Team Sheppard lets Airmen know 'we're here to help'

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jacob Corbin
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Team Sheppard got together April 24 to say good bye to 165 Airmen preparing to deploy across the globe and to pass on a simple message to those staying behind and those leaving - "we're here to help," the focus of the Deployment Expo held at the Community Activities Center.

Tech. Sgt. Erich Lofton, Airman and Family Readiness Flight noncommissioned officer, said the expo came about after they realized that families left behind when an Airman deploys weren't getting the services they needed.

"A lot of them were surprised by all the services we offer," he said. "They sometimes think they're the only ones, but find people they can relate to here (at the expo)."

Almost every agency capable of lending a helping hand to the families of those deploying was at the expo, trying to spread the word about what they were there for.

Col. Lansen Conley, 82nd Training Wing vice commander and one of the Team Sheppard members preparing for deployment, said spouses and family members should know "you're staying behind, and you're important too."

There was helpful information for everyone at the expo, whether an experienced military-to-military couple, spouses of deployed Airmen or a single Airman deploying for the first time.

"There's a lot of information about support for those deployed," said Senior Airman Kristopher Koelling, an air traffic controller with the 80th Operations Support Squadron.

Airman 1st Class Crystal Koelling, a surgical technician with the 82nd Medical Operation Squadron, said between her and her husbands supervisors and coworkers, they have a large support network.

It's that type of network the expo was geared at letting Airman and their families know what they have, not just from the numerous helping-hand agencies across Sheppard, but from those Team Sheppard members staying behind.

"Problems arise, things happen," said Lt. Col. Bruce Gooch, 82nd Mission Support Squadron commander, "but don't hesitate to pick up the phone and call that commander, that first sergeant or that helping hand agency. We're here to help, but we have to know what the problem is first to help."

The Airman and Family Readiness flight offers a wide array of services and programs to help Airmen and their dependents. For more information, call 676-4358.