Kadena Base Bulletin, Dec. 22 Published Dec. 21, 2010 18th Wing Public Affairs KADENA AIR BASE, Japan -- To submit an announcement for the base bulletin, please email a short paragraph (NOT bullets) containing essential information (who, what, when, where, why, and how) to kadena.basebulletin@kadena.af.mil. Announcements typically run for two weeks beginning two weeks prior to an event. Submissions must be received by 5 p.m. Tuesday to be included in the weekly bulletin email sent on Wednesday. NO FEDERAL ENDORSEMENT OF PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS OR ACTIVITIES IS INTENDED. In the bulletin this week at Kadena: NOTICES Kadena Post Office holiday hours Kadena Tax Center free tax services New Library Hours Naha Airport Shuttle schedule change Kadena Post Office Finance Hours Survivor benefit plan Patriot Express Holiday Schedule Food Product Recall Notices from Finance: GTC and LES 18th CS service support changes Announcement from UMUC UPCOMING EVENTS The Martin Luther King Jr. Observation committee 'Baked Goods Crunch and Crumble' Kadena Panthers boys varsity basketball team alumni basketball game AFSA monthly meeting Commissary 12 Days of Christmas Give-A-Way VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES Kadena Tax center OESC Thrift Store volunteers Kadena High School Airmen Against Drunk Driving Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Victim Advocates NOTICES Kadena Post Office holiday hours The Kadena Post Office is recommending to check your mail twice a day until after the holidays. For mailing, their hours are extended to 5:30 p.m., and for pick-ups to 6 p.m. They will be open on PACAF Family Days and will also extend their parcel pick-up hours to 9 p.m. Dec. 24. The post office will be closed on Dec. 25 for Christmas Day and Jan. 1 for New Years Day. For more information, contact Senior Master Sgt. Jim Dwyer at 634-2155. Kadena Tax Center free tax services Active duty, DoD civilians, SOFA status contractors, and DoDDS teachers as well as the dependents of these sponsors are eligible for the free tax service. Only tax returns prepared by a Kadena Unit Tax Advisor can be electronically filed at the Kadena Tax Center. We cannot prepare your State return if we did not prepare the Federal. For questions or an appointment, please call 634-9480/7418. New Library Hours Kadena Base Library will be open Fridays, beginning Jan. 5. Library hours will be Mon. through Wed. from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Thurs. through Sun. from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Naha Airport Shuttle schedule change Effective Jan. 18, the Naha Airport Shuttle will operate two routes a day, seven days a week excluding U.S. federal holidays, PACAF family days and Typhoon Condition 1. Schedules will be posted at the AMC terminal, in the Shogun Inn and at www.kadena.af.mil. Passengers on official orders will have priority. If the schedule does not work for your needs and you have 12 or more passengers on official orders, please contact Vehicle Dispatch at 634-4505 to make other arrangements. In accordance with DOD 4500.36-R and AFI 24-301, transportation will not be provided to commercial airports based solely on the traveler's rank, position, prestige or personal convenience. For more information, contact Vehicle Dispatch at 634-4505 or 634-3345. Kadena Post Office Finance Hours The Kadena post office finance service is now resuming normal duty hours. The Postal finance window service will be available Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is closed Sunday and Monday. Also, the Sunday parcel pick-up window service is no longer available. For more information, contact Senior Master Sgt. Jim Dwyer at 634-2155. Survivor benefit plan One of the best feelings about retiring from the military is knowing you are guaranteed a lifetime income as the result of a successful career. But what about your spouse and/ or dependent children? If you die, what guarantees do they have? Enrolling in the SBP prior to retiring ensures they will have guaranteed income. Additional details are available by calling your SBP Counselor Karen Van Pelt at 634-3228, located in Building 220 (Airman and Family Readiness Center). Patriot Express Holiday Schedule The Patriot Express normally arrives every Friday and departs Saturday morning. We will be skipping the weekend of Dec. 25 and will make it up Dec. 29. We will also skip Jan. 1 and continue the weekly schedule Jan. 8. Outbound Schedule Dec. 29 - Space Available Roll Call will be at 5:55 a.m. Early Check-in will start Dec. 28 at 9 a.m. Jan. 08, 2011 - Space Available Roll Call will be at 5:55 a.m. Early Check-in will start Dec. 7 at 9 a.m. Inbound Schedule Dec. 28 - Estimated passenger pick-up is between 2 and 3 p.m. Jan. 7, 2011 - Estimated passenger pick-up is between 2 and 3 p.m. For any questions, passengers may contact the AMC Terminal at 634-0153 or 634-5806. Food Product Recall McNeil Consumer Healthcare is voluntarily recalling all lots of Rolaids Extra Strength, Extra Strength Plus Gas, and Multi-Symptom Plus Anti-Gas Soft chews distributed in the United States. McNeil is taking this action following some consumer reports of foreign material in the product, including metal and wood particles. Rolaid products were available on Kadena AB, but have since been removed from shelves. For a complete listing of all affected lot numbers and products please go to http://www.mcneilproductrecall.com/. If you have this product, please return it to the place of purchase. If you have any questions, please call Public Health at 630-4520. Notices from Finance: GTC and LES The replacement for the Government Travel Card (GTC) may currently be in your PSC mail box. Please check your mail box weekly and acknowledge receipt of the Controlled Spending Account (CSA) Card. If you have questions about the CSA card please contact your unit Agency Program Coordinator. Check you LES monthly to ensure you are not receiving entitlements for a deployment that has ended. Contact the Finance office via email or walk-in service 0800-1200 M-F to stop erroneous entitlements. 18th CS service support changes The 18th CS is implementing three changes to be more effective and efficient in providing service support: a single telephone number for all inquiries, a single email address for all inquiries and focused customer support hours. The new telephone number - 634-COMM (634-2666)--provides customers a central phone number for all Comm-related issues. The Comm Focal Point (CFP) (634-1078) has been forwarded to 634-COMM, and will be deleted Jan. 1, 2011. The new email address for all Comm-related issues will be 18cs.cfp@kadena.af.mil. The current Kadena Help Desk email box will also be deleted Jan. 1, 2011. 18th CS will also begin scheduling appointments for customer assistance to include SIPRNet/TBMCS/CSA password resets or pickups. It will provide timely support and will allow 18 CS to focus their attention on as much remote assistance as possible. Mon., Tues., Thurs., Fri. walk-in hours are from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and Wed. from 12 p.m. to 4p.m. 18 CS will have several available technicians to assist walk-in customers. For all other hours, there will only be one available technician to assist walk-in customers, so please plan accordingly. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our POC, Capt. Clara Bayne at 634-3357 or Capt. Gee at 634-5305. Announcement from UMUC University of Maryland University College Asia is now accepting registration for the Winter Session and Spring Session. The winter session is all face to face classes starting from Dec. 20. This session is only 4 weeks for the same three credit hour courses. For Spring Session 1, face to face classes are starting from Jan. 16, and online classes are starting from Jan. 24. Tuition rates are $570 for a three-credit hour class. Please go to http://www.asia.umuc.edu/areas/scheduleindex.cfm for course schedule. To register for the class, sign in http://my.umuc.edu then click "My Academic" -> "Registration/Enrollment" -> "2011 Spring" ->"Add Class". To apply for admission please go to http://my.umuc.edu then click "Apply Online." Any SOFA ID card holder and Japanese local national employees are eligible for admission. For any assistance or questions, please call the UMUC field representatives at 634-7383 or 098-961-4383. UPCOMING EVENTS The Martin Luther King Jr. Observation committee 'Baked Goods Crunch and Crumble' The Martin Luther King Jr. Observation committee is holding a "Baked Goods Crunch and Crumble" at the Kadena Base Exchange Dec. 29 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Donations will fund the upcoming events in 2011 for MLK recognition. To donate baked goods or to volunteer your time please contact Tech. Sgt. Shayalondra Sims at 630-4726 or by email at Shayalondra.Sims@kadena.af.mil or Tech. Sgt. Monica Holcomb at 630-4945 or by email at Monica.Holcomb@kadena.af.mil. Kadena Panthers boys varsity basketball team alumni basketball game The Kadena Panthers Boys Varsity Basketball team will host an Alumni Basketball game Dec. 30 at 6 p.m. in the Kadena High School gym, where the former varsity players will compete against the new varsity players. The concession stand will be open and Fletcher Beaman will "DJ". The varsity players will host a fundraiser dance following the game. The admission charge for the dance is 5.00 per person. Please come out and support! For more information, contact aumcandi@aol.com. AFSA monthly meeting The Air Force Sergeant's Association monthly meeting is scheduled Jan. 6 at 11 a.m. in the Kuba Room of the Rocker NCO Club. The meeting is open to all active-duty servicemembers and retirees. Please join us to hear what AFSA is doing for you. Commissary 12 Days of Christmas Give-A-Way Come and experience the exciting 12 Days of Christmas Give-A-Way at the Kadena Commissary. Our industry partners will be giving away gifts and prizes daily to lucky winners through Dec. 24. Santa promised to visit the commissary Dec. 23 at 2 p.m. with more prizes and goodies. Contact Edward Kleckner, Assistant Store Director Kadena Commissary, at 634-2331. VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES Kadena Tax center The Kadena Tax Center is looking for volunteers for the upcoming tax season. Kadena has traditionally had one of the best tax programs in the Air Force. For tax year 2009, Kadena Tax Center Unit Tax Advisors (UTA) helped prepare 4,992 returns, saving servicemembers over $730,000 in tax preparation fees. Airmen interested in volunteering should check with their leadership before volunteering. Dependent spouses are also eligible to volunteer. For information or to submit UTA names, contact Elaine Reeves, Chief Tax Advisor, at 634-7825 or by e-mail at elaine.reeves@kadena.af.mil. OESC Thrift Store volunteers The OESC Thrift Store and Uncle Sam's Attic is always in need of hard working volunteers to sort donations, hang clothes, stock merchandise and help organize our uniform room. This is the perfect place to volunteer, have a great time, and get to know others - all while helping a worthy cause since our profits are donated to local American and Japanese charities and organizations. To volunteer, simply come in during our business hours and read and fill out our volunteer handbook. Business hours are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Kadena High School tutors Kadena High School is looking for volunteer tutors and mentors for the Homework Academy offered to students Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and the first and third Saturday of each month from 8 a.m. to noon. If you are interested, please contact Dr. Susan Paul at susan.paul@pac.dodea.edu or 634-3455. Airmen Against Drunk Driving Each shift requires a three-person team: a dispatcher, a driver, and a passenger. The first shift goes from 9 p.m. to midnight, and the second from midnight - 3 a.m. Service will be provided on weekend nights during those hours to all Team Kadena members. AADD is located at the USO. Volunteers will have access to the internet, cable television, movies, and video games. Please contact the Executive Schedulers, Airman 1st Class Scott Cole or Senior Airman Jared Micks, to volunteer. You can also find us on global, listed under AADD Executive Council. Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Victim Advocates The SARC is looking for volunteers to become victim advocates. VAs will be taught how to train other advocates on what is involved with being a VA. Men are especially needed at the SARC as they do not have enough male advocates to help others with their situations. If you are looking to become a VA, and have the time to help, please send an email to 18WG.SARC@Kadena.af.mil to volunteer.