Christmas Day

Merry Christmas from Basra! Well, this is my 5th deployment (2 x Bosnia, 3 x Iraq) but the first time I’ve spent Christmas away from home. I think the military does a pretty good job of ensuring holiday cheer is evident here in a combat zone. Thanks to many generous and thoughtful people in the States, we have numerous Christmas trees throughout our headquarters. There are also many strands of lights and Christmas stockings hung around the building. So all things considered, the place looks pretty nice. And I hear the meal tonight will be a great one, complete with 26 different kinds of pies. I didn’t even know there were 26 different kinds of pies.

Yesterday, a group of soldiers donned Santa hats and walked around our building caroling. Since we don’t have a radio station here I really haven’t heard Christmas songs this year so it was nice to listen to them sing some familiar songs. Last evening, an armored security vehicle normally used for combat patrols was decked out with loud speakers. It rolled slowly through the base camp playing Christmas tunes. And there literally hundreds of cards and posters lining our walls sent from schools and other organizations within the States. Santa even walked through a few minutes ago handing out little bags of goodies.

There are a few televisions set up in our two dining facilities. Each TV was playing a different Christmas movie last night. Some I noticed playing were “Home Alone”, “Elf”, “Christmas Vacation”, and “It’s a Wonderful Life”. It was nice to watch a few minutes of a Christmas movie and be reminded of our own holiday traditions with our families back home.

I set my alarm for 2:30 AM this morning because I had a planned time of 6:00 PM Oklahoma time (3:00 AM Iraq time) to video chat with my family. So even though it was the middle of the night for me it was worth it to see my wife, little boy, parents, sisters, nieces, cousins, and aunts and uncles for a few minutes. Christmas Eve is probably one of my favorite days of the year as it’s the time when we traditionally get together for a nice meal and to open presents. So even though I would rather have been there in person it was nice to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and to see them enjoying their evening.

I can tell you from a Soldier’s prospective that it is difficult to be away from home during the holidays. I think people are in good spirits today and I’ve enjoyed talking with my co-workers and telling stories about what we normally do during the holidays. The war doesn’t stop for the holidays so today is sort of a work day. Each of us have been in the building some just working on a few issues and keeping up with tasks. But we also will take some time off this afternoon. I can tell my looking at Soldiers sometimes that they are in thought about their families and their homes. It’s just all part of the deal and everyone will be back focused on the job at hand tomorrow.

I also know it is extremely tough on the families who are at home. My wife looked so pretty last night on video and my little boy was dressed in a red Santa type outfit, complete with a black belt and gold buckle. It’s so nice to see them but makes the walk back to my little trailer a tough one. But they are in place surrounded by love and I know they had a good time eating and opening presents. And we know that next year I’ll be right there with them.

I truly hope anyone reading this has an enjoyable holiday season filled with joy and thankfulness. Hug your family and extra time for me today. And thanks for all the great support to all those serving abroad and our families back home.

Mike
Basra, Iraq