Fifty years of heritage (edition two) Published Jan. 27, 2011 By Eric M. White 910 AW/PA YOUNGSTOWN AIR RESERVE STATION, Ohio -- Each Thursday in 2011, the 910th AW/PA office will republish a historic article or highlight from the archive along with a brief commentary. In the case of articles, we will publish exact copies of the originals, so any grammatical or typographical errors are intentional reproductions. Each week will feature a different year in Youngstown Air Reserve Station (YARS) history, beginning with 1957 and ending with 2007. Article Two: Building a Workforce Our 1958 newsletter collection displays subtle changes to the design of the 1957 collection. These changes signify an evolving and developing 757th Troop Carrier Squadron. The 1958 cover is identical to 1957's, but with the addition of the striped winged beast known today as the 757th blue tiger. The tiger is displayed in a small corner logo. The cover prominently displays a C-119 "Flying Boxcar," tail number 0133, in flight. As if to chronicle for future audiences how quickly the times change, the 1958 issues introduce a monthly "calendar girl" section featuring black and white photos of scantily-clad female movie stars or models. Underneath the photos are whimsical captions introducing the photo subject. By today's Department of Defense journalism standards, such a publication would be considered preposterous. Other items of note in this issue include a call for members who flew combat missions during the D-Day invasion of "Normandie" to contact Corneluis J. Ryan. Ryan, an author and World War II correspondent, was working on a dramatic history of the D-Day events. The spelling of "Normandie" in this issue is of particular note. Typically, journalism guidelines dictate spelling locality names in their English forms. As French is the official language of Normandy, perhaps the region was more commonly known by its French spelling to a group of troops who were all living during the D-Day invasion, some of whom saw combat flying time A "Chuckles" section, similar to the 1957 "LAFFS" section, displays a series of jokes. Three of the four jokes feature religious subjects while the fourth is a slight toward women. A small cartoon tucked neatly in the corner of a page toward the newsletter's end displays a Chief Master Sergeant pulling a noose out of container ironically labeled "suggestion box." These all serve as further examples of how significantly social standards within the Air Force Reserve have changed since the 1950s. This week's heritage article comes from the April 7, 1958 edition of Buckstone Carrier and features an issue familiar to many current YARS employees. This article announces the introduction of the Air Reserve Technician (ART) program and pending hire of 13 civilian employees. The ART and civilian hire programs laid the groundwork for employment and economic impact at YARS. In comparison, the 910th Airlift Wing now employs 229 ARTs and 168 civilians in order to maintain base operations Unit Training Assemblies. Before the introduction of ART and civilian programs at YARS, the base was maintained in between training weekends by an active duty Air Force squadron. Retired Staff Sgt. Dal Mize was stationed here as an active duty member of the regular Air Force. Mize worked on the editorial staff for the Buckstone Carrier. Mr. Mize, who served ten years with the Air Force, shares some memories of his experience at Youngstown. "We had our own barracks on base and most of the enlisted lived on base, only a couple of sergeants lived off base," said Mize. "I, being the only NCO living on base was in charge of the barracks...at 22 it was a loose operation, and we had only to answer to ourselves." Fifty years has no doubt brought significant changes, not just to YARS but the greater Youngstown area. "Youngstown was a different place and the residents were different from those I was used to, coming from a small town in Texas," Mize said. "I ate my first Pizza in Youngstown." ART PLAN NOW IN EFFECT (From the Buckstone Carrier--April 7, 1958) Effective 1 April the Air Reserve Technician Plan conversion will be occupied by dual status personnel, civilian employees five days a week and reservists on training weekend. In addition, there will be 13 civilian employees in positions (mostly clerical) which do not require reserve status. By 30 September the conversion is scheduled to be 90% complete, and Detachment 1, 2259th AFRC will have turned operational control of all facilities over to the technicians of the 757th. Hiring of maintenance and other ART personnel will begin in April and should be well along in May. Office positions are expected to be filled during May and early June. As this is written, complete instructions have not been received by the personnel office, no information regarding salaries, etc. is now available. In general, positions are Civil Service wage board with supervisors holding graded positions. The advantages of this plan is that all employees will be qualified and will form the hard core of the unit in the event of mobilization. The plan will also release for other assignments about 100 officers and airmen from the AFRC for other assignments in the Air Force by staffing permanent Center positions with civil service employees who are also members of the Reserve Squadron. All reservists now in the squadron are eligible for technician jobs provided they hold the necessary technical qualifications. So that we can determine how many present 757th members are interested in ART positions we request that those who are available for career civil service employment send a post card to the Personnel Office, Det, 1, 2259th ARFC. The Center will keep all unit members informed as futher information becomes available.