Single Airmen Night at gym features food, volleyball

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Frank Casciotta
  • 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  On Jan. 25 the base Chapel staff and the Sexual Assault Response Coordinator office hosted a Single Airmen Night starting at 6 p.m. in the Health and Wellness Center.

Single Airmen Nights are designed for Airmen E-4 and below and engineered to build Airmen morale and camaraderie, said Chaplain (Capt.) Jon Bravinder with the 71st Flying Training Wing Chapel.

Airmen were served sandwiches and salad provided by the Chapel. After having a bite to eat and some socializing Airmen headed to the gymnasium for a volleyball game.

Since March 2012, the Chapel has hosted nine Single Airmen Nights.

"The goal is to build a community among our single Airmen at Vance," said Bravinder. "We know Vance is isolated and away from big cities, so we plan events to pull people together and build resiliency and comprehensive Airmen fitness," said Bravinder.

"We want to let them know they are cared about and we have programming and activities that support them," he said.

"I had fun at the volleyball game, and got a chance to become better acquainted with people I met earlier," said Airman 1st Class Destiny Mitchell, a customer service technician with the 71st Comptroller Squadron.

Having been a member of Team Vance less than a month, Mitchell looks forward to more events like the Single Airmen Night and more opportunities to meet her peers.

The Chapel staff plans to host a Single Airmen Night on the last Friday of each month, but that is susceptible to change, said Bravinder.

It's not all about getting together on base though. The Chapel has sponsored two trips to Oklahoma City since they kicked off their Single Airmen events. The first trip was to a rock climbing gym. The second was to Frontier City, an amusement park.

"We would like to continue hosting events off base once a quarter," said Bravinder.

The Chapel staff is looking into a trip to the Oklahoma Aquarium near Tulsa.