Airmen volunteers keep Attic clean, open

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jessica Hines
  • 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  Airman's Attics have been a long withstanding tradition in the Air Force by caring for Airmen and their families through donations made by fellow Airmen and servicemembers.

By and large, these venues are known to be a great place to find various uniform items, an extra pair of dress shoes or airman's battle uniform top; however, the Airman's Attic also provides a place for personnel who are moving the option to donate items they don't want to ship to their new base.

At Kunsan Air Base, servicemembers might skip out on shipping some household items from home due to the relatively short tours and limited space; this is where the Wolf Pack's attic comes into play.

Run by a staff of volunteer Airmen, the Wolf Pack Airman's Attic keeps a smooth running shop offering clothing, uniforms, movies, books, kitchen and home appliances, which are all free to all servicemembers and ranks.

"I love volunteering here, we've been able to help people get uniforms," said Tech. Sgt. Tyesha Wilson, 8th Maintenance Operations Squadron scheduler and head volunteer and coordinator for the attic since June.

"We have people who work on the flightline and their uniforms get damaged from the work they do every day, working in jet fuels or as crew chiefs, and they come through looking for items and we help them with that," Wilson said.

"I even helped one person get a full mess dress," she added.

More than uniform items, the attic boasts a wide variety of civilian clothing, some even with price tags still attached. Everything from shirts, pants, dresses and winter wear can be found.

While the attic never struggles to find volunteers, some donations, such as bikes and kitchen appliances, are highly desirable items they rarely receive.

"Biggest items people look for are video games, bedding, electronics and kitchen items, especially irons," said Wilson.

The attic proves most valuable to new Airmen arriving to Kunsan AB looking for basic dormitory items.

"No one has a twin bed these days at home, unless you have small children, so a lot of the bedding comes in here and is donated," said Wilson.

Airmen not only use the attic for basic household items, but seasonal as well.

"We had individuals coming through for Halloween, because we had people who had donated costumes the previous year and people came and snatched the stuff up, before they even started putting up costumes in the Exchange," said Wilson.

No doubt, Airmen will revisit the attic during the Christmas season looking for decorations, party dresses or sweaters as the temperatures continue to drop.

Volunteers at the attic also work to make sure items are current and wearable by others.

"We've purged the Airman's Attic since I've been running it, stuff that I've seen that's been in here a while, those items that have been sitting here for months," said Wilson.

"You can tell there has been stuff that's been donated by a person who lost weight, like a large pair of jeans, so of course us being military you're not going to find anybody that's going to fit that size," said Wilson.

The attic, in the same spirit of donation, works to purge items and find alternate donation centers like the local fire department or orphanage.

Because the attic is open during mostly working hours and lunch breaks, Airmen volunteer during both duty hours while in uniform, with permission from their units, and during their time off.

"I saw how to volunteer through the base website, it was easy," said Airman 1st Class Kyle Sciranko, an aerospace ground equipment specialist deployed from the 466th Fighter Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah.

"It's such a great way for people to donate stuff they don't need any more," Sciranko said.

The Wolf Pack Airman's Attic is open Wednesdays and Thursdays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

To make a donation, visit the attic during regular duty hours. All items must be clean and serviceable before donation.

To volunteer at the attic, visit www.kunsan.af.mil and click the home page link under 'Spotlights': "Wolf Pack Airman's Attic".