Third Air Force plays Santa Claus for children in Sarajevo, Bosnia

***image1***Kris Kringle arrived a few days early for more than 120 young, unsuspecting patients of a children’s hospital in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, courtesy of the Third Air Force.

Lt. Gen. Rod Bishop, 3rd Air Force commander, and Chief Master Sgt. Martin Klukas, 3rd Air Force command chief, along with a team of volunteers from the 401st Air Expeditionary Wing donned red and white Santa Claus hats and delivered Christmas cheer to the young patients.

During the visit, they gave the children toys and gifts which were gathered by the 3rd AF members at Ramstein.

“Delivering toys to these wonderful children is the right thing to do,” General Bishop said. “This effort shows the people of Sarajevo that the United States Air Force supports their community.”

The hospital visit was part of a morale trip to deployed troops in Europe. General Bishop and his team visited deployers and personally thanked the troops in Sarajevo; Pristina, Kosovo; Incirlik, Turkey; and Akrotiri, Crete.

“These great men and women are the reason I enjoy coming to work,” General Bishop said. “I work with some of the best, brightest and most dedicated Airmen in our nation. Their forward presence is just another testament to that fact.”
 
In all, 3rd Air Force has more than 150 warriors currently deployed in various locations in support of operations in the European theater.