Team Summit Germany Blog: Rickie Jones
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Team Summit's trip to Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany wrapped up on Wednesday, November 23. Rickie Jones, driver of the Summit Racing ADRL Pro Nitrous Chevy Camaro, wraps up the team's visit with a look at the final day’s activities.
This is my second year taking part in the Summit Racing visit to the troops as Ramstein AB, and again it has been quite an experience. Even though I was a little more prepared after being here last year, I was still amazed by the tremendous people we come in contact with during our visits. It also doesn’t hurt when you’re making the trip with Jason Line, Greg Anderson and Dan Runte--they’ve made it fun. My thanks to Jim Greenleaf and everyone at Summit Racing for allowing me to be a part of this.
Our day started with at the 86th Services Squadron Auto Skills Center, which is commonly referred to as the Hobby Shop. On the outside it looks like your standard repair shop, complete with bays and lifts. Individuals on the base can bring their cars and rent the stalls to perform their own repairs or modifications using the tools and lifts on hand, with the added benefit of having an on-site parts department and someone to ask for advice. After being welcomed by Colonel Alcott, we spent some time talking to the staff and some of the customers who stopped by; we signed some autographs and gave out Summit Racing goody bags too.
One of the visitors was Jason’s cousin Molly Anderson, whom he met during our visit last year. She heard we would be at the base and wanted to stop by to say hello. During the conversation we found out she shared the Line family trait of a heavy accelerator foot, and wanted to proudly show him “Rory”, her Mazda RX-8. She also tried get Jason and Greg Anderson to take a ride on the Autobahn, which they unfortunately had to turn down as we needed to head to our next appearance.
From the hobby shop, we took a 25-minute drive to Sembach airbase to visit the 21st Operational Weather Squadron. We were greeted by Lt. Colonel Wall, who gave us a very thorough introduction to his squadron before taking us into the bustling operations center. This particular stop was right up my alley as I have always been fascinated by weather. Living in Illinois, we see our share of severe weather, and if I had not become a racer, I probably would have become some sort of storm chaser.
This center is one of only seven of its type in the world. It covers quite a bit of territory, including the Eastern seaboard of the United States and all of Europe. The squadron's primary responsibility is tracking and forecasting the weather for various military activities or important flights. It also provides an accurate picture of weather conditions for anyone who might need it. In addition, this facility serves as a training center where they instruct the next generation of forecasters.
The first thing that strikes you when walking into the operations center is just how young the staff is (even younger than I am!), something confirmed by Lt. Col. Wall. Most of them are first-year airmen, and each goes through a rigorous eight-month training schedule (including courses in physics and thermodynamics) before they can even get close to the floor. You could see just how good they are just by standing and watching them work.
It was great to have a chance to talk to the airmen about their work, and we ended up spending a good amount of time at the 21st before heading out for lunch. We stopped at a small restaurant named Big Emma’s, which is known in the area for their huge serving sizes--a report that proved to be quite accurate. Jason also got a kick out of it because his daughter is named Emma.
After lunch, we headed over to the Kaiserslautern Military Community Center, better known as the KMCC. It is a mall attached to our hotel on the base which looks a lot like one you would find back in the States. In this case, only members of the military and their families are able to shop there. We were set up in the entrance to one of the primary stores; we spent the next few hours signing autographs and handing out goody bags to the kids and their parents as they came in.
We were also interviewed by the Armed Forces Radio Network; we talked about ourselves, our trip and the reason we were there. As an added bonus, AFN brought a video crew and each of us taped a holiday greeting that will be played on the base--a fitting end to our 2011 trip!
We’ll be heading to the Frankfurt airport early tomorrow morning to head home, with the six of us taking various flights throughout the morning and early afternoon. Although it’s been a fun week, and I’m glad we made the trip, I have to admit I am ready to get home.
In the meantime, I would like to once again thank the members of our military for everything they do. I hope we were able to put a smile on your faces over the last few days, just as you did for us. On behalf of myself, Jason, Greg, and Dan, I hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving, and wish you all the very best of holiday seasons!
