Dining out, a chance to get back to tradition Published Aug. 3, 2012 By Airmen 1st Class Darryl Bolden Jr. 460th Space Wing Public Affairs BUCKLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Buckley is scheduled to celebrate the Air Force's 65th birthday by hosting a dining out Sept. 28 at 5:30 p.m. at the Leadership Development Center. Rather than present the traditional Air Force Ball, Col. Daniel A. Dant, 460th Space Wing commander, wants Team Buckley to encounter a different experience. "Last year's Air Force Ball was a huge success. However, this year we hope to expose our Airmen to the time-honored dining out tradition," he said. Bold leadership is the theme of this year's dining out. "It will be a great opportunity to have fun, celebrate the Air Force birthday and get in touch with a great Air Force tradition," said Dant. "This will be a great opportunity to introduce a wonderful Air Force tradition to some of our younger folks. Who knows, they might even have fun." The first dining outs were organized by one of our Air Force pioneers, Gen. Henry 'Hap' Arnold. These parties were called "wingdings." "Dining outs are a tradition that the Air Force has acknowledged less frequently in the past few years. I bet some of our Airmen have in fact never been to one. Getting ready, grog bowls, rules of the mess and speaking in rhyme are all time-honored prerequisites," said Dant. Senior Airmen Elisabeth Labbe, 460th Space Wing Public Affairs broadcaster and member of the dining out committee, spoke positively about young Airmen attending this event. "The reason why Airmen should go to a dining out or other events is to become involved with activities that contain interaction with your Air Force family. It's a great way to build camaraderie and celebrate the Air Force birthday. Plus it's going to be a blast," said Labbe.