12 Nov 2009

Tinker boxers win 3 of 7 bouts in Tulsa

When you're fighting against the Tinker All Services Boxing Team, one good punch is about all you'll manage to dish out. Then, as the Tinker fighters showed Saturday night, they make sure you pay for that hit the rest of the bout. "He hit me one good time and I felt my legs weaken up a bit but I had to keep on pushing through," said Tinker fighter

12 Nov 2009

Canadian air force players are mainstay of Tinker hockey teams

Sit back a moment, if you will, and take note of what comes to mind when you think of our neighbors to the north -- no, not the Kansans. The Canadians. Images of snow and ice and moose fill the mind, mixed with Maple Leaf banners and the words "hoser" and "eh." But finally, as you thaw out a bit, you come to rest on the cultural epicenter of the

6 Nov 2009

3rd Herd is family business for Wilsons

It isn't unusual to have a son follow in his father's footsteps, learning the ropes of the family business, entering the same career or even serving in the same elected position. But it is unusual to have father and son serving together in the same service, at the same base and in the same unit. "I'm sure it's very rare," says Master Sgt. Dennis

6 Nov 2009

Safeguarding the ‘boom-boom’

It's not like the movies. One shot does not detonate the truckload of explosives and working in a bunker filled with bombs does not make your face twitch. "I'm more nervous driving on the highway," laughs George Eastling, the Munitions Accountable Systems officer, flight chief and quality assurance evaluator for the 72nd Logistics Readiness

6 Nov 2009

Phantom ace: Veterans Day memories of shootouts over Vietnam

"There are two saddest days in a pilot's life," says Chuck DeBellevue. "The day he walks out to an airplane knowing it's his last flight and the day he walks out to an airplane not knowing it's his last flight." And he should know. Col. Charles B. DeBellevue -- the highest scoring American ace of the Vietnam War and the last Air Force ace on active

6 Nov 2009

Tinker sergeant a top marksman

"Your heart's pumping and you're breathing hard, but you've got to calm down and aim your shots," explains Mike Henderson. "Techniques vary, but it all comes down to three things: concentration, keeping your sight picture clear and trigger squeeze." It's not combat that the staff sergeant is talking about. It's competition. And it's tough. "It's

29 Oct 2009

DISA has no room for failure in cyber security

There is no room for failure in the Defense Information Systems Agency mission and officials know it. Day-in and day-out, they take every conceivable precaution to prevent a malfunction. DISA Oklahoma City, one of DISA's four main computing sites, is a tenant organization at Tinker. Situated primarily in Bldg. 3900 with some space in Bldg. 201, 450

29 Oct 2009

Tinker coach teaches character, points come second

In a way it's not the points on the board that matter at all. It's not the wins or losses or even the championship ring at the end of the season that represents the final goal for the Tinker men's basketball team. In the end, it's about something more difficult to master than all these outward measures of success combined. But this challenge

23 Oct 2009

CFC exec shares personal story

Tim Eldridge knew he was late. But when he crested the hill on his motorcycle at 70 miles per hour and saw a car, it was too late to stop. Waking a week later in the hospital, the doctor told the budding athlete to "hang up his cleats." Tim Eldridge would never walk again. He was only 14. "That's when life really got real for me," Mr. Eldridge

16 Oct 2009

Tinker All Services boxing soars in fifth year on base

Lavell Sims stepped into the boxing ring hesitantly, eyeing his formidable opponent with a palpable apprehension. It was 1993 at Fort Campbell, Ky., and Sims, a 21-year-old rookie, was facing the Kentucky Golden Glove champion in his first major fight. The outcome was less than victorious for the young Army enlisted man, but would prove pivotal for