WEBVTT

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(intense music)

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- Hello, 127th wing and
welcome to the December drill.

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I'm General Mammen and
today, we're filming

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from the communications focal point here

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in the 127th wing.

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I want you to everybody to remember

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that the communications
systems that we have

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within the Air Force are
considered a weapon system.

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That is a weapon system
is managed all the way

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at the highest levels of
the Air Force and also,

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down to the local level here

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in the communications focal point.

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So they do some really,
really great work down here,

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but I got to tell you,
they are busy every day.

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Now, I'd like to give the
wing a quick COVID update.

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Today, we are still in health
protection condition Charlie.

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We've been in HP con
Charlie since last March,

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but we've been maneuvering
within HP con Charlie

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to give a little bit more flexibility

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to organizations throughout the year.

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This last month though
has been a challenge.

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We've had an increase in COVID
positives here on the base

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and we've decided to really
take additional actions

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within HP con Charlie to
help protect you, the force.

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Some of the actions that we have taken

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to help protect the force
include increased teleworking.

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We've also reduced meeting sizes.

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With that, we've leveraged
technology for example,

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teams to facilitate meetings.

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So a lot more things have
been accomplished online.

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We've shifted schedules for
people who can't telework

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in order to reduce the footprint
of people here on the base.

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And we've aggressively quarantine members

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that may have been exposed to COVID-19.

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So we're not out of the woods yet,

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but we're cautiously optimistic.

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But what I do ask everyone to
do is to still pay attention

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to mask usage, social
distancing and good hygiene.

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It is so important.

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All the evidence shows that

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that will help us prevent
the spread of COVID-19.

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So when I think of the discipline
required to wear the mask

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and social distance and use good hygiene,

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I think of professionalism.

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So I ask you to adhere
to that culture every day

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and wear your mask, social distance

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and practice good hygiene.

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This year has been an
incredibly busy year,

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despite the COVID pandemic.

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So let me hit a couple highlights

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of what we've accomplished
throughout the year.

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The operations group went and
deployed to winter basing down

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in Florida for two weeks.

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The air fielding group was
in Guam and they returned

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in the middle of a pandemic.

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And then they turned around
and deployed more aircraft

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and more airmen to CENTCOM in the middle

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of a COVID pandemic.

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On top of that, we had over
20 defenders who are deployed

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for six months to CENTCOM and
they were extended two months

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due to the COVID pandemic.

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All just amazing work from
a deployment perspective.

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When I think of one word
to describe our culture

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with all of those deployments
and everything that we did

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to support those deployments,
I think of strong.

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You are strong this year and
it matches up to what you want

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as a culture in the 127th wing.

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This year, we also had
several distinguished visitors

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come through Selfridge.

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We had the president of the United States

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come through in January.

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We had the vice president
of the United States

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come through in June.

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We had the secretary of the Air Force,

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the vice chief of the
National Guard Bureau

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and the executive director
of the Readiness Center

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were all here in November.

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Each one of those visits
went without a hitch.

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And that is a testament
to the professionalism

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of everybody here in the
wing and it really shows

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how we are effective as an organization.

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Again, one of those words

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that you want the 127th wing to be.

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Now, the secretary of the
Air Force was here primarily

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to recognize Major Brett DeVries

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with a distinguished flying cross.

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Major Devries earned the
distinguished flying cross

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when he displayed superior airmanship

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in a flight back in 2017.

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He was strafing a target
at the grayling range

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and the gun exploded.

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That resulted in the
canopy being jettisoned

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and numerous panels being
blown off the aircraft.

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He ended up having to land that aircraft

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without landing gear
and with the canopy off.

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That airplane will come
back to service soon.

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This is not only a testament
to Brett DeVries's airmanship

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and his heroism, but also to all those

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who supported him throughout this.

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His wingman, Major Shannon
Vickers did a fantastic job,

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helping him recover
that crippled aircraft.

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When I think of that story,
I go back to my word grid

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and I think of two more words.

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I think of proud and I think of inspiring.

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Major DeVries made me
proud and I'm inspired

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by what he did, well done.

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This year, our community
and Selfridge lost a hero.

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Lieutenant Colonel retired, Digger Odell

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who was a prisoner of
war in the Hanoi Hilton

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for almost six years,
passed away this year.

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Digger Odell has been a cornerstone

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of Michigan communities and
he's been an absolute advocate

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for Selfridge Air National guard base

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and everybody who works here.

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We will remember his efforts
and his contributions

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to not only our military,
but to our community fondly.

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Now I'd like to hand it off
to command chief Gordon.

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He's at the fire department
and he has a few words

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for you as well.

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- Thank you, General Mammen.

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Team Selfridge, I'm coming at you today

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from your very own 127th
wing fire department.

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These unsung heroes are without a doubt,

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the best trained and best
equipped firefighters

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that you'll find anywhere in the world.

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They stand ready, 24/7, 365 days a year

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to protect life, property
and the assets that we need

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to perform our wartime mission.

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Now, here with me today is one
of our newest firefighters,

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senior airman, Matthew Shaver.

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He is fresh out of fire school,

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where he was named top honor graduate.

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Airman Shaver, I'm dang glad to have you

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and welcome to the team.

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- Thank you, Chief Gordon.

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I'm happy to be here.

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This month, I want to
talk to you a little bit

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about fire safety during
the holiday season.

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Many fires this time of year are a result

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of electrical short
circuit or faulty wiring.

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However, there are some
things that we can do

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to mitigate the risk of electrical fires

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during the holiday season.

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First, be careful not to
overload electrical outlets

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with too many decorations.

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These outlets can become
overheated and cause fire

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and never connect more than three strings

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of lights together.

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Secondly, always inspect your light cords

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and your extension cords
for damage before use.

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Any damage found on that wiring,

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those wires need to be
immediately discarded.

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Next, if you have a live Christmas tree,

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make sure that you water it often.

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A dried Christmas tree is
more likely to catch fire.

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And lastly, ensure that all
outdoor lighting is plugged

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into ground fault circuit interrupters,

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more commonly known as GFCIs.

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Team, take care of yourselves
and take care of one another

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this holiday season.

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And remember, we are all in this together.

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My best to you and your families.

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Now, back to you, General Mammen.

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- Thanks, Chief, so now
let's look at December drill.

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This drill will be lightly attended

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as we have done in previous drills.

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And the reason behind that
is the COVID pandemic.

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I've given squatter commanders
maximum flexibility to one,

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maintain readiness, but at the same time,

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maintain the health and
safety of every person here

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on this base.

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This drill, we are going to recognize

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our outstanding airman of the year.

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We'll get more information
out to you on how we're going

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to do that as we move forward.

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And with that, I want to
talk about one more word

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on the word grid and that is connected.

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This pandemic that we're living
in right now has been very,

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very difficult for all
airman to stay connected

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with each other.

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Going into the Christmas
holidays and the New Year's,

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I ask every airman to connect
with your wingman out there.

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Talk to them, see how they're doing,

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make sure that we're all being resilient.

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I want everybody to be back
here safely in January.

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So again, please reach
out and stay connected.

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Just remember, we have tools available

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to help airmen in need.

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We have financial resources.

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We have counseling resources.

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We have our wing app that has
amazing information on there.

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So please, leverage what you
can and please stay connected.

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Thank you for your
leadership and thank you

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for your professionalism.