• Everyone’s abuzz this morning concerning President-elect Barack Obama’s appointment of Illinois Rep. Ray LaHood as the next Secretary of Transportation. Check out a wide range of “Daily Aviation Media” stories concerning his appointment here.

• Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Contributions for 2009

Read more »

If you haven't had the opportunity to explore the FAA Today newsletter, do so...This daily report is published M-F at 11 A.M. EDT. Today's newsletter 12/12/08 "In the Media" section features an interesting article concerning ATC hiring. You will also find a very telling and easy to read performance measuring tool on the right, plus an operational update that explains the previous days' traffic flow using controller lingo. A system outlook section rounds out the report for the remainder of the day.

ATO Senior Vice President for NextGen and Operations Planning Vicki Cox, gives a very interesting radio interview to Federal News Radio concerning ADS-B deployment. You can also hear Mrs. Cox deliver the high speed version of NextGen deployment from the ATO website. It is the long version, so grab a cup.

Finally, a major part of the new hire package is located here. Enjoy the tour and enjoy the weekend.

You are now part of one of the best teams in the world. Your career in the ATO will be what you make of it. Opportunities abound, both locally and nationally. The Memphis Center New Hire Initiative Team has prepared the Facility Orientation Guide to help get you started on your journey. It contains specific information about who’s who at Memphis Center (ZME), our expectations of you, and answers questions about parking, security and reporting for duty. The guide also has information about the Memphis area such as climate, sports, entertainment, and education. We hope it is helpful and we always welcome feedback for improvement.

Tony Branham
ZME FLM

*Admin Note* Orientation guides for additional facilities will be available on our site soon. Stay tuned!

One of the attributes of blogging is the ability to access information quickly. In addition to our comprehensive listing of employee and public websites on the right side of our page, we would like to offer a quick link option on our site.

In the next few days we will be begin to build this list. With your help, we would like you to send in your "TOP TEN" most important and useful ATO related links, such as the ATO Employees Web Site, Employee Express, TSP etc. Enjoy...

Quote of the Day:

It is time for us all to stand and cheer for the doer, the achiever -- the one who recognizes the challenges and does something about it.
Vince Lombardi

Everyone knows what URET and ERIDS stands for right? How about Techops, and Sysops. Care to try, JPDO or AMASS?

My Point? The ATO has a distinct language all its own and the sooner you can adapt to that language the better.

For now we have included a frequently used acronym link on the blog, and we hope to expand this section with your help. Please check the link in the nav bar on the right. If you cannot find what you are looking for send us a comment and we will spread it across the blog for more exposure.

In addition the ATO employees web site has an extensive list here to help you get started. Or simply go to the NAS Architecture Navigation site to do your own search.