Operation Together and Ready a success with children, parents

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jerilyn Quintanilla
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF Mildenhall, England --  Bundled up and soaking wet from head to toe can be expected here, but on April 28, the children participating in Operation Together and Ready were all smiles despite the dreary weather.

More than 115 children and their families attended Operation Together and Ready, a deployment event specifically geared towards educating children on the deployment process.

The simulated deployment consisted of three phases: Phase I - the processing line, Phase II - deployment, Phase III - the welcome home party.

Phase I began upon arrival. Children signed up and were placed into their designated "chalks" and bused to the 100th Logistics Readiness Squadron warehouse. There the children met representatives from organizations Airmen would see in a typical deployment processing line: immunizations, the chapel, the legal office, the Airman and Family Readiness Center, and finance. They also received an intelligence briefing and a commander briefing. To complete the processing line experience, every child received a pair of dog tags.

From there, everyone was transported by bus to Base "X" located in Hangar 814, for Phase II.

This phase featured a number of activities and demonstrations from various base organizations including the 100th Security Forces Squadron, 48th Civil Engineer Squadron Explosive Ordnance Disposal flight, 100th CES Emergency management and the 100th Operations Support Squadron, among others. A KC-135 Stratotanker static display was also available for children to tour.

Upon completion of the deployment, the families returned back by bus, heading for the final phase - their "welcome home."

They were greeted with decorative signs celebrating their return and lunch consisting of hotdogs, chips, drinks and dessert provided by families from the 100th LRS.

"This event gives children a positive emotion towards deployment and helps them understand what their parents go through when they deploy," said Sharon Rector, 100th Force Support Squadron Caring for People coordinator and event chairperson. "It's also a great tool for parents to use when explaining deployments to their children."

More than 100 Airmen and base community members volunteered their time to make the event memorable.

The event proved to be a success with the parents as well as the children.

"To quote my son (Tryston, 8) when he got off the bus at the welcome home party, 'Wow daddy that deployment rocked!'" said Tech Sgt. Jeff Bellon, 100th FSS. "I've never attended an event like this, and I truly feel that my son was given a small slice of what we go through; definitely worth the time we spent out there."