CARE Central: Airmen taking care of Airmen

Published March 21, 2012
By Tech. Sgt. Chyenne A. Adams
Air Force District of Washington Public Affairs

Joint Base Andrews, Md. -- A large group of Air Force District of Washington Airmen gathered recently to show they care about their fellow Airmen by packing up Easter care packages for deployed troops.

"I was deployed to Afghanistan this time last year and received the Easter care package," said Col. Steve Franklin, AFDW chief of safety. "Personally, I was very humbled by the size of the shipment. I had seen office care packages for deployed members in the past, but they paled in comparison to what I received from AFDW. It was, of course, way more than I needed so it was great to share with the other Airmen who worked with me and were not as well supported from the home front."

Most of the materials were donations from the AFDW family and the community.

"It's heartwarming to see that people genuinely want to help take care of our deployed Airmen, both military and civilian," said Annette Bonaro, AFDW unit deployment manager. "CARE Package Central gives them the opportunity to do so. Many of our AFDW family members donated snacks, packing paper, boxes and funding for this shipment. But, there are other cheerful givers within our local community and across the nation who helped, too. Donations came in from Waldorf, Richmond, and as far away as Wisconsin and Michigan."

The group carefully packed up more than 10 boxes with treats ranging from chocolate bunnies to bunny ears.

"While I was deployed I received Christmas and Easter-themed packages," said Senior Master Sgt. Mark Thrower, AFDW explosive ordnance functional manager. "When you are deployed as much as EOD guys are, you usually have two types of people - those who enjoy celebrating the holidays and those who prefer not to because it's a reminder of another holiday spent away from their families. On my last deployment, the team I was with were the ones not too fond of being reminded; so I used the little Christmas tree, lights and decorations to make my 6-by-10-foot plywood living space pretty festive and sent pictures of it home to the family. It really did make the holidays a little more enjoyable, being that I wasn't able to spend them with my family. It was nice to know someone took the time out of their busy schedule back home to do something nice for me halfway around the world."

Enlisted, officers and civilians came together to "pay it forward" according to Staff Sgt. Sean Crowe, AFDW contracting division.

"The care package from my AFDW family could not have come at a better time. The base I was deploying to was drawing down and many of the facilities, including the base exchange, were limiting their supplies or closing. Toiletries, snacks, and other items were hard to come by," he said. "The AFDW care packages provided my fellow deployers and I with more than we could have hoped for. We all wanted to pass on our true appreciation for the time, money and effort of my AFDW family. That's why I decided I would pay it forward by volunteering my time to put care packages together for other AFDW family members who are now deployed."

Headquarters AFDW currently has Airmen serving in countries such as Africa, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Curacao, Qatar, and Kuwait. Along with those deployed Airmen, packages were sent to a few "adopted" troops as well, according to Bonaro. A total of 20 care packages were mailed earlier this month and more than half have already been received.

For more information about the care package program, including what items are needed for the next round of packages, and how to volunteer or support, contact the AFDW UDM at annette.bonaro@afncr.af.mil or 240-612-4486.

You can also "Like" the CARE Package Central Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CARE-Package-Central to see thank you notes from deployed Airmen.