Photo By Master Sgt. Darin Hubble | The Arizona National Guard's Tech Sgt. Peter Aung, of the 161st Air Refueling Wing,...... read more read more
Landover, Md. – Nearly two dozen Members of the Arizona Air National Guard’s 161st Air Refueling Wing and 162nd Wing provided food service support for the 58th Presidential Inauguration in Washington D.C., Jan. 16-21.
The team of Airmen, specializing in food service, travelled to the nation’s capital as part of Joint Task Force-District of Columbia to prepare and serve meals for a portion of the 7,500 Guardsmen, from 40 states and territories supporting the inauguration.
“Being at this event is a great opportunity for us to represent Arizona and it puts our training into action in real-time,” said Maj. Leathon Magee, 162nd services flight commander. “It is satisfying work because it allows us to support every Soldier and Airman assigned to our facility.”
Arizona Guardsmen worked in conjunction with Air National Guard services units from Arkansas, Georgia and Pennsylvania. The joint team prepared meals for nearly 3400 guardsmen using a Disaster Relief Mobile Kitchen Trailer, a highly flexible and mobile kitchen designed to support virtually any field-feeding scenario.
The officer in charge of the services specialists, 1st Lt. Susan Gladstein with the 161st Air Refueling Wing, emphasized that her experience at the inauguration was beyond expectation. This was her first time at a Presidential Inauguration and she was grateful to be able to volunteer for the event.
“The opportunity to be here is incredible,” said Gladstein. “To be able to integrate with the different states and learn from their experiences is outstanding. The communication has been astounding and the teamwork incredible.”
The 770th Military Police Company from the Puerto Rico National Guard was one of the many units supported by the Arizona National Guard food services team.
“The food and service from the Air Guard was fantastic,” said Specialist Fabian Morales, a Soldier with the 770th Military Police Company, Puerto Rico. “Everyone serving treated me well and I felt welcome.”
Both Magee and Gladstein echoed how supporting the event helps to hone their unit’s skills and better prepare them to respond at a moment’s notice to any domestic situation where they may be needed.
“Events like this mean a lot of long hours for everyone, but it is worth it to serve our fellow service members,” Magee said.
Arizona National Guardsmen have supported approximately 250 domestic operations since 2011 with more than 3000 individual mobilizations. This was the second time that the 161st Air Refueling Wing in Phoenix and the 162nd Wing in Tucson sent a combined team representing Arizona for a presidential inauguration.
| Date Taken: | 01.23.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 01.24.2017 14:42 |
| Story ID: | 221095 |
| Location: | LANDOVER, MARYLAND, US |
| Web Views: | 156 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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