JFTB community comes together for Thanksgiving Appreciation Lunch

Photo By Crystal Housman | U.S. Army Sgt. Loyda Macias, an avionics mechanic with Bravo Company, 640th Aviation Support Battalion, 40th Combat Aviation Brigade, moves through the serving line Nov. 16, 2017, during a Thanksgiving Appreciation Lunch at Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos, California. Community leaders dined with California National Guard Soldiers, Airmen, and family members at the event, which is in its fourteenth year. (Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Crystal Housman)  

JOINT FORCES TRAINING BASE LOS ALAMITOS, CA, UNITED STATES

11.16.2017

Story by Senior Airman Crystal Housman 

California National Guard Primary   

JOINT FORCES TRAINING BASE LOS ALAMITOS, California — Local elected officials gathered with Soldiers and Airmen from the California National Guard, and their families, Thurs., Nov. 16, 2017, during a Thanksgiving Appreciation Lunch at Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos, California.

More than 200 service members and community leaders filled a banquet hall for the 14th annual event, which was catered by base restaurant, The Pub at Fiddlers Green.

U.S. Army Col. Julian H. Bond, Commander, Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos, offered a personal invitation to family members of Soldiers currently deployed to Afghanistan. A contingent of the Cal Guard’s 40th Infantry Division is overseas supporting NATO’s Resolute Support mission while serving with the Train, Advise, and Assist Command – South (TAAC-S) in Kandahar.

“All of us who serve in the military know that if it wasn’t for our loved ones at home, for our friends and family we could not focus on our mission at hand,” Bond told the audience during his remarks.

Sen. Janet Nguyen, who represents the state’s 34th District, echoed his sentiment.

“This is a way for us to say thank you to the families who are here today,” she said. “You are so brave to be away from your loved ones while we’re all here with ours.”

Nguyen, who comes from a military family, said she’s watched her brother deploy with the U.S. military, and also lost family members who served in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam.

“We always thank the military members, but we do sometimes forget the families,” Nguyen said in her remarks. “The family members are the ones who hold strong. If you’re strong, our service members across the sea will be strong to protect our country.”

Orange County Second District Supervisor Michelle Steel, whose son-in-law is a U.S. Navy officer, said Thanksgiving is a time to appreciate service members.

“We have a lot of things to be thankful for and we have to remember our service men and women who are sacrificing for our freedoms,” Steel said.

For the families, the lunch offered a chance to be together and connect.

“We’re coming up on the Thanksgiving holiday and it’s really nice to be able to be here and gather together,” said Mary Lathrop, wife of U.S. Army Brig. Gen. John W. Lathrop, TAAC-S Commander.

Opportunities to connect are particularly useful for Guard families, said NarAn Clair, whose husband is deployed with the 40th.

“In the Guard, we’re spread out a little bit and see each other maybe at drill, maybe once a month,” Clair said. “Having events like this brings about a camaraderie and hopefully we can build upon and increase our relationships to be of support to one another.”

Jennifer Underwood, who brought her six children to the event, said the community and unit support she’s received so far in the deployment is unprecedented. Her husband currently serves as a logistics officer with the 40th and deployed once before.

“I’ve had more contact with this group and calls for family support,” she said. “Col. Bond invited us and it was really nice. I feel definitely more family support with this deployment, and it’s nice to see how involved they are.”

Each of Underwood and Clair’s children, along with other children in attendance, were presented with a Battalion Buddy box from Operation Gratitude. The boxes included a camouflage-clad teddy bear, an educational DVD, and a magazine.

In addition to gifts from Operation Gratitude, families and service members in the room also received tickets to the Los Angeles Chargers’ Nov. 19 home game against the Buffalo Bills.

“We have unbelievable partners in the community,” Bond said.

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Mark W. Palzer, Commanding General, 79th Theater Sustainment Command, U.S. Army Reserve, and three local mayors including Shelley Hasselbrink of Los Alamitos, Sandra Massa-Lavitt of Seal Beach and Paulo Morales of Cypress also attended the event.

• Date Taken: 11.16.2017
• Date Posted: 11.22.2017 16:24
• Story ID: 256370
• Location: JOINT FORCES TRAINING BASE LOS ALAMITOS, CA, US