First lady visits RAF Mildenhall, meets military families

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Austin M. May
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
ROYAL AIR FORCE MILDENHALL, England (AFNS) --  Military families stationed in the United Kingdom had the opportunity to meet the first lady of the United States on July 29, before she returned home after attending the opening ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympics.

Michelle Obama took about 30 minutes here to personally meet more than 150 family members stationed across the U.K. at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, RAF Lakenheath and geographically separated locations hosting the 501st Combat Support Wing.

The visit was one of two opportunities the first lady took to interact with children of American service members. As part of her "Let's Move!" campaign against childhood obesity, Obama invited about 1,000 American and British children to play games and sports with her and Olympic athletes at the residence of the U.S. ambassador to the U.K. on July 27. The event was held in conjunction with the start of the Olympic Games in London.

Obama's stop at RAF Mildenhall, which was the first time she has visited the East Anglia base, was part of her "Joining Forces" initiative to honor and support military families.

Master Sgt. Karian Roa, of the 100th Logistics Readiness Squadron, took her 4-year-old daughter to meet the first lady, and said although she may not understand the experience now, she has lots of pictures to remind her when she gets older of the "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Another young visitor, 8-year-old Phoenix Stanford, daughter of Senny and Master Sgt. David Stanford, of the 100th Maintenance Squadron, was well-aware of who she was meeting because she also attended the "Let's Move!" event in London.

"It felt amazing!" Phoenix told reporters, when asked about the experience.