News

Operation Gratitude comforts children of deployed service members

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Samuel Taylor
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  As many Team Dover members know, deployments not only take a toll on the service members who face peril abroad, but on their families who are left without a loved one. Too often, this group is unaddressed by the common saying "support the troops."

Operation Gratitude aims to extend the same measure of support to family members left behind by donating care packages. These packages contain treats and a teddy bear, aptly named 'Battalion Buddies.'

At Dover Air Force Base, Del., key-spouses' club members from 14 squadrons conducted the first mass delivery of Operation Gratitude care packages to deploying service members Oct. 31. These packages can then be presented by deploying parents to their children as a parting gift.

"With the help of the key-spouses' clubs, we were able to pass out 400 care packages today - it was a great success," said Katie Read, the base program coordinator for Operation Gratitude. Read was responsible for bringing the national program to Dover AFB.

The program took root at Dover AFB when Read's husband, Staff Sgt. Ryan Read, deployed in May. Recognizing the need to support those in similar predicaments, Read, along with the key spouses' clubs, began a pilot program at the 436th Maintenance Squadron.

When service members are notified of their upcoming deployment, the club is informed of the dependents who will be left behind. With this information, Operation Gratitude was able to reach out to those who needed support when they needed it the most.

The success of the pilot program caught the attention of wing leadership and spread to the rest of the base. Read said it is the first wing-wide key spouses' program, and currently encompasses more than 10 squadrons and reaches hundreds of service members.

"[Through this program,] we try to provide people with a sense of caring to offset the toll placed on families by deployments," said Read.

The program also represents a means of retaining and supporting the Air Force's most valuable resource - its people. By retaining more experienced Airmen, the Air Force is able to accomplish its various missions more effectively. Therefore, in its own way, a teddy bear delivered to a child at Dover AFB could mean one more experience service member fighting the fight.

"A philosophy I subscribe to is: the Air Force recruits Airmen, but retains families," said Maj. Eliot Sasson, commander of the 436th MXS. "Retaining our experienced Airmen is vital for the success of the Air Force mission, and we do so by reaching out to their families."

Read hopes the program will continue to deliver care packages bi-annually to provide support to Team Dover. However, this goal can only be met through the donations of those who support its cause. Those who are moved to support this program can donate at www.operationgratitude.com.