Fairchild first sergeants spread holiday warmth with Operation Warmheart

Published Nov. 28, 2006
By Joe B. Wiles
92nd ARW Public Affairs

FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- Fairchild first sergeants filled 185 boxes with all the makings of a Thanksgiving dinner and distributed them to junior Airmen across the base Nov. 17 as part of Operation Warmheart.

Each box contained a turkey, stuffing, dinner rolls, vegetables, potatoes, gravy and pie crush and filling, all bought at the Fairchild commissary.

The first sergeants raise money throughout the year in preparation for both the Thanksgiving and Christmas Operation Warmheart season. Additionally, the children of Christmas box recipients will receive a gift from the "Giving Tree," an annual event sponsored by the Enlisted Spouses Club.

All 185 boxes were hand packed by the first sergeants in the Logistics Readiness Squadron warehouse the morning of Nov. 17. "We had two teams that started to work at 6:30 a.m.," said Master Sgt. John Balderaz, the 92nd LRS first sergeant and organizer of this year's OW Thanksgiving boxes.

"One team went to the commissary to pick up all the turkeys and food. The second team came to the LRS warehouse to prepare the assembly line," he said.

All the boxes were donated by local moving companies. "Master Sgt. Juan Benavidez, the superintendent of the Traffic Management Office, got the boxes, and even provided Airmen 1st Class Romel Macagba and Isaiah Bauer to prepare the boxes for the assembly line," said Sergeant Balderaz.

Two sizes of boxes were prepared. "Families with three or fewer children received one size and those with four or more received a larger box," said Sergeant Balderaz.

Master Sgt. Todd Edgell, the 92nd Mission Support Squadron first sergeant, headed up the team that got the food from the commissary. "The commissary was fabulous in helping get our order in and working discounts through their distributors," said Sergeant Edgell.

"We target the junior enlisted and commissioned Airmen who might have several dependents and a single income," said Sergeant Balderaz. "The purpose of Operation Warmheart is to ease the financial burden of the holidays by providing a complete holiday meal."

First sergeants, with the help of supervisors, determined who would benefit most from an OW box. The boxes were distributed shortly after they were packed Nov. 17.

"This is bigger than just the First Sergeants Council," said Sergeant Balderaz. "The community is great when it comes to helping out. We received large monetary donations from Friends of Family Support, the Nestles company and from Alton's Tires."