Light brigade charges into Fort Carson

  • Published
  • By David Edwards
  • Academy Spirit Staff Writer
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  Fort Carson, get ready for the charge of the Christmas light brigade.

The Air Force Academy's Cadet Squadron 21 has discovered the secret to building cohesion and morale: brighten the holidays for families missing a loved one because of deployment.

The Blackjacks' efforts to spread good cheer at Fort Carson don't stop at just lights, though. They've received an overwhelming response to their project to help Carson households bear an emotional burden. Their Saturday light-hanging will be supplemented by Santa Claus, candy canes and hay rides.

"It really started speeding up and just kind of snowballed," Cadet 2nd Class Ben Galloway, one of the organizers, said of the project. "People really started jumping on this, which we thought was really cool. Beyond just putting up the lights, we want to let them know that as a squadron we're grateful for the sacrifice that their loved one is making being deployed overseas."

The idea was hatched at a squadron strategy meeting at the suggestion of the wife of Maj. Jason Rusco, the air officer commanding for CS 21. The cadets thought it was a splendid idea, and they didn't hesitate to get behind the project.

"They took it and ran with it," Major Rusco said. "We have some really good ideas in our strategy meetings."

Cadets in other squadrons have asked to join the Blackjacks' brigade. Enthusiasm for the idea has been so contagious that Cadet Galloway and Major Rusco are almost certain they'll run out of the special T-shirts that were made. But that's the only downside, they said.

The cadets' eagerness to participate was matched by the brigade's four sponsors: First Command, The Home Depot, Domino's Pizza and Panera Bread. The families at Fort Carson that signed up will provide the lights; the cadets will provide the labor.

Volunteers plan to stretch their work across daylight hours. Once they arrive at the post, they will break into four teams, stopping at one wave of homes in the morning and one in the afternoon. They'll also have a truck rigged up with a sound system and Santa in the back chucking candy canes for the kids.

Although the squadron has been working on the idea for almost a month, Major Rusco said even that hasn't been enough time. He said that ideally he'd like to have two more weeks.

But showtime is Saturday, so the group is assessing the total number of homes they'll need to visit. Expressions of interest are still flowing in at the last minute. Cadet Galloway said that people who told him they can't make it have nonetheless offered a truck or promised to help in other ways.

"This is the first thing we've really done as a squadron," he said. "It's been amazing."