Service members 'parade' about Joint Base Balad

Photo By Senior Airman Thomas Trower | Airman 1st Class Monique Julien drives the Panther's Airmen Advisory Council's float during the inaugural Joint Base Balad Holiday Parade in Iraq on Christmas Day. Julien, an intelligence analyst with the 332nd Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron, organized and led the creation and display of the float themed "Rudolph Reindeer Games." "[Rudolph] had to step up to complete Santa's mission, and that's kind of what everybody does here at Balad," said the native of Abilene, Texas, deployed from Scott Air Force Base, Ill.  

BALAD, IRAQ

12.27.2008

Story by Senior Airman Thomas Trower 

332d Air Expeditionary Wing

By Senior Airman Thomas Trower
332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq – The sight may have been out of the ordinary, but for some strange reason, seeing reindeer, sleighs and Santa Claus detained by U.S. Navy Customs agents did not surprise service members here Christmas Day.

This odd scene took place along the route of the inaugural Joint Base Balad Holiday Parade, sponsored by the U.S. Army's 3rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), and displayed the sense of tradition U.S. service members try to maintain while deployed to a war zone.

Airman 1st Class Monique Julien, an intelligence analyst with the 332nd Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron, organized and led the creation and display of the Panther's Airman Advisory Council float, one of six floats in the parade.

"I think Rudolph is the ultimate wingman, so I thought I'd pull that in and make it 'Rudolph Reindeer Games' so we could just have fun with it," said Julien, describing the theme of her float. "Everybody knows the whole story of how he had to step up to complete Santa's mission, and that's kind of what everybody does here at Balad."

Julien, the PAAC treasurer and a native of Abilene, Texas, designed Rudolph, formerly a four-wheeled off-road utility vehicle, with several inspirational messages such as: "Every little thing is important" and "Put your hooves where your mouth is."

And while Julien, who is deployed from Scott Air Force Base, Ill., had a vision of showing service members how their jobs contribute to the global war on terrorism, others simply wanted to do something different for the holidays. Airman 1st Class Jessica Collins, a PAAC volunteer from the 55th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, helped by attaching decorations to the vehicle.

"We put this float together to represent what we can do out here," said Collins, a native of California City, Calif., who is deployed from Shaw Air Force Base, S.C. "Even though we're away from our families and it's hard for the troops to be here during the holiday season, it's always good to know that we can have fun out here."

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Ryan Brazel, the PAAC president and a customs agent with the Navy Customs Battalion India, assisted with two floats in the parade. In addition to the PAAC float, Brazel helped the customs unit turn a Humvee into a ship. Onboard customs agents searched Santa for unauthorized items, much like their daily job of inspecting all personnel and items leaving Iraq.

"Just having people around here getting into the Christmas spirit, it's always going to help another person out," said Brazel, a Navy Reservist from Chicago. "If you see someone else in a good mood, it puts you in a good mood. Just having smiling faces and people having a good time, is always going to have people smiling around you. No one wants a Grinch on Christmas."

• Date Taken: 12.27.2008
• Date Posted: 12.27.2008 03:54
• Story ID: 28181
• Location: BALAD, IQ