Photo By Staff Sgt. Nathaniel Smith | Sgt. Jeremy Murphy (left), of Mobile, Ala., and Sgt. Kenneth Payne, of Arlington,...... read more read more
By Spc. Nathaniel Smith
4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division
BAGHDAD – With Soldiers showing signs of stress, trying to stay focused so close to the end of a long deployment, two non-commissioned officers felt they had to do something to raise morale.
So on a whim, March 7, Sgt. Jeremy Murphy, of Mobile, Ala., and Sgt. Kenneth Payne, of Arlington, Texas, decided to shave their heads bald to get a few laughs – what they actually ended up achieving was raising $1,500 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Payne said it's not uncommon for the two of them, both of whom are team supervisors with Company C, Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, to find themselves in interesting situations together.
"It's like most things: one of us says something, the other says something else, and it snowballs," Payne said.
When two of their Soldiers, Spc. Johnica Jackson and Spc. Benisa Lopez, saw what their NCOs had done, they took their pictures, put their images on cups, and each placed a dollar in the cups.
When their co-workers at the department of information management, which is on Forward Operating Base Falcon, saw the adorned cups, they began putting in money as well. Murphy then came up with the brainstorm of donating their newly acquired funds to a good cause; Payne agreed.
"He'll go along with anything," Murphy said. "He's my battle buddy."
What turned into a charitable act started as simple fun, said Lopez, who hails from Del Rio, Texas, and is a cable installer and maintainer with Co. C.
"It started off as a joke," she said. "We got here, we saw them, and said 'No you didn't.'"
Their ensuing plan was simple: Lopez and Jackson had until the end of their shift at 9 p.m. to raise as much money as possible, which resulted in the Soldiers raising almost $500 as they made their rounds doing work orders around the base. Murphy and Payne each matched the donations.
Their charitable contribution was merely the latest for the Soldiers from Co. C, who, over the course of the deployment, have shared their creative capabilities through other projects, such as constructing an archery range, refurbishing the morale, welfare and recreation center, and constructing two free Internet cafes.
Jackson, a joint network node operator and maintainer from Plano, Texas, said it's second nature for the two NCOs to contribute to helping others.
"It's great they're serving their country; and on top of that, they're serving the Soldiers here by making the FOB nice," she said. "They're just totally self-sacrificing – just to make us laugh."
Her unit's contributions in improving FOB Falcon have been as much for the Soldiers that will follow her unit on the base, added Lopez, as they are for those who currently serve there.
"We're leaving after our 15 months are done. The MWR, archery range, they're staying here, so it'll be helping the Soldiers who are replacing us, making them feel a little better ... ," she said. "It's for whoever's next – just trying to make the place better."
| Date Taken: | 03.07.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 03.10.2008 11:44 |
| Story ID: | 17185 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 139 |
| Downloads: | 104 |
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