Naval Air Technical Training Center (NATTC) service members hosted the Florida Panhandle Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) 5K Color Run, Sept. 30, as a kickoff to the annual fund drive.

Event co-organizer NATTC Air Department instructor Petty Officer 1st Class Nyran Gayle said the run provided a unique opportunity for not only the command to come together, but the Pensacola-area military community as well.

"We had just over 1,300 runners in the race, with about 1,200 NATTC Navy and Marine Corps students, and almost 100 other Pensacola-area community members participating," he said. "We're hoping this creates awareness throughout the area about how important the CFC truly is."

The CFC is an annual workplace charity campaign, with almost 200 CFC campaigns throughout the country and overseas raising millions of dollars each year. Pledges made by federal civilian, postal and military donors during the campaign season (which runs Sept. 1 to Dec. 15) support eligible non-profit organizations that provide health and human service benefits throughout the world.

Gayle said Pensacola-area commands each have a designated CFC coordinator, and individuals interested in donating to a charity through the CFC should contact a command representative.

The run coincided with the Coalition of Service Members Against Destructive Decisions (CSADD)-sponsored NATTC Student Picnic.

NATTC Executive Officer Cmdr. Scott Sherman said he hopes the run and picnic will help reinforce the benefits of both the CFC and CSADD, two organizations important to Sailors and Marines.

"A lot of the NATTC participants are first-term Sailors," Sherman said. "The picnic and the Color Run are great opportunities for these young men and women to see what CFC and CSADD are all about."

Sherman added that the emphasis of the CFC 5K Color Run remained on fun rather than competition, with runners beginning the race dressed in clean white T-shirts or the Navy physical training uniform and passing through color stations at each mile marker. Each color station was associated with a different color, and volunteers blasted participants with dyed cornstarch from spray bottles.

For more than 70 years, the Naval Air Technical Training Center has been providing training and increasing readiness within the Naval Aviation Enterprise. The facility graduates approximately 23,000 Navy, Marine and international students annually and is part of the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training, which provides single site management for Navy and Marine Corps aviation technical training.

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