Unit Spotlight: American Forces Network Spangdahlem Published Oct. 16, 2014 By Airman 1st Class Luke J. Kitterman 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- The 52nd Fighter Wing has more than 30 units assigned and over five mission partners, working day in and day out to fulfill the mission of defending American and allied interests while building partnership capacity. Throughout the year, 52nd FW Public Affairs spotlights one of those teams, as together they serve a critical role in fulfilling this mission. This week's spotlight is on one of the mission partners, the American Forces Network Spangdahlem. Spreading accurate and valuable information quickly is critical to the success of any base's mission. It's the AFN job to do just that here on Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. "AFN is here to provide command information to all of our audiences," said U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Sarah R. Webb, AFN-Spangdahlem station manager, and native of Huntington Beach, California. "Our audiences include active-duty members, family members, DoD civilians and our local nationals who work on base. Anybody who needs to know the information our commander wants them to know, we provide them with it." AFN uses different mediums in order to contact their audience members. Their primary method of communication dates all the way back to the beginning of the 20th century. "We focus primarily on radio," said U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Sean A. Walker, AFN-Spangdahlem broadcast journalist and native of Louisville, Kentucky. "The AFN Spangdahlem channel, 105.1 FM The Eagle, provides Americans with a station they can relate to when listening for the news or just jamming to their favorite song." Besides using radio to play all the popular songs back home and give news updates, AFN also uses new technology to entertain and inform their audiences. "We create video spots that we use for social media like Facebook," Webb said. "These spots allow us to be visually creative when getting valuable information out. It's a fun way to engage with our viewers." With access to all the products AFN produces, Airmen can feel like they still have something connecting them back to the states. "Our main goal is to create the feeling of being stateside for Airmen and their families while being stationed in foreign countries," Walker said. "We want them to have a sense of home."