Holiday greetings teams head for overseas bases

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Jim Hughes
  • Army and Air Force Hometown News Service
SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) --  When professional broadcasters toting video cameras and bright lights soon invade overseas installations worldwide, they will not be seeking the next “American Idol,” but they will be looking to give servicemembers stationed overseas a chance to say hello to their families in the United States.

Four teams of military broadcasters from the Army and Air Force Hometown News Service here will hit the hometown holiday greetings trail Sept. 11. They will visit about 70 overseas installations in 40 days with the goal of gathering more than 13,000 individual messages from servicemembers stationed abroad during the holidays, said Army Sgt. 1st Class Jamie Posten. He is the noncommissioned officer in charge of broadcast operations for hometown news.

“Demand for the holiday greetings is at an all-time high with the public affairs offices overseas and also with (about) 1,000 television and 2,400 radio stations that subscribe to the service,” Sergeant Posten said. “To meet that demand, we’re sending out four teams for the first time, instead of the normal three teams we send out each year.”

The holiday greetings program began in 1984 and while the number of releases increases each year, the program’s goals remain the same. The first goal is to improve the morale of servicemembers stationed overseas and their family members. Another goal is to show the American public the sacrifices that their military people make by serving without their families in places such as South Korea and Southwest Asia, Sergeant Posten said.

“Because they’re stationed or deployed overseas during the holiday periods, these servicemembers can’t be home for the holidays,” he said. “We give them a chance to send a short message back home for their families to see on television or hear on the radio. Last year, I had a guy tell me he did one the previous year, and his mom and dad saw it and loved it. That’s the kind of feedback we like -- it’s a hard (temporary duty) and hearing that the program works really helps to keep us going.”

Servicemembers and their families are not the only fans of the program. Stations start asking for the releases well before Thanksgiving, and feedback usually pours in from the stations that air the greetings between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, Sergeant Posten said.

“These are a huge hit in our community!” said a news director with a television station in Springfield, Mo. “We air them more times than I can calculate. We also provide a VHS copy to the first of kin.”

Military members of all services, family members stationed overseas with the servicemembers and Department of Defense civilians are all welcome to take advantage of the program, said Tom Taylor, chief of broadcast news for hometown news.

“The teams are all made up of experienced broadcasters, and they make the process quick and easy,” Mr. Taylor said. “People just come to where we are located, fill out a quick form for us telling us where their family members are in the (United States), stand in front of the camera and say their message. When we get back to San Antonio, we will market each greeting to the TV stations in that person’s area, and we also turn the video into a release for the radio stations.”

People can contact their local public affairs office for more information on when the teams will visit their installation and where they will set up.

The following is the schedule for the holiday greetings teams, excluding their stops in Southwest Asia and Africa:

-- Sept. 13: Darmstadt, Germany; Lajes Field, Azores; Incirlik Air Base, Turkey; and Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.

-- Sept. 14: Babenhausen, Germany; Lajes Field; Incirlik AB; and Fort Richardson, Alaska.

-- Sept. 15: Wiesbaden, Germany; Incirlik AB; and Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

-- Sept. 16: Friedberg, Germany; Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England; and Eielson AFB, Alaska.

-- Sept. 17: Hanau, Germany; RAF Lakenheath, England; Izmir Air Station, Turkey; and Fort Greely, Alaska.

-- Sept. 18: Giessen, Germany; and RAF Croughton, England.

-- Sept. 20: Wuerzburg and Giebelstadt Army Airfield, Germany; RAF Alconbury and Molesworth, England; Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy; and Andersen AB, Guam.

-- Sept. 21: Kitzingen, Germany; NSA Naples; and Andersen AB.

-- Sept. 22: Schweinfurt and Dexheim, Germany.

-- Sept. 23: Bamberg, Germany; Hanau; Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy; and Kadena AB, Japan.

-- Sept. 24: Hohenfels, Germany; Rhein-Main AB, Germany; NAS Sigonella; and Kadena AB.

-- Sept. 25: Ansbach, Germany; and Kadena AB.

-- Sept. 27: Mannheim, Germany; Vicenza and NSA La Maddelena, Italy; and Camp Foster, Japan.

-- Sept. 28: Heidelberg, Germany; Vicenza; and Camp Foster.

-- Sept. 29: Baumholder, Germany.

-- Sept. 30 to Oct. 1: Ramstein AB, Germany; Aviano AB, Italy; and Kunsan AB, South Korea.

-- Oct. 2: Kaiserslautern, Germany; and Camp Walker, South Korea.

-- Oct. 4: Kaiserslautern; Naval Station Rota, Spain; and Camp Henry, South Korea.

-- Oct. 5: Sembach AB, Germany; NS Rota; and Camp Eagle and Camp Red Cloud, South Korea.

-- Oct. 6: Moron AB, Spain; Camp Stanley, South Korea; and Camp Red Cloud.

-- Oct. 7: Spangdahlem AB, Germany; Moron AB; and Camp Humphries, South Korea.

-- Oct. 8: Spangdahlem AB; and Osan AB, South Korea.

-- Oct. 9: Osan AB.

-- Oct. 10: Yongsan, South Korea.

-- Oct. 11 to 12: Bosnia; NAS Keflavik, Iceland; and Yongsan.

-- Oct. 14: Yokota AB, Japan.

-- Oct. 15: Kosovo; and Camp Zama, Japan.

-- Oct. 16: Kosovo.

-- Oct. 18 to 19: Misawa AB, Japan.