Dallas natives throw barbeque for deployed Soldiers at Camp Arifjan

Photo By Sgt. Thomas Day | Tony Booth, a Dallas native, serves a hungry Soldier lunch during his "Steak Team Mission" to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, Monday.  

01.15.2002

Story by Sgt. Thomas Day 

40th Public Affairs Detachment

By Sgt. Thomas L. Day
40th Public Affairs Detachment

KUWAIT—Harvey Gough, owner of a Dallas hamburger restaurant chain, came to Kuwait to do both of his life's professions. "I've had two jobs in my life," said Gough, a retired Army Reservist, "selling burgers and (serving) in the military."

On Jan. 15, Gough and seven of his friends served more than one hundred Soldiers deployed with Third Army/U.S. Army Central. Nobody brought a cash register.

Gough and his friends call themselves "Steak Team Mission." This is their third trip overseas in the last five years, including a stop Jan. 14 to Camp Bucca, Iraq.

For this "mission," Gough and his friends brought 2,000 steaks and 250 hamburgers. "We're just a little group of guys who pool our resources and get things together," said Tony Booth, a Dallas native who has joined Gough for all three trips. "It's just to show our appreciation for you troops who are here doing your jobs."

Gough is the main financier for the barbeque. His franchise, Guff's Hamburgers (he spells his restaurant name differently than his own last name), provides the food and the grill. While some donations have come from Dallas companies for previous trips (including the Dallas Cowboys), Gough and his friends cover most of the bill.

The cost of just moving the food and equipment into theater, according to Booth, ran more than $1,000.

Nobody seems to mind the expenses. On his way out of Camp Bucca, Gough was handed a note from Kyle Harmon, a contracted civilian from the Dallas suburb of Richardson.

"I have been working with the Army for three years now. I have been at this base since it was nothing but tents and baby wipes. Tonight's meal is without a doubt the highlight of my time here. Thank you for what you have done!"

The group has a website, www.steakteammission.org, for anyone interested in more information.

• Date Taken: 01.15.2002
• Date Posted: 01.24.2007 09:07
• Story ID: 8913