Al Dhafra Air Base celebrates U.S. Air Force 71st Birthday

Chief Master Sergeants and senior leadership from around the 380^th Air Expeditionary Wing began the process of cooking thousands of steak dinners for the Airmen serving at Al Dhafra Air Base in honor of the U.S. Air Forces’ 71st birthday, Sept. 18. 

While the Chiefs dedicated this steak grill to the 71stanniversary of the Air Forces separation from the Army Signal Corps in 1947, they have been volunteering their time to cook steak dinners for the past months regularly.

Cleaning of the grills used to cook the steaks are delegated to a few Chiefs who arrive before the cooking begins. Like clockwork, every Sunday around mid-day amidst the blazing sun and rising temperatures, the Chiefs begin the process of unloading the steaks from the freezers and seasoning them before being grilled. Today, the preoperational duties fall to Chief Master Sgt. Legaspi, 380th Expeditionary Communication Squadron and Chief Master Sgt. Carlos Bush380th Expeditionary Mission Support Group.

“We are going to cook around 1,500 steaks in a couple of hours for everyone to eat for the Air Force’s birthday, but we have been cooking like this every Sunday for a while,” said Legaspi.

The effort to complete the task goes unnoticed by Legaspi who says he enjoys the effort.

“It seems like a lot of grilling, but if you love to cook like me, then you don’t even notice how long you’ve been doing it,” said Legaspi.

As the first rounds of steaks hit the grill, Chiefs and senior leadership have their hands full marinating and grilling. There isn’t anyone standing still, but there isn’t anyone without a smile on their face either.

“It’s a lot of fun getting out here with the other Chiefs to help prepare these steaks for all our folks here. We laugh a lot and, at the end of the day, what makes this all so special, is that this is just another way we get give back to Team ADAB and all of our coalition partners. They are the ones who are making the mission happen” said Chief Master Sgt. Jarrod Sebastian, 380th Air Expeditionary Wing command chief.