VETERANS

VETERANS

Post 9/11 GI Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said that veterans could apply for Post 9/11 GI Bill education benefits through a new U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Web site, effective this past Friday.

Veterans can access the VA Web site at http://www.gibill.va.gov/. This fall will mark the first academic year for which the new benefits will be available to veterans. The Post 9/11 GI Bill enables eligible service members to enroll in the higher-education system by offering benefits to cover costs of tuition, housing and supplies. More information about eligibility for Post 9/11 GI Bill education benefits can be found at the VA Web site, Brown said.

Duzzny heads group

YOUNGSTOWN — Retired Col. Walter M. Duzzny has been elected president of Reserve Officers Association Mahoning Chapter 42. Duzzny retired after serving 30 years in the Ohio National Guard and the Army Reserve.

Other officers elected are retired Col. Willard Stamp, vice president; Lt. Col. Paul Stepuk, treasurer; and Chief Warrant Officer 4 William Meshot.

HONORS

NCO of the year

Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Tamara L. Olson is the Air Combat Command’s Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year. Olson is engineering superintendent with the Acquisition Management and Integration Center at Headquarters Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base, Va.

Olson, wife of Air Force Master Sgt. Scott Heberling and daughter-in-law of Richard and Diane Heberling, all of New Middletown, was born in Minneapolis, Minn., and entered the Air Force in 1989. Since arriving at her assignment, she has served as interim first sergeant for the unit and is on a one-year deployment to the Middle East.

Medals, Oak Leaf Cluster

Air Force Senior Airman Paul A. Stonestreet has received two Achievement Medals for three years of service at Fort George E. Meade, Md., and his second Oak Leaf Cluster for distinctive accomplishments while assigned to the 94th Intelligence Squadron. Stonestreet, a communication signals intelligence journeyman, is assigned to the 301st Intelligence Squadron, 70th Intelligence Wing, Misawa Air Base, Japan. He is the son of Graciela Stonestreet of Hialeah, Fla., and Paul Stonestreet of Hermitage, Pa. He is a 2003 graduate of Hialeah High School.

RETIREMENT

From medical squadron

Master Sgt. Chancellor B. DoBay, first sergeant for the 910th Air Lift Wing’s Medical Squadron at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna, retired effective today.

As first sergeant, he advised the commander on matters influencing the health, morale, welfare and effective utilization of the more than 143 reserve members assigned to the 910th Medical Squadron and served as the commander’s representative to numerous committees, councils, boards and military and civilian functions.

DoBay was born in Sharon, Pa., on May 1, 1970, and graduated from Brookfield High School in June 1988, after which he enlisted in the Air Force and began his active-duty career as a dental journeyman. After 10 years of active duty, DoBay transferred to the Air Force Reserve in December 1998 and was assigned to the 910th as the NCOIC of dental services.

BASIC TRAINING GRADS

Army: National Guard Pvt. Heather J. Coleman (East Liverpool High School, ’03), granddaughter of Helen Ziegler of East Liverpool; Pfc. James Frost, distinguished honor graduate (Crestview High School, ’06), son of Jim Frost and Richard and Jean Shellenbarger of Columbiana.

Navy: Seaman Maggie G. Stryffeler (United Local High School, Hanoverton, ’06), daughter of Leanna G. and Don H. Stryffeler of Lisbon.

ROTC NEWS

4-year scholarship

Joseph W. Stephenson has received and activated a four-year, Type 7 Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship. Scholarship entitlements include full college tuition and most lab fees, but the student must attend a college or university where the tuition is less than $9,000 a year. Upon completion of the ROTC program and college academic requirements, the cadet is commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Force. Stephenson is the son of Jack W. and Janice M. Stephenson of Columbiana and is a 2009 graduate of South Range High School, North Lima.

XItems of note for the Armed Forces Digest can be sent to The Vindicator, Regional Desk, P.O. Box 780, Youngstown 44501-0780, or e-mailed to alcorn@vindy.com.