SAN ANTONIO -- Broadcasters from the Army and Air Force Hometown News Service will begin collecting holiday greetings from troops overseas Sept. 8.
Three teams of military broadcasters are expected to return here with more than 13,000 individual messages to be sent to local television and radio stations in the United States. The videotaped greetings will be edited and sent to servicemembers’ hometown TV stations. Airmen, soldiers, sailors and Marines are invited to participate.
“We like to think visiting with troops truly separated from their families and spread out across the world provides a morale boost not only for the servicemembers, but also their families back home,” said Tom Taylor, the service’s chief of broadcast news. He added that it is also important to show the American public the sacrifices military people are making in unaccompanied assignments like Iraq and Korea.
Teams will make stops in Europe, the Pacific and Southwest Asia. They will visit about 75 installations in less than six weeks.
“As we plan this mission each year, the list of installations wanting to participate grows,” Taylor said. “We’ve adjusted our schedules this year so that we’ll have longer stays in the most forward-deployed regions. Some of the traditional stops in Europe have been cut back to allow our (Southwest Asia) team to concentrate in … Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait and others.”
The teams began training in August.
“The better everyone understands the process, the faster it will go in the field. If we’re all on the same sheet of music, we will be able to do a higher volume of quality (greetings),” said Army Sgt. 1st Class James Posten, the service’s non-commissioned officer in charge of broadcast operations. “And that’s what the mission is about: Giving as many people as possible the opportunity to send a message to their families back home.”
While some greetings will be posted on the Hometown News Web site, Taylor said some radio and TV stations are also posting local servicemembers’ greetings on their Web sites.
Below is a list of scheduled visits for the European and Pacific theaters. The schedule is subject to change. The schedule for Southwest Asia is not being released. Servicemembers can contact their public affairs office and watch for local advertisements for specific information about their location.
Sept. 8: Andersen Air Force Base, Guam; Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England.
Sept. 9: Andersen AFB; RAF Lakenheath, England.
Sept. 11: Kadena Air Base, Japan; Heidelberg, Germany.
Sept. 12: Kadena AB; Hanau, Germany.
Sept. 13: Friedburg, Germany.
Sept. 15: Misawa AB, Japan; Gielbelstadt, Germany.
Sept. 16: Misawa AB; Wuerzburg, Germany.
Sept. 17: Schweinfurt, Germany.
Sept. 18: Yokota AB, Japan; Kitzingen, Germany.
Sept. 19: Zama, Japan; Ansbach/Illesheim, Germany.
Sept. 22: Camp Greaves, South Korea; Camp Bonifas, South Korea; Darmstadt, Germany.
Sept. 23: Camp Stanley, South Korea; Camp Red Cloud, South Korea; Kaiserslautern, Germany.
Sept. 24: Camp Casey, South Korea; Ramstein AB, Germany.
Sept. 25: Kunsan AB, South Korea; Ramstein AB.
Sept. 26: Kunsan AB; Spangdahlem AB, Germany.
Sept. 27: Camp Hialeah, South Korea; Camp Walker, South Korea; Spangdahlem AB.
Sept. 29: Camp Henry, South Korea; Vicenza, Italy.
Sept. 30: Camp Humphries, South Korea; Vicenza.
Oct. 1: Osan AB, South Korea; Aviano AB, Italy.
Oct. 2: Osan AB; Dragon Hill Lodge, Korea; Aviano AB.
Oct. 3: Camp Eagle, South Korea.
Oct. 4: Yongsan Compound, South Korea.
Oct. 6: Yongsan Compound; Kosovo.
Oct. 7: Kosovo.
Oct. 9: Elmendorf AFB, Alaska.
Oct. 10: Fort Richardson, Alaska; Bosnia.
Oct. 11: Bosnia.
Oct. 13: Eielsen AFB, Alaska; Bosnia.
Oct. 14: Fort Wainwright, Alaska.