Action Line: Regulations suspended for VIPs
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England --
COMPLAINT:
I was wondering why rules and regulations were relaxed so much during a recent VIP visit.
I was in the Liberty Club during the recent Kid Rock visit.
There are regulations governing smoking in all RAF Lakenheath facilities. As I entered the Liberty Club, the stench of cigarettes was very strong, as smoking had evidently been permitted on this occasion. There were several of Kid Rock's entourage smoking away, as was he.
Additionally, as I understand it, the Liberty Club had been tasked with providing a huge amount of food for Kid Rock and the others with him. Rather than accept this free food, Kid Rock and his crew brought about $300 worth of food into the club from Taco Bell. Not only is bringing outside food into the club against the club's policy, but the food that had been prepared for them was thrown into the trash can. Surely, you all should be concerned about this waste.
There is a base full of troops that may potentially sacrifice their lives for the sake of our country. When they enter the Liberty Club, smoking is prohibited. To smoke, they must exit the casino bar into the smoking area. Why should visitors, like Kid Rock and those with him, be exempted from the RAF Lakenheath/DoD-wide smoking policies? Further, these same troops use the club facilities for their own special events and are not permitted to bring in their own food. Instead, they are forced to use the club's catering and pay their prices. Why should visitors, who only come once year, get special treatment over the ones who keep these facilities going day in and day out?
RESPONSE:
Thank you for your question and the opportunity to respond. Operations Season's Greetings is in its 12th year of bringing celebrity acts to the men and women of the armed forces both deployed and at home station overseas. Regarding your concerns: the entertainers and their crews did smoke in the Liberty Club; however, they were asked to extinguish their cigars and cigarettes and did so without hesitation. The entertainers were responsive and respectful when informed of the rules.
Food was provided to the entertainers as part of the contractual agreement between the OSG and the base. The entertainers were happy to see Taco Bell after traveling for two weeks, so they purchased some food and brought it into the club for a short period of time. Once the crews were informed of the restriction on bringing outside food into the club, the crews took the remaining Taco Bell food to their lodging rooms.
The rules for our visiting guests are the same as the rules for those of us that live and work here. However, as with any guest, they may not always know all of the rules, so it is up to us to ensure our visitors are informed of and follow the rules. In this case, when our guests were informed of the rules, they obliged without hesitation.
These special visits come with a cost to our base. In addition to the planning costs, all bases visited are required to provide a specific amount of food, incur lodging costs and pay for a stage. Everything else is paid for by the entertainers. Please consider that the highest paid entertainers receive anywhere between $100K and $1M per show when on tour. These entertainers performed for our uniformed members and their families at zero cost. Mr. Carlos Mencia was contractually obligated to do the show at the hangar only; however, he went above and beyond to do an extra show at the club.
The wing was very pleased to bring first class entertainment and a big morale boost to our hard-working Airmen and their families at this demanding time of year. I realize there may be a perception that the rules were bent for our visitors, but please know that our Club staff handled the situations appropriately by addressing them as quickly as possible while still providing great customer service. We appreciate your patronage of our facilities as well, and look forward to providing you with the same quality of service in the near future!
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