Yellow Ribbon Dining takes on new life

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Tammie Moore
  • 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  The Airman & Family Readiness Center staff are shaking up the Yellow Ribbon Dining program in the coming year.

"We are changing things up for 2011. We will be having a monthly Yellow Ribbon event," said Master Sgt. Andrea Schaub, A&FRC readiness NCO.

The Yellow Ribbon Dining, which takes place three times a year, is a dinner held on base specifically for spouses and children of deployed military members. The event will now include a monthly activity as part of the program. The 2011 dinners will be held in February, June and September. The next Yellow Ribbon event will be a family movie night on Jan. 22.

About 10 families attended the last Yellow Ribbon Dining held earlier this month. Kathryn Smith brought her two sons, Anthony, 6, and Ayden, 4, to the event. Her husband, Staff Sgt. Adam Smith, a carpenter for the 4th Civil Engineer Squadron, left for his deployment earlier that day. Even though her husband just left, she is very familiar with this program, participating in it during her husband's last deployment.

"It is a nice break from cooking," she said. "And it is a nice to be around people in the same position."

Sabrina Collins has been coming to Yellow Ribbon Dining with her twin three-year-old boys since her husband deployed. Tech. Sgt. Jason Collins a 4th CES heavy equipment operator has been gone since August.

"It is a nice night to come out to," she said. "I don't have to cook and it is cheap."

After her family was done eating, her sons played with the other children and she spent time socializing with other parents.

"This is a good way to meet other people, especially if you are new to the base," she said.

Brenda Dobbs attends Yellow Ribbon events with her children not only as a dependent of a deployed Airman, but also as a Key Spouse to see if others are taking advantage of the program. Her husband is a communications officer deployed to Afghanistan from the 4th Communications Squadron. She encourages everyone with a deployed spouse to take advantage of this program and others like it.

"We welcome everybody," she said. "Come out. We have a great time, and you get to meet new people."

Sergeant Schaub encourages those with a deployed spouse to take advantage of this revamped program.

"It give spouses the opportunity to socialize with others that are in a similar situation, but also they can learn a lot about what benefits the military/base offers just by others experiences," she said. "I encourage a spouse to try one of our events; whether a new spouse or seasoned spouse, each deployment is different. Just because you have been through it before doesn't make it any easier. Plus we usually have special give-aways for those that attend."

For more information about Yellow Ribbon events call the A&FRC at 722-1123 or friend the A&FRC on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sjafrc.