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RAMSTEIN AFB, Germany --
Today, Rickie Jones, driver of the Summit Racing Chevy Camaro Pro Nitrous Pro Mod, wraps up Team Summit's visit with a look at the final day's activities: This is my second year taking part in the Summit Racing troop visit to Ramstein AB, and once again it has proven to be quite an experience. Even though I was a little more prepared after being here last year, I continued to be amazed by the tremendous people we come in contact with during our visits, and thank Jim Greenleaf and everyone at Summit for allowing me to be a part of this. Of course, it also doesn't hurt when you're making the trip with Jason Line, Greg Anderson and Dan Runte - they've made it fun. Our day started with a quick trip to 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. However, instead of being staffed with technicians wrenching on cars, 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, signing autographs and giving out goody bags. One of the more interesting visitors was Jason's cousin Molly Anderson, who he met during our visit one year ago. She had heard we would be at the base and wanted to make sure and stop by to say hello. During the course of the conversation, it came up that she shared the Line family trait of a heavy accelerator foot, and wanted to proudly show him "Rory", her Mazda RX-8. Once Greg and Jason went out to see the car, she also tried to see if they would be interested in going on 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 the 25-minute drive to the Sembach base to visit the 21st Operational Weather Squadron, where 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 center is one of only seven of its type in the world, covering quite a bit of territory, including the Eastern seaboard and Europe among others, with the primary responsibility for tracking and forecasting the weather, not only in support of any military activity or important flights, but also to provide as accurate a picture of conditions for anyone who might need it. In addition, this facility serves as a training center as 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. Apparently, most of them are first-year airmen, each of which has gone through a rigorous eight-month training schedule including courses in physics and thermo dynamics before they can even get close to the floor. However, standing there watching them work, you could see just how good they are. 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 I have always felt that if I had not become a racer, I probably would have become some sort of storm chaser, so to be able to see how these airmen did their jobs was fascinating. It was great to have a chance to talk to them about their work, and we ended up spending a good amount of time there before heading out for lunch, stopping 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. >From lunch, we headed over to the Kaiserslautern Military Community Center, better known as the KMCC, which is a mall attached to our hotel on the base which looks a lot like one you would find back in the States. However, 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, where we spent the next few hours signing autographs and handing out goody bags to the kids and their parents as they came in. At the same time, we were also interviewed by the Armed Forces Radio Network, talking about ourselves, our trip and the reason we were there. As an added bonus, AFN also had a video crew, and we were each able to tape a holiday greeting that they will be playing on the base throughout the months to come, which ended up being 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, and hope we were able to put a smile on your faces over the last few days, just as you did for us. I would also like to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving, and the very best of holiday seasons.
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