Happy Airmen keep deployed missions moving with help from MWR

Published Jan. 30, 2011
By Senior Airman Melissa B. White
451st Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- Day in and day out, Airmen work around the clock to support missions at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Sometimes, a break is more than needed.

However, a deployed environment differs from home in that Airmen can't turn to quality family time or movie nights quite the same way they do at home, but the 451st Expeditionary Force Support Flight Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Airmen make an effort to get as close as possible to providing that feeling.

"What we do gives people a place to unwind after working 12-hour days," said Staff Sgt. Ian Seagle, 451st EFSF NCO in charge of recreation. "We like to make them feel like they aren't in Kandahar for a little while."

With the MWR center located in the heart of the Air Force camp, its doors are open 24/7 to nearly 2,000 Airmen and to whomever else on the airfield walks in for a little relief from the deployed environment.

Decked-out with numerous flat-screen TVs on almost every wall of one of the rooms, Airmen from all types of backgrounds occasionally come together to root for their favorite football or basketball teams. Others challenge an opponent to a highly competitive, yet friendly match of pingpong. The room is flanked on two sides with barstools and tables for people to sit down and surf the free Internet on the laptops they borrowed from the front desk. In a corner of the room, a dart board is tucked away next to a shelf of board games and with another shelf on the other side filled with video games and movies - 1,164 DVDs to be precise.

"It provides a relaxing touch of home," said Staff Sgt. Tom Wilson, 451st Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 75th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Unit crew chief. "I come here every day to use the Internet so I can talk to my family. I'm very grateful for what they do here and what they have to offer; being able to relax has made this deployment a more enjoyable experience."

Across the hall is a room filled with couches and a large-screen TV perpetually playing movies for customers to come and enjoy as they please. For those desiring a quieter ambience, another room upstairs features a library filled with books, comfy chairs, desktop computers and morale phones.

In addition to supplying and maintaining morale equipment, the recreation team is also responsible for planning and organizing events such as poker games, bingo, movie and pizza nights, and monthly birthday meals.

"My favorite part is barbecuing for the (monthly) birthday meals," said Sergeant Seagle. "I like to grill and it makes me feel like I'm not here ... it takes me back to weekends with friends at home."

Being responsible for the happiness of nearly 2,000 people is no small task, and the MWR team realizes it's an important one to uphold since happiness is the key to success of the mission that keeps all these Airmen so far from home.

"We have a lot of people out there doing tough jobs every day and they come in here to get away from it all," said Airman 1st Class Megan Batesole, 451st EFSF recreation specialist. "I think we do a pretty good job of keeping people happy. If this wasn't here then it would be a lot harder for people to cope with being away from home for so long. But since we are here, hopefully, they're relaxed before they go back out to do their jobs again and with a better attitude."

Regardless of situation or location, morale is mission essential.