Photo By Frank O'Brien | Bravo Company “Barbarians” show off their civilized side with some creative...... read more read more
ZABUL PROVINCE, Afghanistan – It is said that “you can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family.” The same rule applies to members of the military family on deployments.
On Thanksgiving Day, the residents of Forward Operating Base Bullard in Zabul province, Afghanistan, came together as a family to celebrate the holiday in their own unique ways.
“Everybody on the FOB not on a patrol came together as a family to share a meal,” said Northfield, Ill.-native Capt. Brian Harber, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment commander. “The whole company came together...the band of Barbarians. First sergeant was in the kitchen all day, and our senior leadership served chow to the enlisted soldiers. It’s an Army tradition.”
“Barbarians” is the nickname given to the soldiers of Bravo Company.
“They live up to it,” said 1st Lt. Joseph M. Koennecke of the Fort Wainwright-based regiment.
The Barbarians took heavy indirect fire during their first few months at FOB Bullard, suffering the most casualties of any unit in Combined Team Zabul. The Shah Joy district mission is considered one of the toughest in the province. The Barbarians, true to their name, fought back. The security situation has improved so significantly that the provincial and district governments are beginning to expand their civilizing influence through Shah Joy.
Thanksgiving was an opportunity for the Barbarians to relax and enjoy some civilized pursuits.
Married couple, Spc. Justin Key of Chicago, Ill., and Spc. Khaliyqa Dixon of New York, are deployed together at Bullard where they work as 92G food service specialists. They were two of the three soldiers responsible for helping to prepare the Thanksgiving meal. While they would normally be living together in Alaska, for the deployment they have separate quarters. Despite that, Key and Dixon are grateful for the opportunity to be together as a family for the holiday.
“I feel extra blessed to be sharing Thanksgiving with my husband and my unit,” said Dixon. “It feels good.”
November is Military Family Appreciation Month and President Obama has declared Nov. 20-26, National Family Week.
Staff Sgt. Antonio Grubbs, acting platoon sergeant, who would normally be spending the holiday with his wife and three kids, instead was keeping an non-commissioned officer eye on the morale of his military family: his soldiers.
“Everybody’s doing well,” said Grubbs. “No distractions…they’re ready for anything.”
Back in Alaska, Grubbs’ wife invited a Serbian couple who had never been to a Thanksgiving dinner to experience a taste of American culture. Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, it was the Barbarians who were inviting Romanian soldiers to table.
Romanian soldiers of the 495th Infantry Battalion are stationed at the base as part of the NATO-ISAF mission. Romanian troops have invited U.S. soldiers to celebrate Romanian Armed Forces Day on Oct. 24-25, and both groups have shared in Iftar dinners with their Afghan partners.
Although the Romanian soldiers enjoyed the meal, they went back to their duties immediately afterwards. On this day it was making upgrades to the base gym. The Romanians also maintained patches of grass outside of their headquarters – a rare luxury in Shah Joy.
Contractors on the base are part of the military family in spirit, if not on paper. Two police trainers at Bullard volunteer their time every Sunday to cook for the troops.
“We grill every Sunday,” said Esteban Blanco, a Sarasota, Fla., native who has been at Bullard since Sept. of 2010 from behind a cloud of steam. “Me and my buddy, Tommy…we want to do something for the guys here. Normally I’d be with my family for Thanksgiving – my kids, my grandkids and their two kids.”
It wouldn’t be a Thanksgiving without a visit from an extended family member and this day was no exception. Lt. Col. Jeff R. Stewart, battalion commander, and Col. Blake C. Ortner, Combined Team Zabul commander of the Virginia Army National Guard’s 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team flew in by helicopter to conduct a battlefield circulation and award ceremony.
Spc. Key and Dixon were among the soldiers awarded an Army Achievement Medal for their service. Combat awards were also made.
“I love being here,” said Ortner. “It’s great to have the opportunity to get out to the bases and talk to soldiers…to see the outstanding job they’re doing and wish them a happy Thanksgiving under the tough situation of being away from their families.”
In an informal meeting later that day, Stewart had a heartfelt message for his Barbarians.
“Think about what Thanksgiving means,” said Stewart, “It means family. This is the American holiday. You’re my family, and I love you. You’re in my heart every day.”
Not far from where Stewart spoke was a small Christmas tree decorated creatively with 1-24 patches, empty ammo magazines, plastic detainee cuffs, uniform flags and patches, a dollar bill, and at the top, in place of an angel was a picture of Pfc. Douglas Leonard Cordo – a reminder of family members that were with the unit in spirit if not flesh.
Cordo, 20, a 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division soldier from Kingston, N.Y., was killed when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device, Aug. 19. He deployed to Zabul province in April.
The day was not entirely somber. Several soldiers were enjoying the day off by playing video games at the new Morale, Welfare and Recreation building that was completed in September.
Inside the MWR building were bean bag chairs, books, cardio equipment, video games and deep couches.
No Thanksgiving would be complete without some football. Since the soldiers were unable to get a live game feed, they settled for an intense game of NCAA Football on Xbox instead.
First Lt. Reginald Ramsey, an El Paso, Texas, native on his first deployment, took to the virtual gridiron against Buffalo Bills fan and three-time deployer, Sgt. Chris McNamara of Brandenton, Fla.
“I’d like to give a shout out to my mom, Donna,” said Ramsey, while mashing the buttons.
“I wanna give a shout out to his mom too,” said a fellow Barbarian to good-natured guffaws from the crowd.
| Date Taken: | 11.24.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 11.29.2011 01:59 |
| Story ID: | 80646 |
| Location: | ZABUL PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 1,846 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, FOB Bullard comes together as a family to celebrate Thanksgiving, by Frank O'Brien, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
