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Operation Home Cooking annual Thanksgiving tradition opens homes to Basic Military Trainees

  • Published
  • 37th Training Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas --  

Basic Military Training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland is looking for approximately 400 host families to share Thanksgiving Day festivities with trainees who are currently in training and away from home during the holidays.

Volunteer families must be within one hour of the San Antonio metro area.

This year’s participants are in the sixth and seventh week of basic training – including graduating Airmen without visiting family and friends for graduation.

Volunteer host families in the local San Antonio Area must be willing to accept two trainees into their homes to support BMT’s Wingman Concept.

Please note that volunteer hosts should submit information as soon as possible once the application window opens since slots fill up quickly. For this reason, due to scheduling and escort requirements, volunteers cannot request to host specific Trainees.

Host families must also provide transportation – pick-up and drop-off is the Pfingston Reception Center at JBSA-Lackland. Pick-up time from BMT is from 7-9 a.m. and the curfew time for return to the Pfingston Reception Center is either 6 p.m. or 7 p.m., depending on the week of training of the BMT member. Specific curfews are driven by mission requirements.

Remember to plan for holiday traffic when returning to BMT to ensure curfew times are met.

Volunteer host families must provide the following information via email:

SUBJECT: Operation Home Cooking Host Request

BODY OF EMAIL:

Last Name, First Name (individual picking trainee/wingman up):

Address with Zip Code:

Phone Number:

Social Security Number:

Driver’s License Number and State:

Date of Birth:

DOD ID Card number (if applicable):

Email:

BMT started accepting volunteer requests on Oct. 28, 2024. Send requests and questions to laurie.pozorski@us.af.mil. The window to submit volunteer requests ends on Nov. 20, 2024.

See the article at Operation Home Cooking for more information.