Courtesy Photo | Pfc. King, Spc. Barrios and the rest of the 102nd Soldiers present on Joint Base...... read more read more
By 1st Lt. Abigail J. Bishop
102nd Quartermaster Company
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq - As the Soldiers of the 102nd Quartermaster Company neared the halfway point of their deployment, they found themselves facing Christmas away from their family and friends. Although Soldiers miss birthdays, anniversaries and many holidays while deployed, Christmas is by far one of the hardest things to miss. The support of family members and friends is perhaps the most vital around the holidays, and the 102nd Quartermaster Company Family Readiness Group truly stepped up to the plate to make Christmas as joyous as possible for their deployed Soldiers.
The 102nd Quartermaster Company had Soldiers spread out at three outlying FOBs who were separated from the rest of the unit for Christmas. Mrs. Miren Vicandi-Ford, wife of 1st Sgt. Johnny Ford, a native of Caldwell, Idaho, and the first sergeant for the 102nd out of Fort Campbell, Ky., sent miniature Christmas trees, complete with decorations, so the Soldiers on the outlying FOBs would have something familiar and festive to help them celebrate the holiday. Additionally, Stephanie Allen, wife of Capt. Charles Allen, a native of Houston, Texas, and the commander of the 102nd, along with the 102nd FRG, coordinated for donations of Christmas stockings for every Soldier in the company.
The FRG wrote every Soldier's name on a stocking, and then stuffed them full of letters, cards, puzzle books, candy, snacks, toiletry items and more. Allen passed the stockings out on Christmas Eve to every Soldier at Balad, while Ford, Taylor, a native of Morton, Mississippi and the water operations platoon sergeant, and Master Sgt. Jackson, a native of Wytheville, Va., and the 102nd motor sergeant, took stockings to the Soldiers on the outlying FOBs.
"The Soldiers all appreciated it. That's all they talked about; the tree, the stockings, the candy. They loved the candy," said Taylor.
In the end, the Soldiers of the 102nd may not have been with immediate family members for Christmas, but with the help of their families back home, they were able to celebrate as a family with other members of the unit. Pfc. Jeffrey Clark, a native of Washington, D.C., and a supply clerk in the 102nd said, "It was a great boost to morale. It gave Soldiers a taste of home, and was very much appreciated. To sum it up, it was very awesome indeed."
| Date Taken: | 12.24.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 01.19.2010 09:52 |
| Story ID: | 44109 |
| Location: | BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 262 |
| Downloads: | 229 |
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