Short-term enlistment plan offered

Dick Benoit

Thursday, Jan. 23, 2003 | 9:02 a.m.

A new military short-term enlistment program will begin in October. Congress authorized the National Call to Service enlistment option as part of the fiscal 2003 National Defense Authorization Act. The program allows the military services a new option to reach a group of young Americans who otherwise might not serve because of the length of a traditional enlistment.

According to Bob Clark, assistant director in the Defense Department's accession policy directorate, a recruit enlisting for the new option will incur a 15-month active-duty service obligation following completion of basic training, for a total active-duty commitment of about 19 months.

Following successful completion of active duty, the individual may re-enlist for further active duty or transfer to the selected Reserve for a 24-month obligation. Once this is completed, service members may stay in the Reserve or transfer to individual ready Reserve for the remainder of an eight-year commitment.

"The unique piece of this legislation is that while in the individual ready Reserve, these young people will be given the opportunity to move into one of the other national service programs, such as AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps, and time in those will count toward their eight-year obligation," Clark said.

While the Army and Navy already have a limited two-year enlistment program, this is the first time the Air Force and Marine Corps will offer the option.

$5,000 thanks

The Air Force Aid Society at Nellis Air Force Base received a $5,000 expression of appreciation from a local company during a recent ceremony at the base.

Kinder-Morgan Energy Partners, a company that supplies and tests fuels for the base, presented the check in appreciation of the alert actions of Nellis tower personnel and quick response of firefighters following an explosion and fire in October.

According to Nellis spokesman Todd Rapp, the tower crew saw the explosion and subsequent fire and quickly notified the base fire department.

"What was a tragic event could have been far worse had you folks not responded," said James Holland, director of products movement west for Kinder-Morgan. Holland presented the check to 99th Air Base Wing commander Del Eulberg, who last week turned over the command, during the Jan. 10 luncheon honoring the tower crew and base firefighters.

According to a base civil engineering officer, Capt. Robert Bogdan, the Oct. 26 fire was extinguished in about 20 minutes by Nellis, Clark County and North Las Vegas fire department responders.

The luncheon and check presentation followed a ribbon- cutting ceremony for new pipeline fuel pumps at the base. Kinder-Morgan officials also toured Nellis facilities, including the Thunderbird Museum, following the luncheon.

In brief

The four new Marines spent numerous hours in classroom and in the field learning first aid, uniform regulations, water survival, marksmanship and hand-to-hand combat.