'Dragon' Brigade soldiers still thankful in Afghanistan

Photo By Staff Sgt. Gene Arnold | The pulverized remains of an oven roasted turkey are carved as soldiers with Company D, 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, celebrate this year’s Thanksgiving at Combat Outpost Muqor, Nov. 22, 2012. The leadership of the Delta Company “Demons” put away their preverbal horns and pitchforks to share their gratitude with their Soldiers for continuing the fight. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Gene Arnold, Task Force 4-1 PAO)  

PAKTIKA PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN

11.22.2012

Story by Sgt. Gene Arnold and Capt. Melody Faulkenberry

4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division

PAKTIKA PROVINCE, Afghanistan – The holiday season is often difficult for soldiers deployed to Afghanistan due to high combat stress and the hardships of being separated from loved ones during special times.

During deployments, soldiers don’t typically receive the opportunity to watch the Thanksgiving Day parade, an exciting game of football, or even experience the effects of turkey coma on their living room couches. But they do receive a hint of home when they sit down for a delicious meal topped off with cranberry sauce and smiles in dining facilities across Afghanistan.

On Nov. 22, more than 2,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines serving under Task Force Dragon consumed 5,000 pounds of oven crisped turkey at several dining facilities in eastern Afghanistan’s Paktika and Ghazni provinces.

• Date Taken: 11.22.2012
• Date Posted: 11.23.2012 21:45
• Story ID: 98294
• Location: PAKTIKA PROVINCE, AF