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A
capacity crowd fills the Down Under sports bar Sunday on the lower
level of the Officers' Club as Oakland kicks off to Tampa Bay to
begin the Super Bowl.
Super
Sunday at Bliss
Master
Sgt. Steve Miller
Public Affairs Chief
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Long
before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made the Oakland Raiders walk
the plank to the tune of a 48-21 shellacking, Fort Bliss personnel
were gathering to watch Super Bowl XXXVII, each in their own
unique way.
At Chaffee
Gate, Sgt. 1st Class Robert Maleckar, who was the Sergeant
of the Guard for the vehicle inspection detail, played Santa
Claus for his soldiers from HHB Center by furnishing all the
food and soft drinks for their Super Bowl gathering, which
had to take place around their vehicle-inspection and pass-issuing
mission.
"I brought
the TV out, my wife made hot wings for the pre-game and we've
ordered four pizzas, which should be here soon," Maleckar
said. "Plus we have soft drinks, chips and pretzels, so we
should be set."
At Robert
E. Lee Gate, Lina Negroni, a vehicle registration clerk, kept
tabs on the Super Bowl in the pass office with a mini-TV monitor.
"I bought
this yesterday just for the game," Negroni said. "I wanted
something I could see but would allow me to do my job when
we get busy. It's like a radio because it's so small."
Speaking
of radios, there was at least one at every gate, so soldiers
and DA police on duty could follow the rout unfolding in San
Diego. An informal poll of personnel working the gates and
attending Super Bowl parties at the Down Under, the Centennial
and the Fort Bliss Rod and Gun Club revealed 75 people cheering
for Tampa Bay, 56 rooting for Oakland and 36 people undecided.
"Warren
Sapp, Ronde Barber and Simeon Rice, not to mention John Lynch,
the hardest hitting safety in the NFL," said Spc. Tracey Zeno
of HHB Center when asked why he said Tampa Bay would win.
Winners
at the Down Under included anyone who was there when Budweiser
Girls Nancy Dyer and Debra Miner made a 30-minute appearance
around 2 p.m. The ladies gave out key chains, miniature calendars,
necklaces and pins to those present. The Down Under was one
of five stops they made around El Paso on Super Sunday.
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Bud
Girls Nancy Dyer, right, and Debra Miner present a necklace
and pin Sunday to Lisa DeAntona during a pre-Super Bowl
visit to the Down Under. Fort Bliss was one of five El Paso
locations in which the Bud Girls made an appearance.
Lina
Negroni, vehicle registration clerk, processes a pass Sunday
at the Robert E. Lee gate entrance while keeping tabs on
the Super Bowl, using a mini RCA TV monitor with antenna
at left.
Soldiers
from HHB Center take a break Sunday from inspecting vehicles
and running the pass office at Chaffee Gate to watch part
of the Super Bowl.
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Green
to Gold
Visit with a UTEP ROTC representative and learn how you can start
your path to becoming an officer. Briefings are scheduled for the
second Wednesday of every month at 2 p.m. in Bldg. 639, room 8.
Come with your questions and a desire to professionally improve
yourself. For more information, contact Maj. Corey Roen at 747-6692
or email at cdroen@ utep.edu.
VITA
volunteers needed
The Fort Bliss VITA Office is seeking volunteers to assist soldiers
and their family members in preparing federal and state tax returns
for the 2002 tax year. The VITA office will be open from mid-January
to the end of the tax season in April. The IRS will provide approximately
40 hours of free tax training on post in early January. For information,
contact Capt. Margaret Tomaro at 568-7141 or stop by the office
in Bldg. 113.
Retirement briefing
Upon receipt of retirement orders, soldiers must bring a copy to
the Retirement Services Office to schedule a pre-retirement briefing.
The next pre-retirement briefing will be at 8 a.m. today. Soldiers
should plan to attend the retirement pre-brief 180 days prior to
starting permissive TDY/terminal leave. Information to build your
retired pay account will be turned in at the end of the pre-brief.
The following information will be covered at the pre-brief: Retirement
ceremony, TRICARE, transportation, veterans benefits, education
benefits, job assistance, final active duty finance and Survivor
Benefit Plan. Soldiers must be in uniform (BDU or Class B). Spouses
are encouraged to attend, however, small children may not attend
due to limited seating. Attendees should bring retirement orders
and should make reservations at 568-5204. Retirement Services is
located in Room 100, Bldg. 515A. A follow-up, one-on-one session
with the retiree's spouse must be scheduled after your pre-brief.
Any soldier being processed for a possible medical retirement should
contact the Retirement Services Office if medical retirement is
being considered. Soldiers with approved medical retirements have
only 90 days to complete all retirement/ elimination processing.
Marriage
improvement
Improve your marriage by attending the Center Staff Chaplain's monthly
Couples' Communication Class taught by the Fort Bliss Family Life
chaplain. The class is always the first Tuesday of the month from
9 a.m. to 4 p.m., second floor, Bldg. 112. Refreshments and lunch
will be provided. Registration cutoff for each class is the Wednesday
before the class. To register, and for more information, call 568-2623.
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Post
kicks off AER campaign
The
Army Emergency Relief Fund Campaign Drive will be conducted post-wide
Feb. 17 through March 14 with a post goal of $120,000.
The
scope and magnitude of the Army's current global commitments create
unique hardships for Army people. Last year, the Fort Bliss AER
office gave out over $925,525 in grants and interest-free loans.
This assistance makes a great difference in the lives of young
families struggling to meet the demands of Army life.
When
soldiers are called upon to serve our nation, AER is there. When
soldiers are victims of natural disaster, AER assists. When soldiers
participate in disaster relief, AER helps. But equally important,
AER is available for those common emergencies that affect our
soldiers every day.
Your
contributions to AER remain important to allow AER to fulfill
its mission of helping Army people in time of distress. I urge
your generous voluntary support of this fine program, which is
dedicated to reaching Army people who need help.
Maj.
Gen. Stanley E. Green
Fort Bliss Commanding General
Rebels
come back on 204th, stay unbeaten
Master
Sgt. Steve Miller
Public Affairs Chief
A 24-4 second-half
surge propelled the Rebels of 3rd Battalion, 6th Air Defense Artillery
Brigade, to a 65-57 victory Monday night over a shorthanded but
scrappy 204th Military Intelligence Battalion team.
The Rebels
raced to a 10-0 lead just 3 minutes and 16 seconds into the game
but found themselves down by two, 30-28, at halftime, thanks to
11 first-half points from the 204th's Jeremy Sherman and 10 by
Honore Ware.
The win upped
the Rebels' record to a perfect 3-0 and dropped 204th to 1-2,
but victory wasn't assured until 3-6th ADA made their second-half
run.
A basket
by Mark Stalling gave 204th a 34-32 lead early in the second half,
but it would be their last of the night. Anthony Swaggerty nailed
a three-pointer to put the Rebels up by one and Muton Anderson
followed with another trey, quickly giving the Rebels a 38-34
lead. Stalling made a pair of foul shots to pull 204th within
two, but they would not score again until they were down by 11
with 10:10 to go.
In the meantime,
Swaggerty made a layup and two free throws, Anderson hit another
3-pointer and Jerome Walton scored from inside for a 47-36 lead.
Ware hit
two free throws to break the drought for 204th, but the Rebels
reeled off nine more points for a comfortable 56-38 bulge, thanks
to two layups and a 3-pointer by Swaggerty and a basket by Tony
Bishop. The 204 would whittle away at that 18-point deficit, thanks
to three late 3-pointers by Jason Ashe and 9 other points by Edward
Lopez, but it proved to be too little, too late.
Swaggerty
had a game-high 26 to lead the victors, who also got 14 from Anderson,
11 from Walton and 10 from Bishop. Ashe's 20 led 204th, Sherman
added 13 and Ware had 12.
In other
games Monday, William Beaumont Army Medical Center #2 beat the
Military Entrance Processing Station 54-37; HHB, 6th ADA Bde manhandled
the Marine Detachment 77-42 and HHB Center won by forfeit over
C Btry, 2nd Bn, 6th ADA Bde.
In a related
matter, the 546th Personnel Service Battalion no longer has a
basketball team in the league. Teams with future scheduled games
against the 546th will automatically be credited with a win, according
to Nate LaCour, league director.
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