A soldier’s holiday is dust and danger

The 2,800 Iowa National Guard soldiers serving in Afghanistan will be getting varying degrees of danger, privation and loneliness for Christmas, but they are not complaining.

“The morale is good. It really helps when you talk to or hear from family,” said Spc. Chris Christensen, 26, a member of the Iowa Guard's 832nd Engineers Company. He'll be thinking of his bride of eight months, Kristina, back home in Cedar Rapids.

“Everyone misses their families and friends,” said 1st Lt. Ryan Lett, 31, of Grinnell, a platoon leader with the 832nd, spending his third Christmas overseas.

It is especially hard for soldiers missing key life events, said Lett, who said two soldiers in his platoon have had sons born while they've been gone and two more are expecting babies to be born before they get home.

It's always hard to be away from home during the holiday season, when “everyone who is important in your life gathers for celebration and fellowship, and we all feel a little closer to our loved ones,” said Col. Ben Corell, commander of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, which includes about 2,000 of the 2,800 Iowa Guard troops serving in Afghanistan.

Corell, who's spending his fifth Christmas away from home because of military service, said he believes he understands the strain his troops feel because of the separation. He also knows the strain of separation is a two-way street.

The soldiers serving here know that “our families back home will have an empty chair” and that gifts will be left wrapped until next summer, said Corell, a Strawberry Point native.

An avalanche of care packages from home - parcels so numerous that the troops use skid loaders and other heavy equipment to handle and transport them - has lent much cheer to the season, as have Christmas trees and other holiday decorations adorning the quarters and work spaces of the troops, said Maj. Mike Wunn, a spokesman for the Iowa Guard in Afghanistan.

Wunn, who's stationed at Bagram Air Field, the strategic hub of U.S. operations, said he has a little Christmas tree, sent to him by his sister-in-law, on a table in his office. One of his roommates, he said, has a 4-foot tree complete with lights and ornaments.

Some soldiers will “give thanks for the birth of Jesus Christ in their own way or through our religious support teams,” Corell said.

The 30,000 soldiers and civilians at Bagram have ample worship opportunities, but troops in the more remote outposts have to wait longer between services, Wunn said.

Soldiers with access to Skype - Internet-based software for video conferencing - “have talked about watching family members open presents or connecting with extended family members visiting during the holidays,” Wunn said.

With the holiday season, soldiers are treated to more USO shows, like the recent Bagram appearance of comedian Robin Williams, Wunn said.

Corell said the Army will ensure a good holiday meal is served at all locations on Christmas Day and that all troops will “rotate through” to sit down and enjoy it.

For some, there may be fewer meetings and duties, but for most, Christmas is yet another duty day, Wunn said.

After the festivities, soldiers must quickly refocus on their missions, so “we can all get back home to those who miss us the most,” Corell said.