Airmen assigned to Task Force - Holloman prepare an in-processing line in support of Operation Allies Welcome, Aug. 31, 2021, on Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. (Jessica Sanchez/U.S. Air Force)
ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (Tribune News Service) — U.S. Undersecretary of the Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones visited Task Force-Holloman on Sept. 30.
Ortiz Jones toured the Afghan Village, where she was introduced to efforts to address quality of life for the refugees housed at the village, and review the processing of Afghan refugees at the facility.
Task Force-Holloman is the team behind Operation Allies Welcome on Holloman Air Force Base.
Holloman Air Force Base is the first Afghan evacuee processing location Ortiz Jones has visited since she took in office in July 2021.
“It’s wonderful to see all these children smiling and playing,” Ortiz Jones told Task Force-Holloman. “They’ve come a long way from their homes, and had to put up with so much to get here. Their resilience is inspiring.”
Ortiz Jones visited the Afghan refugees’ living area on Holloman Air Force Base called Aman Omid Village.
Aman Omid Village provides housing, a dining facility, recreation areas, restrooms, medical services and more for the Afghan refugees housed there.
Ortiz Jones met some of the Afghan refugees during her tour of the facility.
“It’s a lot of work, but they’re getting the job done, and they’re doing it well,” Ortiz Jones said. “Our Airmen are the very best, and Task Force-Holloman is proving it.”
The U.S. Department of Defense, as a means of supporting Operation Allies Welcome, is temporarily providing housing, medical screenings, transportation and general support at eight military installations across the U.S. for Afghan special immigrant visa applicants, their families and other Afghan personnel.
The other military installations housing refugees are Fort Lee, Virginia; Fort McCoy, Wisconsin; Fort Bliss, Texas; Joint Base McGuire-Dix- Lakehurst, New Jersey; Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia; and Fort Pickett, Virginia.
The Afghan refugees and their families are seeking special immigrant visas for Afghan who worked for or with the U.S. government during the War in Afghanistan.
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