Volume 2006, Issue 1
April 10, 2006

Working in IIa

The IIa Impact Award

Look for submission forms for the new IIa Impact Award to be posted on the IIa employee web site (www2.iiaweb.com) later in April. This newly developed award is designed to recognize employee contributions to the company by recognizing individuals who live the company’s values and work to advance IIa’s mission and vision. Five IIa Impact Awards will be made annually from employee nominations.

The new award was developed by the IIa Awards Committee. Here’s how it works. The award period coincides with IIa’s fiscal year, July 1 through June 30. To nominate an employee, fill out the form describing the employee’s achievement and including brief statements about the IIa values your nominee displayed. The deadline for nominations will be July 10th. Watch your IIa email for notice that the floor is open for nominations.

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Kudos from the Accounting Department

In May 2003, we introduced a new method of reconciling the corporate Visa credit cards using “Visa Information Management”, a special website offered by Bank of America that allows cardholders to input a charge code and a description for each purchase they make.

 The accounting staff believed that this new process would be more efficient and provide better information about the credit card purchases that were being made.  Almost three years later, the cardholders are breezing through the process with very few errors or late submissions.  The Visa Reconciliation process, although still fairly tedious and complicated, is now one of the smoothest processes in the department and allows other accounting tasks to be completed earlier in the month.

We owe thanks to the cardholders who are dedicated to learning the process, keeping up with receipts, and remembering each month to complete the Reconciliation process on time.  You have been performing with excellence! Thanks also to the Accounts Payable staff who have worked very hard to get the kinks out of the system and have been so helpful in assisting the cardholders.

If you need assistance with any aspect of the IIa Visa Reconciliation process, please contact Pat Armes at 865-298-1239 or parmes@iiaweb.com.

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IIa Security Alert: Guard Your Identity

by Kent Turner

This article is hopefully the first of a new feature in InfoEdge to provide information about the IIa security program and the security team. Our Security Office consists of me (Kent Turner), the Facility Security Officer, and Mendy Wolfenbarger, the Facility Security Administrator. As the IIa security team, Mendy and I spend most of our time on industrial security because of the importance to national security and potential negative consequences to both the United States and IIa.

In reality, only a small percentage of IIa employees ever come in contact with classified material. But there is a related concern that could potentially affect anyone – identity theft, America’s fastest growing crime.

More than 27 million people have been victims of identity theft in the last five years. With summer approaching, we all start dreaming about vacations and vacation spots. But when we are on vacation, we tend to let our guard down, which allows identity thieves to have a field day. Here are some tips to make sure you don’t become a victim.

• Pack only the identification and credit cards you’ll need for your trip. Leave your checkbook and any cards that show your Social Security number at home.
• Use prepaid or stored-value travel cards. This allows you to plan your expenses and put the amount you plan to use on the card. If stolen, thieves can’t access your full account.
• As an added precaution, take an extra credit card with you in case the main card you’re using gets lost or stolen.
• Always take receipts from ATMs, credit card purchases, and gas stations.
• Remain alert. High-traffic areas such as airports and theme parks are busy venues for identity thieves.
• Don’t leave car rental agreements in the car when you’re not in it. These contracts contain a wealth of personal information that thieves can use.
• Obtain free copies of your credit reports and study the reports for unauthorized activity.
• Keep your purse or wallet clear of credit card receipts.
• Finally it’s wise to purchase a home shredder and destroy old credit card receipts and statements.

Plan your travel carefully and use the information as guidance to help prevent identity theft. Mendy and I are always available to answer any security-related questions. If we don’t have an answer, we will find out. Have a safe summer!

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Avoid that Aching Back

• Our bodies were made to move around, not sit at a desk eight to 10 hours a day in one position staring at a computer screen. One of the most important things workers can do for themselves is heed a few suggestions for varying their positions and movement throughout the day:
• Plan your day to include short tasks every 30 minutes or so that force you to get up from your computer and move. For example, go pick up printouts from the printer or file some papers. Choose tasks that involve walking, standing, and stretching.
• Take more frequent, but shorter, breaks.
• Stretch out on your breaks. Move those areas of your body that have been immobile. Rest areas of your body that have been strained.
• Buy a timer to remind you that it’s break time.
• Alter your sitting position periodically.
• Work at your computer while standing for a brief period.

—adapted from the University of California at Berkeley website

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IIa Focus: Literacy

The first national study of adult literacy in the United States since 1992 has found that American adults are reading magazines and newspapers about as well as they did a decade ago—but the population has made significant progress in quantitative literacy.

The National Assessment of Adult Literacy uses three categories to define English language literacy: prose, document and quantitative. Prose literacy includes the skill and ability to understand continuous text (newspaper articles, for example). Document literacy is the ability to understand the content and structure of documents (prescription drug labels, for example). Quantitative literacy involves using numbers in text (computing and comparing the cost of food per ounce, for example).

The study found that African Americans scored higher in 2003 than in 1992, increasing 16 points in quantitative, eight points in document and six points in prose literacy.

The report also showed that five percent of U.S. adults, about 11 million people, are termed “nonliterate” in English, which meant interviewers could not communicate with them or that they were unable to answer a minimum number of questions (below basic).

Hispanic adults showed a decrease in scores for both prose and document literacy and a higher per­centage in the below basic category.

Other findings:

• White adults’ scores were up nine points in quantitative, but were unchanged in prose and document literacy.
• Hispanic adults’ scores declined in prose and document literacy 18 points and 14 points, respectively, but were unchanged in quantitative literacy.
• Asian/Pacific Islanders’ scores increased 16 points in prose literacy, but were unchanged in document and quantitative literacy.
• Among those who spoke only Spanish before starting school, scores were down 17 points in prose and document literacy between 1992 and 2003.

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What I Learned About Self-Defense

by Helen Stacey

As the word spread throughout our office about a free self-defense class being offered to women on base, our IIa team here at the Eglin Education Center decided to participate. I wish I could say I was excited as the time rolled closer; however, I kept secretly thinking to myself ..Did I really want to give up a Saturday morning to learn how to defend myself?  After all, I’ve been around the block a couple of times and who would want to harm me for no reason?  The answer that kept popping up was always the same….yes!  So I joined Melanie Mendez, Jamie Rasmussen, and Stacey Lewis and I’m very glad I did.

Today, we just can’t take chances that “it only happens to other people.” We must all be aware of our surroundings and of anyone who would cause harm to us or our loved ones. I don’t think that it is necessary to go out and buy a weapon to defend yourself. There are ways to defend yourself when there is no weapon available.

During our training, I listened to the mother of a sixteen-year-old girl who was carjacked and brutally raped. The young lady, an honor roll student active in several extra curricular activities, went to the grocery store at a shopping mall near her home to buy cupcake holders for cupcakes she was making for school. In her haste to get back home and finish her baking, she did not notice the young man who approached her as she left the store. As she opened her car door, he reached around her, shoved her into the car, told her not to yell or he would kill her. He forced her to drive to a park and then raped her. When he was finished with her, he told her to drive in the opposite direction of her home or he would follow her and kill her family. Terrified, she drove to a friend’s home and then called the police.  Fortunately, she was able to identify her assailant and he was caught the next day. He confessed and DNA evidence proved he was the perpetrator.

In our self-defense class, in just a short 90-minute session we learned there are several things one can do to deter an attacker, both physically and mentally. If only this young lady had known a few of these factors, she may have prevented this from happening. The largest percentage of attackers are looking for a “power rush” and target people who they perceive to be the least resistant. The young lady was in a hurry and was unaware of her surroundings, which allowed her attacker to get close enough to her. She could have asserted herself by stating loudly, “GET AWAY .” If he kept coming, she should have yelled, “I said BACK OFF.” This action threatens the “power” attackers need and in many instances they will run away.

Although the young lady was tall and strong, her attacker was able to hold her down. We learned some techniques for that:

• how to twist out of a hold
• what to do when someone grabs you from behind
• which arm nerves are the most vulnerable to hit when you get loose
• keep calm and think about your next move
• once you are out of the person’s grip, get as far away as possible

Other self-defense tips include getting attention by yelling “FIRE” instead of crying for help. Although most people don’t want to get involved in what might be a domestic dispute, they will respond to a fire. Also, if someone approaches you in a parking lot and tries to carjack you, throw your keys as far away as you can. This will confuse your attacker and give you a chance to think about your next move.

If any part of this article helps one of our fellow employees at IIa think about how very important it is to be aware of things going on around you and how important it is to stay calm and to be able to identify someone to the police, then it was well worth writing.

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When I was 18... (crossword puzzle)

Have a little fun with our employee crossword puzzle. The employees included in the puzzle (by last name only) are:

Use last names only to fill in the puzzle answers. Watch your IIa e-mail for answers to this puzzle.