Duke soldiers get a piece of home with Kentucky Derby

Photo By Spc. Tobey White | Soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Task Force Duke, based out of Fort Knox, Ky., cheered during the Kentucky Derby on Forward Operating Base Salerno, Afghanistan, May 8. Soldiers stayed up late into the night to watch the race which started at 1:30 a.m. their time. The Duke Brigade deployed for a year-long deployment to Afghanistan in January.  

KHOWST PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN

05.08.2011

Story by Spc. Tobey White 

3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division

KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan - It may not have been a stadium filled with thousands of roaring fans, but on Forward Operating Base Salerno, Afghanistan, a gathering of soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Task Force Duke, cheered their favorite horses to the finish line of the Kentucky Derby in the early morning hours of Sunday, May 8.

The unit is based out of Fort Knox, Ky., less than 30 miles from the racetrack at Churchill Downs where the race is held each year.

Watching the Kentucky Derby was a reminder of home, said U.S. Army Capt. Aaron Bragg, commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd BCT, 1st Infantry Division, TF Duke and a native of Radcliff, Ky.

It was the first time in 10 years he had missed watching the race from the stands, he said, adding that it’s always been a tradition to go with his family and friends to the races.

Bragg and others watched Animal Kingdom race across the finish line ahead of third-place finisher Mucho Macho Man, one of the favorites of those gathered.

“It means a lot to be able to watch this live because my wife is at the race,” Bragg said.

Horse racing in Kentucky dates back to 1789. It wasn’t until 1875, however, that Churchill Downs was founded.

The night’s race was the 137th running since the Derby’s founding.

The idea for the gathering was inspired by derby-related “party-boxes,” containing t-shirts, hats, and various race-themed party favors that were sent to Company B, 3rd Special Troops Battalion, 3rd BCT, 1st Infantry Division, TF Duke by the Louisville, Ky., Chamber of Commerce, said U.S. Army 1st Lt. John Elfrey, with Company B, 3rd STB, 3rd BCT, 1st Infantry Division, TF Duke, and a native of Philadelphia.

“The Derby is a nice break from work,” said Elfrey, who said he had never watched the race in person, but had seen it several times on TV.

Soldiers had the chance to send video-taped greetings to family and friends back home before the race, said U.S. Army Maj. Travis Dettmer, the public affairs officer with 3rd BCT, 1st Infantry Division, TF Duke, and a native of Forest Lake, Minn.

As one of the biggest events in Kentucky, the unit jumped at the chance to be part of the broadcast when the Louisville Chamber of Commerce, who sponsors one of the 3rd BCT, 1st Infantry Division platoons through the Fort Knox area adopt-a-platoon program, reached out to get involved, Dettmer said.

• Date Taken: 05.08.2011
• Date Posted: 05.08.2011 03:45
• Story ID: 70034
• Location: KHOWST PROVINCE, AF