Hundreds pay last respects to homeless Navy vet

It was a sentiment openly said and deeply felt among those who attended Navy veteran Jerry Bryan Billings' funeral service last Friday: Mr. Billings may have had no known next of kin, but he had plenty of family.More than 100 Sailors from Tinker's Strategic Communications Wing One, dozens of

PMxCP open season underway

The Professional Maintenance Certification Program Spring open season runs through June 30.  During the fall open season, 24 of the 110 certificates awarded Command-wide were presented to Tinker employees. Any General Schedule or Federal Wage System personnel within the AFMC Depot Maintenance

It’s not the fall that kills you ... it’s hitting the ground

The laws of physics are frequently ignored in any given movie story, with someone taking a plunge from a great height being probably the most frequent offender.Writers tend to forget that it's not the fall that kills you ... it's the sudden stop at the end. Or to put it another way, your velocity

ACC commander praises 552nd ACW’s professionalism

Air Combat Command's top leader took time to meet with Airmen of the 552nd Air Control Wing last week."I needed to come out and see the Airmen, and see what I can do to help them," Gen. "Hawk" Carlisle said last week, following his first visit to Tinker Air Force Base since taking over as commander

Tinker hosts AF science advisers

The Air Force Scientific Advisory Board held its spring meeting at Tinker AFB last week, bringing together some of the nation's top scientists and engineers who advise the Air Force on maintaining its technological edge.The 50-member board toured Tinker operations, met in classified study sessions

Aiding allies

552nd ACW commander encourages maximum participation in ‘Salute’

Ever since assuming command of the 552nd Air Control Wing in June of 2013, Col. Jay R. Bickley vowed to make educating his Airmen about their Air Force heritage one of his top priorities.The 552nd ACW commander has made good on his promise by periodically inviting retired service members to the base

Captain journeys back to Vietnam in one LEAP

Born and raised in Vietnam until he was 15, Capt. Thomas Pham joined the Air Force in 2004 with hopes of one day using his native language fluency on behalf of his adopted nation.So when the Air Force's Language Enabled Airman Program began, Captain Pham "leaped" at the chance. LEAP seeks Airmen

AROUND TINKER: ITEC Spotlight

The 72nd Air Base Wing Communications Directorate's Information Technology Equipment Custodian, "ITEC Spotlight," for April honors Gary Wehrenberg of the 72nd Force Support Squadron's Force Development Flight.Mr. Wehrenberg is the primary ITEC for an IT Asset Management account of 324 assets and is

AROUND TINKER: Retiree Volunteer of the Year

Retired Lt. Col. James Monsees was recently named the Retiree Volunteer of the Year for Tinker Air Force Base.He has been a volunteer at the Tinker Pharmacy for more than 19 years. He worked a total of 346 hours during the past year, which saved approximately $7,000 in personnel costs.Colonel