Photo By Maj. Mikel Arcovitch | U.S. Army 1st Lt. Alexandria Moore, Task Force Ever Vigilant, carries a young Afghan...... read more read more
After checking in at the Command Post at Camp Liya, I walk with U.S. Army 1st Lt. Alexandria Moore and Capt. David Newman, both with Task Force Ever Vigilant, into the area where U.S. bound evacuees from Afghanistan are living temporarily. We are immediately greeted by smiling adults and children, and are saluted by two children who appear to be teenagers.
“Soldiers are completely engaged within this small community. Everybody knows their job and is truly enjoying this mission,” said Capt. Newman, the Commander of Camp Liya.
“This experience has been amazing. I am here voluntarily, and love doing whatever I can to help,” said 1st Lt. Moore.
While we converse with a small group, Task Force Soldiers from several units of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command interact with evacuees in a variety of way. Some play volleyball over fences and soccer in open spaces, while other simply chat with folks of all ages.
Camp Liya is located on top of a hill at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo. The small camp is named after a young Afghan child that was famously seen being handed to U.S. Marines over a fence at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Camp Liya was set up to host U.S. bound evacuess out of Afghanistan. The Camp has large tents with beds, shower facilities, bathrooms, a dining hall, a mosque, an administrative tent for various meetings with travelers, a large space for indoor games and activities, and, most recently, a fitness center for the travelers.
“The gym has really come together from donations,” said 1st Lt. Moore. “People have mentioned the desire for a fitness center, so we’re pretty happy it has come together,” said Moore.
Soldiers work diligently day in and day out to provide sustainment for all the evacuees on Camp Liya. The enduring mission of providing care for evacuees is critical, and making their experience as enjoyable as possible is important to Soldiers on a personal level. Camp Liya does not feel like a typical work environment. Soldiers are not only engaged in the mission, but can’t hide how much they are enjoying every aspect of their mission – their smiles, laughs, and playful banter with each other and travelers are those of people that are truly dedicated.
“Operations are really smoothing out,” said Capt. Newman. “TF Ever Vigilant Soldiers know their primary jobs and understand them to the point where we are all operating seamlessly. Not only that, but Soldiers are going the extra mile to do everything they can to make this a great experience for the Travelers,” said Newman.
As we were leaving, a Soldier standing with two Travelers yelled over to 1st Lt. Moore, who still had a young Traveler hanging tight around her neck. One of the travelers asked Moore about ‘Spicy Uno.’ The Soldier yelled over, “Lt. Moore is the king of Spicy Uno!” Lt. Moore slyly smiled and told the traveler, “I have a deck in my room, we can play later.” The traveler excitedly ran back to the other Soldier to tell him the good news.
Soldiers and evacuees living together in shared space. This has outgrown being a mission – at some point, it became a community.
| Date Taken: | 10.01.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 10.08.2021 06:01 |
| Story ID: | 407008 |
| Location: | CAMP BONDSTEEL, ZZ |
| Web Views: | 605 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Task Force Ever Vigilant Builds Community at Camp Liya, by MAJ Mikel Arcovitch, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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