Cookin’ it up for Thanksgiving

For many Airmen at Ramstein, living overseas during the holidays can be very lonely and a homemade meal can be a great boost for morale. The Rheinland Inn Dining Facility showed their appreciation by providing a Thanksgiving meal for Airmen and their families Nov. 22.

“We’ve been getting ready for the Thanksgiving meal for three months now,” said Senior Airmen Flint Almiron, 86th Force Support Squadron food services. Preparing for the meal involved everything from arranging the facility seating to cooking the food.

“We have purchased a total of $4,251.55 worth of food for the Airmen and their families so they can have a warm meal for the holiday while being away from home,” said Staff Sgt. Brandon Carlson, 86th FSS food services. The dining facility anticipated a larger turnout than in previous years so more food was purchased.

“We are projecting a turnout of more than 500 Airmen and family members to come out to the facility,” said Carlson. The members of the dining facility worked harder than last year getting the food ready for the Airmen and families that came out. The dining facility had 14 military members and eight German national counterparts from its staff working. Everyone from first sergeants to commanders to spouses, a total of 68 volunteers, were on hand for 30-minute shifts, some working longer, to get the food prepared and served. Base leadership, such as, Lt. Gen. Noel T. Jones, U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa vice commander, Brig. Gen. C.K. Hyde, 86th Airlift Wing commander, Col. Kenneth Bibb Jr., 86th Airlift Wing vice commander, and Chief Master Sgt. James Morris, 86th Airlift Wing command chief, came out to carve and serve the Thanksgiving turkey to show their appreciation for all of the hardworking Airmen at Ramstein.

“I thought that it was very generous that our leadership came out to serve us food on Thanksgiving,” said Airman 1st Class Giovanni Pinzon, 86th Munitions Squadron tactical air munitions rapid response package. “It showed that they really care about the well-being of the Airmen living in the dorms.”

The 86th FSS was cookin’ it up to help the Airmen of the KMC and their families feel at home for the Thanksgiving holiday.