An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Base pits unit against unit in AFAF ‘Pog Wars’

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Kelly White
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Base leadership hopes to see units vie against one another in the spirit of giving during the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing's 2010 Air Force Assistance Fund "Commitment to Caring" campaign, which will kick off March 29 and run through May 7.

"The Air Force Assistance Fund campaign is a fundraiser that directly benefits Air Force personnel in all stages of their service. This campaign enables the Air Force Assistance Fund to have the resources when our Airmen need them," said Capt. Jennifer Eschbaugh, the base 2010 AFAF campaign project officer.

People may contribute in traditional ways; cash, check, money order or payroll deduction, but leadership here will also hold various fundraisers and donation campaigns to help reach the "Grand Slam" Wing's goal of $100,000.

"One of these fundraisers will be 'Pog Wars,'" said Capt. Nate Somers, 379th AEW section commander. "When members make a cash purchase at the BX or the (Desert Eagle Lounge), they get cash in the form of pogs - paper coins. Most people have a few pogs that are worth a little bit of money, but if everyone donates them during Pog Wars, the wing as a whole can make a pretty significant contribution to the AFAF campaign."

Each group will have a donation canister where members can donate both pogs and cash. The 5 cent and 10 cent Pogs count as positive points and the 25 cent Pogs and any cash count as negative points. Each week, the canisters will be tallied and totaled at the Group level for rankings. The group commander with the highest number of points at the end of "Pog Wars" will get to "slam" a pie if the face of the group commander with the lowest number of points.

"For example, if the (379th Expeditionary) Maintenance Group has a canister inside its building and a maintenance member puts a 5 cent Pog in the donation canister, EMXG will receive five positive points," Captain Somers said. "If I - a wing staff member - put a $1 cash donation in the EMXG canister, they get 100 negative points, putting their cumulative points at -95."

Each canister will also be available at a weekly "Pog War's Challenge" opportunity at Memorial Plaza. Here everyone will have an opportunity to place negative points in their rival's canister while participating in one of the 379th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron's programs.
"It's not necessarily about how many positive points your group collects; it's about how many negative points the other group collects," said Captain Eschbaugh. "So if you are down playing bingo or singing Karaoke, take a minute and throw a buck or two in another group's canister."

There will be multiple opportunities to donate to AFAF throughout the campaign and information will be posted regularly in the Daily Dispatch and on the Commander's Access Channel.

The AFAF is an annual fund raiser for charitable affiliates that supports Air Force active-duty, retirees, Reservists, Guard, their dependents and surviving spouses. For more AFAF information, log onto http://www.afassistancefund.org/ or see your Unit Project Officer.