Hilltop Times – Hill Air Force Base Weekly Newspaper Since 1948

WASHINGTON — Air Force senior leaders recently released Air Force policy on the Pay and Allowance Continuation program for Airmen who become wounded or ill while supporting a combat contingency.

With the release of the Air Force PAC program policy, AFGM 34-02, Airmen will now officially have their own policy, tailored specifically for the Air Force.

PAC, which replaced the Combat-Related Injury Rehabilitation Pay program, was implemented in 2008. With the signing of the PAC policy, benefits for Airmen have been clarified.

WASHINGTON — Sequestration would leave the Air Force with untrained people, a lack of equipment and be “devastating” to the service, officials said Feb. 7.

The warning echoes what Department of Defense officials have stated for months about across-the-board defense cuts, in addition to an ongoing continuing resolution.

“Now that we’re staring at that possibility in less than a month, I can tell you, they were right,” said Air Force Vice Chief of Staff, Gen. Larry Spencer, during a media roundtable at the Pentagon.

JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. — The Air Force appointed its 17th chief master sergeant of the Air Force during a transition and retirement ceremony Jan. 24.

In his last official act before retiring, Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James Roy relinquished the duties and responsibilities of the Air Force’s highest enlisted leader to Chief Master Sgt. James Cody.

Looking across the airplane hangar, Cody addressed some of his main goals in his new position.

WASHINGTON -- The Office of Management and Budget has instructed the Department of Defense to pursue internal planning to meet required budget cuts if sequestration goes into effect Jan. 3.

"We are at the very start of this process," said Dr. George Little, acting assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, during a Pentagon press availability in Washington, D.C., Dec. 5. "We don't have all the details firmed up. Naturally, we hope very much that sequestration will be avoided and we don't enter that phase."

WASHINGTON -- Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, Air Force Chief of Staff, promoted Howard D. Stendahl to the rank of major general Aug. 31 during a ceremony at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling.

Stendahl, who was recently appointed as the seventeenth Air Force Chief of Chaplains, now holds the highest rank an Air Force chaplain can attain.

WASHINGTON — Climbing a glacier for 24 straight hours, delivering medical care while taking enemy fire or chasing an armed murderer through a crowded airport; these are the actions of some of the 20 Airmen featured in the latest volume of Portraits in Courage.

As the Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley announced today at the opening ceremony of Air Force Week New York City, the Portraits in Courage series highlights Airmen who display bravery and determination in the face of especially challenging or dangerous circumstances.

By Tech. Sgt. Shawn J. Jones

Welsh 'humbled' to serve as Air Force chief of staff

JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. -- The Air Force chief of staff flag passed to the service's 20th chief in a ceremony Aug. 10.

Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, a 36-year Airman, stepped into the position, taking over for Gen. Norton Schwartz, who also retired from the Air Force during the ceremony.

"Mark is respected throughout the Air Force for his exceptional leadership and ability to connect with Airmen," Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley said.

JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. -- When referencing fundamental standards, Airmen now have a single source: Air Force Instruction 1-1, Air Force Standards.

As one of the capstone acts of his 39-year career, Gen. Norton Schwartz, Air Force chief of staff, put his signature on the brand new instruction, which communicates in one document the required standards of conduct, performance and discipline expected of every uniformed Airman.

WASHINGTON -- The terms and conditions for the Air Force's travel charge card are changing, but Airmen can hang on to their blue cards.

Beginning Aug. 7 and continuing through the end of September, the Air Force Banking Office will e-mail some 300,000 Airmen, informing them that their controlled spend account card will convert back to a government travel card, which will operate like a standard charge card.

WASHINGTON -- Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Phil Breedlove and his counterparts from the Army, Navy and Marine Corps testified May 10 before members of the Senate Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support about U.S. military readiness in light of recent budget cuts.

In his opening statement, Breedlove pointed out that the American people are fully aware that the nation has been at war for more than a decade, but that they might not know the Air Force has been engaged in combat operations since the first Gulf War.