NPO excels with dinner

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Patrice Clarke
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  More than 240 Team Incirlik members attended the National Prayer Observance dinner held Jan. 26 at the chapel which featured the Air Force chief of chaplains, Maj. Gen. Charles Baldwin.

The observance which is traditionally held as a breakfast, was changed to a dinner to better accommodate the Team Incirlik community.

"We hoped offering an evening format with a free dinner and free child care preceding the event would encourage greater participation," said Chaplain (Capt.) Crystal Jones, protestant chaplain.

Participation was abound on and off the stage.

Airmen Leadership School students helped set up, tear down and serve the dinner at the Crossroads Café and Chapel Annex while other base members helped out during the actual observance.

The Gospel Choir, the 6 p.m. Service praise team and the voices of Maj. Lavonne Shingler, 39th Contracting Squadron commander and Megan Jaramillo all led the way for the message of the Air Force's top spiritual leader.

"It's the Airmen, Sailors, Soldiers, Marines and Coast Guardsmen who are the brave ones, who know about the trials of our day," said General Baldwin. "They stand on the wall, disarm the IED, chase down the terrorist, fly into the storms and know that every day has its trials, but they report for duty anyway."

General Baldwin said military members make their days count ... because they live them for others.

"Why do we send people to Incirlik, Turkey? For others. Why do crew dogs fly that C-130 into the hostile air space? For others. Why do pilots fly the F-16 so close to the ground? For others. Why do EOD troops go out every day and disarm and IED? For others ... Our professional duty becomes our personal commitment," he said.

After the Chaplains message Col. "Tip" Stinnette, 39th Air Base Wing commander, got the crowd participating by doing the wave.

"The Chapel team is very thankful for the terrific base-wide support we received from the Honor Guard, the Lay Leaders from the major faith groups, the Sultan's Inn dining facility, the child development center, the current ALS class and everyone else for just helping the event go smoothly," said Chaplain Jones.

All of the hard work paid off in the end.

"In my over 20 years in the Air Force I have never experienced a NPO that measured up to the sense of family, fellowship, and congregation that the Chapel team created last Friday evening," said Colonel Stinnette.