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Vandenberg’s Air Force Ball deemed success
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Members of Team Vandenberg recently gathered to celebrate an Air Force Ball, here, Oct. 3.
Celebrating decades of air superiority, the theme of this year's event was "Airmen of the Central Coast", which aimed to highlight Airmen currently situated in the central coast region of California, while building camaraderie and preserving Air Force heritage.
"A lot of work has gone into making this event a successful one," said 2nd Lt. Andrea Callies, 4th Space Launch Squadron launch mission manager and Air Force Ball committee lead. "This week has been busy, but everything has come together and I think it's been a great event. It was important to me because something like this really brings people together to celebrate and get to know each other."
The ceremony's events included comments from guest speaker, Lt. Gen. John "Jay" Raymond, 14th Air Force and Joint Functional Component Command for Space commander, who publicly recognized multiple Airmen for a job well done. Additionally, Col. Keith Balts, 30th Space Wing commander, addressed the audience followed by the viewing of an Air Force tribute video, a three-course meal and finally - a night of music and dancing.
"This means a lot because I belong to the Air Force and I take that very serious," said Tech. Sgt. Tierra Coleman, 614th Air and Space Operations Center intelligence analyst. "I think it's awesome to embrace our heritage and show the pride we have every day. The Air Force rocks as an organization, I mean we are not only subject matter experts in our career fields, but we can also put a great party together."
A committee of dedicated volunteers from around base proved integral to the logistical success of the occasion.
"I volunteered to be the treasurer for the committee which was tasked to organize the ball," said Airman 1st Class Andrew Tello, 30th Comptroller Squadron accounting technician. "I really wanted to do something bigger and take on more responsibility so I jumped at the opportunity to be involved. This is my first Air Force Ball and I'm really excited because sometimes people forget what it's all about to be in the Air Force but events like this remind us of the heritage behind it all."
The dedicated professionals, who volunteered their time to make the ball as successful as possible, remain humble and attribute their selflessness to Air Force culture.
"I enjoy being a part of events like this," said Master Sgt. Craig Rispoli, 381st Training Group technical training and evaluations superintendent. "It's essential that our younger Airmen get a chance to attend events like this because this is our heritage and our heritage makes us who we are. It really comes down to remembering those who've come before us and respecting what they've done to get us where we are today."