887th Airmen rebuild playground for visiting children Published June 11, 2009 By 1st Lt. Kristopher Juhl 887th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron CAMP BUCCA, Iraq -- Everyday, hundreds of visitors come to Camp Bucca to see a family member held at the Camp Bucca Theater Internment Facility. Each day, Airmen of the 887th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron make contact with visitors and are sometimes the only coalition force presence the family members have seen or will ever see. The actions these Airmen make can have strategic impacts on the overall counter-insurgency effort in Iraq. Visitors often leave here and not only report on the status of their loved ones, but the treatment and attitude of coalition forces toward them at Camp Bucca. This message is spread as far as Mosul and as close as Umm Qasr. Three particular Airmen, Staff Sgt. Christopher McKiven, Senior Airmen Zachary Osborn and Michael Faulkner are tasked with the job of finding ways to make the lives of the visitors easier while at Camp Bucca as part of the remodeling and maintenance team. Before arriving at Camp Bucca, these Airmen were already dreaming up ideas to make a difference. "When we arrived and found out where we were specifically assigned, we immediately began looking at how we could improve on the things that were already in place," said Sergeant McKiven. The Airmen noticed the playground consisted of three swings, a broken seesaw, a broken merry-go-round and a three-foot by two-foot platform which led down a slide that was falling apart. The children were not playing on the playground, so the team immediately began the search around Forward Operating Base Bucca for spare parts and wood. "My team and I went around the base and looked for the materials we needed and asked for donations from certain people who were glad to help," said Sergeant McKiven. "Most notably the [Joint Distribution Center] yard allowed us to build several pieces at their location, the motor pool gave us the tire and chain to make the tire swing, the [repairs and utilities] shops gave us the paint and paint brushes along with screws, the design was drawn up by me, and the kids told us what they wanted." The RAM team started from scratch. With the help of Airman 1st Class Rashada Passmore and Staff Sgt. Stephen Sapp, they salvaged what materials they could and began installing a new seesaw, a fourth swing, a hopscotch board and a two-tower jungle gym with a slide, tire swing, rock climbing wall and bridge. Finally, the finishing touches were put on, and March 24, it was officially opened for business. Children of the family members immediately began playing on the new equipment and this provided feedback to the Airmen right away. "You can't put words to it," said Airman Osborn. "When you see the kids play and laughing, it makes you feel like you've made a difference in the children's lives." "The kids would rather play on the playground than visit, and we often find ourselves driving them out," said Sergeant McKiven. Airmen at visitation see anywhere from 20 to 50 children per day playing on the new equipment and some of the Airmen join them. Despite the decline in the number of detainees at Camp Bucca, these Airmen are continuing to make a difference in the lives of the visitors. The hope is that the message of care and compassion are spread throughout Iraq. "We've been asked by the visiting families to come and help them construct something similar in their hometowns," said Airman Osborne. "By them asking that, I felt like we were making a difference and the hard work paid off."