Air Force Base Thanksgiving

Hill Air Force Base Thanksgiving: Feeding a thousand
Standard Examiner
Mitch Shaw
NOVEMBER 24, 2015

Image by: (MITCH SHAW/Standard-Examiner) Airmen from Hill Air Force Base are served a Thanksgiving meal inside an airplane hangar, Tuesday, November 24, 2015.

HILL AIR FORCE BASE — How many dinner guests would have to huddle around your table this Thanksgiving to constitute “a large gathering?”

Twenty? Fifty? One Hundred?

To Cesar Vargas, a master sergeant at Hill Air Force Base, all of those numbers are small potatoes.

A jet engine mechanic by trade, Vargas led a group of 100 volunteers who worked to feed about 1,000 Hill airmen and their families on Tuesday, Nov. 24, part of the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings’ annual Thanksgiving feast.
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Commentary: Think safety for Thanksgiving
Hilltop Times Air Force
By LT. COL. G. HALL SEBREN, JR.
75th ABW Chief of Safety
November 26, 2015

I wanted to pass a little information to you as you prep for the Thanksgiving weekend. As many of you know, a big danger during Thanksgiving has recently become frying up that delicious turkey.

Among some of the safety tips:

• Turkey fryers should always be used outdoors and at a safe distance from buildings and any other material that can burn.
• Never use turkey fryers on wooden decks or in garages.
• Make sure the fryers are used on a flat surface to reduce accidental tipping.
• Never leave the fryer unattended. Most units do not have thermostat controls. If you don’t control the temperature, the oil will continue to heat until it catches fire.
• Never let children or pets near the fryer during or after use. The oil inside the cooking pot can remain dangerously hot long after it has been turned off.
• To avoid oil spillover, do not overfill the fryer.

Also, during this time of year, slips, trips and falls are a big concern. Most folks, graciously, wait until after Thanksgiving to put up their Christmas lights. This means ladders and cold weather, which can lead to a visit to the local emergency room after falling off the ladder because someone over-reached and fell.

The common theme with these kinds of injuries is laziness. People failed to descend the ladder, move it and ascend again. Don’t become a statistic. How about this: It’s another opportunity to burn a few extra calories by making a few extra descents and ascents!

Finally, I’d like to encourage a mindset change.

Many of us have “grown up” hearing the term “Safety First.” I’d like to propose we move away from that and get to a “Mission First” mindset. We should accomplish the mission within a culture of safety and compliance.

If we create this culture, we’ll decrease injuries and rework, which will increase productivity. How about that, mission accomplished and Airmen safe! Have a wonderful day and be careful out there.