Tigers women's basketball program gaining attention with their winning ways

Tigers women's basketball program gaining attention with their winning ways
By:  Michael G. Lander
This article was originally written on February 2, 2012 and posted on February 14th.


When it comes to sports in Memphis, the men’s basketball program at the University of Memphis may be one of the biggest attractions in town, but they might soon have to share some of that limelight with another up-and-coming team at the University of Memphis.  The women’s basketball team, led by Coach Melissa McFerrin, has, with far less fanfare, quickly and almost surreptitiously, turned their struggling program around and made it into a top Conference USA contender.
“Since my first press conference as the women’s basketball head coach, my goal has been to win more games and for the team to get to the NCAA tournament,” McFerrin said during a press conference Wednesday at the University of Memphis.
McFerrin is in her fourth year as head coach and her team currently has a 16-4 record this season and is 6-1 in C-USA.
The coach attributes her team’s success to playing a high tempo game, being tenacious in their offense, and being, as she said, “one of the top teams in the nation in rebounds and scoring.”  
Despite the confidence that she has in her team, and the success that she and her team have experienced this season, she is not willing to ever underestimate her opponents.  She always approaches each game, she said, "as if we were the underdog."
Part of McFerrin's success lies in what she and her team do on the court and in what happens before any of her players play their first game.  The coach puts a lot emphasis on her players and believes that her role really starts early in the recruiting process.  It is there, she said, that she tries to “create a great degree of trust with the players and their parents.”  From that point forward, she strives to challenge her players and to help them to develop the best that they have within themselves. 
Two of the players who have greatly contributed to the team and its success, McFerrin said, were her guards, Brittany Carter and Ramses Lonlack.  Both are seniors and are leading scorers for the team.  These players, she said, "have been the heart of the team.  From the beginning, they believed in the vision that we had."  It may be their belief in that vision and in themselves, that has led all of them to be where they are today.
Since she arrived as head coach in 2008, the University of Memphis women's basketball team has compiled an overall 69-49 record.  Since their 11-18 record in 2008-2009, the women's team has improved to 20-15 in 2009-2010 and 21-13 in 2010-2011.  It was last year, in the 2010-2011 season, that McFerrin led her team to the conference tournament semifinals.  In mid-2011, the University of Memphis extended her contract to carry her through the 2015-16 season.

Coach Melissa McFerrin at the first Conference USA tournament game between the University of Memphis Women Tigers and Southern Methodist University Mustangs on March 8th.  The Tigers won 77-67 in this first round Conference USA tournament game.

Conference USA tournament game between the University of Memphis Women Tigers and Southern Methodist University Mustangs on March 8th.

Brittany Carter, University of Memphis Women Tiger's Guard, is fouled by a Southern Methodist University Mustangs player as she attempts to score during the Conference USA tournament game on March 8th.  The Tigers won this first round game 77-67.

Normandy - 56 Years Later

Normandy - 56 Years Later

By:  SMSgt Michael G. Lander (164th Operations Support Flight)
This article was originally published in "The River City Flyer" (a newspaper of the 164th Airlift Wing, Memphis, TN) in October 2000. 

Photo Collage Credit:  SMSgt Ron Brotherton

Over half a century has passed since the D-day invasion that took place on June 6, 1944.  On this day, brave and courageous soldiers were part of an Allied Force that stormed the beaches of the Normandy coastline in France in a liberation operation that was given the name of "Overlord" in World War II.
During the first week in June of this year, members from the 164th Airlift Wing deployed to Normandy to participate in commemoration ceremonies as part of the 56th Anniversary of the historical event.
After arriving in France, members of the 164 AW flew the unit's C-141C aircraft from a city called Cherbourg, France to a drop zone named "Iron Mike."  From there, the 164th Airlift Wing airlifted Army paratroopers from the 507th Infantry and Ranger Brigade who jumped from a static line at 1000 feet while other paratroopers jumped from a High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) at 10,000 feet.
Although the circumstances were much different than in the original invasion, the mission with Army paratroopers as slightly reminiscent of what had occurred over fifty-six years ago when the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions were dropped south and west of Utah Beach in the first few hours of June 6, 1944.
For most of the aircrew from the 164th, the mission was one of the best that they have ever had the opportunity to go on.  Aside from being a part of this event, the crew was able to tour many of the places where the fighting in WWII had occurred, along with several museums, and the town of St Mere Eglise, which was the first place that was liberated by the Americans after the invasion had taken place.
In addition to this, they also visited the cemeteries where thousands of brave soldiers were laid to rest after having made the ultimate sacrifice that not only saved the world from Nazi terror, but helped to bring about peace and freedom to countless generations of other people.
Among the many impressions that this trip had on its crew, most expressed how awestruck they were with the formidable terrain and other obstacles that these soldiers had to overcome.
"It almost seemed impossible to me that any of them could have ever made it through it," TSgt Donnie Russum said.
One of the 164 AW pilots, Maj J.D. Miller, said that he seemed particularly impressed with the people who live in and around Normandy.  "Even after all these years since the invasion took place, these folks haven't forgotten and are still very appreciative of the sacrifices that were made," he said.
All in all, the 164th Airlift Wing not only contributed to this commemorative event, but it also left an indelible and long-lasting mark on all those who went.

Getting from Here.... to There.... (and Back)

Getting from Here..... to There..... (and Back)

By:  SMSgt Michael G. Lander (164th Operations Support Flight)
This article was originally published in "The River City Flyer" (a newspaper of the 164th Airlift Wing, Memphis, TN) in April 2000. 

Members of Current Operations discuss plans for future missions.  The Current Operations section includes, from left to right, SMSgt Billy Baxter, MSgt Lynn Moak, MSgt Norvel Adkins, TSgt Lloyd Inlow, MSgt Michael Horton, and MSgt Serge Trullet.  (Photo Credit:  Maj Janet Brady)

There is one office within Operations that is primarily responsible for much of the planning and preparation that comes with putting our unit's missions together.
Even though only a handful of people outside of Operations and Maintenance even know about them, it is our Current Operations section which deserves much of the credit for building our unit's missions.
"Most of the missions that we fly basically begin and end in Current Operations," SMSgt Billy Baxter explains.  He, along with five others who work for him, shares the responsibility of getting missions off the ground, so to speak.  These individuals are Master Sergeants Serge Trullet, Michael Horton, Norvel Adkins, Lynn Moak, and TSgt LLoyd Inlow.
Together, they make up a section that has often been referred to as "the heartbeat of Operations."  "This label is very likely attributed to them because they are essentially the driving force behind everything else that happens within Operations itself," Lt Col Harry D. Montgomery, director of Operations, said.
"Although there are various ways that this unit picks up missions that it ends up flying, most are bid for at conferences or come directly to us from those who are requesting the airlift support," SMSgt Baxter explained.
After it is determined whether or not our unit will be able to do a mission, it is the job of Current Operations to do much of the preparatory work that is involved in putting a mission together.  This often includes Maintenance and with those who are needing the airlift support, getting diplomatic clearances into foreign airspace, and briefing crews as to what they should expect to encounter on each leg of their mission.
"Missions don't just come together on their own," Lt Col Mac Holmes, 155th Airlift Squadron Commander, said.  "It is our Current Operations section who has to pull everything together and make it all happen and the continued success of our missions could very likely be attributed, at least in part, to their hard work," Lt Col Holmes added.

Where Teamwork is the Name of the Game
By:  SMSgt Michael G. Lander (164th Operations Support Flight)
This article was originally published in "The River City Flyer" (a newspaper of the 164th Airlift Wing, Memphis, TN) in March 2000. 

Instructors John Pegg, standing, & Martin Donnelly, seated center back, of Crew Training International, teach members of Operations the finer points of Crew Resource Management.  (Photo Credit:  Maj Janet Brady).

Nearly everyday of the week, the 164th Airlift Wing has one or more planes and crews flying to or from any given place around the world.
"Although we have flown a lot of AMC Channel missions to South America," Lt Col Harry D. Montgomery, Jr concedes, "we also fly many air refueling, airdrops, locals, and Guardlift missions too."  As the Director of Operations, Lt Col Montgomery oversees most of the flight operations that occur on a day-to-day basis and makes sure that the unit meets all of its airlift requirements.
According to Lt Col Montgomery, "It is our job to have trained aircrews who are always ready to provide strategic airlift whether it is in support of the Air Force or the Air National Guard."
The ability to accomplish this daunting task of flying missions anywhere at anytime is not something that is done exclusively by Operations however.  It takes the combined efforts of everyone.  "Everyone on base contributes in some way," says SMSgt Billy Baxter who is in charge of the 155th Airlift Squadron's Current Operations.
"There is no aspect in or out of our unit's C-141C aircraft that does not require some teamwork," the 164th Operations Group Commander, Lt Col David N. Burton acknowledges.  "This is especially important when one considers the nature of the business that we are in."
As valuable as this might be to those who fly around in an aircraft that weighs over 300,000 pounds, there are still others on this base for which the need for teamwork could also apply.
"Nobody can downplay the role of other units like that of Maintenance because without them, and the job that they do as a team, we wouldn't be able to do our part," Lt Col Burton contends.
As for this unit's aircrew members, from the time that they begin their pre-flight procedures until the time that the chalks are put down and the post-mission debrief is done, they must work together, and rely on each other, to safely and effectively get the job done.  Crew members understand the importance of this and refer to it as "crew resource management," or CRM for short. 
For laymen, this concept could best be summed up or described as "teamwork in action."  Crews are trained to listen, to give feedback, to minimize conflict, and to work together as one cohesive unit.  This team-inspired approach is often described by MSgt Serge Trullet, a flight engineer, as "leadership with participation and assertiveness with respect."
Even though the military's use of the acronym of CRM is no more than a decade and a half old, several members in this unit would be quick to point out that they have been aware of it even longer than that.
While some may have learned of its value through experience, others were introduced to it through the commercial aviation industry several years before the military adopted it for its aircrews.
Whether you call it CRM, or simply look at it as the accumulative efforts of people just working together toward the same objective, the results are still very much the same.  The unit regularly flies various missions around the world and, as a team, this unit has successfully maintained an outstanding flying safety record with no Class-A mishaps for over 85,000 flying hours.
In the first three months of this year, our aircrew personnel are receiving a CRM course led by the company Crew Training International (CTI) in Memphis, Tenn. 
"Although the training is not anything new to many of our people," Lt Col Montgomery said, "it is something that can never be stressed enough."
With a strong emphasis on problem-resolution and instruction on how to work more effectively with others, "CRM is something that can even be taken outside of the cockpit and used in any other work environment," Lt Col Montgomery said.  "And if it were done, everybody would benefit from it."

MSgt Bob Callahan, left, & Maj Brian
Bailey, right, both of the 155th Airlift
Squadron, listen to classroom exercise
explanations from their instructors.
(Photo Credit:  Maj Janet Brady)

SSgt John Brown, left, and SSgt
Wanda Farmer, right, both of the
155th Airlift Squadron, listen to
directions for a team-building
exercise.