Courtesy Photo | Col. Brian Drinkwine, commander of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division,...... read more read more
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CAMP NATHAN SMITH, Afghanistan—More than two hundred Soldiers on Camp Nathan Smith gathered in front of the newly opened Tate Memorial Dining Facility for a formal ribbon cutting ceremony led by Col. Brian Drinkwine, commander of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division and Task Force Fury. The facility was named in honor of Staff Sgt. Sheldon Leon Tate, a food service specialist and paratrooper, who was killed in the line of duty July 13, in Afghanistan.
“I think it recognizes a great non-commissioned officer who lived a great life, led paratroopers, and made the ultimate sacrifice so that others could be safe. And it’s a small way that every day we walk in and see his name to remember to live the good life and to take care of one other,” said Drinkwine.
After the ribbon cutting, soldiers sat down to a special dinner that included lobster tails, steak, chicken and crab legs to celebrate the grand opening.
Staff Sgt. Kelsey Johnson, a member of the 504th Military Police Battalion stationed at Camp Nathan Smith, is only four weeks into her year-long deployment. Johnson, a native of Modesto, Calif., summed up the inaugural meal with one sentence.
“It was off the hook.”
The cooks at the new Tate Dining facility pledged to continue preparing high-quality meals for all U.S. personnel on the camp. They will have their work cut out for them in the coming months, when the arrival of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division in August will more than double the number of Soldiers on the camp.
“Food is one of the key staples that paratroopers and soldiers need. It’s nice to have a DFAC like this,” Drinkwine said. “You can sit down and enjoy the camaraderie, and then you get back out there again with your Afghan partners.”
As patrons file out of the 200-seat facility and return to their places of duty, they pass by a sign bearing the name of the Soldier for which the building is named.
“When we recognize a fallen soldier that stood out in our ranks, it’s tightens you up in the heart a little bit and you remember how hard this is over here,” Drinkwine said. “Today I might be tired, hot, and thirsty, but I look up and I remember that one of my fellow paratroopers fell, I’ve just got to tighten my belt and work a little harder until the mission’s done.”
| Date Taken: | 07.13.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 07.20.2010 08:17 |
| Story ID: | 53102 |
| Location: | KANDAHAR, AF |
| Web Views: | 1,557 |
| Downloads: | 196 |
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