Courtesy Photo | Capt. Benjamin Roark, a native of Owasso, Okla., and targeting officer assigned to...... read more read more
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By Capt Benjamin Roark
2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division
BAGHDAD – Over the rustle of the windward breeze through the pineapple fields and the hum of the stadium lights, the sound of a referee's whistle cuts the night air. It's Friday night and the Leilehua High School Mighty Mules, take the field in their quest for gridiron victory and pursuit of another state title.
Thousands of miles beyond the roar of the cheers and the clash of helmets, fans of a different sort are cheering with the rest of the crowd. The Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment "Gimlets," share a close tie with the students and families at Leilehua High School because many are in fact just that: Family.
Leilehua's close proximity to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, the home of the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division and the Gimlet Battalion, plays a large part in the make-up of its student body and fan base. Nearly 25 percent of the students who attend are from military families. Several Gimlet Soldiers have sons or daughters who attend the school.
The Mighty Mules hold a special place in the hearts of the Gimlets due to this but also for the link to home that it gives them as they enter their last few months of a 15-month deployment outside Baghdad.
"The Gimlets and Gimlet families are proud to be a part of the Leilehua family as I myself have a sophomore daughter there," said Lt. Col Mario Diaz, a native of Sierre Madre, Calif., and Gimlet commander. "We look forward to returning to them and enjoying our reunion in Hawaii once our mission here is done."
Recently, the students of Leilehua High School and their Mighty Mule football team sent a school football jersey to the Gimlets to show their aloha and support for these hometown Soldiers, who are relatives for many.
"I walked out of the office and there was someone wearing a Leilehua jersey," said Sgt. 1st Class Edward Kea, a native of Wahiawa, Hawaii, and intelligence manager for the Gimlets. "It caught me off guard, but after that, I was the first in line to put it on and throw up the 'shaka.'" Kea's son plays football for Leilehua.
The jersey has traveled extensively through the Gimlet area of operations in the Abu Ghuraib region west of Baghdad.
Soldiers use the jersey to help bridge the cultural gap between the U.S. and Iraq, often explaining the difference between football and soccer to their Iraq security force partners.
The jersey will continue to make its way around the Gimlet units, serving as a tangible piece of home, a link to family, friends and a symbol of the aloha spirit.
| Date Taken: | 10.31.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 10.31.2008 11:50 |
| Story ID: | 25778 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 870 |
| Downloads: | 803 |
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