Sirens blared and children clapped as the Kaiserslautern Military Community's first responders drove through the family housing area at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, during a 'Heroes Through Housing' event.
Members of the 86th, 569th and 435th Security Forces Squadrons, 86th Medical Group, 435th Civil Engineer Group, NATO Military Police and Army NATO International Military Police were applauded for their work throughout the COVID-19 pandemic during the May 7 event.
"It was amazing to see people excited and the young children waving," Air Force Staff Sgt. Christopher Torres, a police services assistant with the 86th Security Forces Squadron, said. "[Children] were happy to be there, calling their brothers and sisters over to run down the street and get a view."
While first responders usually make contact with the public in a time of crisis, events such as these help build support and ease COVID-19 tension, he said.
"The whole purpose was to show the public that the first responder community is in this together with them," he said. "We're still [social] distancing, but we're also still here to keep the peace and protect the public during COVID-19."
Organizers hoped to boost the morale of the community and give back for their support.
"We can't have a huge fair handing out hot dogs and hamburgers, but it's just something to show the community, 'Hey, we're still thinking about you,'" Montgomery added.
While events are important for community morale, Air Force Lt. Col. Jeremy Sheppard, the commander of the 86th Security Force Squadron, noted it's also important to remember that things aren't back to normal yet.
"Our big concern was obviously making so much of a draw in housing that we would inadvertently have a mass gathering," Sheppard said. "We were happy to see that families took the precautions to keep themselves and their family members safe."
The event has been in production for two weeks. Sheppard said he saw celebrations for first responders in the United States and wanted to do the same on Ramstein. Frequent communication between first responder agencies was the key getting the event organized quickly, he said.
(Air Force Airman 1st Class Taylor Slater is assigned to the 86th Airlift Wing.)