Adventures of an AFWingMom: Meet and Greet the Troops

Nearly every day a flight arrives at DFW International Airport bringing home troops for a two-week R&R (Rest and Recuperation) and they are greeted by groups of enthusiastic and patriotic volunteers. We decided to volunteer on Veterans Day this year.

I searched online to find information about greeting the troops and found the information here.

You begin by calling 972-574-0392 for a recorded message of an estimated time of arrival. The flights arrive anywhere between 7 am and 9 am. On our particular day the flight was scheduled to arrive at 8 am so we headed out and made it to Terminal D, Gate 22 by 7:30 am.

We parked in the lot located on ground level and made our way to the Arrival Hall. Parking passes are issued as you arrive by one of the volunteers so there isn't even a parking fee. I was so excited that we were going to be a part of this!

There were already quite a few people gathered and waiting to welcome the troops. There are flags available for volunteers to wave or you can bring your own. You are also encouraged to wear patriotic colors.

One of the first things we noticed was a poster that people were signing. It was going to be sent to Ft. Hood as an encouragement to them.

You can bring treats and goodie bags. Keep in mind that no home baked items are allowed, only those that are prepackaged.

There are also lots of people that make signs and can leave them and the onsite coordinator will see that they are displayed.

As the time drew nearer for the troops to begin arriving my excitement and anticipation kept growing and so did the crowds!

There was one volunteer who was so nice and took time to talk to a lot of the kids that were there.

If you'd like to bring balloons to help decorate only Mylar balloons are allowed - no regular helium balloons.

Once the troops started arriving the flags began waving and the crowd began cheering and clapping. Here are some pics as the troops were making their way through the crowd.

You are also able to offer troops the use of your cell phone to call home as they arrive. The best place to do this is outside as they are waiting to get on the buses.

~M~ decided he wanted to go and do that.

He offered his phone to a lot of the troops but only one needed to use it. After he was through he asked ~M~ which patch on his uniform did he like. ~M~ said that he didn't need to do that but the soldier said no, which one do you like. The soldier pointed at one and said that this one signifies 1st Calvary. ~M~ chose that one.

I spoke to the soldier after he had finished his call and he was telling me about how he would soon be reunited with his wife and would get to meet for the first time his 1 month old daughter. How awesome is that? I was so happy that ~M~ was able to be a part of that special moment.

Finally all the troops had been greeted and the last few were boarding a bus headed to their next destination one step closer to being with their families again.

All in all we had the most amazing time and plan on participating again soon. It's an awesome opportunity to encourage and thank those that are serving our great country.