RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas —
In conjunction with the nationwide National Night Out designed to bring communities together to help prevent crime, Randolph Air Force Base participated in this annual event Tuesday with a base-wide block party.
National Night Out, "America's Night Out Against Crime", was established in 1981 to educate communities to fight against the development of organized crime, generate support for and participation in, local anticrime programs and strengthen neighborhood spirit and community partnerships.
It is also a great opportunity for housing residents to meet neighbors and interact with emergency response agencies.
"I wanted to get some camaraderie going on. We didn't want everyone to just stay in their own little world, they needed to get out and meet people, their neighbors. They might've just found someone they were stationed somewhere else with and not even know they were here," said Terri Hefford, the Landings at Randolph marketing and resident services.
A number of Randolph organizations participated in this year's NNO, including the 902nd Force Support Squadron, 902nd Civil Engineer Squadron, Wing Safety and the Landings at Randolph.
"This was a good opportunity to get the community involved as far as opening their eyes to see that we're here as more than just a military unit, we're there as a friendly protector of the community," said Staff Sgt. Marcus Bernard, 902nd Security Forces Squadron, NCO in charge of police services.
Security forces hosted McGruff the Crime Dog and talked about crime trends and crime prevention.
Sparky the Fire Dog was also there with the fire department promoting fire safety.
The youth center played games with the children of Randolph and held obstacle courses. The housing office, the Landings at Pinnacle, brought the refreshments and music.
"National Night Out was a really great opportunity to let the Airmen of Randolph have positive interaction with the emergency responders and also the community of Randolph," said Airman 1st Class Theodore Glime, 359th Aerospace Medicine Squadron aerospace and operations physiology technician.
Randolph's National Night Out received a positive turnout; more than 600 people participated.
"I'm really glad the community got involved, said Sergeant Bernard. "It was imperative that the community of Randolph support each other, not only to recognize the hard work that the emergency response agencies are doing, but also to relax, get out of their work environment."