To a lot of people, the holidays mean more time to spend with family, but for airmen living in the dorms, spending time with family isn't always an option.

Team McChord volunteers and supporters collected and packaged cookies Dec. 8-9 at the McChord Field Chapel Support Center for first sergeants to deliver to airmen in the dorms.

Homemade cookies of all types and sizes were boxed Dec. 8 by volunteers and delivered to airmen Dec. 9 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

For more than a decade, the annual Operation Cookie Drop has continued to grow. This year, more than 10,000 cookies were collected from members of Team McChord and the surrounding communities.

"The holidays is a hard time of year for the airmen," said Chika Kosinski, wife of Col. Leonard Kosinski, 62nd Airlift Wing commander. "It's difficult not being with family for the holidays, and for a lot of the airmen it could be their first Christmas away from their families. We just want this little gift to cheer them up during this holiday season."

This was the second year that the Operation Cookie Drop has been a big base wide event and it showed in the more than 10,000 cookies collected.

With the magnitude of cookies the Operation Cookie Drop received, Operation Cookie Drop has spread not only to Airmen in the dorms, but to the squadron and groups as well.

"We started with the Airmen in the dorms," said Master Sgt. Jason Torres, 627th Logistic Readiness Squadron first sergeant. "But, because of the great support from the local community, we were able to   deliver cookies to other units around base."

Chika said the aim of Operation Cookie Drop is not only to make being away from home on the holidays easier, but to say thank you to the Airmen.

"This is just a small token of our appreciation," said Chika. "This event is so much more than cookies, it is about keeping a beloved holiday tradition going that strengthens the bond between service members and the community."