AL DHAFRA AIR BASE, United Arab Emirates -- After a long day of work, everyone want to unwind. Though everyone unwinds a little differently, the Al Dhafra Air Base Community Activity Center has something for everyone.
Located above the Thirsty Camel in the base pavilion area, the men and women assigned to the 380th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron Community Activity Center are dedicated to helping the members of the 380 AEW relax during their time at Al Dhafra.
“We provide morale and support to our members, whether that be through different events, parties or game tournaments,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Cheyanne Lewis, 380th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron daytime community activity center non-commissioned officer in charge. “We want to help take your mind off the daily stressors, things you might be going through. We try to have different things so we can encourage people to get out, meet new people and build those connections so they have people they can go to.”
Activities range from darts, bingo, chess and Texas hold ‘em tournaments to larger events like silent parties and special guest appearances.
“We work with Readiness Management Support contractors and flight leadership to handle the larger, more expensive events,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Nicholas Dubina, 380EFSS nighttime CAC NCOIC. “As long as we can put it together with the equipment and supplies we have, we can handle it.”
The staff holds weekly staff meetings to brainstorm ideas for the weeks and months ahead.
“Most of our events, we think up on our own,” said Lewis. “We can also look back at reports from last rotation to figure what went well and wat were duds.”
They also take suggestions from the community for new activities and events.
“Anyone can come to us with ideas and our team will discuss the logistics of hosting the event,” said Lewis. If we like it and can go through with it we’ll make it a pop-up event; see how it goes and if it does well we can have more events in the future.”
Success isn’t just about numbers. Even small events can be considered a success if the participants are active and enjoy themselves.
“In regards to choice of activities, feedback is the best,” said Dubina. “If a lot of people are participating in things and asking for things, that’s what we’re going to put on. If no one shows up for an event or goes on a trip that tells us that people aren’t interested or it’s not a good time.”
For information on upcoming CAC activities, check out the Community Activity Center page on the Air Force Connect app, visit the 380th EFSS SharePoint page, or call 484-7278.