LEESVILLE, La.-- Airmen of the 548 Combat Training Squadron and the 20th Asos Detachment volunteered their time at the Leesville City Park July 14-15, 2015.
The 548 Combat Training Squadron is the largest air force unit on Fort Polk. Lt. Col. Gage Evert and 10 other airmen from his unit had spare time during July between training exercises and wanted to volunteer their time to the City of Leesville.
"We're grateful to have these airmen volunteer their time to help update the park," said Leesville Mayor Rick Allen. "We are not only thankful for the service that they give to our country, but also for going above their duties to help the City out."
"Leesville is a big supporter of the military and Fort Polk," said Evert. "We wanted to give back to the community that gives so much support to us. I believe this is a good air force team building activity for us."
Evert said that his squadron is busy throughout most of the year. They participate in 10 training exercises in conjunction with the Joint Readiness Training Center. He said that July is typically their best time to complete a service project an so contacted the City to set up a time and place to volunteer.
Mike Carter, manager of the park and the Leesville Municipal Golf Course said the volunteer work has saved the City thousands of dollars.
"We had already started accepting quotations to have the work done at the park," he said. "It was going to cost roughly $6,000 to do all the updating. We are grateful that the airmen volunteered their time to do majority of this work."
The airmen performed prep work at the park July 14 by sanding down picnic tables, swing sets, and other equipment.
Staff Sergeant Daniel Doyle said, "We are happy we are able to help out the community. We hope the kids like it. We are always willing to support the community."
The following is a list of airmen that were at the park Wednesday morning:
548 Combat Training Squadron
Staff Sergeant Khalil Chamma
Staff Sergeant Justin Priniski
Staff Sergeant Tyler Miller
Technical Sergeant Lucas Heckman
Captain Bryson Kreighbaum
Major Erich Prade
Lt. Col. Gage Evert
20th Asos Detachment
Sr. Airmen Austin Childs
Sr. Airmen Yousef Asdallah
Sr. Airmen Kenneth Leo
Sr. Airmen Saint Shabazz
Sr. Airmen David Qualls
To view or use use photos from the event click here. To view or use b-roll of the event, click here.
--end--
