Nov elmorro 2011web

November 2011

Fort Buchanan

The Sentinel of the Caribbean

NASA sends students to the stars, Pages 10, 11

El MorroVol. 47 issue 4

ECOs deliver message of stewardship, Page 7

Community images now available on

Tax Volunteers

WAR Page 6

Live & Explore

McHugh says balance needed with war’s endBy Rob McIlvaineArmy News Service

Secretary of the Army John McHugh believes that with the drawdown of forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, talented Sol-diers will need to be retained while Army infrastructure

draws down, and the American people and war fighters need to maintain a connection.

“You can’t have an Army without people,” McHugh said at a recent breakfast in a downtown hotel, adding that the Army today is family-ori-

ented, unlike the vast majority of single Soldiers in the 1970s.

McHugh said it’s also time to take a look at the balance between contracting and pro-viding government services.

“I think it was long overdue that the Army takes the oppor-

tunity to look at how it does its business. We had outsourced a lot of jobs, hired a lot of con-tractors and they did yeoman’s work for us, but it was time after nearly a decade of that trend to take a better look at how we’re doing things inside

the Army and I expect ... by the time these are implemented, we could save, say by the year of 2017, upwards of $10 bil-lion a year,” he said.

McHugh hopes these kinds

Training for the Vol-unteer Income Tax As-sistance Program volun-teers will begin on Dec. 12 and end on Dec. 15.

For details on how and where you can become a certified VITA tax pre-parer contact José Mar-quez at (787) 707-5138.

The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) trains community volunteers who may help with special credits, such as Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit among other basic tax needs.

The legal office will offer free tax return preparation for qualified personnel you by volun-teers for the upcoming Tax Season (February – April, 2012).

SOS Support Center opens doors to healing

From left to right: Angel L. Castro – SOS Support Coordinator, Brig. Gen. Rafael O’Ferrall - PR Assistance Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. (R), Félix A. Santoni – PR Aide to the Secretary of the Army, Col. John D. Cushman – Garrison Commander, Beverly N. Lopez Rodriguez - (Survivor daughter), Haidee Feliciano (Survivor mother), Kimberly Lopez Rodriguez (Survivor daughter), Widiel K. Lopez Rodriguez (Survivor son), Digna E. Lopez – Survivor wife of Spc. William Lopez-Feliciano, José Lopez (Survivor father) Brig. Gen. Fernando Fernández – 1st MSC Commanding General.

Photos by Guillermo Santiago

Friday, Sept. 9 marked the beginning of a new Survivor Outreach Services (SOS) Sup-port Center in the history of Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico. The SOS Support Center building 1144 located at Au-subo Street, Coconut Grove was officially opened for use by all Fallen Soldiers’ Survi-vors after the ribbon cutting ceremony.

In recognition and apprecia-tion of the significance of our loved one’s sacrifice, the Army Chief of Staff and Secretary of the Army approved a new ini-tiative in 2009: The Survivors Outreach Services. The Survi-vor Outreach Services (SOS) is an Army Community Ser-vice (ACS) program designed to provide short-term and long-term support and services to the Survivors of all Armed Forces.

It is the responsibility of Fort Buchanan ACS to imple-ment and launch this initiative in Puerto Rico and the Carib-bean.

All Fort Buchanan ACS/SOS transactions will be con-ducted at building 1144, once it has been transfer from the Casualty and Assistance Cen-ter. Therefore, the purpose of the Survivor Outreach Ser-vices Building Ribbon Cutting

Story by Ángel L. CastroFor Fort Buchanan Public Affairs

Ceremony was to reveal the new location of the Survivor Outreach Services Program.

A total of 120 Fallen Sol-dier’s Survivors were present during this important event. Currently there are 393 sur-vivors through the island of Puerto Rico including the Caribbean. The intent of this comprehensive program is to ensure continued support as needed and desired by eligible

Family members for the dura-tion of their immediate and long term care requirements in the following areas: Army benefits, financial counseling, grief counseling and support services, estate planning, as-sistance in the preparation of estate related tax documents, and life skills education.

“As I look at the audience, I see the faces of Family mem-bers beaming with pride,” Col.

John D. Cushman, garrison commander, told the Survi-vors. “You rightfully should because your Soldiers did ex-actly what the creed states - they never quit.” “On behalf of a grateful nation, we salute you – our Family members – for our heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice defending our freedom so we can live in

SOS Page 12

The Sentinel of the CaribbeanEl Morro

Fort Buchanan

The Command Group2November 2011

Garrison CommanderCol. John D. Cushman

Deputy to the Garrison CommanderGunnar G.F. Pedersen Jr.

Deputy CommanderLt. Col. Kenneth M. Hammond

Garrison Command Sergeant MajorCommand Sgt. Maj. Derrick T. Simpson

Public Affairs OfficerGrissel Rosa

Media RelationsPedro Silva

Command InformationLuis Delgadillo

El Morro ContributorsCapt. Taylor Opel

Luis Salazar

1st Mission Support Command Public Affairs OfficerCapt. Carlos M. Cuebas

Mailing address —Public Affairs Office

Building 390 Crane Loop Ste. 311Fort Buchanan PR, 00934-4616

Story submissions —E-mail to: [email protected]

Telephone numbers —(787)707-5762/4486 Fax: (787)707-3362

1st MSC submissions —E-mail to: [email protected]

1st MSC telephone number —(787)707-4988

El Morro is an authorized publica-tion printed in accordance with Army Regulation 360-1.

Contents of El Morro are not neces-sarily the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. Government, the Depart-ment of Defense, Department of the Army or U.S. Army Garrison, Fort Buchanan.

El Morro is published monthly by the Public Affairs Office, U.S. Army Garrison. Circulation 5,000.

All editorial content of El Morro is prepared, edited, provided and ap-proved by the U.S. Army Garrison Pub-lic Affairs Office. For guidance on how to submit items for publication e-mail the garrison Public Affairs Office.

The Editor reserves right to edit all submissions and to determine the suit-ability for inclusion in El Morro.

Every effort will be made to publish submissions in a timely manner. How-ever, time, layout, style and editorial considerations, as well as determina-tions for publication, are made by the Commander or the Public Affairs Of-ficer.

El Morro

Commander Commentary

The Army’s Backbone Command Sgt. Maj. Derrick Simpson

The Holidays are just around the corner. What a better way to start the season by paying hom-age to our heroes from past wars and conflicts. Our nation owes our democratic way of life to your sacrifices in years past. The very foundation of this nation rests on the selflessness of your service. Therefore we must cel-ebrate what you have done for us on Veteran’s Day and every day. We also honor the sacrifices of our Military Families during Military Family Appreciation Month. We echo the words of our Commander in Chief, Presi-dent Barack Obama: “Just as our troops embody the courage and character that make America’s military the finest in the world, their family members embody the resilience and generosity that make our communities strong. They serve with heroism in their homes and neighborhoods while they are without the comfort of having loved ones nearby.” On behalf of a grateful nation, thank you veterans, for defending our freedom so we can live in peace; and thank you to our military Families of Active, Guard and Reserve for your dedication and continuing contribution to our

country. The Fort Buchanan fam-ily welcomes its newest member, Lt. Col. Kenneth M. Hammond, who will carry out the mission of Deputy Commander. We also bid farewell to another family member, Lt. Col. Gerald R. Sav-age, an outstanding leader in our community, as he looks forward for his retirement. Lt.Col. Sav-age, thank you for your support to the Fort Buchanan commu-nity, mission accomplished!This is an example of the changes our military community is facing. Since its establishment Fort Bu-chanan has accomplished many missions in support of the Army and our nation. Today, the U.S. Army is facing a very challeng-ing fiscal environment that calls for though choices. Last August, the Army announced that it will reduce the size of its Civilian em-ployee workforce by more than 8,700 people by September 30th, 2012. These cuts are based on Department of Defense resource decisions as reflected in the Fis-cal Year 2012 President’s Budget and require a reduction of Army Civilian employees to comply with decreased funding levels. This situation not only will affect Fort Buchanan but other instal-

lations within the Department of the Army. Since I arrived to Fort Buchanan I have been speak-ing about change and the need to stay flexible. The Army Re-serve identified an imbalance of manpower resources among the four Army Reserve installations and is looking to redistribute its resources while dealing with a fundamentally different fiscal reality. To meet this challenge, the Army Reserve Installation Management Directorate in co-ordination with the Installation Management Command con-ducted a thorough assessment of our civilian positions to relocate and balance our resources. The Army’s FY 13-17 Program Ob-jective Memorandum (POM) reflects the decisions made to achieve these targets. As your Commander, you can trust that I will do everything I can legally, morally and ethically correct to take care of our workforce. We are committed to protect-ing our existing workforce as much as possible while meeting our goals. Our goals is to reduce “spaces” not “faces”. As a Sol-dier I live by our values and do what’s right. Because we have carefully managed our hiring

actions in the past, we hope to achieve directed reductions with minimal impact on our existing employees. We will use all avail-able options to achieve reduction objectives while mitigating ad-verse impact on the workforce. In some cases an employee may have to be reassigned to another position in an effort to retain and manage the talent within our workforce. Employees may be offered various incentives or early retirement options such as Voluntary Early Retirement Au-thority (VERA) and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment (VSIP). We will provide infor-mation as it becomes available on the implementation of this process and where employees can go for additional assistance.

For more than 80 years Fort Buchanan has accomplished many missions thanks to the sup-port of a quality workforce truly committed to our Soldiers and their Families. Our commitment to our workforce is to be honest and keep you informed. Tough choices have to be made but we will make them in a thoughtful and careful manner that best sup-ports the Army’s future mission requirements.

Fort Buchanan is about to em-bark on a new initiative built on activity driven social functions meant to encourage single Sol-diers to get out of their comfort zone. It is my hope that in shar-ing your common interests and backgrounds, BOSS program Soldiers will feel a renewed sense of camaraderie that will stay with them where ever they go. These bonds in conjunction with the Army Values create a well rounded single Soldier who is able to make healthy lifestyle choices and build inner strength.

Around here we call that re-siliency and it is a vital part of an individual’s ability to handle uncomfortable circumstances or even traumatic events.

We have come up with a new model for the BOSS program. Our hope is that the new program

will better match the unique na-ture of our island. Island-wide has been the garrison’s approach to support services for Soldiers and their families and now the Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers Program will adopt that model and with that we hope to rejuvenate BOSS program par-ticipation.

We will accomplish this by welcoming all Soldiers who are single from the National Guard, Army Reserve and Active Army units here in Puerto Rico. Fort Buchanan will still serve as the hub of all activity but with this new approach we hope to en-courage single soldiers all over the island to feel like they are a part of a larger family, the Army family.

With the help of new Soldiers and increased participation from

various units and our partners in the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation we hope to expand the number of BOSS events. This change in approach is in line with the Sergeant Major of The Army’s vision for a successful BOSS program.

Switching gears now, on Oct. 27 Fort Buchanan held its latest juvenile review board. This rep-resents the first JRB I have been a part of here at Fort Buchanan and while the circumstances sur-rounding the JRBs are not nec-essarily pleasant the important thing to remember is that they are important because they help hold juveniles accountable for their actions.

As a member of the Fort Bu-chanan’s leadership I will always respond and take the appropri-

ate action to ensure we main-tain a safe and family friendly environment for all members of the community. Bullying and vandalism will not be tolerated but the JRB cannot successfully carry out its intent of correcting delinquent behavior without the full cooperation from parents.

We appreciate parents’ in-volvement and hope that togeth-er we can arrive at solutions that strengthen our community and help young people learn from their mistakes. I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and be-fore I finish I would like to urge all of you to attend our annual Turkey Bowl Nov. 23 at 10 a.m. where this year Army will face off against a team consisting of Marines and Sailors. We look forward to seeing you there and as always, stay Army Strong.

The Sentinel of the CaribbeanEl Morro Fort Buchanan

From The Top 3November 2011

Defender 6 sends Army Family Covenant: The Commitment Endures

Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch, Defender 6

SAN ANTONIO -- Four years ago this month, the Army announced the Army Family Covenant, which prom-ised to provide Soldiers and Families a quality of life commensurate with their service.

To help Soldiers and Families stressed by years of war, the Army substantially increased funding for programs in areas such as Soldier and Family services, behavioral health, housing, child care, education, and employment.

Today, headlines about defense bud-get cuts are prompting people to ask whether the Army is going to keep its promises.

The short answer is yes. Leaders change and situations change, but the Army’s commitment to Soldiers and Families endures.

Under the AFC, the Army devel-oped and enhanced a range of pro-grams that build Soldier and Fam-ily strength, resilience and readiness. These programs include Survivor Outreach Services, Child, Youth and School Services, New Parent Support, the Military Spouse Employment Pro-gram, Strong Bonds, and the Wounded Warriors Sports Program.

Under the AFC, the Army has pro-

vided new and renovated housing for thousands of Families and single Soldiers, and constructed more than 150 new child care and youth centers. The Army has increased the number of Military Family Life Consultants, who provide confidential non-medical counseling for Soldiers and Families, and the number of behavioral health care providers, who provide behavior-al health services before, during and after deployment.

Under the AFC, the Army has worked hard to reach the whole Army Family, including geographically dis-persed Soldiers and Family members. Toward that end, the Army supports a number of services away from in-stallations, such as community-based child care and Army National Guard Family Assistance Centers, and pro-vides Army OneSource, which en-ables 24/7 access to information and services regardless of location.

At a time when the Army is restor-ing its balance, the AFC has been the catalyst for enhancing and standard-izing the quality of support for Sol-diers and Families. And now it is time to ensure our investment has made a difference in the lives of Soldiers and Families.

Program review has been built into the Army Family Covenant from day one. It has always been part of the AFC plan to assess program effective-ness, consolidate, and make adjust-ments, to ensure there is no overlap or gaps between programs.

So the current fiscal situation does not change our course but it does put more gas in our tank. It intensifies the need to streamline and make sure we continue to provide the most valuable programs.

For the programs under the AFC um-brella, the majority of which are run by Installation Management Command, customer feedback is a critical part of our ongoing evaluation. We gather customer feedback partly by looking at which services are used most often, and partly by asking customers about their experiences, through garrison focus groups and surveys such as the Army OneSource Army Family Cov-enant survey, just completed Sept. 1.

We will be asking for feedback again in January, when Soldiers, Fam-ily members, Civilians and Retirees will receive a survey on their needs, usage and satisfaction with Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation programs. I urge everyone to take this

and every other opportunity to tell us about the programs and services that are valuable to you. Your feedback im-pacts decisions about programming.

Like every other government orga-nization, every business, and every family, we are taking a close look at our use of resources during this time of fiscal uncertainty. We have to de-termine the most efficient, most ef-fective ways to reach out to the entire Army Family and provide support in the areas of greatest need. But we are starting from a clear, non-negotiable bottom line: the Army will keep its promise to Soldiers and Families.

Turkey Bowl Showdown 2011

Command Sgt. Maj. Derrick T. Simpson and BOSS President , Staff Sgt. María Garcia

November 23, 10 a.m.

Maxi Williams Jr. Field

Join the Fort Buchanan Community as we cheer on our armed forces and watch as Army tries to avenge their 2010 Turkey Bowl loss to

the Marines and Navy.

Volunteers and football players for the event are still needed. To volunteer contact Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers

President, Staff Sgt. María Garcia at: Office Phone: 787-707-5159

Turkey Bowl sponsored by the Directorate of Family Morale and Welfare and Recreation


Fort Buchanan

News4November 2011

Legislation could expand Reserve role in homeland securityBy J.D. LeipoldArmy News Service

WASHINGTON -- Legisla-tion being considered by both houses of Congress could pro-vide the Army Reserve broad-er authority to call up troops for homeland security and also allow the force to deploy units for operations lasting 120 days or less.

Chief of the Army Reserve Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz said last week that the legislation would grant authority to call up as many as 60,000 R e s e r v i s t s per year from all services, for unnamed con t ingen-cies, both inside and outside the country. He spoke to re-porters about the proposed expansion of Title 10 au-thority fol-lowing a seminar Oct. 11 at the Association of the 2011 U.S. Army Annual Meeting and Exposition.

“For homeland use, cur-rent law says you can only use your Title 10 Reserve in the homeland in instances of weapons of mass destruc-tion,” Stultz said, adding that the Army Reserve isn’t trying to insert itself or replace the National Guard.

“There should be a logical progression, just like there is now, where local civil authori-ties respond, then the governor calls up the National Guard -- and in 90 percent of the cases

that’s all that’s needed -- but in that other 10 percent where the state needs federal help, we’d be available with a lot of needed expertise,” Stultz said.

Stultz said the National Governors Association and the National Guard Associa-tion felt there were no issues of infringement and they sup-port the Title 10 change as well.

Additionally, the Army Re-serve has sought the Title 10 change to allow it to support operations that are usually

90 - to -120-day deploy-ments and would give each Reserve force com-mander the authority to send one unit for the en-tire duration rather than have two or three units cover down in that same period of

time.The general also said he was

looking at creating an opera-tional reserve of about 25,000 Soldiers of which 5,000 could be pulled up trained and ready when the country needed them. This would keep the ro-tational cycle ideal at one year out, four years back.

Presently, the rotational cycles are “pretty good for the majority of units” at about 12 months out and 42 months back. He said some units are one to four, but others -- such as aviation units -- are still high- demand, high operations tempo, especially in Afghani-

stan. Yet others, like logistics units, are coming down as units move out of Iraq.

Stultz said the Reserve force needs to continue investing in modernizing equipment, pro-viding the dollars for training and simulation systems that give Soldiers realistic train-ing. He said if worthwhile training is not sourced or in-vested, the Reserve will lose what he called the “national treasure” because Reserve Soldiers don’t want to sit in a drill half for a weekend or go to summer camp and dig fox-holes.

He noted as budgets shrink and the force becomes smaller that Soldier standards will be more closely looked at, and he, like the chief of staff of the Army, is concerned with the possibility of automatic budget cuts that would kick in if there’s no agreement on the $1.5 trillion in federal savings by the Congressional deficit

U.S. Army Garrison Fort Buchanan and Army Reserve Soldiers participate in a qualification range together last year.

Archive photo For homeland use, current law says you can only use your Title 10 Reserve in the homeland in instances of weapons of mass de-struction

Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz- Chief of the Army Reserve

reduction committee.“If sequestration kicks in,

we don’t want to end up doing what we’ve done in the past where we focus on how to get people off the rolls, not which people off the rolls,” he said. “We don’t want to incentivize the wrong people to leave the service.”

“We need to upgrade the

standards, and if you can’t get there, you can’t stay in,” Stultz said.

“We have people in our for-mations who we should have already eliminated, but for lack of a clerk or motor pool sergeant we kept them. Let’s process these people out so we can make room for those we want to keep.”


NewsEl Morro Fort Buchanan November 2011

5

peace.” A total of 15 VIPs attended

the event, they included rep-resentation from the garrison, 1st MSC, PR Army National Guard, PR Red Cross, Com-m u n i t y Based War-rior in Tran-sition Unit, and Veterans of Foreign Wars. Spe-cial guests and speak-ers included Puerto Rico Civilian Aide to the Sec-retary of the Army, Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Félix A. Santoni, Puerto Rico As-sistant Adjutant General, Brig. Gen. Rafael O’Ferrall; 1st Mission Support Command Commanding General, Brig. Gen. Fernando Fernández ; US

As I look at the audience, I see the faces of Family members beaming with pride.

Col. John D. Cushman- Garrison Commander

Army Reserve Ambassador, Col. (Ret.) Horacio Cabrera; Cushman; and Garrison Com-mand Sergeant Major, CSM Derrick T. Simpson. Digna E. Lopez (Survivor wife), Mr. Jose Lopez (Survivor father), Haidee Feliciano (Survivor

mother) and S u r v i v o r children are the Survivors of Spc. Wil-liam Lopez-F e l i c i a n o , one of our Fallen Sol-dier from O p e r a t i o n Iraqi Free-dom took part in cake

cutting and ribbon cutting cer-emony in representation of all our Survivors who have lost their loved ones during the war or other circumstances.

After the yellow ribbon was cut, all Survivors and distin- SOS Page 12

Survivor Outreach Services Support Center located at Fort Buchanan in building 1144

Championship slips away from Pirates

The University Gardens Football Club Dolphins celebrate their (33-23) victory over the Antilles High School Pirates in the Puerto Rico High School Football League Championship at Fort Buchanan Nov. 4.

Photos and Story by Luis DelgadilloFort Buchanan Public Affairs

PIRATES Page 9

Under the bright lights of Fort Buchanan’s Maxie Wil-liams Jr. Field, the visiting University Gardens Football Club Dolphins defeated the Antilles High School Pirates 33 – 23 in front of boister-ous fans on both sides of the field, Nov. 4.

The AHS Pirates entered the Puerto Rico High School Football League Champion-ship game with a respect-able record of (7-1-1) but the Dolphins’ stacked up to be a formidable opponent. This didn’t stop the Pirates from striking first. The second quarter was the start of the Pirates’ offensive struggles as the Dolphins held them scoreless leading into the half.

Opening the third quarter trailing behind, the Pirates’ offensive struggles contin-ued as the defense seemed to

SOS, From Page 1


guish guest were invited to enter the building and view the photos of their Fallen Soldier for the first time. This moment was a very emotional experi-ence for all the Survivors at

the event. This support center has the

“Hall of Heroes” wall. This wall display and contains pho-tos of our Fallen Soldiers from Operation Iraqi Freedom and

Operation Enduring Freedom and also includes Soldiers who died during noncombat related incidents. This wall was creat-


News6November 2011

El Morro Fort Buchanan

Internship opportunities abound through AVC

Daniel Baba, AVC Volunteer

Army Volunteer Corps (AVC) leads the process of registering and training volunteers and organization points of contact (OPOC) to enhance and ex-pand other installation program capa-bilities. Recently, El Morro sat down with one of those volunteers to ask about his experiences so far.

El Morro: How did you learn about the volunteer program?

Daniel Baba: I learned from one of my classes that I had to perform an in-ternship and one day I came here to in-terview someone to get to know more about the (volunteer) program. I met Mr. (Juan) San Feliz who then intro-duced me to Mr. (Luis) Robles.

El Morro: How long have you been participating in the program?

Daniel Baba: I began the first week of September and until now and I will fin-ish the program in December.

El Morro: Where do you go to school and what are you studying?

Daniel Baba: I am a student at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Pie-

Army Volunteer Corps leads the process of registering and training volunteers and organiza-tion points of contact (OPOC) to enhance and expand other instal-lation program capabilities.

Volunteer opportunities are found in natural resource pro-grams, and a wide variety of pro-grams that provide services to Soldiers and their Family mem-bers such as ACS, clinic, cha-pels, CYSS, recreation, libraries, legal offices, housing, etc.

Volunteering helps the orga-nizations in expanding program capabilities. Volunteering bene-fits Soldiers, Civilians, Retirees, spouses, and youth to:- Obtain work experience.- Become a cohesive part of the community.

To Register: www.myarmyo-nesource.com To contact the coordinator call Ivette Davila at (787)707-3365, [email protected]

dras campus and I am studying for my bachelor’s degree in recreation.

El Morro: What career are you in-terested in pursuing and why?

Daniel Baba: I am interested in ad-ministrative development of recreation activities and managing and running great activities for communities.

El Morro: What skills are you learn-ing here that will be useful in the pursuit of your career goals?

Daniel Baba: I’m learning how to co-ordinate recreation activities, running them, managing them.

El Morro: What is the thing that you like the most about working for the Directorate of Family and Mo-rale, Welfare and Recreation’s Com-munity Recreation Division?Daniel Baba: What I like the most is that I am learning here the principle parts of recreation. How they focus on not only sports, but all the other parts of recreation like special events, and outdoor recreation.

Daniel Baba will complete his bach-elor’s degree this December and along

with that he will complete his time in the AVC program.

Many other opportunities exist for others to join a work center here where volunteers can contribute to or-ganizations with the vital mission of providing Soldiers Civilians and their Families with a quality of life com-mensurate with the quality of their service .

of savings will contribute to-ward decreasing the deficit and the debt, and will, in turn, spur the economy. But without a budget, decisions are difficult to make.

“Now, we’re looking at pos-sible options so that we can make smart decisions cor-rectly, rather than not-so-smart decisions quickly, but until we know what our figures are it’s kind of hard to say what we would actually take action against,” McHugh said.

With these actions, whatever they may be, the Army secre-tary believes that the military needs to remain part of the American fabric.

“I would argue that the Guard and Reserve are terrific ambassadors across virtually every state and every commu-nity in this nation ... they put a face on the goodness that is military service.

“Those that are operating

in areas or states where we don’t have a base are playing an even more important role because they can help bring the military message to com-munities and people that oth-erwise don’t have reason to be exposed to it,” he said.

After 10 years of war with less than 1 percent of the popu-lation participating in that war, McHugh says the Army has to make sure it doesn’t become an enclave unto itself.

“We’re already scheduled and programmed to come down from current (strength), roughly 569,000 to 520,000. But for us, the glideslope by which we reach that end strength so that we can direct resources and balance our-selves, while providing the programs that are underpin-ning those forces, is equally important.

He knows the Army cost driver is end strength. So if the budget goes down further, he said, the end strength is likely

to come down as well.“What that will be, will in

part be determined, of course, by what that budget number is. So it’s not like we have a vote in this matter, we will at the end of the day be handed a budget and our key objective, what-ever that budget number may be, is to come out and shape an Army that is balanced and retains the great skills and ca-pabilities that have been honed over the last 10 years. We don’t want to lose this most effective land force the world has ever seen, and balance is the key to that,” he said.

If the Army looks at jobs and declining budgets, he said, and it draws down end strength to whatever the number may be, it has less need for facilities.

“At some point we have to begin to look at rationalizing the vacancies and would it make sense for us to support another BRAC. We don’t want to be over-structured, that costs -- in fact it wastes money -- but

at this point we need to do a little bit more analysis,” he said. The operating force, over the last 10 years, has become incredibly adaptive, he said, adding that he was recently in Afghanistan’s Arghandab Val-ley, west of Kandahar City, where he witnessed this adapt-ability.

“We took off our body armor and walked into a village about a half mile away and the Sol-diers that led the fight to clear that part of the valley were now working with the Afghan elders. They were establishing the Afghan local police with a special operations captain, a young man, and a first lieuten-ant, just over a year out of West Point ... they were exercising authorities and responsibili-ties we probably would have given to a ... brigadier general 10 years ago ... now they were out there doing amazing things and each and every day they change what they’re doing because the enemy changes.

That’s adaptability, that’s cre-ativity,” he said.

In the immediate term, he said, it’s a retention problem.

“How do we bring Soldiers like that home, who have exer-cised such authorities and have shown such creativity, into a garrison environment and keep then interested and challenged and engaged is one of our criti-cal challenges for the future.

“I’ve asked our TRADOC folks, and I’ve asked leaders throughout the institutional-ized Army as to how we can reconfigure everything from social programs to education programs to flexibility and our rating system to allow more creativity and perhaps re-examine the traditional Army ladder of promotion to see what we can do to create an environment that keeps young leaders, just amazing Soldiers like that, interested in the Army and at the same time, of course, attracting those kinds of folks in the future,” he said.

WAR, From Page 1

Volunteer Opportunities


NewsEl Morro Fort Buchanan

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Story and photo by Luis Delgadillo Fort Buchanan Public Affairs

November 2011

FORT LEE, Va. – This holi-day season, the Defense Com-missary Agency and the Army and Air Force Exchange Ser-vice are offering shoppers an opportunity to win shopping sprees just by entering their fa-vorite recipes.

Beginning Nov. 18 and end-ing midnight Dec. 31, com-missary and exchange shop-pers can go online to enter their favorite holiday family recipe. Just e-mail your recipe to http://[email protected]. Or if you are surf-ing http://www.commissaries.com, you can find a link that will take you to the contest registration page.

There are three categories to choose from: main dish, side dish or dessert. Participants must submit a description of the recipe, 50 words or less,

or the origin of the recipe. Recipes must include specific ingredient measurements and preparation directions. Limit two entries per immediate family.

Winning creations will be published on the Patriot Fam-ily Connection website and added to DeCA’s online recipe collection. The winners will also be included in the AAFES 2012 Holiday Guide.

There will be four winners for each category — 12 chanc-es to win. First-place winners in each category receive a $500 exchange gift card and a $500 commissary gift card do-nated by DeCA’s industry part-ners. Details for this contest can be found at http://[email protected] and various in-store marketing dis-plays and exchange tabloids.ECOs bring environmental

initiatives to the work force

To alleviate the worry about what can be returned and when, the Army & Air Force Exchange Service is giving the gift of extended hassle-free re-turns for the holidays.

For items purchased be-tween Nov. 1-Dec. 24, 2011, Fort Buchanan shoppers can return or exchange those items through Jan. 31, 2012.

If a shopper requests a re-fund with a sales receipt, a cash refund will be made if the original purchase was made in cash. If the original purchase was made by credit card, the

refund can be credited to the customer’s same credit card. If a customer requests a refund without a sales receipt, the re-fund amount is loaded onto an Exchange Merchandise Card.

In addition to returns on lo-cally purchased items, shop-pers can return Exchange cata-log or internet orders to the Fort Buchanan Exchange for a full refund on the product.

If the return is due to an er-ror on the Exchange’s part, shoppers will be reimbursed the standard shipping charges in full.

DeCA, AAFES launch recipe contest

Puerto Rico Exchange unwraps holiday return policy for shoppers

In three separate sessions running from Nov. 1 – 3, Fort Buchanan’s Director-ate of Public Works enlisted their newest weapons in their campaign to make Fort Bu-chanan a model for environ-mental protection throughout the Army.

Thus far, 17 environmen-tal compliance officers have been chosen to represent or-ganizations either here or at organizations supported by Fort Buchanan around the island, like the Army reserve centers.

Tony Pares, general man-ager of the Exchange, knows you have to begin at square one,”You just start with the basics, I mean; shut the lights off when you are leaving the office areas, turn the lights off in the employee rest rooms and the break rooms when people aren’t back there; make sure monitors are turned off when they can be, set it on hibernate mode if it’s inactive for ten or fif-teen minutes,” he said after

Rewards for ‘Making the Grade”’Understanding the value

families at Fort Buchanan place on education, the Army & Air Force Exchange Service offers a unique rewards pro-gram that continues to receive high marks from students and parents alike. Now in its elev-enth consecutive year, “You Made the Grade” recognizes students who achieve a “B” average or better with a ben-efits-filled booklet. Exclusive offers include a Free Burger

King Kids Meal, $2 off any new release DVD at the Power Zone, to name a few. Students who made the grade can also register for a drawing to win a savings bond worth up to $5,000 by filling out and mail-ing an included entry form.

To receive a “You Made the Grade” booklet, students sim-ply present a valid military ID card and proof of an overall “B” or better average at the Fort Buchanan Exchange.

Yámil Hernández, Environmental Protection Specialist with the Directorate of Public Works’ Environmental Office speaks to a group of environmental compliance officers Nov. 2.

the presentation from Yámil Hernandez, environmental protection specialist with DPW.

“Treat it (the workplace) like it’s your house. You wouldn’t do the same thing in your house, (leave every-thing on) so just treat it like your home,” Pares said.

ECOs were selected for the influence they carry within their organization and their abilities to approach environ-mental protection.

Jerry Hesby, business op-erations chief for the Direc-torate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, said one of the challenges at the outset will be educating the employees and finding con-sistent ways of implementing the initiatives.

“A lot of times its because of the turnover in personnel, the turnover in clientele, the number of hours; we’re a seven-days-a-week type op-eration everyday so its (going to take) constant oversight and training to make it an established habit and routine so we can keep up with the things,” Hesby said.

According to the memo-randum requesting volun-teers the program is designed to assist the garrison com-mander in meeting the envi-ronmental requirements for Fort Buchanan.

ECOs are responsible for supporting the achievement of appropriate environmental performance improvement objectives and targets.

They also complete assign-ments of proposed actions leading to plan implementa-tion, perform training, and convey general awareness information regarding estab-lished policies and programs ensuring proper environmen-tal management practices.

The ECO will also provide monitoring, attend Sustain-ability and Environmental Management System annual training events and Envi-ronmental Quality Control Committee meetings; and participate in the applicable Environmental Manage-ment Action Plans Working Groups, upon request. With the help of ECOs Fort Bu-chanan will create a secure future through sustainability.

Photo by Luis Delgadillo


News8November 2011


Luis Salazar on safety: Losers can be winnersBy Luis SalazarSafety Office Contractor

A few months ago a partici-pant in one of our Driver Safety Courses mentioned that one of the biggest challenges of a driver in Puerto Rico is not to commit the mortal sin of “giv-ing up their right of way to an-other driver who wants to take it thereby looking like a fool”. Everyone in the class broke out in laughter.

Yet as one ponders the thought a sure question that begs to be asked is, could he be right? The irony of this statement is that in many of the aber-rant situations we witness on the road the underly-ing cause just happens to be aggressive driving. What is the typical reaction seen when you turn on a signal to change lanes and another car is in the lane you want to occupy? What do you normally see from drivers on a roundabout or a multiple stop intersection? Aggressive driving is at an all time high and

road rage is now an alarming trend on our local highways.

Anger on the road is not new. Everyone has seen it and many have experienced it. What is ap-palling and needs correction is the frequency and the degree by which this practice is being perpetrated on the roads of our island. Many things can lead you to lose control. Fatigue, lack of sleep and feeling sick all can lead you to not exercise self control. Arguments, feeling

displaced and being upset can lower your resis-tance to drive rationally and lead you to act irrespon-sibly.

Cons ide r the following situation. An employee has had a heated

argument with a fellow cowork-er right before quitting time at work. These employees have experienced a highly emotional moment with residual anger. The situation was not totally resolved at work yet after work both employees head out on the road each driving their own vehicle. One of the employees

puts aside what’s happened at work and decides to drive home in a calm assertive state. The other worker has a habit of re-leasing anger while driving.

This becomes an escape valve of sorts. In the past this person has demonstrated ag-gressive driving symptoms with no real consequences out-side of a degrading gesture or the negative accolades that are daily exchanged from vehicle to vehicle. As this person begins to drive he hurries through traffic begins to cut off other drivers and invade their personal safety space. Some of the drivers give menacing looks yet the person seems to get away with the ac-tion as everyone opens a way on the road to avoid a collision. The emotional steam valve be-gins to discharge all the residual negative energy as the weaving in and out of traffic continues. All of the sudden a pedestrian crosses the street at a crosswalk and the driver of the vehicle impacts the pedestrian thereby creating a tragedy. When the police arrive the driver can only regretfully say “I never saw him”.

Many times as we drive with negative aggressive energy a false sense of untouchability is afforded to a driver. The feel-

New training requirements for Army motorcyclists went into ef-fect in fiscal year 2012, and failure to comply could lead to the loss of on-post riding privileges.

The Progressive Training Model is now mandatory for all Soldiers who ride motorcycles on-or off-post. The new requirements include completion of the Military Sport Bike Rider Course or Experienced Rider Course within 12 months of graduation from the Basic Rider Course, followed by sustainment training every three years and re-fresher training after every 180 days or greater deployed.

Motorcycle training changes aimed at making safer riders

ing that nothing bad is going to happen to me leads a driver can lead a person to incorrectly as-sume that you can go ahead and release negative energy through aggressive driving without con-sequence. Picture it, you are upset, alone and the A/C is on high. You feel the vibes com-ing on as your favorite hot and heavy music sets the pace for a hell ride home. Instead of being calm and collected you have gone into your own little world of anonymity where personal expression bows to aggressive-ness and you feel free to do as you please. No one will really know if I yell, honk or drive my vehicle in such a way that can scare another driver into submission. It’s all done with no real intention to harm; it can even be somewhat comical as nothing bad has ever happened before...Right?

Not so, there are many docu-mented accounts where trag-edy has struck as a result of a negative behavior pattern on the road. No real harm was intended by the person driving but a de-structive outcome did happen as in the example above. Driving our vehicle under the influence of anger can be as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Yet the simple

fact remains when it comes to aggressive driving everyone is a victim. Perpetrator and victim of the unsafe act both will ante up dearly in dollars, health and personal loss. A very smart man once said “he is no fool that gives up what he cannot keep to receive what he cannot lose”. How can this Goliath called ag-gressive driving be put to the sword? What is that thing that we need to give up to receive that which we cannot lose?

When we drive we cannot afford to harbor aggressive at-titudes regardless of how we feel. The price is just too high to pay. We need to learn to drive in control. We need to give up negativity and replace it with things that make us better and more balanced individuals. In-stead of expressing wrath with those around us decide to use common sense, courtesy and patience. Be tolerant; think about those drivers as your extended driving community. Practice random acts of kind-ness and never let up on the conviction that making a differ-ence in someone’s life through positive assertive driving will not only benefit them but will in a greater degree also ben-efit yourself. Here we will gain what you cannot lose.

What is appalling and needs correction is the fre-quency and the degree by which this practice is being perpetrated on the roads of our island.

By Alfredo NoguerasInstallation Safety Officer

The new requirements effective 1 October 2011, are part of the recent changes included in Army Regula-tion 385-10. The Fort Buchanan Safety Office is urging Leaders to ensure Soldiers are aware of the up-dated requirements and enforce the new standard with their riders.

In addition to the progressive motorcycle training, the Army also has instituted a new Remedial Driver Training program that takes the best in the civilian community and utilizes it to try and change Soldier behavior before it results in an accident or worse. The train-ing is intended for military and DOD civilian personnel operating a Government Motor Vehicle (GMV)

convicted of a moving traffic viola-tion or who have been found at fault in an accident on the installation. Commanders may also direct mili-tary personnel to attend Remedial Driver Training based on determi-nation of high risk activity or ac-cumulation of traffic points over a twelve-month period.

Requirements for civilians and contracted laborers remain un-changed; as they are not required to receive Army sponsored motorcycle training nor provide proof of train-ing for entry to any DOD installa-tion. However, they must be prop-erly licensed to ride a motorcycle.

Every motorcycle operator, whether military or civilian, shall

still wear appropriate personal pro-tective equipment (PPE) per DODI 6055.04 and Army Regulation 385-10. Riders are no longer required to wear reflective belts or vests but are highly encouraged to select PPE that incorporates fluorescent colors and retro-reflective material.

Thousands of Soldiers receive motorcycle training annually, and approximately 200 students attend Fort Buchanan motorcycle training each year.

For additional information on the Fort Buchanan motorcycle training program, visit the Fort Buchanan web page (bottom left) http://www.buchanan.army.mil or call (787) 707-2560 or 3853.


NewsEl Morro Fort Buchanan November 2011

9PIRATES, From Page 5

Courtesy photo

have no good answer for how to stop the relentless Dolphin run attack.

In the fourth quarter the beleaguered Pirates squad found its rhythm as it put together scoring drives that sent the Dolphins reeling and searching for an answer to the Pirate’s newfound confi-dence.

The Pirates’ offense clawed its way back into the game in the fourth quarter scoring

twice and positioning them-selves to regain the lead.

At first it seemed like the Pirates’ defense had found an answer for the Dolphin running game but turnovers eventually doomed the Pi-rates’ comeback and the Dol-phins were able to capitalize.

The Dolphins never looked back and as time wound down fans and parents in both stands cheered for their heroes on the field marking the end of the high school football season but also fu-eling a sense of rivalry for these two teams.

The Sentinel of the CaribbeanNovember 201110 NASA Sparks Student Creativityhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/fortbuchanan_elmorro/

Story and photos By Luis Delgadillo Fort Buchanan Public Affairs

Lester Morales, an aerospace education specialist with the National Aeronautics and Space Agency gives students in Mildred Martinez’s fifth grade class a new perspective on the sun through specially engineered lenses.

At right: a student looking though her special lens.

Wide eyed and full of anticipa-tion, students in Mildred Martinez’s 5th grade class eagerly hung on their guest’s every word. “Have you ever seen the sun like that?” he asked. Al-most in unison the class responded with a collective and drawn out, “ Noooooo.”

Using special glasses provided by Lester Morales, an aerospace educa-tion specialist with the National Aero-nautics and Space Agency, the students saw what the sun really looked like from space and without the interfer-ence from the atmosphere.

Morales was visiting the schools at Fort Buchanan along with two other members of NASA as a part of an edu-cation initiative championed by Presi-dent Barrack Obama, which sought to afford children of service members in the DoD school systems the same exposure to NASA that public schools had been experiencing for years.

“Kennedy Space Center in Florida is following the president’s initiative of visiting and giving opportunities to our servicemen’s families, (and) children

... so we are exposing the children to the what NASA has to offer ... this is the first time we are coming to the base here,” said Morales.

Morales said he and his counterparts have visited schools at military instal-lations in Florida and Georgia as a part of the national education effort.

“I am one of 16 specialists who are around the country ... and my job is to bring NASA to the schools,” he said.

Judging by the ex-cited response of the fifth graders from Antilles Elementary School, Morales’ pre-sentation seemed to awaken an untapped curiosity.

“It’s something that you don’t know, what’s going to trig-ger the passion for science but you want to expose them to many, many things,” Morales said.

Morales held the students’ attention with stunning images of the solar sys-

tem and discussions about robotics. The hope is that the take away for

the students involves them picking up a book at the library or asking more questions about science to their teach-ers and parents he added.

“This is wonderful for the kids, they enjoy it. They can be a part of the ac-tivities and interact on activities. It’s

great,” said Edna Pérez, a teacher who had both of her sci-ence classes receive the NASA presenta-tion at the same time in the Antilles Middle School Media Center.

While the NASA visit was primarily directed at students, Pérez saw it as an op-portunity to grow her own knowledge base.

“Since this is my first experience here as a science teacher this is a unique oppor-tunity for us to inte-

grate the learning process with activi-ties the space program (at) NASA,” she said.

Above: Edna Pérez, a science teacher at Antilles Middle School interacts with her students.

Below: A NASA education specialist presents information on Mars rovers to students at AMS.

It’s something that you don’t know, what’s going to trigger the passion for science but you want to ex-pose them to many, many things.

Lester Morales - NASA aerospace

education specialist

NASA brings space down to earth


Fort Buchanan

NASA Sparks Student Creativity 11http://www.flickr.com/photos/fortbuchanan_elmorro/

Above: The sun as viewed through specially designed NASA lenses gives students a realistic view of the sun without the atmosphere’s interference.

Left: NASA acting lead education spe-cialist Priscilla Moore interacts with a pair of students who are experiment-ing with a foam cup and string that has been rigged together to create a tool that can pick up and hold objects

Bottom: the student successfully lifts and holds the pencil.

tem and discussions about robotics. The hope is that the take away for

the students involves them picking up a book at the library or asking more questions about science to their teach-ers and parents he added.

“This is wonderful for the kids, they enjoy it. They can be a part of the ac-tivities and interact on activities. It’s

great,” said Edna Pérez, a teacher who had both of her sci-ence classes receive the NASA presenta-tion at the same time in the Antilles Middle School Media Center.

While the NASA visit was primarily directed at students, Pérez saw it as an op-portunity to grow her own knowledge base.

“Since this is my first experience here as a science teacher this is a unique oppor-tunity for us to inte-

grate the learning process with activi-ties the space program (at) NASA,” she said.

The day before visiting the middle school campus, Priscilla Moore, and her NASA representatives where at Antilles High School where they were pleasantly surprised by the en-thusiasm and positive response of the teens.

“They were all energetic, they were asking questions, the high school kids were very, very fo-cused,” Moore said.

Moore who serves as the acting lead for the group of NASA educa-tors said she enjoyed the experience as much as the students and hoped the students could take away a valu-able experience.

“What we are trying to get them to see is that no matter where they PCS (move) to they can always connect with NASA education,” she said.

One of the ways high school stu-dents can connect with NASA is by participating in the Interdisciplinary National Science Project Incorporat-ing Research and Education Experi-ence program at NASA.

“The INSPIRE program at NASA is a program only for high school students and it provides the oppor-tunity for them to come to NASA

space center and internship with us for eight weeks,” Morales said.

According to the NASA website for INSPIRE, available at www.nasa.gov/education/inspire, there are many different options besides the eight week internship program for students. Unfortunately, the Web site currently states that, “Due to po-tential funding issues,” the applica-tions for the program have been put on hold.

While opportunities for intern-ships may be on hold, the visit by NASA education specialists to Fort Buchanan seems to have sparked the imagination of students here.

Left: Morales gives a Antilles Elementary School student a bag of color changing beads during a scientific demonstration Oct. 27.

Below:The student watches the bag of beads change color in the sun light.

NASA brings space down to earth


Features12November 2011


ed to further recognize the sig-nificance sacrifices made for the nation. This building also includes a Video Teleconfer-ence Center room and a place

ily members receive all the services and benefits entitled to them for the service and sac-rifice of their love one.

The following personnel were recognized during event by Cushman for their exem-plary devotion and support to our Army Community Service, Survivor Outreach Service Program facility at Fort Bu-chanan. They made significant contributions and donations for the event. Pedro Campos - Agronomists; Samuel O. Ma-

lavé DeLeón - Agronomists; Peter Vivoni, Jr. from Gramas Lindas; Julio M. Billoch Pico from Gramas Lindas; Jerry Díaz - from Naim Merheb Association; Ernesto Berrios from ACS Mobilization and Deployment and Francisco Rodriguez Castro – from Vet-erans of Foreign Wars of the U.S.

Further more if any Sur-vivors require or desire addi-tional services or information they may visit our new Sur-vivor Outreach Services Sup-port Center located at building 1144, Ausubo Street, Fort Bu-chanan, Puerto Rico.

A Survivor Outreach Ser-vices staff member will be attempting to contact you by phone to personally invite you and to answer any questions you may have.

Please feel free to contact Mr. Angel L. Castro – Survi-vor Outreach Services Coordi-nator personally or by calling (787) 707-3692 or via e-mail at: [email protected].

From left to right: Brig. Gen. Rafael O’Ferrall - PR Assistance Adjutant General, Brig. Gen. Fernando Fernández – 1st MSC Commanding General, Col. John D. Cushman – Garrison Commander, Digna E. Lopez – Survivor wife of Spc. William Lopez-Feliciano, Spc. Lopez Feliciano’s (Survivor children), Haidee Feliciano (Survivor mother), José Lopez (Survivor father), Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Feliz A. Santoni – PR Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army for Puerto Rico.


SOS, From Page 5

Rita Nieves sings the national anthems

A surviving family member reflects in front of the SOS Support Center’s memorial “Hall of Heroes” wall after the rib-bon cutting ceremony for the center Sept. 9. At right: the book contains bios of fallen service members.

of relaxation for all guests. We continuously strive to

provide the highest quality of services to our Surviving Fam-ily members of Fallen War-riors. Our Survivor Outreach Services staff stands ready to

serve all Survivors and answer any support they may have at any time. The Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation and the Army Community Service want to ensure all Survivors and Fam-


Healthy Living 13El Morro Fort Buchanan November 2011

Your pet just ingested a human medication, now what?!By Capt. Taylor Opel, DVMFort Buchanan Veterinary Treatment Facility

Nearly half of the calls received at the Pet Poison Helpline are related to a pet ingesting human medication. Recognizing the most commonly sold drugs in the U.S. and how they af-fect pets can help pet owners be more aware of potential dangers associated with these drugs.

The IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics recently released a report that included the top five human pre-scription (Rx) drugs sold in the United States. According to the IMS Insti-tute for Healthcare Informatics report, which was released in April 2011, the top five human drugs sold in the U.S. are Lipitor®, Nexium®, Plavix®, Advair Diskus® and Abilify®. Some drugs cause only minor symptoms and some can be potentially life-threaten-ing.

Awareness of these drugs and how they affect pets can help save lives. Likewise, in cases where a pet has ingested a non-life threatening drug, awareness can save the pet owner a great deal of heartache (and expense!).

#1 – Lipitor® (atorvastatin) Used to reduce cholesterol levels, it

is the top selling drug in the country. Generally, when pets get into Lipitor, only mild side effects are seen, such

Located at Building 676 on Sally-port St. the Veterinary Treatment Facility has surgical and dental

services available.

Appointments available for Ac-tive Duty Military, Retirees, De-pendants, Coast Guard, Army National Guard, Reservists, Fort Buchanan Residents, GS Em-ployees, Fort Buchanan Security Personnel, US Customs and FBI

Personnel.

Please call 787-707-2038 with questions or to schedule an

appointment. Walk-ins welcome

Normal Business Hours

Monday through Friday7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Fort Buchanan Veterinary Treatment Facility

as vomiting and diarrhea. Therefore, Lipitor is not considered to have high toxicity concerns for pets. While some human drugs are utilized in veterinary medicine, Lipitor is not commonly used.

#2 – Nexium® (esomeprazole)

An anti-ulcer medication and pro-ton-pump inhibitor that results in de-creased gastric acid secretion. While it is utilized in veter-inary medicine for some pets, mild side effects can include vomiting and diar-rhea. Pet owners of dogs or cats that get into this drug should watch their pet closely, but not be alarmed since symptoms will generally subside on their own.

#3 – Plavix® (clopidogrel) In third place is Plavix, which is a

drug that affects platelets in humans, inhibiting clot formation and reducing the risk of stroke. This drug is rarely used in veterinary medicine. When pets get into Plavix, it has a wide margin of safety and generally is not considered to be acutely toxic. Only mild vomiting or diarrhea may be seen. However, if your pet has a clotting problem, veteri-nary attention may be needed.

#4 – Advair Diskus® (fluticasone propionate and salmeterol)

Often used for treating asthma and administered through an inhaler, Ad-vair Diskus contains beta-agonist drugs that expand the lungs and steroids that de-crease inflammation in the lungs. Because inhalers contain many doses, dogs that chew into them are exposed to massive amounts of the drug all at once. This can result in se-vere poisoning to pets, and often results in heart arrhythmias, an elevated heart rate, agitation, vomiting and even acute col-lapse. Severe electrolyte abnormalities such as very low potassium levels are likely and can be life-threatening with-out immediate veterinary treatment.

#5 – Abilify® (aripiprazole) The fifth top-selling drug is Abilify.

It contains aripiprazole, an atypical an-

tipsychotic agent that is used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and clinical depression. It is important to keep this drug out of the reach of pets, as ingestion can result in profound

lethargy, vomiting, hy-perthermia, significant changes in heart rate and blood pressure, and seizures. If a pet ingests this drug, im-mediate veterinary at-tention is needed.

In order to keep pets safe from ingest-ing these and other

dangerous human medi-cations, the veterinarians at Pet Poison Helpline offer these recommendations:

1. Keep human medications stored in a different location from pet medica-tions. Pet Poison Helpline often takes calls from pet owners who accidentally give their human medications to pets.

2. Weekly pill holders are irresistible to some dogs, as they resemble chew toys and rattle. The danger is that a dog could ingest a full seven days’ worth of medications, significantly increasing the risk for poisoning.

3. Avoid putting medications into plastic storage baggies before traveling – these are not pet-proof (or child-proof), and can easily be chewed into by dogs.

4. Hang your purse out of the reach of your pets. Inhal-ers, medications, sugar-free gums containing xylitol, and other items that are danger-

ous to pets can be easily snatched out of a purse by a curious dog or cat. Pet Poison Helpline recently produced a video titled “Handbag Hazards” available here http://www.pet-poisonhelpline.com/Ask-the-Vet-Videos.

Remember that what is safe for hu-mans isn’t always safe for pets. If you think

your pet has ingested something poi-sonous, it is always better (and less ex-pensive) to get help immediately, rather than waiting until your pet is showing severe symptoms. Contact your veteri-narian or Pet Poison Helpline immedi-ately at 800-213-6680 for life-saving

If you think your pet has ingested something poi-sonous, it is always better (and less expensive) to get help immediately, rather than waiting until your pet is showing se-vere symptoms.

help. Pet Poison Helpline is the most cost-effective animal poison control center in North America charging only $35 per call, including unlimited fol-low-up consultations.

Resources: Pet Poison Helpline (PPH) is an Animal Poison Con-

trol that provides treat-ment advice and recom-mendations relating to exposures to potential

dangerous plants, prod-ucts, medications, and substances, to veterinar-

ians, veterinary staff and pet owners 24 hours a day, 7 days

a week. Please be aware there is a $35/per call consultation fee. Pet Poison Helpline is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Helpline number is 800-213-6680.

For further information regard-ing services, visit the PPH website at www.petpoisonhelpline.com

Pet Poison Helpline is a division of SafetyCall International, the world’s largest industry poison control and ad-verse event management center, han-dling both human and animal calls. The veterinarians and pharmacists work side-by-side to provide multi-dis-ciplinary expertise to the veterinarians and pet owners they assist. (Informa-tion for this article was gathered from the Pet Poison Helpline.

Local students aspire to become military officers

Ft. Buchanan, PR – Over 30 reserve military service mem-bers from two country mem-bers (United States and Ar-gentina), gathered together on the XIII Pan-American Union of Reserve Officers Congress (UPORFA for its Spanish ac-ronym) that was held at the 1st Mission Support Command headquarters, 13-15 Oct.

The UPORFA, founded in 1994, is an international or-ganization that works through contacts with different reserve officers’ organizations to build civil and military alliance and strategic partnership in the national interest of members countries, founded on demo-cratic principles and respect for civil authority.

Some of the leaders present

San Juan, PR- Brig. Gen. Fernando Fernández, commander of the U.S. Army Reserve, Puerto Rico, 1st Mis-sion Support Command, participated in a United States Service Academies Roundtable, hosted by Congressman Pedro R. Pierlusi, at the congressional office in San Juan, Oct. 18.

Many high school students, parents and college counselors from around the island were present at this event, with the intent of gathering as much infor-mation about becoming officers in the military.

“The fact that you are here contem-plating this course of action says a lot about you. Please know that each one of you have already earned my admira-tion and respect”, said Pierluisi while addressing the students during his opening remarks.

Representatives from West Point, the Air Force Academy, the Naval Acad-emy, the Coast Guard Academy and

By Capt. Carlos M. Cuebas1st MSC Public Affairs

Reserve military service members from United Sates and Argentina pose for a picture on the XIII Pan-American Union of Reserve Officers Congress (UPORFA for its Spanish acronym). The congress was held on the newly re-inaugurated Ramos Hall, at the 1st MSC Headquarters in Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico. October 13-15, 2011.

Story and photos by Staff Sgt. José E. Santos Santos1st MSC Public Affairs

XIII UPORFA Congress in PR

for this occasion were: Maj. Gen. Robert Kasulke, Com-mander of the Army Reserve Medical Command, Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Roger W. Sandler, for-mer USARC Commander, Maj. Gen. Robert W. Smith, Chief of the U.S. Delegation to UPORFA, Hon. Horacio Ca-brera, U.S. Army Reserve Am-bassador, Brig. Gen. Fernando Fernández, Commander of the 1st Mission Support Command among many other.

“In 1994 when I retired from the Chief Army Reserve posi-tion, I have met with a few peo-ple from Argentina who had an interest in doing something in a hemispheric basis,” said Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Roger W. Sandler, founder member of UPORFA.

“Gen. Santoni, from this area in Puerto Rico, was the catalyst to help me get in conversations with this folks from Argenti-

ASPIRE Page 15 Brig. Gen. Fernando Fernández, senior U.S. Army Reserve Officer in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, addresses the many students, parents and col-lege counselors who attended the United States Service Military Academy Roundtable, Oct.,18 at Congressman’s Pedro R. Pierluisi’s San Juan office.

Photo by Staff Sgt. José Santos Santos

na,” he said. Santoni is a former 1st MSC

Commanding General (then 65th RSC) and is the current Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army. He was a key player on the creation of this multinational organization.

One Sandler’s biggest ac-complishment was to get the Reserve Officers Association’s approval to sponsor the UP-ORFA.

The U.S. delegation lead by Maj. Gen. Robert W. Smith, is looking forward to discuss

common issues that reserve or guards members have in com-mon. Some of these issues are the reintegration after a mobi-lization, mutual training and family support, among others.

Photo by Staff Sgt. José Santos Santos

UPORFA Page 15

1st MSC finishes strong at Army ten-miler

From the right, Sgt. 1st Class Sammy Santiago, Lt. Col. Samuel Licorish, Sgt. 1st Class Saby Calo, Sgt. 1st Class Francisco Bermúdez, Sgt. 1st Class Francisco Pumarejo and Sgt. Andre Dejesus, who integrated the Fort Bu-chanan’s Army 10-miler team, pose in front of the Pentagon, minutes before the run started, 9 Oct., 2011.

By Capt. Carlos M. Cuebas1st MSC Public Affairs

Washington, DC- The 1st Mission Support Command was very well represented at the 2011 Army ten miler race, 9 Oct.

Lt. Col. Samuel Licorish, 1st MSC Operations Offi-cer in Charge, Sgt. 1st Class Saby Calo, Headquarters and headquarters Detachment, 1st MSC Personnel Admin-istration NCO and Sgt. 1st Class Sammy Santiago, 268th Transportation Company, rep-resented the 1st MSC, while being part of the Fort Buchan-an team.

“I love to run. This is the third year that I represent the 1st MSC at this important race,” said Calo.

The US Army ten miler is America’s largest ten-mile race, held every October at Washington, DC. The race draws a large number of civil-ian and military running teams from around the world. This year more than 30,000 runners participated in the race.

Calo stated that there is a process to select the team members. There is a local try out every year and during that process the best six runners are selected to represent the local team.

“It is a great experience. In part, I did it for fun, but I also did it to stay in shape. The Army pays the travel ex-penses to participate and you get to know many people from around the Army. I like it very much,” said Calo.

Sgt. 1st Class Santiago completed the run in one hour, seven minutes and 57 seconds, achieving the best time for the team. Lt. Col. Licorish fin-

According to Smith, by be-longing to UPORFA, countries will gain also a professional networking structure that will benefit even more their rela-tionship.

“As citizen-soldiers, which most of us are as reservist, we bring both, a business and civil-ian perspective to the military. So many of us have connec-tions that allow us to access and work with people very quickly, because we have other profes-sional avenues that we can approach the various people around the Americas”.

The delegation of Argen-tina was represented by 1st Lt. Alejandro Patzol, Lt. Rodrigo Bravo, and 2nd Lt. Guillermo Pastore, all members of the Reserve Officers’ Union of Ar-gentina (UNOR), organization linked to the UPORFA.

For the Argentineans this is a very enriching experience that gives all participants the op-portunity to share professional experiences with reservist from other countries.

“It is an experience that helps us a lot because enriches us and gives us many ideas to use the good things about the Ameri-can army, ... to apply them or at least be proposed to our army” said, 2nd Lt. Pastore.

For Patzol, who is also a rep-resentative with responsibilities for the UNOR, the integration of countries is very important. For him, it would be best if this congress can meet twice a year.

“I think it’s very important to have a big meeting earlier each year and a year-end meet-ing in which we can assess all the needs of our military forces in our countries through the re-serve, which is the activity that we, as soldier citizen, partici-pate”.

To Patzol, having these meet-ings would be of great benefit to the development of UPOR-FA, and this could be the jump in the organization that might have this kind of congress.

United States, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Colombia are current members of UP-ORFA.

UPORFA, From Page 14

the Merchant Marine Acad-emy were present at the event to explain the prerequisites to apply to their institutions. In addition, the personnel from the University of Puerto Ri-co’s Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) were present, explaining their program as well.

“I am glad to see you here. Your presence shows that you are committed. If after receiv-ing the information about the Service Academies you decide that you still want to become an officer, but would like to at-

tend a college in Puerto Rico, then the ROTC might be your option”, said Lt. Col Gustavo C. Pérez, Professor of Military Science at the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras.

Pérez also stated that the US Army ROTC program com-missions more Puerto Rican officers than any of the US Service Academies combined.

Brig Gen. Fernando Fernán-dez was the senior officer in the event. “It is great to see so many young people who want to serve our nation as officers in the Armed Forces. It is also great to see parents, teachers and friends here tonight. It

takes a particular type of indi-vidual to join the Armed Forc-es, especially as an officer. It also takes a very special fam-ily to support that individual”, said Fernández who talked and shared with many students and parents during the event.

Jonathan Hernandez, 17, from the C.I.E.M. private School in Carolina (Centro de Instrucción y Educación Moderna by its name in Span-ish) was one of the students who asked many questions to Fernández.

“I came here because I am highly interested in pursuing a military career and a degree

in political sciences. The col-lege counselor referred me to come to this event as an alter-native to reach my goals”, said Hernandez. Applicants to all Service Academies, except the Coast Guard Academy, are re-quired to obtain a nomination to the school. For students in Puerto Rico the nomination is made by the Resident Com-missioner.

To apply for the Congress-man’s nomination, local stu-dents can fill the required forms at the following web address: http://pierluisi.house.gov/PDF/forms/nomination-form.pdf .

ASPIRE, From Page 14

ished the run in one hour, 17 minutes and 39 seconds and Sgt. 1st Class Calo finished the run in one hour, 30 min-utes and 18 seconds. Overall, the local team arrived in the 24th position out of 48 teams.

The other members of the Fort Buchanan team were Sgt. 1st Class Francisco Bermú-dez, Sgt. 1st Class Francisco Pumarejo and Sgt. Andre Dejesús. To those individu-

als interested to represent the 1st MSC next year, Calo rec-ommended to start practicing as soon as possible. She also stated that the groups should practice together, five days a week, in order to improve their pace and speed.

The 1st MSC soldiers inter-ested in participate next year can contact Lt. Col. Samuel Licorish @ [email protected].

1st MSC Soldiers test physical readinessBy Capt. Carlos M. Cuebas1st MSC Public Affairs

Photos by Staff Sgt. José Santos Santos

Fort Buchanan, PR- It was 5:00 a.m. and the soldiers as-signed to the Headquarters-headquarters Company (HHD), 1st Mission Support Command (1st MSC), were already get-ting prepared to conduct the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) at Fort Buchanan, 22 Oct.

“Passing the PT Test is very important because it is part of the standards expected from a soldier”, said 1st Sgt. Ariel Fe-liciano from the HHD, 1st MSC Company. There are over 90 soldiers assigned to the HHD. About 25 percent of those sol-diers took the APFT two days in advance because they were part of the support team for this APFT event.

“We always have high passing rates in HHD for the APFT,” said Maj. Rafael Cruz, Commander of the HHD Com-pany.

“We also always have had a great participation on APFT day. The Commanding General always establishes the example which is very visible”, added Cruz.

Brig. Gen. Fernando Fernán-dez, 1st MSC Command-ing General, always takes the

Soldiers from the Headquarters- headquarters Company, 1st Mission Support Command, are standing at the start line of the two-mile run, as part of the recent Army Physical Fitness Test conducted at Fort Buchanan, 22 Oct. 2011

APFT with the troops, which motivates high participation, according to Cruz.

The event’s Noncommis-sioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC) was Sgt. 1st Class Juan E. González, who works in the G3, Operations section.

“I have a good support team to conduct this event. I hope ev-eryone passes the PT test,” said González, minutes before the first formation.

The troops formed up at 5:15 a.m. and Sgt. 1st Class Edgar Paez, from the 1st MSC lo-gistics section, was in charge of conducting the warming up. Paez used the preparatory drills of the new Army Physical Readiness Test (APRT), which is expected to become effective in the near future, to conduct the warming up. The APFT was conducted following the current standards.

“Today we only used five preparatory drills as warm up exercises, with the intent of start getting our soldiers famil-iar with the new APRT,” said Paez.

Paez was very pleased with the soldier’s reaction to the new warming up exercises. “The soldier’s reaction was very good. They were very atten-tive and motivated, while con-

ducting the preparatory drills. I think that the 1st MSC soldiers should not have any problems adjusting to the new PT test standards, when they become effective,” added Paez.

Lt. Col. Samuel E. Licor-ish, G3 Officer in Charge, and Sgt. 1st Class Saby Calo, HHD’s Personnel Administra-tion Specialist, were expected to perform very well during this APFT, according to 1st Sgt. Feliciano.

“I am always nervous on PT

test day. My goal is at least a 290,” said Calo, while waiting in line to do her pushups.

“It is humid today. I am also always nervous on APFT day. Even if you train, you get ner-vous out here, because you want to do your best. My goal is a 296 or better,” said Licor-ish.

As expected, the first indi-vidual crossing the finish line of the two-mile run was Licor-ish.

“I think my time was 13

minutes and 35 seconds, unof-ficial. It is hard to go out in a fast pace and keep it there. Next time you see me I will be doing twelve’s,” said Licorish shortly after crossing the finish line.

The first female finishing the two-mile run was, also as ex-pected, Calo.

“I feel well. I wanted 14 min-utes, but 15:22 is good also. My maximum time is 17 minutes,” said Calo.

The 95% of all tested soldiers passed the APFT.

Camp Santiago, Salinas- The 390th and 432nd Trans-portation Companies, both subordinate elements of the 346th Transportation Battal-ion, under the 166th Regional Support Group, recently pro-vided weapons qualification training to over 480 1st MSC Soldiers, at the Camp Santia-go Training Site, Salinas, PR.

The range Officer in Charge (OIC) Sgt. 1st Class Samuel Watson and the range Non Commission Officer in

By 166th Unit Public Affairs RepresentativeFor 1st MSC Public Affairs

Charge (NCOIC) Staff Sgt. Ivette Marrero, from the 390th Transportation Company, ef-fectively managed the train-ing event by providing qual-ity marksmanship instruction, weapons handling techniques and target practice.

The units trained included the 393rd Combat Support Sustainment Battalion, the 346th Transportation Bat-talion and the Headquarters Company, 166th Regional Support Group.

The days were long and hot but this fact did not deter the Soldiers from accomplishing

166th RSG trains 480 Soldierstheir mission, while taking care of the safety of the opera-tion. The tower was operated by Sgt. 1st Class Sammy San-tiago who maintained positive control over the operation and personnel with the highest de-gree of expertise and safety.

The soldiers were satisfied with the quality of training re-ceived.

For example, Staff Sgt. Ed-gardo Perez, 432nd Transpor-tation Company, stated that he liked very much using the 25 meter paper targets instead of pop up targets. The event finished when all soldiers had

Soldiers from the 166th Regional Support Group (RSG) check their targets after shooting in the M-16 weapons qualification range, which was conducted at Camp Santiago Training Site, Salinas, Puerto Rico, 19 Aug., 2011.

the opportunity to fire their assigned weapons.

The training event met all

the objectives and was con-ducted successfully with zero accidents.

Photo by 166th RSG Unit Public Affairs Representative

1st MSC recognizes its civilian work force

Story and photos by Staff Sgt. José E. Santos Santos1st MSC Public Affairs

Mr. Monserrate Vergara, 1st Mission Support Command’s Management Service Specialist (left) and Mr. José R. Ruiz, Soldiers Readiness Pro-cessing Center’s supervisor (right), present the Presidential Letter and Certificate of Retirement to Mr. Christopher Routenberg (center). The event took place at the 1st MSC headquarters, 29 Sept. 2011 Photos by Sgt. Jose F. Babilonia

Barbara Rodriguez , far left, and 1st Sgt. Ariel Feliciano, far right, from the Headquarters-Headquarters Company, 1st Mission Support Command, talk with teenagers, at the 475th Eng.. Company headquarters, Ponce, PR, 18 Sept., during a recent Family Readiness Group meeting.

Ponce, PR- Family members of the 475th Engineer Company, currently de-ployed, conducted their Family Readi-ness Group meeting, at the unit’s facili-ties Sept. 18.

Personnel from the Children’s Inte-gral Care and Development Adminis-tration (ACU-DEN by its acronym in Spanish) took care of the children dur-ing the meeting. Barbara Rodriguez and 1st Sgt. Ariel Feliciano Torres, from the 1st MSC, provided assistance taking care of the teenagers.

Feliciano had the opportunity to share his mobilization experiences with the children. He also asked the youth ques-tions about the deployment of their parents. The children also shared some time with Ramón Balsa, Military Fam-ily Life consultant. During their interac-tion with Balsa, the youth had an oppor-tunity to know how a Mandala can help them during stress time to reach relax-ation. A Mandala is a geometric pattern or chart, typically circular or square, that symbolically represents the cosmos and is used for meditation purposes. The Mandala Work Plan for youth was taken from Operation Military Kids manual for youth of deployed Soldiers.

Fort Buchanan, PR- The hard work and dedication of the civil-ians assigned to the 1st Mission Support Command, US Army Reserve Puerto Rico, was for-mally recognized in a ceremony conducted at the command’s headquarters, 29 Sept.

The employees were com-mended for their years of ser-vice in the federal government to include 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years awards. Selected team members also received the Performance Award and the Achievement Medal for Civil-ian Service award.

Mr. José Acevedo received the Just Do It Award.

“The Just Do It Award is a new recognition established by the 1st MSC Soldier Readiness Processing Center. The award recognizes an employee who takes the initiative to do some-thing that benefits the whole organization,” said Mr. José R. Ruiz, 1st MSC SRPC supervi-sor.

In this case, Mr. Acevedo received the Just Do It Award because he coordinated with a print shop in order to have shirts with the SRPC logo. These shirts will now be part of the SRPC uniform.

Other team members were also recognized. For example,

Mr. Kenneth McConnell was selected as the 1st MSC Out-standing Employee of the Year.

One of the most remarkable moments of the ceremony was the presentation of the Presiden-tial Letter to Mr. Christopher Routenberg who retired after 46 years of federal service.

1st MSC families prove resilient

Photo by Janeska Barrientos


Around The Post18 El Morro Fort BuchananNovember 2011

Garrison recognizes civilian work force achievements

Amanda Vazquez-Lloret MWRCarlos Gonzalez-Costa MWREsther Barrios Reyes MWREvelyn Sanchez Garcia MWRHyo S. Lopez MWRIdalis M. Rios MWRIdeliz Velez Torres MWRIsabel Bonilla MWRJacqueline Rojas-Collazo MWRJoel A. Cruz-Calderon MWRJose A. Ortiz MWR

Julio Capacetti MWRLillian Orlando MWRLilly M. Chavis - CPACLorna L. Morales MWRLupe Rosario De La Cruz MWRMaria I. Natal MWRNachar Gomez MWRStephanie Acosta MWRVilma Colon MWRZulaika Rosado MWR

Alberto Orellana - DHRAnibal Negron - DPWEdgar I Berrioscouvertier MWREdith Silva MWRErnesto Berrios MWREvelyn De La Cruz Ramos MWRFernando Gonzalez-Rolon MWRGeomari E. Acosta-Rdgz MWRGerardo Morales-Baez MWRJorge E. Bures MWR

Jose Acevedo Estrada MWRLuis Alicea MWRMarcos Orengo - DPTMSNelson Velez Orta MWRRuben Maldonado-Gutierrez MWRVictor Lopez - DPTMSWilda Diaz MWRYolanda M. Blenman MWRYomara M. Acosta-Rodriguez MWR

15 Year Service Award(Names do not appear in order, some recipients not pictured)

David A. Yourch MWR, Evaristo Rivera-Velez MWR, Felix Jaime Qui-nones MWR, George Santiago MWR, Ivette Davila MWR, Jerome C. Hesby MWR, Jorge Cruz-Rodriguez MWR, Nydia Mejias MWRRoberto Fernandez MWR, Wilfredo Miranda MWR


Adria M. Lucca MWR, Gilberto Valentin MWR, Juan C. Garcia -DPWJuan M Gonzalez - DPW, Maria M. Martinez MWR, Nydia Rivera MWR




Around The Post 19El Morro Fort Buchanan November 2011

25 Year Service Award(Names do not appear in order)

James Welch Jr. MWR, Jose Vazquez MWR, Miguel Jones - DPTMS, Mildred M. Cepeda MWR, Nancy Ramos - DHR Robert Praetorius - DPW

30 Year Service Award

Jaime Morales -DPTMS


Roberto Lugo Ramos -DPTMS, Amanda Rojas - RMO


Santiago Santiago - DHR

Manuela Barriera, a job title here with the Resource Manage-ment Office, receives a Commander’s Award for Civilian Service during the work force town hall meeting held at the Community Club Nov. 3

Elizabeth Gilestra, a job title here with the organization, receives a Commander’s Award for Civilian Service during the work force town hall meeting held at the Community Club Nov. 3

Tiffany Gist, the Equal Employment Opportunity Officer, re-ceives a Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and a Bronze Star for her service in support of the GWOT, during the work force town hall meeting Nov. 3 at the Community Club.

Awareness & Preparedness

Storm guide for post residents

The Hurricane Condition (HURCON) is a five- stage readiness system that is used by all Installation Management Command regions and garrisons to report the likelihood of an approaching tropical cyclone and to trigger implementation of the specific protective measures.

FOR THE FRIDGE

HURCON 5: Prepare for the hurricane season(1 June- 30 November)

Three-day supply of non-perishable food, a can open-er and cooking utensils.

Three-day supply of water – one gallon of water per person, per day.

A flashlight and a portable, battery-powered radio or television and extra batteries.

First aid kit and manual.

Sanitation and hygiene items (moist wipes and toilet paper).

A whistle, matches and waterproof containers.

Extra clothing – complete change of clothing and shoes per person.

Board games, cards, arts and crafts, crayons, and oth-er games for children.

Cash and coins.

Photocopies of credit and identification cards.

Important papers secured in water-proof containers. (Social Security cards, birth certificates, diplomas, ti-tles, deeds to property, and special photos)

Special needs items, such as prescription medications, eye glasses, contact lens solutions, and hearing- aid bat-teries.

Items for infants, such as formula, diapers, bottles and pacifiers.

Ensure your pet has proper ID, carrier and leashupdated veterinarian records and pet supplies.

Any other items to meet needs unique to your family.

The following items are recommendedas a basic disaster-supplies kit:

-Watch or listen to local news on a daily basis for tropical storm updates.-Make an emergency family and plan to secure your property.-Be sure trees and shrubs around the house are well trimmed.-Clear loose and clogged rain gutters and downspouts.

HURCON 4: 96 hrs (Four days) before hurricane

HURCON 3: 72 hrs (three) days before hurricane

HURCON 2: 48 hrs (two days) before hurricane

HURCON 1: 24 - 12 hrs before hurricane

-Complete any possible actions not accomplished from HURCON 5.-Continue to listen to the radio or watch TV for further updates.-If you have special needs, find out about special assistance services.-Secure your home, close storm shutters and secure outdoor objects or bring them indoors.-Update your disaster kit and keep it in a designated place and have it ready. Make sure all family members know where it is kept.

-Contact school’s for emergency guidelines, such as school closure.-Contact your employer for specific guidelines during the emergency, such as leave, activation of phone tree and access to the installation.-If you have special needs, find out about special assistance or register with the office of emergency services.-Take video or photos of your property. This will help later on with anyclaims for damage that may need to be filed.-Continue to listen to the radio or watch TV for further updates.

-Find out the location of your nearest emergency shelter by contacting the Installation Operations Center at (787)707-3838.-Evacuate if directed by authorities and follow their instructions.-Continue to listen to the radio or watch TV for further updates.

-Stay indoors and away from windows and glass doors.-Close all interior doors – secure and brace external doors.-Continue to listen to the radio or watch TV for further updates.

Landfall - 12 hours prior to and during hurricane-Stay indoors and away from windows and glass doors and take refuge in a small interior room, closet or hallway when hurricane hits.-Continue to listen to the radio or watch TV for further updates.

20 El Morro Fort BuchananOctober 2011 The Sentinel of the Caribbean

• Police Desk 787-707-3337 or 4911 / 787-792-7895 • Fire Department and Ambulance 707-5911 / 787-792-7895

• Rodriguez Army Health Clinic 707-9112 / 3912• Emergency Operations Center 707-3287 / 3395

(During duty hours, after duty hours, weekends and holidays call Police Desk)

Fort Buchanan Emergency Phone Numbers