Retirees honored on Retiree Appreciation Day, every day

The KMC Retiree Council and the 86th Airlift Wing Retiree Activities Office hosted Retiree Appreciation Day Wednesday at the Ramstein Officers’ Club.

As a required event by Army and Air Force regulations, RAD allows active-duty service members to take time to honor retirees who have served before them.

RAD serves as an informational fair for retirees in the KMC as well as a stage to pay tribute to service members’ predecessors. Veterans were able to obtain information on the services and entitlements available to them.

However, RAD is not the only day when service members can show their appreciation to the forerunners of current and future armed forces members.

Working hand-in-hand with the RAO, the KMC Retiree Council, which consists of retirees from the Army and Air Force, strives to get announcements, newsletters and other information about benefits and events out for retirees in the area. While most retirees and surviving spouses receive this information via email, some still get it through regular mail.

Other units and offices have also done their part to show appreciation to retirees. The 86th Dental Squadron set aside a Saturday in early spring just for retirees’ dental appointments, and both the optometry and ophthalmology clinics at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center provide special clinic days throughout the year.

Dental Activity Baum-holder has set up more than 100 appointments on Saturday for retirees, while other agencies help support the RAD by providing funds to rent out the suites at the Ramstein Officers’ Club.

Retired Chief Master Sgt. Jim Barrante said these events are only a few ways to show appreciation to veterans. In fact, he said the planning for next year’s RAD is already under way.

For more information about RAD or the KMC Retiree Council, call the Ramstein RAO at 480-5486 or 06371-47-5486.

(Information for this article was provided by Jim Barrante)