Call to order: Chief George Moses, President, called the January 19, 2012 meeting to order at 07:30 hrs in the Chiefs' Lounge, US Coast Guard Station Sacramento. The following members were in attendance: Baxley, Carter, Carvelli, Cormier, Kearns, Konsesky, Kriske, Moses, Norwood, Shaw, Sullivan, Tolbert and Wentz. Chief Juan Canada joined us a new member. Guest: Bruce Barber, SAFE Credit Union.

Approval of December Minutes: The December 2011 minutes were approved as corrected.

New Member: Chief Juan Canada joined us as a new member. The Chief retired from the Air Force in 1986.

Guest: Bruce Barber of SAFE Credit Union briefed that SAFE said everything was going well at SAFE and it closed out the year very strong in all aspects.

Treasurer's Report: Chief Kearns, Treasurer reported the following:
Chief Kearns announced that he is now accepting 2012 dues.

Gathering of the Chiefs: Chief Moses announced that a planning meeting for the Gathering of the Chiefs would be held following this meeting. Chief Kearns brought in a sample of a suggested item for a memorabilia of the event. The Gathering of the Chiefs' will be held at the Aerospace Museum of California on 12 May 2012.

Chief Marck: Chief Moses informed the group that Chief Joe Marck, a longtime member of the McClellan Chiefs' Group had passed away in October.

Coast Guard Memorial: Master Chief Kriske briefed that they are going to install a Lollipop shaped pad and a bench at the Memorial site.

NCOA Update, Chief Sullivan: Chief Sullivan stated that the VA Furniture and other items were going quite well. Kitchen type utensils are needed also. Request for the JROTC Medals are starting to come in. Veteran Affairs Volunteer Service (VAVS) informed Chief Sullivan that parking is a problem at VA Hospital Mather. There are 9 different parking lots and they have shuttle service to the hospital from them. Ground has been broken on a parking garage also. Veterans Affiliation Council Program (VACP) is in need of a Gun Safe. Aero Jet has volunteered to donate a Hygiene Kit for the next Veterans Stand Down.

Chiefs' Group Honor Guard: No Honor Guard requests at this time.

Comments from the members:
" Chief Shaw informed the Group that his son had just came back from Afghanistan and had never seen so much waste. He said it reminded him of Vietnam.
" Chief Moses, President presented Bruce Barber, Safe Credit Union the McClellan Chiefs Bust for his outstanding support of the Group and regular attendance of the meetings. The McClellan Chiefs Group is grateful for his dedication.

Meeting Adjourned: 0830

///Signed///
George Moses, CMSgt, USAF (Ret)
McClellan Park Chiefs Group

CALENDAR OF EVENTS
No Inputs

Members in Good Standing
2012
Baxley, AW
Brink, D
Brooks, K
Canada, J
Carter, C
Carvelli, T
Cormier, J
Duval,
Harris, J.
Hegelein, A.
Johnston, E
Kearns, J.
Konsesky, R
Kriske,K
Krolak, D.
Stewart, J
Moses, G.
Norwood. J
Shaw, P
Sullivan, J.
Thrower, R
Tolbert, W.
Wentz, T
Wilson, R

Useful Web Sites

Chief's Web Site: http://www.airforcechiefs.org/
AFSA Web Site: http://www.afshq.org/
NCOA Web Site: http://www.ncoausa.org/
AFES Web Site: http://www.aafes.com/
AF Enlisted Home: http://www.afenlistedwidows.org
AF Retiree Site: http://www.afpc.randolph.af.mil
Veterans Memorial Site:http://www.veteransmemorialplaza.org

To just about everyone at Sacramento Veterans Administration Outpatient Clinic at the former McClellan Air Force Base, George Moses is still "Chief".

"Chief is still my first name," Moses said with a smile. He retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1985 after 34 years, with the rank of chief master sergeant, the highest enlisted rank in the Air Force. Now 72, he has yet to quit serving.

For about 40 hours each week, Moses is director of the Retiree Activities Office on the first floor of the clinic. There, he and other volunteers help the families of veterans navigate their way through a sometimes dizzying process of paperwork and chain of command.

"A lot of people come here, most of them widows, and they don't have any knowledge about the process," Moses said. "They've never heard of a DD Form 214 (discharge papers), which is the first thing we need."

Moses joined the Air Force in 1950 after graduating from high school in New Britain, Conn. He was the senior enlisted adviser at several Air Force bases, including nearly eight years at McClellan, before he retired from active duty.

He and his wife, Rose, settled in Antelope. They have five grown children. Moses spent about 10 years as an account representative for Metropolitan Life. But military life still held an appeal to him and he sought a way to help at McClellan.

The need was obvious, Moses said. The Sacramento region is home to an estimated 144,000 military retirees and their families, the second-largest concentration in the nation.

"I feel the more good you do for other people, the more good comes back to you, " Moses said.

The problems he and his volunteers deal with on a daily basis cover a wide range. Last week, a Marine on his way to Iraq stopped in to get a commissary pass for his mother so she could take her grandson shopping while his father is away.

"He's not a retiree, but it doesn't make sense to send him all the way to Beale or Travis for something we do every day," Moses said.

Moses said the best part about his work are the 16 volunteers who work for him. They include Ines and Nelda Gonzales of North Highlands, who never served in the military but saw the office as a good opportunity to show support.

"There is no better boss," Nelda Gonzales said of Moses.

Moses said a surprising number of veterans and their families don't know about the services his office provides.

"Last week, I had a woman come in, her husband had just passed, but he told her if she ever had a problem to go to McClellan," Moses said. "She didn't even know that McClellan closed three years ago."

Moses has no plans to leave his volunteer post.

"The pay is good," he quipped.

Article by Sacramento Bee/Ralph Montano
Photo by Sacramento Bee/Sara Andrea Fajardo