Published: December 26, 2008
Christmas Kicks Off At a Run for Strikers of 3rd BCT, 4th ID
By Sgt. Jerry Saslav
BAGHDAD - Spc. Victor Dance, of Elizabeth City, N.C., who serves as a administrative specialist with Company A, 3rd Special Troops Battalion, 3rd BCT, 4ID, MND-B, reaches for the football during a tournament on Christmas Day at Forward Operating Base War Eagle in Baghdad's Adhamiyah district. The Soldiers kicked off a busy day with a 5K fun run, flag football and volleyball tournaments and a Karaoke contest.
photo by Sgt. Jerry Saslav, 3rd BCT PAO, 4ID, MND-B |
FORWARD OPERATING BASE WAR EAGLE, Iraq - It wasn't the sound of a sleigh and the hoof beats from eight tiny reindeer that broke the early morning tranquility at Forward Operating Base War Eagle, in Baghdad's Adhamiyah district on Christmas Day.
Rather, it was the sound of Soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division cheering-on about 60 of their comrades participating in a 5K fun run.
"Christmas is all about being with your loved ones. While we're over here ... this is friends and Family right here," said Sgt. Justin Buck, a native of Wilson, Okla., who works in the Fire and Effects Coordination Cell, 3rd BCT, 4th Inf. Div., Multi- National Division - Baghdad. "This is all we've got, so we just make the best of it."
BAGHDAD - Spc. Taimak Moore, a native of Camden, N.J., who serves as a generator mechanic with Company B, 3rd Special Troops Battalion, 3rd BCT, 4ID, MND-B, tries to run through a group of defenders during a flag football tournament on Christmas Day at FOB War Eagle in Baghdad's Adhamiyah district.
photo by Sgt. Jerry Saslav, 3rd BCT PAO, 4ID, MND-B |
The Christmas marks the second one during the deployment that the Soldiers will be separated from their loved ones. They've decorated some of their work areas with holiday decorations sent by folks back home: small Christmas trees, complete with lights and ornaments, have taken up positions on desks, tables and shelves throughout the base.
Sporting events have become a holiday tradition at FOB War Eagle, and Christmas was no exception. A flag football tournament began at 9 a.m. and finished at 3 p.m., and then a pick-up game ran for another two hours.
Spc. Matthew Vitug, a native of Crofton, Md., showed up for a little esprit de corps.
"It sucks not being with Family, so why not spend it with friends ... the Family we've become out here" said Vitug, a military policeman with the Military Police Platoon, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Special Troops Battalion, 3rd BCT, 4th Inf. Div., who serves on a personal security detachment.
While the football games were taking place, a volleyball tournament started and also ran for hours. Of course, in addition to the myriad of sporting events, Christmas services were held at a newly built chapel, which was completed just in time for Christmas Eve candlelight services.
BAGHDAD - Staff Sgt. Jeremie Olive, a native of Oahu, Hawaii, who serves as a liaison officer for 1st Battalion, 27 Infantry Regiment "Wolfhounds," 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team "Warrior," 25th Infantry Division, currently attached to the 3rd BCT, 4ID, MND-B, leaps to return a volleyball during a tournament on Christmas Day as Staff Sgt. Jose Santana, a native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, who works in the 3rd BCTs Fire and Effects Coordination Cell, watches on at FOB War Eagle in Baghdad's Adhamiyah district.
photo by Sgt. Jerry Saslav, 3rd BCT PAO, 4ID, MND-B |
But it was not all fun and games for all the Soldiers here; somebody had to cook and serve the Christmas dinner, such as Sgt. Al-Lorenzo, a cook, who is a native of Charleston, S.C.
"We're trying to give everybody a taste of home," said Williams, who is part of HHC, 3rd STB. "We have been working since nineteen hundred yesterday - Christmas Eve - and we still are. Currently it is 11:30 (a.m.) Christmas. and we're still working."
The dinner began at noon. Troops dined on shrimp cocktail, roasted turkey, baked ham, prime rib, lobster tails, crab legs, steamship round, glazed sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, cornbread dressing and various other sundry items. Cakes and cookies, eggnog and sparkling red and white grape juice decorated the facility and were an added treat.
Many of the commanders, senior noncommissioned officers and officers served the special holiday meal.
"It's just a way the leadership in the unit can show their appreciation for everything the Soldiers do throughout the year," said Lt. Col. Troy Otto, a native of Mount Holly Springs, Md., who serves as the commanding officer of the 3rd STB, 3rd BCT. "We do this as a tribute to them."
The cooks also prepared homemade cookies for the troops. 1st Lt. James Talbott, a native of Lafayette, Ind., who serves as the executive officer of HHC, 3rd STB, walked from table to table passing out the fresh treats.
Finally, what would Christmas be without caroling? The Soldiers rang out the holiday with a Christmas Karaoke Party knowing that next year will be spent with their Families back in the states.
BAGHDAD - Sgt. Ayiana Harris, a native of Baltimore, who serves as a medic with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Special Troops Battalion, 3rd BCT, 4ID, MND-B, jumps to set a volleyball during a tournament as Capt. Darryl Sandberg, a native of Leadville, Colo., who serves as the battalion's physician assistant, watches on at FOB War Eagle in Baghdad's Adhamiyah district.
photo by Sgt. Jerry Saslav, 3rd BCT PAO, 4ID, MND-B | 
BAGHDAD - 1st Lt. James Talbott, a native of Lafayette, Ind., who serves as the executive officer of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Special Troops Battalion, 3rd BCT, 4ID, MND-B, serves a freshly made cookie on Christmas Day to Pfc. Trevor Holden, a native of Columbus, Ohio, who serves as an artilleryman with Alpha Battery, 3rd Battalion, 29th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd BCT, 4th Inf. Div., in the dining facility of FOB War Eagle in Baghdad's Adhamiyah district. It is a long standing tradition that officers serve food to the enlisted personnel during holiday meals.
photo by Sgt. Jerry Saslav, 3rd BCT PAO, 4ID, MND-B |
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