JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas -- An estimated 6,500 Airmen in training
programs at JBSA-Lackland, Sheppard Air Force Base and Goodfellow Air Force
Base, all in Texas; and Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, began their
travels to spend the holidays with friends and family.
Arranging for this massive exodus of Airman trainees to go home
to see loved ones is the duty of the Air Force Leisure Travel Offices, part of
the Air Force Services Activity.
Each year, the Department of Defense solicits waivers of
advanced-purchase restrictions on airline tickets for travel during the
year-end holiday period. The waivers allow basic and immediate follow-on
trainees from all branches of service to make reservations at discounted rates
and defer payment until the time of travel, said Debbie Lester, leisure travel
specialist for the Air Force Services Activity . The Airmen need a way to
travel because training programs are virtually shut down over the holidays.
“Each of the
travelers will meet with a travel agent, one-to-one, to make their
arrangements. It’s a massive process. ” she explained. “The agents are working the airlines, the
buses to and from the airport and the payment information. Some of these young
Airmen don’t have a credit card so the deferred payment allows them the time to
coordinate their payment … usually with mom and dad.”
Sheppard is practically a ghost town after the exodus off
the installation, Lester said.
Because the Airmen are in training during regular duty
hours, travel offices stay open late and on weekends to accommodate Airmen’s
schedules. The week before Thanksgiving through the second week of December is
the busiest period, Lester said.
The Lackland travel office has three certified travel
agents, who continue to handle their normal workload during the holiday
exodus.
“We are available to accommodate anyone who needs us,” said
Sherry Booher, Information, Tickets and Travel manager at JBSA-Lackland. “We are still arranging for convalescent
leave, permanent changes of station and leisure travel for retirees and
others,” Booher said. “We book for other installations as well. Most
installations don’t have a travel office. We get calls from Iraq and Germany,
for example. Once Airmen leave JBSA, they continue to work with our travel
office.”
On Dec. 4, the travel office was full of Airmen and family
members arranging travel home for the holidays.
“Coming to the travel office is very convenient. It’s nice
to be here in person,” said Mary Kramer of Rochester, Minnesota, who was making
arrangements for her son, Airman Basic Timothy Kramer, with the help of agent
Crystal Reyes. “It’s very helpful to get questions answered.”
Reyes was able to work with the Kramers to change the
destination airport to get them a better deal.
“It definitely saves time,” said Kramer. “Being from so far away, it helps to come to
the travel office.”
The Kramers had driven to JBSA-Lackland for the Airman’s
Dec. 4 graduation.
Airmen or a family member can also book travel through www.jbsatravel.com.
Booking through the travel office can save military travelers
money. Discounts and eligibility are determined by the travel vendor; airlines,
cruise lines or tour companies for other leisure travel.
“The airlines are very accommodating,” Booher said.
One year, she recalled, an airline adjusted a departure time
to allow military passengers to depart within the designated timeframe for
holiday leave.
The travel offices also arrange transportation to and from
airports.
“The travelers come in busloads at a time. It’s a community
effort,” Booher said.
Once they get to the airport, United Service Organizations
volunteers assist the travelers, even wrapping gifts that had to go unadorned
through airport security, Booher added.