An Alpha Company Christmas
December 26, 2007
In the days leading up to Christmas here at Speicher, the Halliburton elves had done their best to introduce the holiday spirit to the base. At the DFAC (dining facility), cutouts of Santa decorated the walls. Plastic turkeys left over from a Thanksgiving display were coated with fake snow and added to a winter scene. On the bus, the radio played Christmas music between country hits. But it was easy to forget Christmas was approaching, easy to look at it as just another day.
The soldiers of STB’s (Special Troops Battalion) Alpha Company didn’t want to let Christmas pass unnoticed, so they took it outside the wire, and used the holiday as an excuse to give out candy, toys, and a variety of other gifts and useful items to families in the area.
At 8:30 Christmas morning, the soldiers gathered near their humvees, where Lieutenant Tom Ryder, wearing a Santa cap, delivered the briefing. Reading down a list of activity from the last twenty-four hours, it seemed as though LT Ryder was letting us know who had been naughty and who had been nice. In a sense, he was. His list focused more on the naughty, though-- the insurgents and their most recent bad behavior.
We loaded into the trucks. In my truck were three sergeants: Bill Ferguson, Adam Johnson, and Matthew Schultz; and specialist Anthony Jerbasi. The higher ranking enlisted men had turned out in greater numbers for this mission so lower ranking soldiers could have the day off. Also along for the ride was the company commander, Captain John Cunningham.
Before we could dispense any Christmas cheer, our convoy was redirected to an area where an IED had been discovered. Together with another convoy, the Alpha Company soldiers monitored the area until the IED was detonated by soldiers in a controlled blast, and it was safe to move on.
The convoy pulled up between two modest, mud and straw homes, and we waited for curious faces to appear. Slowly, cautiously, the occupants emerged, until it became clear our visit was friendly, and the children hurried to see what the soldiers had for them. They were given beanie babies and soccer balls, candy and other snacks, and it was fun to witness their happy confusion. At our next series of stops, the kids seemed more prepared for our arrival, and wasted no time getting to the Santas in camouflage. Somehow the same kids managed to appear at more than one house and made off with more than their share of the goods. Some seemed impossible to satisfy.
An Iraqi interpreter, Billy, had accompanied us on our rounds, but he spent most of his time assisting CPT Cunningham, who wanted to take the opportunity to speak with the senior family members. That meant the rest of the soldiers had to try their best to interact with the rest of the men, women, and children with only a handful of Arabic words and some makeshift sign language. Sometimes an Iraqi would volunteer a word in English, and everyone would nod with relief.
The last stop was more like the first. The kids were friendly but shy, and delighted to be the recipients of this unexpected windfall. A female dog and her puppy also benefitted from the visit, receiving beef jerky and crackers, and a great deal of attention from soldiers who obviously missed their pets at home.
With every box and bag empty, the soldiers of Alpha Company returned to the base. They had completed their mission and perhaps been caught up, however briefly, in the holiday spirit.
It will take more than beanie babies, soccer balls, and bags of candy to gain the support and trust of the Iraqi people, but maybe they will remember these small acts of kindness and they will think about working with us, or at least choose not to help those working against us. Watching the Iraqi mothers and fathers watch the soldiers kicking the soccer ball around with their kids, it seemed like this might be possible. shelbymonroe@gmail.com
In the days leading up to Christmas here at Speicher, the Halliburton elves had done their best to introduce the holiday spirit to the base. At the DFAC (dining facility), cutouts of Santa decorated the walls. Plastic turkeys left over from a Thanksgiving display were coated with fake snow and added to a winter scene. On the bus, the radio played Christmas music between country hits. But it was easy to forget Christmas was approaching, easy to look at it as just another day.
The soldiers of STB’s (Special Troops Battalion) Alpha Company didn’t want to let Christmas pass unnoticed, so they took it outside the wire, and used the holiday as an excuse to give out candy, toys, and a variety of other gifts and useful items to families in the area.
At 8:30 Christmas morning, the soldiers gathered near their humvees, where Lieutenant Tom Ryder, wearing a Santa cap, delivered the briefing. Reading down a list of activity from the last twenty-four hours, it seemed as though LT Ryder was letting us know who had been naughty and who had been nice. In a sense, he was. His list focused more on the naughty, though-- the insurgents and their most recent bad behavior.
We loaded into the trucks. In my truck were three sergeants: Bill Ferguson, Adam Johnson, and Matthew Schultz; and specialist Anthony Jerbasi. The higher ranking enlisted men had turned out in greater numbers for this mission so lower ranking soldiers could have the day off. Also along for the ride was the company commander, Captain John Cunningham.
Before we could dispense any Christmas cheer, our convoy was redirected to an area where an IED had been discovered. Together with another convoy, the Alpha Company soldiers monitored the area until the IED was detonated by soldiers in a controlled blast, and it was safe to move on.
The convoy pulled up between two modest, mud and straw homes, and we waited for curious faces to appear. Slowly, cautiously, the occupants emerged, until it became clear our visit was friendly, and the children hurried to see what the soldiers had for them. They were given beanie babies and soccer balls, candy and other snacks, and it was fun to witness their happy confusion. At our next series of stops, the kids seemed more prepared for our arrival, and wasted no time getting to the Santas in camouflage. Somehow the same kids managed to appear at more than one house and made off with more than their share of the goods. Some seemed impossible to satisfy.
An Iraqi interpreter, Billy, had accompanied us on our rounds, but he spent most of his time assisting CPT Cunningham, who wanted to take the opportunity to speak with the senior family members. That meant the rest of the soldiers had to try their best to interact with the rest of the men, women, and children with only a handful of Arabic words and some makeshift sign language. Sometimes an Iraqi would volunteer a word in English, and everyone would nod with relief.
The last stop was more like the first. The kids were friendly but shy, and delighted to be the recipients of this unexpected windfall. A female dog and her puppy also benefitted from the visit, receiving beef jerky and crackers, and a great deal of attention from soldiers who obviously missed their pets at home.
With every box and bag empty, the soldiers of Alpha Company returned to the base. They had completed their mission and perhaps been caught up, however briefly, in the holiday spirit.
It will take more than beanie babies, soccer balls, and bags of candy to gain the support and trust of the Iraqi people, but maybe they will remember these small acts of kindness and they will think about working with us, or at least choose not to help those working against us. Watching the Iraqi mothers and fathers watch the soldiers kicking the soccer ball around with their kids, it seemed like this might be possible. shelbymonroe@gmail.com
posted by Shelby Monroe at 5:52 AM
1 Comments:
I first read this post about a week after it was posted. As a girlfriend of one of the soldiers listed above, it is nice to come back to this page to read about all the good things that he is apart of while he is deployed. The photos are also a nice touch and I know that they are appreciated by family members of these soldiers. Up until now, the photo that you have posted of him on here was the first time that I had seen him since he left back in September.
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