AIR COMMANDO ASSOCIATION
P.O. Box 7 Mary Esther, FL 32569
www.aircommando.org • Follow us on Facebook at: Air Commando Association
Winter 2014
By Dennis Barnett I would like to take this op-
portunity to discuss the Air Com- mando Foundation (ACF). As you know, the ACF is relatively new--standing up as the ACA charitable arm in 2012. How- ever, in this short time, ACF has proven itself absolutely critical to supporting Air Commandos’ unmet needs. The USSOCOM Care Coalition now treats ACA as the Air Force Special Opera- tions Command go-to private organization when needs are identified through a variety of agencies. ACF also receives di- rect requests from certain agen- cies at AFSOC. At times we go several weeks without a request and others, as was the case last week, come in bunches. There were four separate requests for assistance in that week alone. I will highlight a few recent ex- amples of ACF support to show you how your precious funds are spent. A few months back, there was an unfortunate training acci- dent that took the life of a father with six children. While the gov- ernment responds with funds, there can be a lag and there are always a great number of im-
mediate needs. ACF contributed $5000 to assist the widow and children with those critical re- quirements. Most recently, there was another unfortunate train- ing accident that claimed the life of a young TSgt at an overseas location. Some extended family members needed assistance not reimbursed by the government to attend the funeral and support the widow. ACF stepped up and not only paid for their hotels but also paid for the reception at the church afterwards. Not a huge outlay but we are there to pick up some of the costs that can add up very quickly. On a happier note, we are
also presently working with a variety of agencies to assist an Air Force Cross winner with travel for his family to attend the upcoming award ceremony. He is returning to Hurlburt from his present overseas duty sta- tion. The government will cover one dependent, but this hero has a wife and three children; the youngest only two months old. Obviously,
for mom to travel
means the children need to as well. In this case we are teaming with other charitable organiza-
tions like That Others May Live Foundation and the Pararescue Association to find a way to en- sure this is a truly memorable event for the whole family. These are only a few exam- ples of the many ways we step in to assist Air Commandos. ACF is governed by your ACA Board of Directors and five trustees. Three trustees are members of the board and two are at large. I was pleased to announce recent- ly that Mr Bill Rone, recently retired AFSOC Financial Man- ager and long time treasurer of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, has accepted a posi- tion as a trustee and advisor to ACF. His wealth of knowledge and experience will help us to continue to grow to better enable us to accomplish our mission. In closing, I wish to thank
all members that have been so generous with contributions and encourage others to take a look at ACF as a possible target of your precious charitable dona- tions. There are a variety
of
ways to do this and I urge you all to take a hard look at the ad on page 12 of the newsletter. ACF is the only organization of its type
that I know can claim that ev- ery single dollar contributed to the Foundation goes back out to support the cause since all over- head is covered by the parent Association. As always, thanks for your continued support of all things ACA Any Time-Any Place.
Inside
AB-26 Reunion Recap
......page 14 Commando Cash Report
...page 7 Convention
Photos...........page 11
Letters....................................page 10 Membership
Update...........page 4 Membership
Renewal.........page 6 Salute to Combat Connie
..page 5 Scholarship
Winners............page 7
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