Page 3 - Luke AFB Thunderbolt, June 1 2018

Thunderbolt news http://www.luke.af.mil
Hunter Codding, 4, bonds with his service dog, Indy, at Fowler Park on Luke Air Force Base. Hunter was born with optic nerve hypoplasia, which causes blindness due to underde- veloped optic nerves. Indy is an 18-month-old female Golden Retriever who was recently awarded to the Codding family by an Arizona- based nonprofit organization.
Luke family’s blind son awarded service dog
June 2018 3 Facebook.com/LukeThunderbolt
IN BRIEF
Thrift Shop and Airman’s Attic
The Thrift Shop will be open for the summer. Hours are 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for sales and 9 a.m. to noon for consignments and donations Wednesday and Friday. An after-hours donation bin is available. The shop is also open the third Saturday of the month in conjunc- tion with the Airman’s Attic. The location is Bldg. 750. For more information, call 623-935-5782.
Flightline feast
The Luke Air Force Base Chapel is presenting flightline feasts at 5:30 p.m. June 14 and 11:30 a.m. July 12 behind Hangar 914.
Worklife Live Webinars
The Federal Occupational Health Behavioral Health Services is offering the following webinars at 11 a.m. To register, go to FOH4You.com. For more information, call 888-262-7848.
Pursuing Your Dreams June 13
Discover what energizes you, how to set goals and realistic ex- pectations, and the importance of rewarding yourself.
Learning to Lead June 27
Get insight from seasoned supervisors who know what works.
Healthy lifestyle festival
The Healthy Lifestyle Festival is June 14 through 17 at the Luke Air Force Base Exchange. The festival features a Be Fit fashion show, pushup challenge, GNC free samples, food tasting and raffle draw. The festival shows how choices can improve the quality of life for Airmen and their families. For more information, call the Luke Exchange at 623-935-2671.
Toastmasters on base
Toastmasters meets noon to 1 p.m. Thursdays in the Quiet Study Room in the Luke Air Force Base Library. Improve communication and leadership skills through prepared and impromptu speaking. Materials are provided. The cost is $20 to join and semiannual dues of $45. For more information, call Lynne Nutter at 623-856-9838 or 602-740-6142.
Story and photo by Tech. Sgt. CLINTON ATKINS
56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
A Luke family was recently awarded a service dog from a local nonprofit organization for their 4-year-old son, Hunter, who was born with optic nerve hypoplasia.
The condition results in blindness due to the underdevelopment of the optic nerves. Hunter is able see colors, but much of the world around him remains a mystery, according to his mom, Staff Sgt. Jasmine Cod- ding, a 56th Maintenance Group analyst.
The family hoped to get a ser- vice dog for Hunter, but the high cost prevented them from making the wish come true. The cost for a trained service dog can run upward of $25,000.
With an opportunity in sight, Jasmine and her husband, Staff Sgt. Dylan Codding, 56th Security Forces Squadron patrolman and a native of Normal, Illinois, began the arduous task of saving enough money to give their son a better quality of life. It wasn’t long before the family received an unexpected phone call from Luke’s Exceptional
Family Member Program office. The EFMP office, whose mission is to support military families with special needs, received word from the Foundation for Service Dog Support, Inc., an Arizona-based nonprofit organization, that a free service dog was available to be
awarded to a military family.
“It happened very suddenly,” said Jasmine, a Phoenix native. “We were in disbelief when we received the call. The EFMP office was a huge
help in making this happen.” Hunter met his soon-to-be service dog, Indy, a female 18-month-old Golden Retriever, in April after her service dog training graduation at
Centennial Plaza in Peoria.
“When Hunter met Indy it was an
instant connection,” she said. After Dylan and Jasmine com- pleted two months of online training and a once-a-week, four-hour-long hands-on training class with Indy, the Coddings became a family of five
at the end of May.
Once Indy is fully integrated into
the family, Dylan and Jasmine hope she can help Hunter both with his blindness and his social skills. Jas- mine said Hunter has difficulties interacting with his peers.
“There are times we cannot calm (Hunter) down no matter what we do,” Jasmine said. “Indy has a calm- ing effect on Hunter.”
The Codding family is one of many success stories the EFMP of- fice helped come to fruition.
The Exceptional Family Member Program at Luke is always search- ing for ways to support more fami- lies with special needs, to include connecting them with schools and support services, holding support groups at the Airman and Family Readiness Center, and hosting on- and off-base events.
“Our goal is to make sure our fam- ilies feel connected to other families in similar situations and for families to feel they are part of the Luke com- munity,” said Marjorie Thompson, A&FRC EFMP coordinator.
Luke families who need support should contact EFMP coordinators Senaida Larson or Marjorie at the A&FRC at 623-856-6550.
Those seeking to enroll a family member in EFMP should contact Melody Jones, 56th Medical Group, at (623) 856-4164.
The Airman and Family Readi- ness Center contributed to this article.
Changes of command
June 1: Lt. Col. Orgeron, 550th FS, relinquishes com- mand to Lt. Col. Romasanta at Kingsley Field, Oregon June 1: Lt. Col. Jerry Davisson will assume command of Detachment 9 at 8:09 a.m. in Hangar 999
June 4: Lt. Col. Vedder, 63rd FS, relinquishes command to Lt. Col. Dougherty at 7:63 a.m. in Hangar 999
June 8: Lt. Col. Scott, 56th Medical Support Squadron, relinquishes command to Lt. Col. Stemen at 7:56 a.m. in Hangar 999
June 8: Col. Bishop, 56th Operations Group, relinquish- es command to Col. Renbarger in Hangar 999
June 11: Col. Keen, 54th Fighter Group, relinquishes command to Col. Bogger at Holloman AFB
June 15: Lt. Col. Jelinek, 56th Operations Support Squadron, relinquishes command to Lt. Col. St. Aubyn June 19: Lt. Col. Brancato, 56th Dental Squadron, relinquishes command to Lt. Col. Schwamburger
June 20: Brig. Gen. Leonard, 56th Fighter Wing, relin- quishes command to Brig. Gen. Canterbury at 7:56 a.m. in Hangar 431
June 21: Maj. Romero, 56th Component Maintenance Squadron, relinquishes command to Maj. Mafnas at 7:56 a.m. in Hangar 999
June 21: Lt. Col. Ploetz, 756th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, relinquishes command to Maj. Romero at 8:30 a.m. in Hangar 999
June 27: Col. Freeland, 56th Medical Support Squad- ron, relinquishes command to Col. Lamar at 7:56 a.m. in Hangar 999
June 28: Lt. Col. M. Gaetke, 310th Fighter Squadron, relinquishes command to Lt. Col. Hubbard at 7:56 a.m. in Hangar 999
June 29: Lt. Col. K. Gaetke, 309th FS, relinquishes command to Lt. Col. Smith at 7:56 a.m. in Hangar 999
THUNDERBOLT ALMANAC
Fiscal 2018 graduates
8th FS ........................................................... 12 21st FS (calendar year).................................. 0 61st FS .......................................................... 25 62nd FS......................................................... 32 63rd FS ........................................................... 2 69th FS ........................................................... 0 309th FS ....................................................... 18 310th FS ....................................................... 43
311th FS ....................................................... 29 314th FS ...................................................... 25 425th FS (calendar year) ............................... 0 550th FS ...................................................... 22 56th TRS ...................................................... 59 607th ACS.................................................. 151 372nd TRS, Det. 12 ................................... 562 944th OG, Det. 2 ............................................ 6
Hours flown F-35 8,447.30
Sorties flown
5,601 7,663
F-16 10,267.30
(As of May 29, 2018)
T-Bolts
Deployed around the world.
227 Luke Airmen are deployed to 14 locations