Museum showcases history of transportation
by Ryan Brus
Fort Eustis Public Affairs

With one-of-a-kind artifacts, dramatic lighting and scene setting, the U.S. Army Transportation Museum at Fort Eustis provides a history of the U.S. Army Transportation Corps, where it describes the pivotal roles it has played during our nation’s 229 years.

The museum, which first opened in 1959, occupies six acres with nearly 100 aircraft, boats, trains and trucks on display.

“We have inside exhibits and outside exhibits,” said David Hanselman, museum director. “The outside exhibits are what we call thematic, where it is broken down into the various themes of transportation. We have the aviation pavilion, the boat yard, the truck yard and then the train yard.”
In the last two years, construction of a new wing allowed for expansion of the inside exhibits. This undertaking doubled its size to about 40,000 square feet.

“The expansion has allowed us to restructure our exhibits in the way we tell our story,” Hanselman said. “Instead of just having inanimate objects sitting out there with a little sign in front of it saying, ‘This is what it was,’ we now can actually put them out in settings and scenes that will create a mood and create an atmosphere.”

The indoor exhibits are set up chronologically, where visitors start their tour with the Revolutionary War. From there, visitors pass through eras such as the Spanish-American War, World War II, the Cold War, the Vietnam War and Operation Enduring Freedom. The public may tour the admission-free museum at their own pace, which can be beneficial because of the hundreds of artifacts available to see.

“Our expectation is we don’t expect anyone to see everything in a day,” Hanselman said. “The idea is they leave here going, ‘I’ve got to come back.’”

He also wants the museum to educate visitors so they gain an appreciation for the Transportation Corps and its Soldiers.

“We are just one more military base on this very crowded peninsula, and a lot of people go by and don’t have a clue what Fort Eustis does,” Hanselman said. “They come here to the museum and quickly get educated about what the Transportation Corps is all about. And the comments are pretty universal, ‘We had no idea.’”

The museum staff often gives guided tours to Soldiers because Hanselman wants Soldiers to understand the history in front of them.

“Because our primary mission is to support the Soldier, it is critically important for Soldiers to know who came before them, what kinds of things were confronted in eras gone by and how Soldiers overcame it back then,” Hanselman said.

One of the museum’s stand-out pieces is the “Eve of Destruction,” which was a gun truck used in the Vietnam War. Hanselman said the five-ton vehicle was the only one to come back to the United States as a gun truck. The truck has also been put to use after Vietnam.

“We have had practical value in this museum as well,” Hanselman said. “When you look at our Vietnam gun truck, anybody that’s followed convoy operations in Iraq will see a lot of similarities with some of the vehicles over there.

“A lot of units from the early stages of Iraq to the current day have come here to study our vehicle to learn from it and to adapt to modern technologies. We’ve had companies who actually built up-armored kits for our vehicles that are currently being used in theater today. Their whole design was based on the studies they did here at the museum.”

Hanselman said he is proud the museum serves a useful purpose. And, to keep the museum practical and useful, he is deploying to Iraq in the spring to collect artifacts for Operation Iraqi Freedom. But he also said he wants troops from deployments to contribute to the museum.

“We want Soldiers to keep the museum in mind because we are here to tell their story,” Hanselman said.

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Free tax assistance available at Eustis
by Capt. Pete Schurig
Fort Eustis Legal Assistance

Want to save time and money this tax season? The Office of the Staff Judge Advocate is providing free tax assistance at the Fort Eustis Tax Assistance Center.

By taking advantage of this service, taxpayers avoid both tax preparation costs and the costs of refund anticipation loans, which can result in considerable savings.

Eligible clients include all active-duty service members, their family members and retirees.
Reservists or National Guard personnel on active duty for more than 29 days are also eligible.

Want to receive a faster refund? Trained tax preparers can answer tax questions, electronically prepare federal and state income tax returns, ensure clients receive credits and deductions they are entitled to, and electronically file federal and state returns.

Using the Internal Revenue Service’s electronic filing allows for faster refunds and accurate, secure filing. Taxpayers who electronically file rather than mail their returns get refunds in half the usual time. Refunds can also be deposited directly into bank accounts.

Generally, taxpayers have until April 15 to send in their federal income tax returns without penalty. Federal law provides Soldiers in combat zones or qualified hazardous duty areas automatic extensions to file their returns. In addition, all or part of their pay may be tax-free.

The Tax Center on Fort Eustis is located in Building 2733, Madison Avenue, and opens Wednesday. It will operate from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday; Tuesday from noon until 8 p.m.; and Thursday from noon to 4 p.m.

Walk-ins are accepted Mondays and appointments are made for all other days.

Tax Center customers should bring all correct and relevant tax information. If electronically filing,
Social Security numbers and names must match Social Security cards.

Social Security card applications for dependents and name-number verification are available from the Social Security Administration, 1-800-772-1213.

Besides all W2s (not a December Leave and Earnings Statement), other important documents showing income are all tax year 2005 IRS Forms 1099s stating interest, dividends, capital gain distributions, distributions from pensions and IRAs, unemployment compensation or miscellaneous income.

To claim credits, itemized deductions or adjustments such as unreimbursed moving expenses and student loan interest payments, bring receipts and totaled amounts.

Other documents which ease preparation or filing include:
• a copy of last year’s federal and state tax returns;
• a copy of a personal check to verify the bank’s routing number and your account number;
• a completed IRS Form 2848 (Power of Attorney), if a deployed or absent spouse wants to authorize the taxpayer to sign on his or her behalf.

This form does not need to be notarized and is available at the Tax Center and the Fort Eustis Legal Assistance office, Bldg. 2732, Madison Avenue. The Tax Center also has other tax forms.

For more tax information, call the Fort Eustis Tax Center at 878-2343/2478.

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Fort Story celebrates the life of MLK
Story by Joanna Hawkins
Fort Story Public Affairs

In 1968, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and our nation experienced the loss of one of its civil rights activists. Since his passing, the world has not forgotten the legacy of King and his teachings of non-violence, tolerance and equality for all mankind.

On Jan. 12, the Fort Story community joined in the celebration of King’s 77th birthday with a program hosted by 11th Battalion’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company.

Col. Ronald Strong, installation chaplain at Fort Eustis, served as guest speaker and addressed the crowd gathered at the post chapel.

“Today we honor King’s legacy by making this holiday a day on, not a day off,” said Strong.

Chaplain Strong compared Dr. King’s legacy to the biblical character Joshua, noting that both men “broke down walls and barriers that kept people from intermingling and sharing the truth.”

He encouraged the audience to stay focused on breaking down the ‘walls’ that still exist today, such as poverty, teen pregnancy and gun violence among youth.

Strong suggested, “Don’t stop working because the walls will eventually come down.”

Chaplain Strong said if Dr. King were still alive today, he would tell Soldiers to never quit marching. “When you keep marching, your faith is tested, your faith will be transformed and you will have a testimony, just like Dr. King,” said Strong.

Following his presentation, Lt. Col. Michael Martin, 11th Battalion commander, presented Strong and his wife Shirley with tokens of appreciation for their participation in the program and their continuous support of Fort Story.

Spc. Yadira Valtierra, with the 119th Cargo Transportation Company, said this year’s celebration was inspiring. “It’s amazing to see how one person, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., changed the lives of so many people by standing up for what he believed,” said Valtierra.

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Soldier finds new beginnings in United States, Army
Story by Melissa Hancock
Staff Writer

It was the last time she would see what she has known her whole life; a place with mountains, beautiful water spots and gardens on the streets. She would be leaving most of her family and all of her friends.

The long airplane flight sent her to a flat, spread-out piece of land. She immediately thought she had landed in a village – it was too quiet. As a teenager she had mixed feelings about where her new life would be. It would prove to be a bittersweet transition; she was beginning her new life in the United States, but leaving her comfortable, familiar life behind.

Pfc. Fioralba Minga, C Company, 1st Battalion, 222nd Aviation Regiment, is originally from Korce, Albania. When she talks about Albania her eyes light up. The 24-year-old was 15 when she left, but she talks about memories like she was there yesterday.

Minga’s journey began when her mother won the lottery. This wasn’t an ordinary lottery, the prize was the chance to live in the United States.

Her parents hoped to win so they could introduce their children to a better life. With the recent changes to the government in Albania, they decided the sooner they left, the better off they would be.

“The lifestyle in America is different, it’s better,” said Minga. “There are better opportunities and more freedom to do what you want.”

The lottery was more complex than paying money and hoping to win. The Minga family had to fill out a lot of paperwork that included a plan for the future in the States.

Finally, the chance the family had waited for came – they would be moving to the United States.
“My family was very excited we won,” said Minga. “When my father found out he was yelling ‘We won’ from the bottom of our condo. We were all happy.”

The day came when the family had to leave. Although they were pleased to go, they were sad they were leaving some family behind. Many of Minga’s relatives remain in Albania.

Minga soon realized how different her new life was going to be when she saw her new home in Indiana. The family chose Indiana because Minga’s aunt lived there with her husband from an arranged marriage.

Minga’s parents went to work and she started school. The transition proved to be difficult even for someone who likes challenges.

“At first it was hard,” she said, “but it got better after I learned English and started communicating with people.”

During her junior year in high school, an Army recruiter attended her school, provoking Minga to consider joining the military.

“When I asked my parents, they said ‘No way,’” she said. “Women in my country don’t even finish high school. They just get married and become moms. They at least wanted me to go to college.”
Despite Minga’s desire to go into the military, she went on to college where she met her husband and had two children.

Minga was very involved in school and won an award for her grades and leadership roles in college. Eventually, she came to a fork in the road: her marriage wasn’t working out and the couple separated.

Although Minga was six credits away from earning her degree in electrical engineering, she knew she needed to create a better life for her girls right then.

The young mother knew what she had to do. She went to see a recruiter. After meeting Minga, he tried to get her to become a linguist.

“I told him no,” Minga said. “I didn’t want an office job. When I saw the engineering MOS, (military occupational specialty) I knew it was what I wanted to do. It was different and not many women were doing it. It was a challenge.”

After Minga signed up, she let her family know of her decision.

“My parents couldn’t believe it,” she said. “They wanted me to finish school. Telling my girls was hard. I told them mommy had to go to work and I would write and call them all the time.”

Soon, Minga left for basic training. When she arrived, she quickly realized it was going to be a challenge.

She was a heat casualty twice and the drill sergeants watched her more closely for that reason.
“I told them I wasn’t leaving until I finished what I had come to do,” she said. “And I didn’t. The same drill sergeant who told me I would never make it said, I’m really proud of you.”

After graduation, Minga continued on to AIT for helicopter mechanic training. Although she hasn’t decided what her long-term plans for the Army are, she does dream of going to flight school.

For now, Minga feels the Army has helped her achieve many goals, both career and personal. She feels the military can help other young women, too.

“I think the Army is going to give my girls a better life,” she said. “It has given me the discipline I needed to deal with hard situations, and helped me to learn more about myself and what I can do. If a woman wants to learn her limits, the Army is the answer.”

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Weigh in Motion adds up
Story by J. Raynel Koch
Staff Writer

The sands are swirling around the boots of servicemen and women in Iraq who have been working all day in the hot sun, measuring, weighing and finding the center of balance of cargo that will be transferred to their battle counterparts who need supplies to complete their missions.

Fort Eustis is the first stop for Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s commercial version of the Weigh in Motion Generation II six-month tour. “It is a work in progress. We are learning new stuff everyday to improve the system,“ said Robert K. Abercrombie, senior program manager for the laboratory’s information operations center.

“Instead of just being a scale that did automatic computation, we realized that WIM had more potential to capture the vehicle’s I.D. (identification) and transfer the information to the deployment equipment list.”

WIM determines the individual axle weights, distances between axles, total vehicle weight and center of balance of vehicles at passes of three to six miles per hour. It automatically obtains information for the deployment equipment list and sends it to a hand-held device that takes about 10 seconds to compute all the information. “We have a need for this,” said Dave Twitero, Fort Eustis Deployment Process Modernization Office Training Branch transportation specialist. “Two Soldiers can do the work of 10 and it cuts the time it takes by one-fifth. A huge movement like 7th Transportation Group can move within one day, versus the five it normally takes.“

Currently, units use portable individual wheel weight or fixed in-ground static scales, tape measures and calculators to determine vehicle axle weights, total vehicle weight and center of balance for vehicles to be transshipped through railcar, ship, or airlifted in support of military and humanitarian operations.

The process of manually weighing and measuring all vehicles for transshipment operations is time-consuming, labor-intensive and, prone to human errors that can result in safety hazards and inaccurate data. In rigid areas of operations, scales may not be available at all, and the cargo weight and center of balance must be estimated, according to Twitero.

A few years ago, there was a safety incident that ended with a loss of life, according to Abercrombie. Airmen in Afghanistan were changing cargo loads several times during a day in a rural area without a scale. They underestimated the weight and center of balance of the loads which caused a plane crash. “This is why WIM is very important for the mission of the troops,” said Abercrombie.

“The lack of a standardized airlift-weighing system for joint service use also creates redundant weighing requirements at the cost of scarce resources and time,” said Abercrombie. “Six pads are ideal because it would be a four-pad system with two pads as a spare. Although a two-pad system is the minimum for a difficult location that is hard to bring gear to. The risk would be if a pad did not work and a backup is needed. Each pad weighs about 118 pounds separately.

In a study conducted at Fort Bragg, N.C., in April 2003, the WIM research team discovered there was nine percent error of computation found with using ground scales, a 14 percent error with the use of a portable scale and zero percent error with the use of WIM, according to Abercrombie.

“I like how easy it is to use and how quickly it measures, weighs and finds the center of balance all at the same time versus the old manual method,” said Staff Sgt. Anthony Consolo, instructor at U.S Army Transportation. “We will still teach the manual way because you never know if the computer will have a glitch and it is always good to have a backup plan.”

More information about WIM is available at www.ornl.gov. The WIM Gen II user manual is listed on the mobility officer page at https://fpic.eustis.army.mil/FPIC_Section/FPIC_Mobility_Officer.asp.ww

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Eustis Soldier inducted to the Audie Leon Murphy Club
Story, photo by Dave Carter
Staff Writer

The Audie Murphy Club is a group of dedicated Soldiers who try to emulate America’s most decorated Soldier by being a tactical expert, by striving to attain technical expertise, and becoming a superior role model for young Soldiers.

Sgt. 1st Class James D. Libby was the latest NCO inducted into the Fort Eustis Chapter of the Audie Leon Murphy Club. Libby was inducted Jan. 11, during a ceremony held at 8th Transportation Brigade Headquarters.

Libby, a drill sergeant with 8th Trans. Bde., was nominated to the Audie Murphy club in 2003 by 1st Sgt. Latrice Anderson-Bracken.

“I watched Libby closely when he arrived at 8th Brigade,” said Anderson-Bracken during Libby’s induction. She said Libby exemplified the qualities of members of the Audie Murphy Club.

“When I was a young Soldier, becoming a member of the Audie Murphy Club was something that just seemed unattainable. But coming up through the ranks and finally having my first sergeant recommend me for the board, I felt my goal was within reach,” said Libby.

To prepare for the scenario-based boards at the battalion level, Libby had to meet and exceed all of his tactical qualifications of soldiering and have the technical expertise of his military occupational specialty, while always exemplifying the Army’s core values.

This was Libby’s third attempt to gain membership to this prestigious club. “We had a few setbacks,” said Anderson-Bracken.

“I just shored up my shortcoming and tried again,” said Libby.

Persistence is one of the desired qualities board members look for when selecting new members, said Command Sgt. Maj Jo Woods, 8th Transportation Brigade, at the induction ceremony
Libby failed to be deterred after not being selected at earlier battalion-level board.

Libby spoke modestly about his achievement, saying he is glad he can help young Soldiers and being inducted into the Audie Murphy Club validates his commitment to junior Soldiers.

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