Tyndall housing welcomes law enforcement

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Rachelle Elsea
  • 325th Fighter Wing/ Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  The 325th Security Forces Community Police and Balfour Beatty Community housing partnered together to host National Night Out on August 4 from 6 - 8 p.m.

The event offered food, prizes, face-painting, Kid I.D., Chiefs Dunking Booth, and prizes.

National Night Out is a unique crime and drug prevention event sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch. NATW's goal is to heighten crime awareness, generate support for the local anticrime programs and to strengthen neighborhood spirit. 

"The reason an event like this is so important is due to the fact that it gives the community an opportunity to see the different programs there local law enforcement agenesis offer," said Senior Airman Raymond Taboada, from the 325th Security Forces Community Police. "It also gives the residents the opportunity to meet people in their neighborhood and get to know the community police."

The first National Night Out began in 1984, with 400 communities and 23 states participating. Taking place the first Tuesday in August, 2.5 million Americans took part.

The participation has slowly grown over the last 24 years. Last year 11,310 communities and all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities, and military bases worldwide participated. 35.4 Americans participated.

This year more than 12,000 communities were expected to take part.

Activities have expanded considerably over the years to include block parties, cookouts, parades, visits from police, festivals, neighborhood walks, safety fairs, contests, rallies and meetings.

"This is the type of event that has no limits," said Airman Taboada. "When planning for future National Night Outs our goals need to be bigger than just two or three squadron participation. In some places they shut down 5-10 blocks at a time, live bands and cook outs are the norm. I understand that we are a small community but that doesn't mean we have an excuse not to aim high."


This year's National Night Out was Tyndall Air Force Base's first ever. With nearly 200 attendees, the event exceeded expectations.


"People have to keep in mind that the National Night Out was formed to heighten crime and drug awareness throughout the communities," said Airman Taboada. "There's no doubt that last night's event did just that. We had well over 25 residents sign up for the neighborhood watch program and many others came up for more information on the program. Overall this event was truly a big success for the Tyndall community."