Mission Accomplished: AiTs, local families hook up for Operation Thanksgiving

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jacob Corbin
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Airman Colleen Dufford anxiously waited at the community activity center Nov. 22, ready to go home for a well-deserved Thanksgiving meal.

This was a special one, though - it was her first away from home since joining the Air Force and one that didn't have well-known family faces. It was with her surrogate holiday family as she and more than 360 Airmen in Training were welcomed into houses across the area as part of Operation Thanksgiving.

Even though she was spending a family-oriented day with strangers, she said her hosts, the Walkers, did more than enough to make it feel like home.

"When you are far away from home, it's nice to have somewhere to (get that feeling)," said Airman Dufford, an AiT at the 381st Training Squadron. "They made us feel very relaxed and comfortable. (It was) how Thanksgiving should be."

Host Christine Walker more than understood what some Airmen have experienced before Operation Thanksgiving came along. As a former hospital corpsman in the Navy, she said there were several holiday seasons when she didn't have a place to go.

"When I was in the military, we didn't have this," she said. "When I heard about (Operation Thanksgiving), I said, 'we are so doing this.'"

Those memories and a multitude of Airmen resulted in a Thanksgiving of playing cards, watching movies, baking cornbread and, of course, leaving a turkey carcass on the dining room table.

The scene was just about the same as 367 Airmen scattered across the Wichita Falls area, enjoying a day of fellowship, food and football. Chap. (Capt.) Darren Duncan of the 82nd Training Wing Chaplain Division said Operation Thanksgiving is all about bringing home to Airmen who can't go home.

"(It's) about brightening Thanksgiving for Airmen in Training by providing them an opportunity to enjoy a home-cooked meal in a local host family's home," he said. "It's a chance for them to get off base and be in a different surrounding - a chance for them to see how others celebrate their holidays."

For the Chaplain Division, the hard work and preparation for the event wasn't without reward. The 367 Airmen who signed up and the number of host families exceeded records in the program's more than 30-year history. In addition to those records, chaplain personnel had Airmen and families matched-up and out the door within 45 minutes.

With all the turkey and dressing, green bean casserole and warm dinner roles successfully eliminated, it's safe to tag this operation as mission accomplished.