17th AF reaches out on Facebook, Twitter

by Tech. Sgt. Alec Lloyd
17th Air Force


U.S. Air Forces Africa (17th Air Force) is now on Facebook and Twitter. The headquarters joins U.S. Africa Command and units across the Department of Defense on the social networking sites. Users can find links to articles and provide their own input by becoming “fans” of the U.S. Air Forces Africa page.
“More and more of our Airmen and their families are using social media for news and to stay connected,” said 17th AF Public Affairs Officer Maj. Paula Kurtz. “This is a great outlet for us to keep people informed about the partnerships we are building in Africa.”

Since its activation on Oct. 1, 2008, at Ramstein, 17th Air Force has kept a busy schedule. As the air component for U.S. Africa Command, the unit has planned and executed a continuous stream of Theater Security Cooperation events, military to military engagements and humanitarian assistance operations with various partner nations in Africa.

In addition, unit members in the logistics and communications fields are working hard to build the basic headquarters infrastructure around on-going operations.
While the ultimate goal may be to reach audiences outside the military, many unit members are excited about the new sites as well.

Senior Airman David Peters is a member of the 17th Air Force’s 617th Air Operations Center communications support team and a Facebook user.

“One of the big advantages is that lots of us use Facebook and we have a lot of pride in what we do,” he said. “Now we can show our pride in our unit to our friends and family.”

The pages can be reached by searching Facebook or Twitter for “U.S. Air Forces Africa.”