Bolling’s Child Development Center I on Dec. 17. Cecelila Kitson, training curriculum specialist atthe center, said the band was asked to play as part of the center’s parent relation program. She added thatit also exposes the children to music, as well as different jobs within the Air Force.



St. Michael Catholic Community Christmas ScheduleDec. 20 Mass 5 p.m.

Caroling in Base Housing 6 p.m.Advent Meal - Nativity: Jesus

Dec. 21 Fourth Sunday of Advent-Mass 9:30 a.m.Dec. 24 Christmas Eve Mass 5 p.m.Dec. 25 Christmas Day Mass 9:30 a.m.Dec. 31 Solemnity of Mary, Vigil Mass 5 p.m.

Jan. 1 Solemnity of Mary, Mass 9:30 a.m.All events take place at the JBAB Chapel Center unless oth-

erwise noted

Protestant Community Christmas ScheduleDec. 21 Faith Finders - Chapel Center 9:30 a.m.

Traditional Worship - Chapel Two 11 a.m.Gospel Worship - Chapel Center 11:30 a.m.

Dec. 24 Christmas Eve Service - Chapel Two 7 p.m.Dec. 28 No Faith Finders classes

Traditional Worship - Chapel Two 11 a.m.Gospel Worship - Chapel Center 11:30 a.m.

Dec. 31 Watch Night Service - Chapel Center 8 p.m.Food, Games, Worship, Prayer, Breakfast

For more information on any programs, please call the Cha-pel Center, 202-767-5900

Joint Base Chapel Christmas Schedule

1042703


BY MICHELLE L. GORDON


PUBLIC AFFAIRS

More than 25,000 volunteersentered the gates of ArlingtonNational Cemetery Dec. 13, to layfresh Christmas wreaths at eachheadstone as part of WreathsAcross America Day.

Although the program beganin 1992, this is the first year theWreaths Across America organiza-tion reached their goal of provid-ing a Christmas wreath at each ofthe 230,000 gravesites in the na-tional cemetery.

Don Stoll, a volunteer respon-sible for covering Section 13, said

this is his fifth year helping passout wreaths, and he believes it isthe least we can do to honor ourfallen heroes.

“We all have our freedom be-cause of the folks who’ve been putto rest here,” said Stoll. “Many ofthem don’t have family in the area,so it gives everyone an opportunityto honor them - family or not.”

Prior to distribution, the volun-teers were given simple instruc-tions regarding wreath placementto ensure uniformity. Each wreathshould be placed at a 45 degreeangle with the bow on top, and tonot place any on headstones withthe Star of David, said Stoll.

Among the volunteers was

10-year-old Krysteena Backer,who said this is her second timeparticipating in Wreaths AcrossAmerica Day with her Girl Scouttroop.

“My great-grandfather was inthe Korean War,” said Backer. “Allof the people here served in the

wars and helped free everybodyand helped the country. They’revery important, so it’s good to laywreaths to honor them.”

The annual event takes placeeach year on the second Saturdayin December. Although the eventin Arlington is the largest, Wreaths

Across America events take placein all 50 states, Puerto Rico andmore than 20 overseas veterancemeteries.

For more information about theWreaths Across America organiza-tion, visit www.wreathsacrossa-merica.org.

‘Wreaths Across America’ reaches goal of covering Arlington National Cemetery

U.S. NAVY PHOTOS BY MICHELLE L. GORDON

Krysteena Backer, 10, participated in Wreaths Across America, along with seven other members of Girl ScoutTroop 50. Backer said this was her second year volunteering to help lay wreaths and she enjoys doing it be-cause of her family’s military history.

In 1992, the owner of Worcester Wreath Company in Harrington, Maine,donated surplus Christmas wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery. Thewreath donations continued annually for several years, until 2005, when aphoto of the headstones at Arlington, adorned with wreaths and coveredin snow, circulated around the Internet. Suddenly, the project receivednational attention.


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6 Friday, December 19, 2014 Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling Joint Base Journal Friday, December 19, 2014Joint Base Journal Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling

President and first lady visit Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling


President Barack Obama hugs one of the children helping sort toys during the Toysfor Tots drive, Dec. 10 at JBAB, as they work together to sort through boxes of toysthat were later donated to less fortunate children throughout the Washington, D.C.area.


President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle were all smiles as they helpedsort toys during the Toys for Tots drive held Dec. 10 at JBAB.


The president and a Marine stationed here at JBAB sortthrough thousands of toys, Dec. 10, in support of the U.S. Ma-rine Corps Reserve’s annual Toys for Tots program.


Marines from JBAB stand ready to assist the president andthe first lady sort toys donated by the White House staff atthe U.S. Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots program heldDec. 10 on JBAB.


First lady Michelle Obama welcomed the crowd and thankedeveryone for attending. She said she was honored to be apart of the Toys for Tots program for the sixth year, and thisyear she brought along some help.


President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama visited Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling Dec. 10 to deliver Toys for Tots collected by the White House staff. Although this was the first lady’s sixth trip supporting the event here on JBAB, it was the presi-dent’s first time attending.


Navy Capt. Frank Mays, JBAB commander (left), along withJBAB Marine Corps families attended the U.S. Marine CorpsReserve’s Toys for Tots event held Dec. 10 at JBAB.


The Commander of the Marine Forces Reserve, Lt. Gen. Rich-ard P. Mills helped sort toys donated by the White Housestaff during the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Totsevent held Dec. 10 on JBAB.


President Barack Obama examines a scooter to best deter-mine the most appropriate age group as he helps sort toysduring the Toys for Tots drive, Dec. 10 at JBAB.


President Barack Obama and Marine 1st Sgt. Ocie Lowery dis-cuss which box to place a toy tool kit during the U.S. MarineCorps Reserve’s Toys for Tots toy sorting event held Dec. 10on JBAB.


Retired Marine Lt. Gen. Pete Osman, president and chief exec-utive officer of the Marine Toys for Tots program spoke to thecrowd about the importance of the program and also intro-duced the president and the first lady during the U.S. MarineCorps Reserve’s Toys for Tots event held Dec. 10 on JBAB.


President Barack Obama shakes hands with some of the children during the Toysfor Tots drive, Dec. 10 at JBAB, as they work together to sort through boxes of toysthat were later donated to less fortunate children throughout the Washington, D.C.area.

7


BY KEN SEXTON1954 BOLLING BEAM STAFF

Editor’s Note - This story originally appeared in the Bol-ling Air Force Base (BAFB) newspaper, Bolling Beam, Dec. 24,1954. Minimal edits were made to ensure the transcriptionconforms to current newswriting standards. BAFB is one ofthree military properties that now constitute Joint Base Ana-costia-Bolling (JBAB).

Whatwas Christmas like 10 years ago at Bolling? Five yearsago? Come along and let’s review some of the highlights:

1944The silent Army Air Force (AAF) Band barracks suddenly

came to life, erupting hot jive notes with a “rawther broad A.”The AAF Band and the Royal Air Force (RAF) Band had pulleda swap, with the RAF Band touring the U.S. and the AAF Bandtouring merry old England.

1945Continental Air Command, which then occupied Bolling,

granted base personnel a four-day Christmas “break.”Mrs. Henry H. Arnold donated toys to be given to chil-

dren of Bolling officers and enlisted men at the base kids’Christmas party.

An unorthodoxmodel of Buck Rogers’ plane of the futureflew from Long Beach, Calif., in five hours and 17 minutesto land at Bolling. The XB-42 “Mixmaster” was powered bya unique method, a “pusher propeller” located just behindthe tail control surfaces.

1946Just before Christmas, on Dec. 15, Bolling became an

individual command under direct command of AAF Head-quarters. The Bolling Field Command - later renamedHeadquarters Command - was born.

Because of a high rate of discharges, members of the

Base Separations Center worked during both the Christmasand New Year’s holidays. At the time, a daily average of 50persons was being discharged here.

1947Santa Claus visited the kiddies at Bolling, but not by the

usual reindeer and sleigh. Instead, a plane brought him tothe skies over the base and he descended to Earth via para-chute.

1948Santa repeated his 1947 Christmas arrival, again floating

down to Bolling kiddies in a parachute. The silhouette ofSanta and eight reindeer appeared in the night skies overBolling. This was done by playing large search lights sky-ward on a huge plyboard cut-out of Santa and his reindeer,erected on the roof of the Service Club.

1949Like everyone else, Bolling personnel had to put two-

cent stamps on their Christmas cards - if they left the enve-lopes unsealed - instead of the one-and-a-half cent stampsrequired in previous years.

1950The following notice appeared in the Dec. 15, 1950 issue

of the Beam, “The base adjutant’s office would be happyto hear from any officers who wish to volunteer for duty asbase Officer of the Day for either Dec. 24 or 25.”

1951Bolling personnel were given a four-day Christmas holi-

day and a three-day New Year’s holiday.

1952A permanent Christmas tree was planted at Bolling. The

tree, a 25-foot cedar, was brought from Bowling Green, Va.,and transplanted near Building 20.

1953Santa Claus was so loaded down with toys for children of

Bolling military personnel that he had to use a C-47. Over1,000 kiddies attended the kids’ Christmas party, the largestin Bolling history up to that time.

1954The Beam wishes you the best Christmas yet.

Highlights of 10 years of Merry Christmases celebrated at BollingFrom the Archives

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View all events at www.MyWFR.com

Holiday Specials and EventsLast chance to purchase ChristmasTrees

Available at Outdoor Recreation parkinglot, Thurs.-Mon.: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. On-base de-livery available for $5.

Personalized Gifts at Arts & CraftsMake memories this holiday season with

personalized gifts from the engraving shop.Have your uniquemessages engraved on or-naments, glasses and mugs, picture framesand more.

Magdalene’s Custom Framing ClassesFirst and Third Saturday in December

and January | 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. | Cost $50,plus supplies.

Learn the tricks of the trade so you canpreserve your special memories.

Book Your Holiday PartiesPotomac Lanes Bowling Center offers

group packages available for parties of 10or more. Eat, bowl and celebrate at the Po-tomac Lanes Bowling Center and leave theclean up to us! Dates fill up quickly so call202-563-1701 for reservations.

White House Ornament2014 White House Christmas Ornaments

are on sale now for $18 at the Bolling Club.Purchase a 2014 ornament and receive any

previous year, in stock, for only $8! Whilesupplies last.

New Year’s Eve PartiesNew Year’s Eve Club MembershipCelebration

Dec. 31 | 8 p.m.-2 a.m. | Bolling ClubExperience New Year’s Eve like never be-

fore! Enjoy DJ entertainment, party favorsand complimentary hors d’oeuvres from8-10 p.m. A champagne toast and breakfastbuffet will be served at 12:15 a.m. All reser-vations must be made by Dec. 29. Please callthe Bolling Club at 202-767-6794.

Club Members: Free entry in advance,$10 at the door; Non-Members: $25 in ad-vance, $35 at the door.

Child Care: $10 per child in advance or$75 at the door.

Cosmic New Year’s Eve PartyDec. 31 | 9 p.m.-1 a.m. |Potomac Lanes

Bowling CenterCelebrate the arrival of 2015 at Potomac

Lanes Bowling Center. DJ Chris fires up thenight with great music and cosmic bowl-ing for only $75 per lane (maximum of sixpeople). Price includes one large 14” onetopping pizza, a pitcher of soda and lightbreakfast. This event will sell out so reserva-tions are recommended. Call 202-563-1701.

Room ReservationsDon’t drink and drive. Room reserva-

tions are available at Gateway Inns & Suites.1-877-NAVYBED (628-9233).

Warfighter & Family Readiness Events9Friday, December 19, 2014Joint Base Journal Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling

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our country daily - from volunteering in ourschools, in congregations, and in our com-munities.

“With our combat mission coming to aclose in Afghanistan, it means more of ourextraordinary military members are goingto be home for the holidays, back wherethey belong,” the president said.

“It’s great to be here, and I really justwant to say thanks to all for participating,and I want to thank the Toys for Tots cam-paign.”

Since Toys for Tots started in the 1940s,more than 469 million toys have been dis-tributed to over 260 million kids. “That’sa lot of doll houses and ninja turtles,” thepresident said.

He explained that Toys for Tots is aboutgenerosity and giving back.

Marine Lt. Col. David Johnson said it wasgreat to have the first family’s support, be-cause it will help generate a lot more sup-port from others in the region, which hegreatly appreciated.

“It brings hope to kids who wouldn’t oth-

erwise receive Christmas presents so we’reproviding something that they may not getunless we provide it to them,” Johnson said.“When you see the joy in their eyes at theend of the day, that’s what we’re providing.”

For the future of Toys for Tots in this re-gion, Johnson said he wants to see the pro-gram increase its mission and have morecollaboration with nonprofits.

“We’re always looking for new and inno-vative ways to get out there, like this year,we partnered with the Metro Transit systemfor the first time at several of their locationsto help generate more toys,” he said.

Ellen Vogler, wife of Marine Capt. KurtVogler, stationed here at JBAB, attendedthe event with her three little children, Ava,Alaina and Nate, who helped the presidentand first lady sort through toys, Vogler ex-plained that it is especially important to doa toy drive during the Christmas holiday forall the kids and families who simply wouldnot have gifts without this assistance.

She said it is an opportunity to teach herkids that Toys for Tots is more than just giv-ing a toy away, but more importantly that itis helping someone who needs it.

“If they have toys then they won’t bebored,” said 7-year-old Ava.

TOYSn continued from 1

BY NICOLEM. WOODS


PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Every Wednesday, a group of homeeducators at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling(JBAB) and their students join together forextracurricular activities, fun and social-izing with their peers at the base bowlingcenter.

From learning the physical game ofbowling, to teaching them how to score andunderstand the different parts of the game,students get to interact with friends andfamily while learning something new eachtime.

“It’s really the social aspect of it all,” saidDiane Butler, director of the JBAB HomeEducators group. Bowling is just one of themany activities that homeschool studentshere at JBAB get to experience throughoutthe year, without the limitations of longsummer and winter breaks.

Students also get to experience fencingclasses, chess clubs, and even Tai Kwon Doand private music lessons, much like theirtraditional school counterparts.

“We find ways to help kids connect toideas, to help them problem solve, and todevelop their critical thinking,” explainedformer Director of the JBAB Home Educa-tors group, Audri Beugelsdijk. “Everything isan opportunity for learning,” she said.

JBAB Home Educators is a home schoolsupport group for military families living inthe greater Washington, D.C. area. It offers avariety of activities for its members.

“As long as we can keep our kids engagedon how they learn, whether they are visuallearners, kinesthetic, audio or visual, we try

to connect all those dots with them into away that fits that child’s particular learningstyle,” Beugelsdijk said.

According to Butler, the main mission ofthe group is to support home educators byproviding supplemental activities, events,volunteer options and unique experiencesthat otherwise may not be available to thechildren.

“It enhances and supports the families inany way that they need it,” she said.

The home educators teach their children

all of the necessary core subjects at homeand then bring them together with otherhome-schooled children for the social in-teraction piece. Seventeen year old Mat-thew Borelli, who has been homeschooledsince second grade and is now preparingfor graduation, said the social interaction isvery important to him.

“One of the main stereotypes peoplehave about homeschoolers is that we aren’tsocial. They wonder how we meet people,because they think we’re at home all day,but really being a part of this homeschoolgroup as long as I have, we actually get morechances to go out during the day with ourfriends,” Borelli chuckled, “This has prob-ably been the best thing that has ever hap-pened to me.”

Aside from being a student, Borelli lovesto bowl, and he helps teach the younger kidshow to play the game. He also comes upwith new subjects for them to focus on everyweek. He mentioned that homeschoolersknow how to turn everything into a learningexperience.

“Sometimes we tap into the expertise ofour parents and family members, which alsokeeps them involved and engaged while ex-posing our children to other teachers who

aren’t just mom and dad,” said Beugelsdijk.For example, Butler’s nephew, a science

major in college, put together a physicsworkshop for the children during the sum-mer, which was something the studentswere interested in learning, explained Beu-gelsdijk.

“From the moment you have your child,and you’re looking into the eyes of your new-born, they’re learning,” said Beugelsdijk.“That’s why we don’t put an age limit onchildren getting involved in the program. Weeven have some people who bring their ba-bies, and they learn whatever they can learnas an infant, all the way up to graduation.”

The group ensures that their students areable to participate in traditions such as promand a formal graduation ceremony by estab-lishing relationships with the many installa-tions in the area, including JBAB, which inturn provides facilities to hold the events.

“Last year, we held our prom at the FortBelvoir Officer’s Club, which overlooks thePotomac,” explained Butler. “We’re so fortu-nate to get support from the base; it’s a hugehelp that allows us to get out of the house.”

“Contrary to popular belief, homeschool-ing doesn’t always mean school at home;we’re not required to stay at our houses. Infact, we have found that the best environ-ment to teach our children is the world,”said Beugelsdijk. “A part of our day mightbe in themorning, working on core subjects,and then, if we’re doing science, we couldend up at a science museum downtown,”she added.

Another important aspect of the sup-port group is being able to connect with thecommunity, and give back to those in need,explained Butler. Through coordinationwith JBAB public affairs or through the basechapel, students are able to participate incommunity service projects like OperationChristmas Child, and donating white socksto homeless shelters in Washington, D.C.Wards 7 and 8.

“Half the battle with learning is keepingyour kids excited about learning. If you cando that, as they get older, they’re going tostay interested and enjoy learning,” said An-drews.

The JBAB Home Educators welcomehome school families from every branch ofthe military whether active duty or retired.They also welcome Department of Defensecivilians.

Home educators provide unique experiences for students


Matthew Borelli, 17, has been a part of the home educators program since second grade.He now helps teach the younger homeschool students how to bowl and keep score of theirgames during weekly gatherings at the Potomac Lanes on Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling.

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