The 23-year civil service veteran, a logistics program analysis officer on the Defense Logistics Agency’s Air Force Customer Support Team in the Operations and Sustainment Division of DLA Logistics Operations, was looking to complement her career path when she responded to the program’s call for nominations through DLA’s Executive Development Program.One of the program requirements was to complete a staff study. Hoapili’s study focused on the Defense Department’s acquisition community and its ability to handle the impending wave of retirements projected in the next five years. “I looked at whether or not the [defense] acquisition career field is headed for … a ‘brain drain’ and developed possible courses of action,â€Â she said. Hoapili said she prepared herself for the various types of training and temporary duty assignments, which took place one to two weeks each month for 10 months -- a total of 95 days. She also needed to keep up with her regular workload, which she said helped her learn about juggling priorities. At the program orientation, Hoapili said, her instructors told participants they were lucky to have been selected. “One of the things they said to us was, ‘You 61 people have won the lottery,’ [because] there were 600 applicants, she recalled. The participants were split into six teams, including one military member per team, Hoapili said. The first “deploymentâ€Â was to core training at the Southbridge Conference Center in Southbridge, Mass., where Hoapili said team members were challenged physically, mentally and emotionally. Team members had to complete a fitness test – sit-ups, push-ups and pull-ups – to ensure they could safely participate in the program’s demanding activities. “[Early] the next morning … those who had not passed any aspect of the physical testing had to report to the gym area and were going to focus on additional training,â€Â she said. Although Hoapili and her teammates had passed the physical test, she said she went to the gym anyway to help other program members prepare for the re-test. It was a proud moment when those members passed the test too, Hoapili said. At another deployment, she volunteered for a swimming challenge at the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL School at the Naval Special Warfare Center in Coronado, Calif. The challenge involved swimming in full military gear out to a Navy SEAL positioned in the ocean. “It was very scary because of the significant undertow and the crashing waves. … There was one point where I thought, ‘I wonder if I’m going to drown.’ [But] when I made it back to the beach and the rest of my teammates were cheering me, I knew I’d challenged myself to do my best. That’s why I [volunteered],â€Â Hoapili said. One of the program’s key tenets involves showing participants they can do more than they’d thought, she said. “That’s the starting point for any good leader, … knowing your capabilities and pushing yourself … to see what you can do when faced with a tough challenge, … to go one step beyond what you thought you could do,â€Â she said. “How to adapt to changing circumstances is part of the skill set that this program was teaching me,â€Â Hoapili said. After the swimming challenge, program members were required to drag an inflatable raft up and down the beach and then complete an obstacle course. Despite being driven to physical exhaustion on that California beach, Hoapili said, her biggest challenge was yet to come at the U.S. Army Ranger School, at Fort Benning, Ga. Standing on top of a 75-foot tower and stepping off to rappel down was more of a mental challenge for Hoapili, one she wasn’t sure she could do. “That first step took a lot of faith on my part, [but I had] confidence in my equipment and confidence in the instructors that were there … assuring me they had my back,â€Â she said. During times when she was less confident in her abilities, Hoapili said, she repeated a mantra to herself. “Leaders are tough; leaders are strong; leaders can do these things,â€Â she said. Still, Hoapili credits her accomplishments to her team’s never-ending support. “I was blessed with an amazing team of people. We called ourselves ‘Team High Five.’ … Those 10 people became a family. … We were there for each other. It goes back to working on behalf of warfighters; [they] were my warfighters, and I didn’t want let them down, and we refused to leave anyone behind,â€Â Hoapili said. Each year during graduation ceremonies, one class member is awarded special recognition. This year, Hoapili was awarded that distinction and presented the Rosemary E. Howard Leadership Award. She was unaware she would be receiving the peer-nominated award. “To be nominated by your peers is an extreme honor,â€Â Hoapili said. “When I read the award’s inscription: ‘Based on Courage, Determination, Leadership and Professionalism,’ I was very humbled,â€Â she said. Hoapili said she took two lessons away from her experience in the program. The first was a reinforcement of a lesson learned from her father. “My dad is a retired Air Force chief master sergeant; he always taught me the backbone of our armed forces is our enlisted corps,â€Â she said. “That was reinforced to me … because at every deployment, the individuals who were teaching me, … training me, … equipping me were all [noncommissioned officers].â€Â The second take-away is the power of teamwork, she said. “Not only did my teammates have my back, but trained, amazing warfighters had my back as well. [I value] the whole concept of courage and compassion and competence in terms of strong leadership and what’s expected of us as future civilian leaders,â€Â she said. Gary Gonthier, a performance-based logistics program manager in DLA Aviation’s Strategic Customer Engagement Branch was also on Hoapili’s team. “Betty was a welcome member of the team. … [She] is socially gregarious, which manifests itself in the precious attention she paid to both organizational and personal details,â€Â he said. The combination of Hoapili’s interpersonal style, which included offering praise and other affirmations to participants, set against a backdrop of structure, schedules and order made her a compassionate leader, Gonthier said. “She left no doubt when team members performed well, yet also made clear those instances when things didn't go so well. Betty always placed the concern of others above her own self-interest,â€Â he said. This year marked the first occasion that program participants traveled to Kuwait. Though they spent just 72 hours there, both Hoapili and Gonthier agreed that the program instilled them with a greater appreciation for military service members. Gonthier said the program provides civilian personnel with a hands-on approach to learning what warfighters do on a daily basis. “The … members from each of the services are truly dedicated to what they do and [are] wholeheartedly supported by the family that follows … them,â€Â he said. “They are highly trained and ready to do whatever it takes to defend this nation, including giving their lives. We should never forget that.â€Â Hoapili agreed and said it’s an experience civilians rarely, if ever, get. “It’s invaluable in enhancing my understanding of what our warfighters go through, the sacrifices they make … on our behalf, and how important it is for us to do our jobs extremely well so they can do what we’re asking them to do,â€Â she said. Recently, Hoapili found out she was selected for another training opportunity – the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. She credits DLA for giving her the chance to display her leadership qualities in the ELDP. At DLA, developing employees’ skills and abilities is a high priority, so high it falls into agency Director Navy Vice Adm. Alan Thompson’s list of top initiatives. “I’m anxious now to give back to DLA for having given me this opportunity,â€Â Hoapili said. She added that she’s a “huge proponentâ€Â of the ELDP program and noted that as the Rosemary E. Howard Award winner, she gets to go to orientation for next year’s program and speak to incoming participants. “In so many ways, I do wish I was doing it again - not so much the crawling through the mud, … but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience,â€Â she said. “I look at the pictures and think, ‘How did I do that?’ But you do it one day at a time and with a whole lot of help from your friends.â€Â Nominations for the DoD Executive Leader Development Program are solicited annually around September through the DLA Executive Development Program. July 28, 2010: By Dianne Ryder- Defense Logistics Agency Strategic Communications Office

 

And Coveney will continue to take care of soldiers in her new position as the general manager of Fort Jackson's NCO Club."Soldiers are defending our country, they're putting their necks out for us," said Coveney, who for 23 years has helped serve soldiers as part of Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command-sponsored services.Fort Jackson, a major Army basic training post, is home to thousands of soldiers and trainees. "So I want to make sure that while they are here training - or if this is their permanent duty station - that they enjoy themselves, that their families enjoy themselves, and we have nice activities for them that make them feel at home," Coveney said. Coveney said she plans to make changes to some of the catering menus for the many events that take place at the NCO club and Magruder's Club and Pub, an all-ranks annex to the NCO club, as well as drumming up more nightly entertainment for both clubs. Improving the clubs’ overall product quality and customer service are other missions that Coveney said she looks forward to achieving. "She is very customer service focused," said Rose Ann Turner, chief of Fort Jackson’s Family and MWR's business operations division. Turner said Coveney was selected for the club manager’s position because of her proven leadership skills and her vast experience in Army club management. Coveney's career in hospitality began in 1987, when, as a Florida State University student, she was recruited by Army MWR to become a club management intern. She headed to Germany, where she worked as the general manager for a community club at an installation in Nuremberg. Two years later, after graduating with a bachelor's degree in hotel and restaurant management, she was asked if she would like to keep her position in Germany. She loved her job so much, she said, she decided to stay for awhile. Two years later, she was offered a job at Fort Jackson to become the assistant general manager of the Officers' Club. She accepted and worked in that position for only six months before she was promoted to general manager. During the next nine years, she remained at Fort Jackson, married a soldier and began a family of her own. In 2000, Coveney traveled back to Germany with her husband and daughter to their next duty station in Kaiserslautern. There, the new mom, with another baby on the way, continued her career as yet again a club general manager. In 2004, her husband received orders to Fort Drum, N.Y. Realizing that he was going to deploy to Iraq in the near future, Coveney decided to move back to Fort Jackson with her daughters. She has been the assistant general manager of the NCO Club ever since, until her promotion. Turner said she envisions many positive changes within the clubs as Coveney takes over, because the patrons will see what she sees - that Coveney "sets high standards and challenges her staff to do the same ... she is creative and willing to try new ideas." Coveney also "is positive, professional and a pleasure to work with," Turner said. July 26, 2010: By Kris Gonzalez- Fort Jackson Leader

Retired Air Force Col. Claude M. Schonberger received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroic actions as a B-24 Liberator bomber pilot on Feb. 16, 1945.Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, the deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance at U.S. Air Force Headquarters here, presented Schonberger’s award."I am in awe and ecstatic to be in the Hall of Heroes for this presentation," Schonberger said during the ceremony. "It is indeed a great privilege and honor to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross for my actions in World War II.â€Â Schonberger said he is sharing his award with the members of his Liberator’s aircrew, whom he said, “flew with me on most of my missions; many who were fatally injured." Deptula praised Schonberger's heroic actions. "Courage -- there are those who attempt to define this small corner of the human soul with eloquent words," Deptula said. "And then, there are those who define it with their actions; who under great personal risk and danger, and not without fear, but rather in the resolute and firm sense of duty to service before self, act in spite of that fear in the almost certain consequences of the most selfless of ways that show us what courage really is. "We call those who show us this courage 'heroes,'" the general continued, "and I'm both honored and humbled to be in the presence of just such a hero today: Col. Claude Schonberger. For aviators, we recognize those heroes and their tenacity with the Distinguished Flying Cross.". Schonberger's award citation details events of the Feb. 16 mission: " ... Lieutenant Schonberger demonstrated extraordinary flying skills and courage against the Obertraubling Airdrome in Regensburg, Germany. During the final bomb run of this mission, his bomb-loaded B-24 aircraft was struck by enemy fire, resulting in an uncontrollable propeller of the number-four engine and a fire near the number-three engine. Despite this hazardous situation, Lieutenant Schonberger continued on the bomb run and released his bombs with considerable accuracy." A wartime paperwork snafu prevented Schonberger from receiving his award. Deptula acknowledged that the delay in presenting Schonberger's award was not a reflection on the actions justifying it. "Despite the fact that it's taken over 60 years for this day to arrive, time in no way diminishes the courageous actions of my fellow airman, Claude Schonberger," Deptula said. Schonberger thanked Deptula for bringing his award paperwork to the attention of the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records. Schonberger recalled that his draft number was about to be called up for military service in 1942. The Army Air Corps became the U.S. Army Air Forces in June 1941. The U.S. Air Force was established in September 1947. "I always wanted to get in the Air Corps," Schonberger said. He decided to head to Minneapolis to see if he could pass the requirements to become a pilot. He did, and began training at Lincoln Army Air Field, Neb. He and his crew sailed from Norfolk, Va., en route to Bari, Italy, on Sept. 4, 1944. He was assigned to the 759th Squadron, 459th Group, 13th Wing, 15th Air Force. Schonberger flew 21 missions before being shot down Feb. 28, 1945 on a bombing mission to a bridge in the northern Italian town of Bolzano. This happened 12 days after the mission where he earned the DFC. The only other crew member to survive the bomber's explosion along with Schonberger was his navigator, 2nd Lt. Bob Johnson of Bigfork, Mont. Schonberger spent the rest of the war at Stalag Luft XIII in Nuremberg, Germany. Schonberger continued to serve on active duty until 1951. He later joined the D.C. Air National Guard and retired in 1974 as a colonel. He worked as an air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board. July 22, 2010: By Air Force Master Sgt. Russell P. Petcoff- American Forces Press Service

Few people survive stepping on an improvised explosive device. Even fewer walk away the same day after directly absorbing the force of the blast, but on June 23, Garst did just that.A squad leader with 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Garst was leading his troops that day on a patrol in Southern Shorsurak, Afghanistan, to establish a vehicle checkpoint in support of Operation New Dawn. The group was four miles from Lima Company’s newly established observation post when they approached an abandoned compound close to where they needed to set up their checkpoint. The compound would serve well as an operating base — a place for the squad to set up communications and rotate Marines in and out of. But first, it had to be secured. As they swept the area with a metal detector, the buried IED registered no metallic signature – it was too deep under the soil. Two men walked over it without it detonating. At 6 feet 2 inches tall and 260 pounds with all his gear on, Garst is easily the largest man in his squad by 30 or 40 pounds — just enough extra weight to trigger the IED buried deep in hard-packed soil. Lance Cpl. Edgar Jones, a combat engineer with the squad, found a pressure plate inside the compound and hollered to Garst, asking what he should do with it. Garst turned around to answer and he stepped on the bomb. “I can just barely remember the boom,â€Â Garst recalled. “I remember the start of a loud noise and then I blacked out.â€Â Since Garst's encounter with the IED, his tale has spread through the rest of the battalion, and as often happens in combat units, the story mutates and becomes more and more extraordinary. What really happened even eludes Garst. When he came to, he was standing on his feet holding his weapon, turning to see the remnants of the blast and wondering why his squad had a look on their faces as if they’d seen a ghost. Marines in Lima Company think Garst is the luckiest guy in the battalion, and while that may seem a fair assessment, it actually was the enemy’s shoddy work that left Garst alive and relatively uninjured. The three-liters of homemade explosive had only partially detonated. Marines who witnessed the event from inside the compound caught glimpses of Garst’s feet flailing through the air just above the other side of the building’s eight-foot-high walls. The explosion knocked him at least fifteen feet away, where he landed on his limp head and shoulders before immediately standing back up. Not quite sure of what had just happened, Garst turned back toward the blast, now nothing but a column of dirt and smoke rising toward the sun. Garst said he’d immediately realized that he’d encountered an IED. “Then I thought, ‘Well I’m standing. That’s good,’â€Â he recalled. Garst then directed his troops to establish a security perimeter while letting them know that he was OK. Garst also radioed back to base, calling for an explosive ordnance disposal team and a quick-reaction force. “I called them and said, ‘Hey, I just got blown up. Get ready,’â€Â Garst recalled. “The guy thought I was joking at first. ‘You got blown up? You’re not calling me. Get out of here!’â€Â Once the area was cleared, Garst led his squad the four miles back to their observation post — just hours after he’d been buffeted by the IED blast. “I wasn’t going to let anybody else take my squad back after they’d been there for me,â€Â he said. “That’s my job.â€Â Garst awakened the next day with a pounding headache, he recalled, and felt as sore as he’d ever been in his life. “Just getting up from trying to sleep was painful,â€Â he said. But he saw no reason being sore should slow him down. After a day of rest, Garst was back out on patrol, showing his Marines and the enemy that just like his resolve, he is unbreakable. July 21, 2010: By U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Mark Fayloga- Regimental Combat Team 7