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Honoring those who served

  • Published
  • By Col. Michael Hornitschek
  • 375th Air Mobility Wing commander
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  This past Saturday, Scott AFB celebrated the proud accomplishments and rich heritage of the Air Force with a 63rd anniversary ball for the ages--I have to immensely thank the Air Force Ball Committee for all of the long hours spent planning and delivering such a showcase event. Everyone had a spectacular time.

This coming Saturday another committee of Team Scott volunteers will help the base celebrate its 25th Annual Retiree Appreciation Day as a salute to these men and women not only for their past service which helped define 63 years of full spectrum Air Force excellence or the proud accomplishments of the services to which they belonged, but also for the service they continue to provide to our great Air Force and nation still to this day.

Our military retirees bring with them not only a great wealth of knowledge and experience, but also traditions and wonderful stories they share with those still wearing the uniform. Many continue to serve as government service employees, becoming the all-important continuity in an otherwise high-turnover/high-TDY Air Force.

Others establish lives in the private sector, continuing to represent military traditions at work and in their local civilian communities. Many others volunteer their time back to supporting their military community, such as directing our Lost and Found area during our recent air show or dispensing prescriptions in our pharmacies. They staff our Retiree Affairs Office, serving as conduits of current information for those who have left the service of our nation. Without these volunteers, many of our quality programs and community services would not exist.

For these reasons, we set aside a day to thank them for their service and show our appreciation. We recognize and appreciate retirees and their families as an integral, contributing, and extremely valuable part of our community. They help unify the active duty and retired communities.

During Saturday's Retiree Appreciation Day that starts with a continental breakfast and guest speakers, there'll be booths with a great deal of literature, handouts, and information that highlight varied topics of interest designed for the retiree population. In a new addition to our RAD program, we're also set to showcase our work areas and missions of today by providing tours of our aircraft, fire department, and military working dogs , as well as give our retirees an opportunity to taste of some of the great food in our dining facilities (and hear a surprise announcement regarding the future use of the dining facility by our retirees).

My message to our retired community is that we care about you and are grateful for your contributions to our mission, our communities and our families. We in America's heartland at Scott AFB, along with our families and friends, continue a proud tradition of caring and deeply honoring all military retirees from the United States Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard and their families during our 2010 Retiree Appreciation Day.

Keep a look out for the detailed schedule of events and please come on out and enjoy the day with us in AMC's Showcase Wing!