Page 1 - March ARB Beacon Oct. 2 2015

Vol. 80, No. 39
NEWS BRIEFS
NAF SALE OCT. 15-16
The 452nd Force Support
Squadron will hold a Non-
Appropriated Funds (NAF)
sale for the March Inn on
Thursday and Friday, Oct.
15-16, in the Fitness Center
parking lot between Bldgs.
400 and 456, from 10 a.m.
to 3 p.m. each day (clos-
ing from noon to 1 p.m. for
lunch). Available items are
sofa sleepers, desks, dining
chairs, end tables, lamps,
pictures, color TVs, DVD
players, lounge chairs, TV ar-
moires, dressers, headboards,
bed frames (queen), drapes,
desk chairs, and much more!
The sale is open to all base ID and if they didn’t have air conditioning
Card holders - CASH ONLY
- No sales tax!
VA BENEFITS BRIEFING
OCT 4 AND 25
The 452nd Air Mobility
Wing’s Airman and Family
Readiness office is offering
VA Benefits Briefing I and II
on the October Unit Training
Assemblies, Sunday, Oct. 4
and 25.
They will be held in the
452nd Mission Support
Group Conference Room,
Bldg. 2313, 1261 Graeber
Street. Show time is 7:30 a.m.
and the briefing ends at 3:30
p.m. There will be a lunch
break included. This briefing
is mandatory for all person-
nel coming off of 180 days of
consecutive orders (for any
reason). It is also beneficial
for all personnel who were
prior service and want a “re-
fresher” of their VA Benefits.
Reservations are required by
calling 951-655-5350. Did
you know that if you plan to
transfer any or all of your GI
bill to dependents, you must
do so while you still have at
least four years retainability
See BRIEFS page 3
March Air Reserve Base, California Friday, October 2, 2015
Air National Guard teaches Airman
civilian trade
by Master Sgt. Julie Avey
163 ATKW public affairs
California Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Courtesy photo
Jessica Abrego has a valuable skill set,
which is an asset to her unit while paying Tech Sgt. Jessica Abrego, 163rd Civil Engineer Squadron, 163rd Attack Wing, Cali-
dividends in her civilian career. fornia Air National Guard, March Air Reserve Base, installs stakes with her active and
Reserve comrades as a part airplane arresting system installation training. The system
“I joined the Air National Guard be- is a minimum operating strip (MOS) system and a runway arresting system, which are
cause I had a rough childhood and it was LQVWDOOHGWRFDWFKSODQHVZKHQWKHLUEUDNHVIDLORUZKHQWKHUHLVDLU¿HOGGDPDJH7KH
my way to do something better for my fu- team also trained on heavy construction equipment. During the six-day Silver Flag
ture,” said Abrego. Course at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, civil engineers, communications, force sup-
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Abrego, of the Riverside-based 163rd support emergency operations and deployed locations.
Civil Engineer Squadron, chose to be a
heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) for overseas operations as well as stateside rent job as a project manager for a large
and refrigeration specialist. “I knew every- emergency disaster response. solar panel company located five minutes
one had a refrigerator and a water heater, from her house.
During Silver Flag, Abrego’s team was
they would want it,” she said. “I knew I’d responsible for ensuring that a Field De- “I purchased a home earlier this year
always have a trade to fall back on. It has ployable Environmental Control unit and and remodeled my entire bathroom, to in-
catapulted my career in the civilian sector.” HVAC equipment were installed in the clude demo, electrical, plumbing and tile
base’s dining facility, mortuary and sleep- work all by myself,” she said. “It was such
She works on anything that heats or ing tents. The team hooked up a refrigera- an accomplishment, but I wouldn’t have
cools water or air; everything from water tion system to the mortuary and a water known how to do any of it if it weren’t for
heaters to cooling towers to freezers. Her heater to the shower tent. the Air National Guard.”
Air Force specialty is key to maintaining
constant functionality on Air Force and Air Additionally, her team worked on an Abrego served four years in the Hawaii
National Guard facilities. airplane arresting system, a minimum op- ANG and the last six in the California ANG.
erating strip (MOS) system and a runway
In September, she returned home from arresting system, which are installed to “I love working in the civil engineer
Silver Flag, a training course held at Tyndall catch planes when their brakes do not work squadron. We are all so diverse with differ-
Air Force Base, Florida, where she trained or when there is airfield damage. They also ent backgrounds,” she said. “I’m proud to
alongside Air Force Reservists and active trained on heavy construction equipment. be in the Air National Guard and I’m proud
duty Airmen. to be an Airman. (Although) my civilian
With her training at Silver Flag done, job requires me to be behind a computer
“The morale of our class was very high,” Abrego returned to her civilian job. She most of the time, being in the Air Guard
said Abrego. “We all worked hard, took care was one of only two HVAC controls proj- has allowed me to stay proficient in my
of one another and we didn’t have anyone ect managers for the Carrier Corporation in trade and allows me to teach others and
complain. When work needed to be done, San Diego before recently taking her cur- guide them to success.”
we did it. When it was time to be laid back
and take a breather, we did that as well.”
During the six-day Silver Flag course,
civil engineers, communications, force
support and finance personnel learned how
to build, maintain and operate a bare base.
Students practiced a variety of combat and
survival skills, such as repairing bomb-
damaged runways and setting up base fa-
cilities. The students received expedition-
ary training, which gives their combatant
commander a highly trained and skilled
emergency response force.
The Silver Flag training course is required
every 30 months for civil engineer Airmen to
hone their emergency response force skills.
The training provides the students with skills