ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. -- Airmen serving at Ellsworth Air Force Base spread throughout Rapid City, South Dakota, early morning on 7 Sept. to give back to the community and assist a wide variety of projects alongside a local non-profit organization.
These volunteers from various squadrons to include the 28th Maintenance Squadron, 28th Munitions squadron and the 28th Civil Engineer Squadron visited local equestrian ranches, residential homes and the Central States’ Fairgrounds to lend a helping hand and tackle different tasks.
Tech. Sgt. Zachary Helms, conventional maintenance production supervisor with the 28th Munitions Squadron, helped clean up a local horse ranch that offers therapeutic horse-riding lessons for individuals who may be suffering from trauma, autism or post-traumatic stress.
“Everything we’re doing today is literally to give back to the community that supports us so much, and that we’re so happy to be able to do it,” said Helms. “Serving others is what our job entails and what we embody.”
Helms saw first-hand as a slew of Airmen readily volunteered to help out their local community without hesitation.
Staff Sgt. Joe Satterwhite, non-commissioned officer in charge of host aviation resource management with the 28th Operations Support Squadron volunteered with his team to lend aid to a local farm and horse ranch in Rapid City and he echoes Helms’ sentiment.
“Volunteering is not only a good use of one’s time, but also part of what it means to serve in the Air Force,” said Satterwhite. “Just help out anyway we can, that’s a big part of being an Airman.”
Satterwhite says it is important for Airmen to be well-rounded. Airmen need not only to be experts in their craft but also be good citizens.
After the day’s activities concluded, the volunteers converged at the Central States’ Fairgrounds for a final clean-up and a celebratory barbecue. Staff Sgt. Pierre Johnson-Alexander, conventional maintenance inspector with the 28th Munitions Squadron, reflected on volunteering and its impact on the community as well as the Airmen.
“I love the energy that we got from the people that were helping and how much fun we had as a group,” Johnson-Alexander said. “It was a great and fulfilling experience for everyone.”