Red Cross dinner shows appreciation to Airmen, Marines in dorms Published June 22, 2011 By Kathryn Blais 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- For young Airmen who ship off to Edwards, the seclusion, both geographically and socially, can be initially shocking and at times intimidating. But when Airmen like Airman 1st Class Nance Daisha take the time to venture from the dormitories and look around, in the midst of the sand and Joshua trees, they'll find a community that's always ready to reach out. "This is my first base and it's nothing like I expected, mostly because of where it is and it's mostly civilians," said Airman Daisha, 95th Communications Squadron knowledge operator. "So it's good to do evenings like this because you get to know people and open up your social life." She's referring to the Airmen and Marine Appreciation Dinner, June 14 at Club Muroc. Sponsored by the American Red Cross, the evening included a picnic dinner, an open pool area and lots of company for Airmen and Marines who live in the dorms. "Something like this bonds the relationship between the Airmen and the senior noncommissioned officers," said Airman 1st Class Joshua Case, 412th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron avionics specialist. "And this is kind of secluded area and you don't get out much to see a lot of people." The American Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces program approached the base last spring with a Department of Defense grant in hand. Meeting with the First Sergeants Council, Eric Brubaker, American Red Cross Los Angeles Region Service to the Armed Forces coordinator, asked what the organization could do for the base. "We, at the American Red Cross, had the ability to apply for a Department of Defense grant about three years ago," said Mr. Brubaker. "I asked them [First Sergeants Council] to come up with a couple of projects that we could do for them and one was the dorm dinner." More than 100 Airmen and Marines ventured out of their dorm rooms to mingle with each other and, after a day of temperatures in the 90s, enjoy the pool. "They seem to be having a blast," said Chief Master Sgt. Bill Thomaston, 95th Air Base Wing command chief, of the Airmen in and around the pool area. "This is a very unique partnership for us that we started over a year ago with the Red Cross. It's wonderful that they took the opportunity to give back to our Airmen." The partnership goes both ways. "I'm really excited to have a partnership with Edwards Air Force Base," said Jeff Baumgartner, American Red Cross Antelope Valley Chapter executive director. "The Red Cross offers a lot of opportunities for military members to volunteer or take classes or get trained. The more that we are able to cultivate that informal relationship the better we'll be able to understand each other and improve the services we provide." "What we've got right now with Edwards is a remote and isolated base," said Col. Gregory Schwab, 95th ABW commander. "When we get the dining facility back, we'll be able to spread the culture among the Airmen so they can get to know each other. What Red Cross has done with this event is kind of jump-started us on this. "Most of these Airmen didn't know each other before tonight and now they're having fun. Passing the culture is what we're starting tonight," Col. Schwab said. According to Mr. Brubaker, the American Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces program provides three core services; service to military families; service to military and veterans hospitals; and emergency communications, which sends emergency communications to deployed servicemembers on behalf of their family. The day before the dinner, the Red Cross introduced a new nationwide emergency message number: 877-272-7337.