Barksdale celebrates annual National Night Out

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Micaiah Anthony
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE La. --  Emergency vehicles surrounded an open field full of Airmen and their families behind the Barksdale Housing office Aug. 6.

The first responders came to the scene to celebrate Barksdale's sixth annual National Night Out.

National Night Out is a nationwide event held the first Tuesday of August by local law enforcement agencies to raise awareness about crime, drug prevention and to generate support for local anti-crime programs. The celebration is also designed to increase morale in neighborhoods and strengthen law enforcement and community partnerships.

"It is important for us to interact with the base community so they can trust us and know that we are here to help them," said Tech. Sgt. Thomas Hollis, 2nd Security Forces Squadron police services NCO in-charge.

The Barksdale Family Housing community manager, Dreamer Dowden, started the event here six years ago by coordinating with the 2nd SFS and other local agencies.

"We wanted to bring the community together to prove that we are safe; however, we still wanted to raise awareness that crime still happens in base housing," said Dowden. "We brought security forces and the fire department together to bring safety awareness to the entire base."

The Barksdale community enjoyed free food, children's games, prizes, fingerprinting for identification kits, bounce houses and a dunking booth. Barksdale's youth also enjoyed a special visit from Scruff McGruff, the crime dog, and Sparky, the fire dog.

To educate the community on fire safety, Airmen from the Barksdale Fire Department put their fire trucks on display, handed out fire hats and answered questions about fire equipment and safety.

"We wanted the base community to have a closer look at our trucks and suits so even children know what we look like if there is an emergency," said Staff Sgt. Thomas Linson, 2nd Civil Engineer Squadron lead fire inspector. "We also wanted to make sure they know when to check their smoke detectors and educate them on practicing fire safety in their homes."

This year, a few local organizations joined the festivities such as the Louisiana State Police, Shreveport City Marshalls, Bossier Parish Sheriff and members of the Caddo Parish Sheriff Crime Prevention Office.

"It is a great opportunity to meet and greet members of the local community and to speak with other law enforcement agencies in the area," said Sgt. Cordell Williams, Louisiana State Police Troop G, Bossier City patrol division. "The connections and bonds gives us additional resources, so when we have to do our job and need assistance, it's not only just the state police working, it's the community as a whole."

Though the event is one night a year, the Barksdale Family Housing Office doesn't stop there.

"We work with the fire department during fire prevention week, and we also assist security forces with their drug take-back events," said Dowden. "We promote any activities that they are having to our residents."

Senior Airman Lenny Rodriguez, 2nd Maintenance Squadron, said his family felt the event was a success.

"We learned a lot about the local law enforcement and emergency responders, plus, the children had a great time and enjoyed all of the fun and activities," said Rodriguez. "The most important thing we took from this is how we as a community can come together and prevent crime."