Mildenhall Airman, team help keep citizens warm and dry

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jerilyn Quintanilla
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  A deployed Airman from RAF Mildenhall, and his team, recently delivered a much-needed break from the cold to the families of Talas City, Kyrgystan.

Tech. Sgt. Karl Ferree, 376th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, and his team of 12 military members, took part in Operation Warm and Dry, a major project at the Transit Center at Manas. More than 740 jackets and 736 blankets- totaling approximately $300,000- were purchased from local vendors to be distributed to families in need.

The team travelled 180 miles in four days to Talas City and came bearing the gifts.

"I have always enjoyed the humanitarian side of my job," Ferree said. "The feeling of satisfaction it gives you, to make someone's life a little bit better, is like nothing else."

They made five stops, the most memorable being at the Pokrovka Rehabilitation Orphanage for Disabled Children.

"We were all excited to go; it's always fun to bring smiles and happiness on our trips," said Lt. Col. Adam Rutherford, director of TSC, deployed from Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.

He added that even though the children were handicapped with painful disabilities, they were excited and thankful to receive the jackets and blankets.

"[This trip] was a reminder to be thankful for your health and well-being," he said.

Operation Warm and Dry is sponsored by the Transit Center in Manas, the Kyrgyz Republic and the U.S. Embassy.

(Senior Airman Lynsie Nichols, 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs, contributed to this article)