Hilltop Times – Hill Air Force Base Weekly Newspaper Since 1948

On Sept. 29, 2010, Senior Airman Mark Forester was killed in action in Afghanistan. And on Monday, his brother, Thad Forester, came to Hill's base theater to tell his story.

"I hope to bring people in this country to ask themselves, 'What can I do to honor those protecting my freedoms?'" said Thad. "That's really my purpose, my mission, my obsession."

The 75th Medical Group teamed up with the 75th Security Forces Squadron Saturday for their second annual Drug Take-Back event. Hill took part in the nation-wide event Oct. 29 where patients with old prescriptions could drop off their medications collecting in cabinets at home.

Last April, the 75th Medical Group collected 82 pounds of old prescription medicine. This time around, the group set their goal at 100 pounds. The event on Saturday almost doubled that, totaling 177 pounds of medications over the course of the day.

Maj. Abigail Ruscetta, 388th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron commander, spoke to two different breakout session groups Oct. 25 at the Ogden Weber Chamber's annual Women Empowered conference.

The conference, in its eighth year, had three different breakout sessions as well as a morning session speaker and a noon session speaker. The session speakers, in addition to Ruscetta, included Vanessa Koper, a corporate online sales trainer for Sandusky Digital and Zack Barlow, a certified personal trainer with Gold's Gym. The event was held at Weber State in the Shepherd Union building.

Members of a creative team from Electronic Arts Inc. visited one of Hill's squadrons earlier this month to bring fresh perspective and swap ideas. The visit was sparked by the recently appointed commander's newly implemented hit, Mystery Mondays.

The 367th Training Support Squadron welcomed Maj. Michael Bliss this past July. And by September, Bliss starting taking his Airmen out on mystery adventures the first Monday of every month. Hence, Mystery Mondays were born.

About 80 military spouses showed up for the 388th Fighter Wing spouses call last Thursday. Two briefings, at 9 a.m. and at 5 p.m., reviewed resources available for spouses of Airmen and introduced the wing's Key Spouses to the group.

Holly Cope, the wing's lead Key Spouse, organized the event and was also the first speaker. She gave a presentation on what resources are available to spouses, including who the Key Spouses are assigned to each flight, and their duties. In addition, Cope went over services that were available to them and their families.

Members of the 367th Training Support Squadron headed out to Hill's Rod and Gun Club Oct. 3 to take part in a wingman shoot. The squadron, which creates training material for the Air Force, took some time to gain further experience in arms training, and have some fun.

In conjunction with the Rod and Gun Club's Monday and Tuesday lunch specials, 367th TSS Commander Maj. Michael Bliss brought his Airmen out for the day for an event he has dubbed Mystery Mondays.

Tuesday marked the first of many hoped for multicultural days at the Defense Logistics Agency at Hill. DLA employees meandered around the building with "passports," going from culture to culture to nibble not only on bits of food, but also bits of knowledge.

The event held Oct. 4 kicked off just before 11 a.m. with Col. James Kinkade, the site commander for DLA Aviation in Ogden, cutting a carrot cake. Then, participants let their passports guide them as they wandered throughout the building, having their passports marked at every station.

Recently, a Hill staff sergeant won a $1,000 scholarship from the Air Force Clubs scholarship program for an essay he wrote on his contributions to the Air Force. His entry was one of 25 chosen from across the Air Force in the 15th annual scholarships contest.

Staff Sgt. Anthony Diamond plans to use the scholarship to help fund his master's degree he is currently pursuing in homeland security through the American Military University. With the degree, Diamond said he hopes to excel in his Air Force career and eventually make the rank of chief.

The annual Team Hill Spouses Round-Up fundraiser came to a close with a bang, raising a total of $36,000 in total for Hill Airmen and their families. The Round-Up is one of the largest fundraisers for Hill's quality-of-life programs, with funds going to the Utah Military Family Association to support up to 15 programs. Some of these programs include Heart-Link, Key Spouses, Airmen Against Drunk Driving, Hill Heroes and the Wolf Creek Retreats. The event sold about 260 tickets and the event's chairwoman, Jackie Thies, said it was a successful event. "We're very happy with it," she said.

Janaee Stone, Hill’s Sexual Assault Response Coordinator, would like to take this opportunity to thank the Catholic Community at the Chapel after Chaplain (Capt.) Daniel Horgan presented the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response office with a check for $5,000.