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Hurlburt Field Chapel, A&FRC salute families

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Amy Cooper
  • 1st SOW Public Affairs
What's the secret recipe for coping with a loved one's deployment? 

For the Hurlburt Field Chapel, the right ingredients are one plate of home-cooked food, a sprinkling of games, a dash of singing and a good conversation. All of these ingredients came together Tuesday night during the chapel's "Salute to Families" event. 

The celebration, which was a partnership between the chapel and the Airman & Family Readiness Center, was to tell the families of deployed Hurlburt Airmen "you aren't in this thing by yourself," said Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Michael Tinnon, 1st Special Operations Wing chaplain. "With today's expeditionary Air Force, we're gone more than we're here," the chaplain told the group. 

Taking best care of families is a must for success during the long fight in the Global War on Terrorism, said Col. Tim Leahy, 1st SOW vice commander. "If we're not taking care of our families, we're not taking care of half of our team," Colonel Leahy said during his opening remarks. 

The night kicked off with a heaping helping of comfort food. Approximately 25 volunteers from across the base cooked for and served the guests of honor. After dinner, children ran around playing with balloons and snatched up some door prizes. 

From all the excitement and laughter in the room, you wouldn't have known they were missing a parent. But, it's this kind of interaction with other children that some mothers liked about the night. 

"David gets to play with other kids who are going through the same thing," Noel Heuser said of her son. 

While the children played, their mothers had the chance to have adult conversation with other moms. For Airman 1st Class Nora Swanagan, 1st Special Operations Medical Operations Squadron, whose husband has been deployed since December, this was the best part of the event. 

"It's good to be able to talk to the spouses of other deployed members with kids," said the new mom of a four-month-old. 

At the end of the night, one lucky person won a free trip to a conference, complete with a three-day pass for their military spouse, perfect for catching up after the deployment.