An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

380AEW Article

380th AEW support agencies celebrate 'Christmas in July'

  • Published
  • By 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Chapel
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Santa employed some "helpers" early this year to bring "Christmas in July" to military members at the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing.

Members from some of the wing's support agencies played as "elves," delivering stockings full of goodies to troops here on July 28 rather than Dec. 25.

"We wanted to let the Airmen and Soldiers know they are appreciated and that support agencies such as the SARC (sexual assault prevention and response coordinator), EO (equal opportunity) and chaplain corps are here for them," said Capt. Sara Ortbals, 380th AEW SARC.

But you can't have elves or Christmas without Santa. In this case, Santa isn't the jolly, old fat man from the North Pole, but is a major stateside corporation.

"The company wanted to send care packages and show their support outside the normal holiday dates, when the number of packages sent to us decreases," Ortbals said. "They wanted to make sure the troops knew they are remembered year-round and not just over the holidays. Hence, they did a 'Christmas in July' theme."

Tech. Sgt. Jasmine Barnes, 380th AEW EO officer; Chaplain (Capt.) Richard Tatum, 380th AEW deputy wing chaplain; and Chief Master Sgt. William Ford, 380th Expeditionary Operations Group superintendent, assisted Ortbals with delivering the stockings. They spent two hours giving them to people they encountered while walking outside on the main base complex and in the maintenance and operations areas.

The stockings included various hygiene items, magazines, snacks, movies and CDs. Some also had clocks and calculators.

According to Ortbals, recipients displayed a wide range of emotions as they received their stockings.

"The people seemed very appreciative, happy, surprised, and even confused to receive the Christmas stockings in the desert during the summer," she said. "It was a lot of fun!"

The helpers gave a little advice for those who did not get stockings this time. They said those people should be good and may receive something in December when Santa "actually" visits.