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BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. – Imagine you’re a young adult who entered the Air Force a year or two ago. You’ve spent countless hours adjusting to military life, learning your Air Force Specialty Code and living away from home for the first time and the holidays are fast approaching.
You want to go home and see your family but unfortunately, you don’t have the money to buy your plane ticket. But then your supervisor tells you about a program called Operation Bright Holiday, a base initiative where the program will buy your ticket home for the holidays. For Airmen stationed here, this isn’t an imaginary scenario but a reality.
“I visited the dorms during the holidays to check on the Airmen, and I saw all these new Airmen not returning home,” said retired Col. West Anderson, former 2nd Bomb Wing vice commander and creator of Operation Bright Holiday. “It broke my heart, and I wanted to be able to do something about it.”
Since its launch in 2008, the program has sent over 1,600 Airmen home to their families for the holidays. To date, its numbers and locations Airmen have been sent to have grown significantly.
“We’ve sent Airmen home to places like Nigeria, Portugal, Guam, Peru, and Thailand,” said Capt. Gideon Wiff, 2nd Logistics Readiness Squadron vehicle management flight commander and event coordinator. “They have family back there, and those ticket prices can become a huge factor in why the Airmen cannot go home for the holidays.”
The success of the program wouldn’t be possible without the funds raised from events across Barksdale. The next fundraising event is Oktoberfest, which is scheduled for Oct. 4, 2024, 4 p.m.- 8 p.m, at the FSS Multiplex at Fox Run.
“Oktoberfest is where Barksdale can come together as a base to help improve the lives of our Airmen,” said Wiff. “Even just buying a ticket to come out and enjoy the camaraderie and have a good time is how everyone can get involved.”
Tickets can be purchased online, accessible by a QR code attached to flyers sent out through the Barksdale Bulletin and marquees around base. The event will include festivities such as a band, contests, costumes and German food. Donations can also be made by purchasing morale patches and shirts. All of the proceeds from funds gathered will be put towards the OBH program.
“Our Airmen put in a tremendous amount of work to support our long-range strike mission,” said Col. Erick Lord, 2nd Bomb Wing deputy commander. “For them, starting a new life as a young adult away from the comfort of their family and friends can be very challenging. Operation Bright Holiday is one of the ways we give back to our first term Airmen. Oktoberfest plays a crucial role in the program’s success, and I encourage everyone to come out and support this incredible cause, ensuring we can send as many Airmen home as possible.”
In 2023, over $27,000 in donations were raised through fundraisers for OBH. As a result, 30 Airmen had the opportunity to go home to see their loved ones during the holiday season. To apply, junior Airmen can reach out to their squadron’s first sergeants for applications, which require information about the Airman and details of their desired travel. Once submissions are reviewed, selected Airmen will be notified and will have their holiday travel funded.
| Date Taken: | 09.17.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.17.2024 16:12 |
| Story ID: | 481105 |
| Location: | BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, LOUISIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 13 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Operation Bright Holiday lights the way home for Airmen, by Amn Preston Crawford, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
