The Holidays are a great time of year and a wonderful part of this country's culture where family and friends gather to enjoy each others company, enchange gifts, and eat as much food as possible. Between Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, and occassionally Ramadan every so often; there are more than enough opportunities for people to gather and remind themselves what they are thankful for.
But what about those military folks in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere who can't be with family and friends? How do they celebrate and what are some of the customs they follow?
I've been very lucky when it comes to holidays and my deployments. In my three trips to Iraq I have only missed one Christmas with my family (technically it was two since in 2006 I spent Christmas in Kuwait going home on leave but I did make it home the day after Christmas). Thanksgiving I have not been so fortunate and have spent Thanksgivings 04, 06, and 09 while deployed.
2004 Thanksgiving was the most challenging for me as it was the first Thanksgiving that I spent away from home. The line into the dining facility was long...very long; something I would learn to adjust to for each holiday meal. I really didn't expect to enjoy the meal but the cooks had really gone all out, as one could imagine a holiday on Camp Victory with Corps headquarters being. As I sat in a large room that my battalion had reserved for us I looked around the room at the other officers I had spent the last six months with as well as the soldiers of the platoon I led. I realized that I was with my family. Not my real family of course, but an adopted family whom I now had a different kind of bond with. It gave me pause and I reflected at how far we had come. Future deployment Thanksgivings would become a time in which I was able to relax and evaluate how far I had come, both in terms of the deployment and as an intelligence professional.
Christmas came early for the 502nd MI BN as we left Iraq in mid December and departed Kuwait on December 23rd giving folks a chance to spend Christmas with their families. Thanksgiving 2006 was spent much the same way as 2004, standing in a long line but enjoying a great meal with good friends and comrades, the evening I reflected and prepared for 7 more months of Iraq (which would later turn into 10 more months). Christmas 2006 I left Iraq to go on leave and spent the day in Kuwait, which actually had bearable weather for a change. The food was once again good and I enjoyed the fact that the next day I would leave the middle east for a nice break.
Thanksgiving and Christmas 2009 were situations that I had yet to experience; holiday meals where the work stress was high, the tactical situation challenging, and all on a base where we regularly had our food rationed.
They would turn into two of the best holidays I have ever had. Thanksgiving started as a regular day until the XO, a gruff man to say the least, looked into the office and asked what we were doing:
"Uh, just maintaining situational awareness sir."
"It's Thanksgiving damnit, it's a limited work day, stop working."
He left and I gave a shrug to my soldiers and told them to go take the day off. I would spend the rest of the day reading and watching Melody Tunes. That night we had the best meal COP Cobra had ever seen, at least in my opinion. The local insurgents were kind enough to not be too active that day as well.
Christmas was much the same except this time I knew it was a limited work day so I was able to sleep in some (much needed), watch Top Gear, read, and get some end of tour awards completed (with 7 months to go!). The meal was as wonderful as Thanksgiving and the two holidays gave us all a much needed breather from the rigorous work schedule that I felt was wearing people down.
Do I enjoy spending holidays in Iraq and away from family and friends? No, of course not. But I will also admit that Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2009, spent on a far flung and tiny combat outpost far from anything resembling a Salsa night, was possibly the best holidays I've ever had.
