Joint effort enables fitness transfer

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Michael Battles
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  After nearly one year of preparation, Airmen stood up the first fitness center for service members and dependents Nov. 21 at Papa Air Base, Hungary.

Tanya McCormick, Aviano Air Base fitness center director, coordinated the transfer of more than $120,000 dollars worth of fitness equipment from the Falcon Fitness Center located in Area 2 of Aviano to support the efforts.

"Before the transfer, [Papa] literally had no facilities to support fitness," said McCormick. "Fitness is one of the most important things, so it feels great to help these Airmen in need."

Previously, service members from the base had access to a local Hungarian fitness center, but not their dependents, she said. This new fitness center now gives fitness access to all military personnel and their dependents serving the Department of Defense in Hungary.

In the transfer, Papa received more than 25 pieces of equipment, ranging from ellipticals and treadmills to Olympic bars and leg presses.

"The equipment provides significantly better access to aerobic equipment previously unavailable at this remote location," said Col. Keith Boone, Heavy Airlift Wing commander.

According to Boone, the equipment provided much needed quality of life improvements to the base.

"All the equipment is practically brand new," McCormick said. "We received it new in 2008, and due to renovations of our Area 2 facility we are receiving updated equipment, which allowed us to transfer as much as we did."

McCormick expressed her gratitude and happiness to the individuals and units that got the equipment to Papa before the holiday season.

"It feels great to work so long establishing something from the ground up at a place there is such a need for it," McCormick said. "I wish it could of happened sooner, but it's well worth the wait for them to have a nice fully operational fitness facility. Now these Airmen and their families can stay physically, mentally and socially fit going into the new year."

The Airmen stationed at Papa support the Strategic Airlift Capability program, which supports cargo mission throughout the Middle East and Afghanistan. The multi-nation wing is the first non-NATO base of its kind. Alongside the U.S., 11 partner nations serve the HAW mission including Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Sweden.

To learn more about the HAW mission, click here.