FORWARD OPERATING BASE MASUM GHAR, Afghanistan - Here at Forward Operating Base Masum Ghar, like most of the other FOBs in Afghanistan there are two primary colors we soldiers see on a daily basis, brown and gray. Brown from the desert and mountainous terrain as well as the dust filled air and gray from the numerous amounts of barrier walls put up to protect and fortify the bases.
Army Spc. Cassandra Butkos, chaplain assistant for 296th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division has painted many of the barrier walls on Kandahar, and now here at FOB Masum Ghar the soldiers have a bit of color in their day-to-day lives as well thanks to Spc. Butkos and her talent. She painted unit crests and patches on some of the first walls you see when you land on the FOB. She has also painted the patch and crest on the entrance to the tactical operations center as well as above the doorway to the chapel.
“On a regular day I’m going out visiting soldiers with the chaplain and or doing administrative work for him,” said Butkos.
Once word got out she knew how to paint, her day-to-day routine became a little more colorful. Butkos was flown out here on a mission from the Brigade Chaplain, Maj. Edward Choi, to come help spruce up the FOB by adding a little color. As soon as she landed, she hit the ground running. She would only stop once the sun went down and it was too dark to paint. After three days of painting her work here was complete.
“I really love painting; you never think that coming to Afghanistan, you’re going to get to do something that you love to do,” said Butkos.
She says it usually takes her a couple hours a day for a few days to finish a mural. Butkos says it also depends on the materials she has to work with, and if it is oil or water based paints to determine how many coats she must apply and what type of brushes she has to use.
So if you happen to be walking around Kandahar Airfield or Masum Ghar and see one of the many murals painted on the walls there’s a good chance that those were the strokes of Spc. Butkos, soldier, chaplain assistant and painter.
“It’s a good hobby and I’m glad it has followed me everywhere,” Butkos said.
For information regarding this release please contact 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division (Combined Task Force Arrowhead) Public Affairs Officer Capt. Troy Frey at troy.scott.frey@us.army.mil.
Subscribe
