Photo By Staff Sgt. Jason Kendrick | Spc. Toni Deason, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 56th Infantry Brigade Combat...... read more read more
By Staff Sgt. Jason Kendrick
Multi-National Division – Baghdad
BAGHDAD – She is a soccer player who just happens to also be a Soldier. Hailing from Houston, Texas, she has played soccer most of her life, starting at age 5 and playing throughout her adolescence.
So when Spc. Toni Deason, from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 56th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 36th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad finally had the opportunity to show off her athletic prowess with local Iraqi residents, she took full advantage, Jan. 16, to sharing her love for the sport.
She began her love for soccer when she was 5, eventually moving up through the age brackets and assuming her role as the starting goal keeper for Coppell High School. She said she and her team improved each of her four years with the squad.
After graduation, she went to the next level as a four-year starter at McNeese State in Lake Charles, La. During her collegiate career, she excelled to the point where she earned a ranking as the number-two overall performing keeper in the nation during her junior season.
The 2005 college graduate found herself looking toward the military when she joined the Texas National Guard in April 2007 and ultimately found herself enjoying a few minutes as she shared the game she loved with local players.
"They were really quick, really good players," she said, following her soccer venture.
Playing in a game with her fellow Soldiers of Headquarters Support Company, Division Special Troops Battalion, 10th Mountain Division, she mingled with the local players as they formed mixed teams, which consisted of Soldiers and Iraqi citizens finding themselves teammates on the field.
"It was just a great experience to play with kids from a different culture – to just have some fun and interact with the people of the village," Deason explained.
She serves as a human resources specialist and works in the brigade personnel section. She is responsible for the quality assurance of all submitted awards. She said her job is fulfilling as she works to support her fellow Soldiers. She said she enjoyed the chance to interact with the local citizens and experience a little of their culture.
"I am glad that regardless of her duties inside the wire, she is able to get out and interact with Iraqi citizens," said Maj. John Barbour, personnel officer for the 56th IBCT.
| Date Taken: | 01.16.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 01.18.2009 09:11 |
| Story ID: | 28983 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 204 |
| Downloads: | 193 |
This work, Arrowhead Soldier plays soccer with Iraqis, by SSG Jason Kendrick, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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