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Holiday commercials and movies often highlight close-knit families that travel from near and far to gather around a perfectly arranged table, overwhelmed with food on matching china.
Such perfect portrayals of holiday meals can incite memories of the scent of turkey in the oven, the taste of mashed potatoes topped with gravy or the feeling of anticipation at the sight of homemade pies.
However, real life, especially military life, is rarely as perfect as a commercial or movie and Thanksgiving doesn’t just happen. The meals can be stressful and take hours or days of preparation. Planned leave can be cancelled unexpectedly, vehicles can break down and weather can become too dangerous for travel.
Despite life’s tendency to deviate from what’s been planned, the military tradition of taking others in during the holidays persists and manages to bring about its own kind of perfection.
“To some people it doesn’t mean much to them but to others, it could mean the world,” said Airman 1st Class Corey D. Strauch, 609th Air Communications Squadron network technician, about being invited to share Thanksgiving.
Throughout a military career, service members may find it difficult to travel home every holiday season due to mission requirements. Being unable to travel home can affect a service member’s morale.
“I do think it's pretty typical, especially for young Airmen, to have a tough time around the holidays,” said Senior Airman Cheyenne Heavener, Air Forces Central Command knowledge manager. “When you're younger, it's harder to be away from family or friends when you're used to being surrounded by those kinds of people. It can be difficult not really knowing anyone.”
Strauch spent his first Thanksgiving as an Airman in technical training at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. Unable to go home and spend time with his family, he was invited to spend the holiday with a friend and his wife.
“It was actually really nice,” said Strauch. “I didn’t realize how much I missed sitting down with family and friends and having a meal and just having a good time.”
These shared holidays don’t just affect the service members invited, but also those hosting.
One Team Shaw family has made it a yearly tradition to invite others into their home.
“We’re all in this boat together, so it makes the holidays better and easier,” said Tech. Sgt. Matthew A. Kalkwarf, 609th ACOMS AFCENT enterprise infrastructure noncommissioned officer in charge. “It shows people that this is more than just a normal job.”
As a whole, military service members and their families face many challenges that can create a unique bond.
These types of holiday invitations, across all branches, help remind service members and their families that they are not alone.
“I think it's great that there are people who care that other Airmen aren't able to go home for the holidays,” said Heavener. “I feel very included when I get invites from people I work with to spend holidays with them. Especially since holidays are usually reserved for family and people we care about. It’s good knowing that people go out of their way to make Airmen know they aren't alone.”
| Date Taken: | 11.21.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 11.21.2016 09:33 |
| Story ID: | 215351 |
| Location: | SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, SC, US |
| Web Views: | 41 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Thanksgiving: continuing military tradition, by SrA Kathryn Reaves, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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