Ammo Chiefs Association

We are the Ammo Chiefs Association a non-profit, fraternal organization dedicated to the promotion of camaraderie among retired and active duty USAF Ammo Chiefs and certain, select retired ammo troops. The ACA holds a worldwide reunion every other year. Our members work diligently throughout the year to raise funds for worthwhile charitable causes such as the Richard Gauvin Memorial Fund, the Enlisted Widows Foundation, and a Sunshine Committee to respond to members’ time of distress. The ACA also contributes to the morale of active duty ammo troops through recognition and sports programs. The ACA sponsors awards programs for the Ammo School House Oustanding Performer, and the AFCOMAC Outstanding Performer. Ammo sports contributions include a traveling trophy given to the winners of the Worldwide Ammo Bowl and sponsoring funds to the South East Ammo Bowl. ACA has also contributed to cultural enterprises such as the RAF Welford Ammo Museum. We are Ammo, and proud of it!

If you are seriously considering attending this event please let us, the 2008 Reunion Committee, know so that we can plan accordingly. Letting us know now does not commit you to showing but does help us getting some kind of ballpark idea of how many we probably will have in attendance. Contact us using this email address reunioncommittee2008@ammochiefs.com.

ACA Elections, Biggest Turnout Ever

ACA elections came to a conclusion Sunday November 25th. We had the most tumultuous election in our history. The lead for Director-at-Larger change several times. We could not predict a winner until voting closed and we could make a final count of votes. A total of 85 ACA members took part in the voting, the largest number to vote in any election to date.

Without further ado, the winners: For Vice President, Rich Pennington to fill a two year term. We had 12 candidates to fill 4 Director-at-Large positions. Two of these positions are for a two year term and two of the positions are for a one year term. The winners: John Cecere and Mark Gossett won the two year term positions. Don Hamilton and George Harding won the one year positions. All of the newly elected officers begin their terms January 1st, 2008.

The offices of President, Secretary, and Treasurer were also up for election. Several people were nominated to fill the positions however most of those nominated could not accept their nominations for a variety of reasons leaving these positions uncontested. Rich McVey continues as ACA President for a term of one year, Fred O'Hern continues as ACA Secretary for one year, and Joe Dominguez continues as ACA Treasurer for a term of two years.

It is encouraging to see the level of interest and participation we witnessed during this election and hope this is an indicator of the level of involvement we can expect throughout the coming year.

Next for the ACA is the State of the ACA report which lays out what has been accomplished and charts a course for the ACA for the coming year. Also due early this coming year is the annual ACA Budget which identifies those projects the Board of Directors support in funding. The ACA Financial Report will be sent to ACA members during the first quarter of next year as well. Taking place right now is the Annual audit of the ACA books.

Thanks to all of our members who participated in this election. Your involvement keeps this Association vibrant and keeps us accountable to you. I would also like to acknowledge the support of Fred O'Hern and Tom Cox who comprised 2/3s of the ACA Election Committee who helped assure the counts were accurate and those voting and those elected were members in good standing.

Pennsylvania Vets, Did You Serve In the Gulf?

Pennsylvania vets, if you served in the Gulf you may be entitled to benefits from your state. Click on the link below to a PDF file that provides more information. Click here for the Adobe PDF document.

Kudos the the ACA Wasatch Front

A big AMMO Huah goes out to the members of the ACA Wasatch Front for what is now becoming and annual tradition of providing Holiday Gift Baskets to AMMO troops who can use a little help to enjoy the holidays. Joe D'Arco and members of the chapter collected over $500.00 which will provide $25.00 and $50.00 Holiday Gift Baskets to more than 10 AMMO troops to help spread a little of the AMMO cheer.

If any of our other chapters have programs of this nature please share your story. Helping the AMMO community is part of the reason we exist.

Chiefs Network

As agreed upon in the Chief's TAP class at Seymour Johnson, there is a need for a place for Chief's to network one with another for all the various reason. I had my web developer create a networking site for you. For those of you who don't know, it was agreed there is a need for a place for Chief's to network, whether it is for employment purposes, staying in touch, posting those who have past on ("In Memorial"), or what ever you would like it to do for you, it is there for ALL Chief's to utilize, which includes those on active duty and those retired - ALL are welcome. If there are additional categories or forum titles you would like to see added, let me know and I will add them.

There are rules posted for site usage but I will highlight a few here. Keep it clean and useful. If there is a topic that is drawing some heated discussions, that is okay, but keep it general in nature and not targeted toward any one person or group. Most any topic can be addressed, but if it appears to be illegal or vulgar, I will block those who do so.

You must log-in to see what others have to say, how to contact them, view the forums, and post your résumés for others to help you find employment, etc. Should anyone want to host a discussion forum, simply ask me to open it up and I will give the requester hosting capability to monitor the chat on it. When you log-in, there is minimal amount of information that is given, anything extra can be posted into the text area of your messages. If the general consensus is to add phone numbers and addresses, we can do that, but it has to be agreed by the majority of those on the site. If so, it will be an optional entry, I will do a survey using the e-mail addresses given prior to making such a change, however if it is in the next week or two before there are very many users, I will add it as mentioned.

If any of you know of jobs that are open or you are seeking one yourself, you can post them. You know what the caliber of people you are dealing with when looking for a Chief to fill a position, so lets help one another network and keep the world moving as you have the past 20+ years. ...

This web site is for you all. Let all the other Chief's, active duty and retired, know about it. If anyone has suggestions for improvement or questions about it in general, please contact me by replying to this address. webmaster@chiefsnetwork.com

Online Voting: ACA Constitution Results

AMMO Chiefs,

Thanks for your overwhelming response in voting on our revised ACA Constitution. We had a total of 76 votes with 69 votes for acceptance of the Constitution as revised and 7 opposed. This culminates more than a year's effort. Thanks to all who participated and all of those who helped draft this Constitution.

The next major event on our ACA Calendar is Election of ACA Officers for 2008. According to our newly adopted Constitution the following offices are up for election: Vice President, Secretary, Director-at-Large Three and Director-at-Large Four. This is the normal cycle for these offices. Members nominated and elected to fill these slots will serve a two year term. Our Constitution also makes a provision that those who fill a post prematurely vacated will stand for election during the next election cycle. With the number of resignations we've had on the board this past year the following positions are also subject to election: President, Treasurer, Director-at-Large One and Director-at-Large Two. Members elected to these positions will serve the remainder of the term for these offices or one year. The only office not up for election this election cycle is the office of Chief-at-Arms.

We will be accepting nominations for these position beginning October the 1st through October 25th. The Election Committee along with the ACA Secretary will assure all those nominated meet our Constitutional requirements and will then announce candidates and the offices for which they are running no later than November 1st. Members will then have until November 25th to cast their vote. On or about December the 1st we will announce the winners of the election. Those elected will assume the offices to which they have been elected on January 1st, 2008.

So be thinking about who you would like to lead the ACA.

E-commerce and upcoming site changes

One of the things on the agenda for our meeting on the 20th is discussion of offering an e-commerce capability on your web site. What this would do is allow our members and site visitors to go to our web site Trinket Shop and complete the entire buying process on line. I think this would make things much more convenient for our members and I think it has the ability to increase sales of our merchandise. PAYPAL says we can expect an increase of 14 percent. I believe with our rather anemic sales right now we can do even better to the point where the Trinket Shop will make a contribution to our operating funds and help spread AMMO relegated among more of the AMMO troops. I think once it becomes known it will grow especially if we have the right kinds of AMMO related products to offer. The big problem and probably the biggest drag we had in the past of making a go of our shop was that people would order merchandise and we'd lose the order for months and not ship. We would not even acknowledge an order had been placed. If we can be responsive to our orders I think we can have this contribute to our overall financial health.

In the actual working of things very little would actually change. Mike would still manage the Trinket Shop and the items we sell. Joe would still manage the funds as always. Mike would determine what is offered. Aaron and I will help get it displayed on the web site. The site would include a shopping cart like you see on Amazon.com or so many other sites where you can buy things directly on line. Mike would manage the thing, to include things like items costs, sizes available, shipping costs and any of the other things normally associated with any sales activity. Purchases would be made through the PAYPAL system. Mike would get reports of items ordered and the fact they have been paid and process the shipment accordingly. Joe would collect the money and deposit it into our accounts. Reports of activities would go to all concerned.

This page PAYPAL explains Paypal's merchant services and contains a link to a demonstration.

If one of our customers charged their life membership on their credit card ($250.00) our fee for that would be $7.55.

Please look it over. If you know of any other system that may be of interest please share before the meeting so we can all do our homework.

Rich
P.S. For those who are not familiar with Aaron Moody, Aaron is a former AMMO troop now working in civilian life in the Richmond, Virginia area. He is the web guru for a government related entity there. Aaron expressed an interest in having contact with AMMO again and had an interest in helping on this web site. After our hosting company upgraded servers I was not able to use the program with which I had been maintaining our site. Coming up with something that would do an equally good job was a challenge. About the same time my computer hard drive took a dump so I was caught even further behind. Fortunately, I was able to make contact with Aaron and he and I have been working to keep our site up to date. There is much that still needs to be done but the part of keeping new items before our members is working. Some of the heavier housekeeping type things still need to be done, like reconnecting broken links and organizing things into folders. Aaron's expertise in the programs we are now using is what is making this all possible. I am slowly (very slowly) trying to learn these new programs but is seems life and other activities are getting in the way. Aaron also has some experience with PAYPAL and I think it is one of the least expensive ways to get that capability. Aaron may be able to make more of a testimonial about his experience with PAYPAL.

Note from Aaron: Paypal is simply the most cost effective payment gateway for small online shops to process online credit card purchases. Traditional payment processors require service and monthly fees in addition to fees based on a percentage of monthly sales. This type of service is practical for a large scale operation for example Walmart.com which makes thousands of online transactions per day. But for smaller scale operations Paypal is the most affordable and secure way to open an online store. Paypal uses a pay per transaction system instead of the recurring monthly fee which basically means you don't pay for the service unless you actually use the service. Millions of people use Paypal everyday to sell items online, transfer money to friends and family members, and purchase items online. There is no membership requirement and it is very easy to use. ANYONE and any organization can use Paypal to sell items on their own web site.

It is with regret we announce John Matthews has resigned his position as ACA President for health reasons. In compliance with our Constitution, ACA Vice President Rich McVey has stepped up to fill the Presidency. Rich has asked the following ACA members to fill in the positions indicated: John Rivard has accepted the position of ACA Vice President, Richard Pennington and Tom Cox have accepted positions as Directors-at-Large. All of these newly appointed members have been approved by a majority of the board for these positions.

We would like to thank John Matthews for his service to the ACA and know he would not have relinquished this post unless he had a pressing reason for doing so. We wish him all the best. John has helped guide us through what will no doubt be one of the more tumultuous periods in our history. John formalized in the ACA Strategic Plan what Mark Madamba had started as his 10 point program. Both of these leaders have indeed left their marks on the ACA and our future direction.

One of our fellow AMMO troops is going to do two things at once, both should make us proud! First she is going to run in a Marathon. Just thinking about running that distance is daunting. The second reason for being proud is the reason for her running all those miles, it is to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. You see, TSgt Kimberly Shrader is going to run in the Nike Women's Marathon for Leukemia and Lymphoma. She is requesting donations for the run. Please support her in any way you can. And wish her luck.

There is little doubt among us that most of those on base have little appreciation for who we are and what we do. And most assuredly they have little appreciation for the camaraderie and esprit de corps that holds us together. There are no other groups on the base who are more mission oriented than AMMO. We take great pride in being AMMO and justifiably so. We hump and bust butt as long as it takes to get the job done.

As just a minor example of that dedication, I had a young AMMO troop working to assemble a B-52 load of bombs as part of a demonstration for Representative Ike Skelton of the House Armed Services Committee. A B-52 load consisted of 51 bombs. The crew assembled the load of bombs in 18 minutes flat. After the exercise was complete the Congressman came by to shake the hands of the crew. And this one young troop, in his haste to get these bombs built had put an arming wire through his hand without the benefit of any kind of anesthesia. He labored on to get the job done. At the end of the exercise he stood at attention dripping blood where he stood. It was only at that point I became aware that that had happened. But he had labored on regardless.

ACA Strategic Plan

The Search Is On

We are once more looking for a place to have our next Reunion. Tom Zima has volunteered to head the effort to find and propose a location for our next get together. If you have ideas or a location you want him to consider send him an email Tom Zima

Welcome to the Ammo Chiefs web site. Your input on matters relating to the Ammo Community is sought and welcomed. Use our Discussion Forum to tell us what you are thinking. This site is here to announce what Ammo Chiefs and the Ammo Community at large are up to. Use the links on the left side of the page to see the other pages of this site. And thanks for visiting.

Little Known Social Security Benefits

Here is an excerpt from an email I received from Rudy Bizyak that may be of interest to many of you:

All, I was talking to a fellow military retiree this morning and somehow we got to discuss Social Security...when I mentioned subject program, he was unaware even though he had gone through both Senior and Executive TAP several years ago. In a nutshell it boils down to this:

Credited for years of active duty through 2001 (the program was done away with in January 2002)

Bring in DD-214 to Social Security Office - you must ask for this benefit to receive it!

Soc Sec website: http://www.ssa.gov/retire2/military.htm

If you already have this wired sorry to have bothered you. For those of you who did not have this info it is something to put in your files for when you apply for Social Security down the road. It is just not for retirees but anyone who has served on active duty prior to January 2002. Please feel free to forward this to all folks who have served on active
duty who are entitled to this benefit but must ask for it.

A blast from the past

During World War II it was known as USAAF Station 366. Metfield was one of the most isolated Eighth Air Force stations in Suffolk. When it was constructed in 1943, it necessitated the closure of the B1123 road between Halesworth and Harleston.

RAF Metford was a standard, Class-A bomber design airfield, consisting of three intersecting concrete runways, fifty dispersal points and two T-2 type hangars. Additional buildings were also erected to house about 2,900 personnel on former farmland to the southwest.

On 15 July 1944 at 7:30 pm, the bomb dump at Metfield exploded. One bomb mysteriously detonated, practically setting off the entire munitions storage area. 1,200 tons of high-explosive and incendiary bombs rocked the countryside for miles around. Five men were killed and 5 B-24's in nearby hardstands were severely damaged beyond repair. An additional six aircraft were severely damaged.

After the explosion, an extended loop road was built to by-pass the crater left by the explosion. The crater subsequently became a dump for all manner of discarded items.

Metfield was not used by the MOD after World War II ended. In 1964/65, the airfield and support buildings were sold to private individuals. Metfield was returned to agricultural use; however the site of the bomb dump explosion could be seen for many years as a water-filled lake.

When the lake was cleaned out, all types of discarded equipment was found, including several unexploded bombs. Indeed, ordnance that was tossed into the air during the bomb dump explosion has been found over the years in the fields surrounding Metfield. Pieces of metal from the exploded bombs have been found scattered over the area to the present day.

In the late 1960's, the main runways, taxiways and parking aprons were mostly torn up or turned into single lane agricultural roads.

Very little evidence of the airfield can be seen today only a few brick buildings, deteriorating Quonset (Nissen) huts, and some concrete roadways that were aircraft taxiways.

For most of the active duty guys this may all be old hat. But, for those who are no longer in the bomb dump or somewhere close this may help keep you up to speed with some of the more recent developments. Bombs and Ammo

Its official, DD-214's are NOW Online.

The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) has provided the following website for veterans to gain access to their DD-214s online: http://vetrecs.archives.gov/ This may be particularly helpful when a veteran needs a copy of his DD-214 for employment purposes. NPRC is working to make it easier for veterans with computers and Internet access to obtain copies of documents from their military files. Military veterans and the next of kin of deceased former military members may now use a new online military personnel records system to request documents. Other individuals with a need for documents must still complete the Standard Form 180, which can be downloaded from the online web site. Because the requester will be asked to supply all information essential for NPRC to process the request, delays tha normally occur when NPRC has to ask veterans for additional information will be minimized. The new web-based application was designed to provide better service on these requests by eliminating the records center's mailroom processing time.

Please pass this information on to former military personnel you may know and their dependents.

ACA Elections, Biggest Turnout Ever

Pennsylvania Vets, Did You Serve In the Gulf?

Kudos the the ACA Wasatch Front

Chiefs Network

Online Voting: ACA Constitution Results

E-commerce and upcoming site changes

New ACA President, Vice President and Board Members

Something in Which All of AMMO Can Take Pride

AMMO Chiefs and AMMO Troops,

ACA Strategic Plan

The Search Is On

Little Known Social Security Benefits

A blast from the past

Its official, DD-214's are NOW Online.