FEATURE


Samia Mounts, assistant principal at Seoul American Elementary School, records a holiday greeting for her family with the help of the Joint Hometown News Service team in 2013.


Greetings program began in 1986, and the tradition contin- ues as Defense Media Activity (DMA) broadcasters in the Pacific, Europe, and Southwest Asia theaters, are setting up their cameras in more than 60 locations, according to Nata- sha Schleper, who leads the program for the DMA Joint Hometown News Program. Te program helps bridge the gap between military mem-


bers stationed overseas who may not be heading home for the holidays by taping video holiday greetings that are then aired by local stations where family members are located. “We give them an opportunity to say, ‘Hi’ to their family


through this video,” says Broadcast Journalist Senior Air- man Tony Coronado, who shot videos in September 2013, at Yongsan, Korea, for last year’s holiday season. Before her current duties coordinating the program,


Schleper taped many holiday greetings during her career as an Air Force broadcaster. “It was always one of the most reward- ing assignments,” she says. “Te hours were long, and it could be kind of a grueling assignment because of the sheer number of greetings to be taped, but it was always worth it to know that you were bringing people a little bit closer for the holidays.” Service members from all branches of service, their


family members, and Department of Defense civilians are eligible to participate. According to Rich Lamance, a


former Hometown News Print Chief, the fact that so many people participate in—and are touched by—the program is a big reason why it is so important. Each holiday season, there are “thousands of Soldiers and Airmen deployed around the world every day doing amazing things,” Lamance notes,


“Holiday Greetings is a chance to showcase the quality, dedi- cation, and accomplishments of these individuals. It shows the American people the sacrifices the men and women of the Armed Forces make by serving overseas, often separated from their families, defending freedom.” Lamance also believes that the services have an obliga-


tion to provide programs like this. “We tell our men and women, ‘OK, we need you in Iraq or Kuwait or Korea,’ and they salute smartly and go. So we have an obligation to take care of them and their families, and that’s what the Holiday Greetings program is really all about—taking care of Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and their families.” Te DMA teams wrap up shooting in October each year,


and the greetings are then released to thousands of media outlets nationwide by the Defense Video and Imagery System based out of Atlanta, Ga. By Tanksgiving, stations normally begin running the greetings and continue to air them through New Year’s Day. Look for them to air on a station near you!


AFSA Magazine • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 23


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