• ARCON I “BOSCON”                    Boston, MA               23-25 October, 2015
• ARCON II “METROPOLICON”     New Rochelle, NY     13-15 November, 2015
• ARCON III “CHARCON”               Charleston, SC           23-25 October, 2015
• ARCON IV “AEROCON”               Daytona Beach, FL    2-4 October, 2015
• ARCON V   “AMERICON”            Mobile, AL                16-18 October, 2015
• ARCON VI  “LEPRECON”            South Bend, IN          6-8 November, 2015
• ARCON VII “MILWAU-CON”       Milwaukee, WI          16-18 October, 2015
• ARCON VIII “FALCON”               USAF Academy, CO  16-18 October, 2015
• ARCON IX  “BATCON”                Baton Rouge, LA       6-8 November, 2015
• ARCON X  “LACON”                    Los Angeles, CA       16-18 October, 2015
• ARCON XI  “HUSKYCON”           Seattle, WA               23-25 October, 2015

 
 
 COWBOYCON 2016

This upcoming year, NATCON will be held in Dallas, Texas from 25 March to 29 March. For those of you who want to stay involved with AAS-SW, enjoy a beautiful Texas spring and taste some savory Texan BBQ, registration is now open at:  https://www.aas-sw.org/?nd=natcon-info

 
 
 
 
 
Silver Wings Fall Update
by Hayden Wagner, Silver Wings National Public Affairs Officer

In the spring of 2015, six Silver Wings members from Rochester Institute of Technology were elected to serve as the new Silver Wings national staff. They ran on a platform of identifying the key issues that Silver Wings chapters were facing nationwide, and then introducing new tools and directives to help chapters overcome these issues. The Projects Database and the Development Database are two of the new tools that the staff are implementing this fall.

The Projects Database contains step-by-step guides that show chapters how to organize and complete different projects. Successful projects are submitted to the database by chapters that already completed the project; chapters that are struggling to come up with fundraising or service projects can browse the database for new ideas and assistance.

The Development Database stores successful personal and professional workshops that chapters use in meetings to engage their members; each entry contains information regarding the chapter that built the workshop, a description of the activity, any necessary materials, and instructions to complete the development activity. The Development Database is similar to the Projects Database in that it is built to be used as a reference that chapters contribute to and pull information and ideas from.

Another exciting Silver Wings announcement is the creation of the Silver Wings Gear Store. User-created apparel and other “gear” with Silver Wings logos and related designs can now be purchased online. Silver Wings gear can be purchased here: http://www.zazzle.com/silverwingsoffical.

Lastly, Silver Wings is looking forward to the 2016 National Conclave (NATCON) in Dallas, Texas. The NATCON is named “Cowboycon”, and it boasts an excellent guest speaker lineup: Deborah L. James (Secretary of the Air Force), General Robin Rand (Commander of the Air Force Global Strike Command), Peter Bergen (CNN National Security Analyst), and Gwynne Shotwell (COO SpaceX and Silver Wings/AAS National Honorary President) are all slated to speak at this year’s NATCON. In addition to the speakers, Cowboycon will hold a social at Eddie Deen’s Ranch, which will have a Texas country concert and a mechanical bull. Registration for this year’s NATCON begins in early December 2015.
 
 
Message from the Arnold Air Society
By Christian Mitchell, Arnold Air Society National Commander
 
JAA,
Another fall semester has come and gone for Arnold Air Society. I must say it has gone by faster than I would like but your society had another fantastic term. Let me give you a quick recap.
 
11 exceptional ARCONs took place all across the country and I really mean all across the country. Arnold Air Society and Silver Wings members gathered in Los Angeles, Manhattan, Seattle, and Daytona just to name a few. During these conclaves the Areas and Regions set the game plan for the coming term, learned, reflected, networked, and above all made lasting memories.
 
Scholarships were awarded to numerous cadets to assist with academics, flying lessons, and even parachuting…Brig Gen Woodward really doesn’t understand the craze about the last one. Internship opportunities continue to grow within the Air Force Association and Pentagon allowing our members unique and elite experiences. Members look forward to the recipients of the internships being announced this spring. If you’re looking for a way to contribute to these scholarships and internships then please consider donating to the Arnold Air Society - Silver Wings Educational Fund (ASEF) by traditional means or by shopping with Amazon Smile.
 
An official AAS shop has was opened online at http://www.zazzle.com/arnoldairofficial. Each individual product can be customized by color, school, and squadron name. Shopping is hassle free and 10% of the profits go directly to ASEF. Check it out!
 
Last year at CHICON the General Assembly passed a resolution pledging that every squadron and chapter would attempt to raise $100 to donate to the Air Force Aid Society - the official charity of the Air Force. During the fall term squadrons answered the call and worked tirelessly to support this cause. We are accepting funds until 15 January but I can go ahead and proudly say that AAS will meet our goal of $12,500!
 
Also at CHICON, the Spirit of ’45 was selected as our 2015-2016 Joint National Project in honor of the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII. Throughout the nation Arnies have been honoring the legacy left by this great generation and serving those veterans fortunate enough to still be with us. Over 2,000 hours of service have been contributed to the Spirit of ’45 effort. Squadrons have led Honor Flight send offs, hosted WWII symposiums on their college campuses and raised awareness through Veteran’s Parades.
 
As we look forward to the spring, COWBOYCON is fast approaching and registration is now open! To register follow this link: https://nationalconclave2016.wildapricot.org/events. As always, we have an outstanding line-up of speakers thanks to our hard-charging NATCON team. Speakers include General Robin Rand - the Commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, Peter Bergan - war correspondent, Gwynne Shotwell - COO of SpaceX, Lt Gen Kwast (tentative) - Commander of Air University, and from the Spirit of ’45 General Johnson, Capt Yellin and Ms Otto. On top of that the NATCON team has guaranteed attendees the famed “Texas Experience” with events such as line dancing and bull riding. It will be a NATCON for the ages! We hope to see you all at COWBOYCON!
 
Please continue to stay in touch. Thank you for your continued support and the lasting legacy you have gifted us.
 
Sincerely,
Christian Mitchell
AAS National Commander
 

ALUMNI NEWS
Keep up with the latest news about your friends from AAS and SW! If you have any news or updates in your life such as a marriage, kids, or a recent achievement; let us know so that we can feature it in our next newsletter. You can use this link:  http://aasswjaa.org/nl.php or email the Director of Public Affairs at dpa@aasswjaa.org
 
GET INVOLVED
The JAA is always looking for new ideas and ways that we can improve the organization to better serve AAS, SW and alumni. Let’s work to make sure that current and future Arnies and Silver Wingers are getting the best possible experience and assist in developing future leaders. Join our mentorship Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/788901774587700/ and assist us in cultivating the minds of future leaders!
 
  
MEET YOUR JAA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President: Peter Mask
Vice President: Dayna Ferguson
National Development Officer: Tyler Worley
Chief Financial Officer: Taylor York
Secretary: Zachary York
Director of Public Affairs: Shawn Cagle
Technology Officer: Summer Folsom
2 Year Trustees:
Lt Col (ret) William Lipscomb Jr.
Elliott Korona
Ritchie Nazareno
 

*** Questions and comments can be directed to Shawn Cagle at dpa@aasswjaa.org ***