Page 6 - Aerotech News and Review, Jan. 19 2018

Advocate trio set for honors at Vets4Veterans dinner
by Dennis Anderson
special to Aerotech News
LANCASTER, Calif.—Three ac- complished advocates for the support of veterans causes will be honored Jan. 28 at the John P. Eliopulos Hellenic Center in Lancaster, with the proceeds raised to fund scholarships for veterans of our armed forces, and to respond to veteran homelessness in the Antelope Valley.
The local non-profit, Vets4Veterans, will be honoring Monteigne Long, di- rector of the Veteran Resource Center at Antelope Valley College. The two other honorees are Marine Corps veteran Jerry Lawrence, whose volunteer work for ProCare Hospice serves veterans at end-of-life, and Jamie Goodreau, the retired Lancaster High School history teacher whose students founded Opera- tion All The Way Home, the grassroots group that spearheaded the drive to build a “smart access” home for a se- verely wounded Iraq War veteran.
“These are three outstanding citizens who have, each in their own way, dem- onstrated outstanding commitment to serving those who have served in our nation’s armed forces,” said Vets4Vet- erans President Tom Hilzendeger, who served with the 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam.
Long assumed direction of the Vet- eran Resource Center at AV College in 2016. She is a military spouse who became interested in working with vets many years ago. She holds a Master’s Degree from USC, where her empha- sis was research related to veterans. At the AV College Veteran’s Resource Center, the goals are to ensure veterans qualify for benefits. Also, to provide a
Courtesy photograph
Monteigne Long, director of the Veteran Resource Center at Antelope Valley College.
safe space and connection for vets, and assist with community resources and referrals.
The AVC Veteran Resource Center also provides programs and events for vets, such as Veterans Day and Memo- rial Day activities, and an “MRE Gath- ering” where veterans can meet, relax and eat. She launched the first Veterans Resource Center at California State University, Northridge, and served as the Coordinator of the Veterans Re- source Center at CSUN from 2012- 2014. She has been at Antelope Valley College since 2016.
Marine Corps veteran Jerry Law-
rence is a longtime member of Marine Corps League Detachment 930 who brought his volunteer efforts to ProCare Hospice to initiate a unique volunteer service for veterans of armed service near end-of-life.
Lawrence approached active duty personnel, typically recruiting NCOs in the Antelope Valley, and invited their participation in certificate and award ceremonies for veterans and their families. The recognition near end-of- life, hospice officials agree, has been particularly “moving and meaningful.”
It was Jamie Goodreau’s students of history at Lancaster High School who banded together to initiate a grassroots funding drive to build a “smart access” home for Iraq War veteran Jerral Han- cock, who served with the 1st Cav- alry Division and was catastrophically wounded in the destruction of an M-1A Abrams tank in Baghdad in 2007.
The Operation All The Way Home students ultimately joined forces with the Gary Sinise Foundation, and the Hancock family home was complet- ed in 2015. Prior to that, students in Goodreau’s classes organized annual dinners in support of veterans and our nation’s armed forces called “Pride Of The Nation.” Thousands of veterans were honored over a 10-year period. Her classes also welcomed veterans of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War to give testimonials.
The Evening of Community Support begins at 4:30 p.m., Jan. 28, with a no- host bar, appetizers, wine tasting and si- lent auction. At 5:30 p.m., the evening will proceed with presentations, music and dinner prepared by Chef Roy.
Tickets are $85 per person, or $850 for a table for 10.
Courtesy photograph
Marine Corps veteran Jerry Lawrence, volunteer at ProCare Hospice, serving veterans at end-of-life.
A nonprofit organization, Vets4Veter- ans was founded in 2009 by a group of local Vietnam combat veterans who at- tend a PTSD therapy group at Antelope Valley Vet Center.
As they learned to “live better” with their post-traumatic stress disorder, they realized they could provide care and connection for the nation’s return- ing warriors.
Vets 4 Veterans is dedicated to help- ing local servicemen and women read- just to civilian life as they return from serving their country overseas, many with the physical and psychological wounds of war.
Funds raised by Vets 4 Veterans go to help local veterans who need a hand up and support. Donations support Operation Restart Scholarship, which
Courtesy photograph
Jamie Goodreau, the retired Lancaster High School history teacher, whose students founded Operation All The Way Home.
provides scholarships to veterans at- tending Antelope Valley College. More than $21,000 in scholarships have been awarded to deserving veterans, accord- ing to event organizers.
Donations will also support Opera- tion Restart Immediate Need, providing assistance for local veterans with imme- diate family needs, Operation Restart House, a temporary housing solution allowing veterans and their families to return to a state of financial stability, and Operation Restart Healing, provid- ing veterans counseling with a licensed therapist. Operation Restart Healing also funds a weekly Art Therapy Group.
For more information or tick- ets, call 661-943-5100 or visit www.avvets4veterans.org.
NASA flight tests Generation Orbit’s hypersonic testbed
NASA and Generation Orbit Launch Services Inc. in Atlanta have completed the GO1 Inert Test Article captive carry flight test program.
Under a public-private partnership with the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, GO developed the GO1-ITA, a mass properties and outer mold line simulator for the GO1 hypersonic flight testbed and earned NASA’s airworthiness approval for flight on NASA’s C- 20A.
The C-20A was modified to add a centerline hard point to carry the Uninhabited Aerial Ve- hicle Synthetic Aperture Radar pod. A campaign of three flight tests was conducted, successfully
NASA’s C-20A with Generation Orbit’s hypersonic pod attached undergoes flight test in the skies above Armstrong Flight Research Center.
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completing all test objectives including clearing the operational flight envelope of the C-20A with the GO1 pod as well as demonstrating a unique launch maneuver designed for air launch of the GO1 on operational flights starting in 2019. Data collected during the campaign will be used to vali- date models and inform the ongoing design and development of GO1.
The GO-NASA partnership was conducted under a 2015 NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) Announcement of Collabora- tive Opportunity: Utilizing Public-Private Part- nerships to Advance Emerging Space Technology System Capabilities entitled “Technology Matura-
tion and Flight Validation for Air Launched Liq- uid Rockets.” The non-reimbursable Space Act Agreement was signed in April 2016.
“I’m immensely proud of our team and what has been achieved in a very short timeframe,” said GO CEO, AJ Piplica. “To go from concept to flight of our company’s first flight hardware
on a manned aircraft in under two years shows the talent, belief, and sheer force of will that are the trademark of the culture we’re continuing to build at GO.”
He added, “Over the course of this collabora-
See NASA, Page 7
NASA’s C-20A with Generation Orbit’s hypersonic testbed attached is chased by the agency’s F-18 jet for safety and photography.
NASA photographs by Jim Ross
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