Photo By Marc Loi | Joe Gatto, of Orange County, Calif., dusts a blooming onion in preparation for the...... read more read more
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FORWARD OPERATING BASE SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan – For two hours, the soldiers partly forgot about the on-going war outside the gate just on this side of the Afghan-Pakistan border. For 120 minutes, inside a makeshift tent where they often gathered for pre-combat inspections and practices, the soldiers were magically transported home again, their faces beaming with smiles and voices full of laughter. For a small part of their day, the soldiers of the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas, here in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, relived the memories left behind in small towns and big cities, dancing the night away as they were entertained by an Armed Forces Entertainment band, compelled to laugh by a comedian and made new friends with volunteer Outback Steakhouse employees, here as part of Operation Feeding Freedom.
The two-day event began with a live comedy show by New York comedian Andy Hendrickson and concert by the rock band Goldy Locks Sept. 7 and ended the following night with steak dinners cooked and served by Outback chefs and employees at Old Bill’s dining facility here.
Though business continued as usual on the tiny forward operating base, the nights became alive during the two-day event, as soldiers gathered to share laughter and food, and for some, to recall memories of the not-too-distant-past, where they were more carefree and closer family and friends they’ve since left behind.
It’s making soldiers laugh and providing a taste of home, said Outback’s vice president of business services David Alvarado, that’s the concept behind the operation, now in its ninth year.
“It’s a way to give back and say thank you,” said Alvarado, who has been traveling in support of the program since its infancy in 2002, when Outback fed more than 5,000 American service members in Kandahar. “It’s a way to give everyone a taste of home and remind them that they aren’t forgotten.”
This year’s operation, which provided more than 40,000 meals, and brought to Afghanistan more than 30 Outback employees, cost more than $500,000, all of which was donated by Outback and its sister companies, said Air Force Maj. Joseph Wellman, the Central Command chief of services and plans.
However, Alvarado said for Outback servers and entertainers, the importance isn’t in how much money it spent or how many meals were donated, but rather, how much of an impact it has on service members and their families.
“It’s basically a hug from home and positive reinforcement,” Alvarado said. “We wanted to come out here and say thank you to those who serve us.”
Yet, it seemed, rather than getting to utter words of gratefulness, the entertainers and servers were the ones receiving such words.
“I’ve met so many appreciative soldiers,” said Hendrickson, whose father served in the Navy, and brother is currently a Navy captain. “They’re actually the ones thankful for what we’re doing, and they’re just all so respectful and nice.”
In return, Hendrickson said his goal for the visit was to make the soldiers laugh, because often, laughter is, indeed, the best medicine and can provide soldiers with much-needed relief in high-stress areas of operations.
“When you’re laughing, you’re enjoying what you’re doing,” he said. “We wanted to take them out of the war for a few hours, even if it’s just temporarily.”
More than just laughter, the event also provided soldiers with entertainment, courtesy of Goldy Locks – a little-known rock band that has previously performed with 3 Doors Down, Pink, Nickelback and other famous bands. With its lead singer, a former professional wrestling manager who goes by the stage name Goldy, bellowing out hard-rock tunes like “Dead or Alive,” and crooning to softer, more melodic country hits like “Sweet Home Alabama,” the band also got assistance from Outback employees in encourage soldiers to dance, turning the tent into a makeshift concert arena.
With enough encouragement and the right song, 1st Sgt. Aaron Windsor, a native of Mobile, Ala., coyly began to dance in the corner of the tent, before strutting out center stage, with Sharen Robinson, an Outback employee and volunteer from Columbia, S.C., as his partner. Though combat-hardened, the top enlisted soldier from the 268th Signal Company danced most of the night away – something he said he hadn’t done in a long time.
“It’s very well received and appreciated,” Windsor said. “I told my soldiers to appreciate it because these people came all the way from America to give us a little bit of home, and they’re sacrificing the time that they don’t have for us.”
It is in that spirit of appreciation, Windsor said, that he tells his soldiers they should remember when well-meaning civilians pay tribute to them. While soldiers are not entitled to be treated differently, they should be thankful for and grateful of such out pour of support, he added.
“They paid for this – they’re giving it to us out of the kindness of their heart,” he said. “While [soldiers] shouldn’t have their hands out thinking they deserve it, when it is given to them, they should have a good time and be thankful for it.”
While being thankful is important, also equally important is giving soldiers the opportunity to “let their hair down” and remove themselves from the fight – even if only for one or two hours, Windsor said.
“It’s a time to forget what’s going on outside the wire and on the [base,”] he said. “It’s a piece of home and gives them an opportunity just to have a good time.”
Just as it gave soldiers an opportunity to rest, the event also gave leaders the chance to also relax and temporarily freed them from worrying about their soldiers. Also dancing in the loud and ruckus crowd along with Windsor was Cpl. Jacob A. Vonlaken, a psychological operations specialist with the 307th Psychological Operations Company out of St. Louis.
“First Sgt. Windsor was awesome,” Vonlaken said the morning after, smiling as he recalled the memories of a top leader dancing the night away. “That was one of my favorite parts – it makes them look human.”
Less coy than Windsor, the Springfield, Ill., native was dancing and jumping up and down – as if no one was watching, and pumping his fist in the air, aiding Goldy with the entertainment by singing along. At one point, Vonlaken also took off his uniform top.
Though such an offense would most certainly be taboo under normal circumstances, for the night, the offense was brushed off. Instead, fellow soldiers and leaders continued to cheer the young soldier on as he screamed lyrics into the microphone.
“It was nice because we got to have fun and enjoy ourselves without the constraints of work,” he said. “I liked dancing – and it was so nice for them to come over here and do this – it takes you home for a while. It was like you were back at home and going out and having fun.”
With their mission of making the soldiers’ spirits full again accomplished, the Feeding Freedom crew turned onto feeding the soldiers’ stomachs the next day. At 1 p.m., after a restful night’s sleep – something the crew said it needed after traveling for more than one week straight, the 30 women and men joined forces the dining facility to prepare the evening meal. Diligently spicing the thick, juicy steaks and preparing Outback’s famous blooming onions, the crew of volunteers rushed back and forth all afternoon, making signs and dividing tasks among one another, ensuring the service was similar to that of the Outback experience in America.
“That’s been the talk all day,” Windsor said as he closed a door, quieting the excited chatter about the meal just outside his office. “They’re really excited about getting a steak that’s cooked by a chef instead of by an outside agency.”
By 5 p.m., the normally-sparse dining facility already had a line out the door and wrapped around the corner, as soldiers braved the unforgiving sun just for a taste of home. With music thumping in the dining facility, and the crew there to greet and serve each soldier as if they were a paying customer at one of the restaurants, the dining facility began to fill with conversations and laughter, as the soldiers, draped in their green-and-brown multi-cam uniforms, began chomping away at the steaks that looked ready to burst with juices.
His tray filled with a steak and other familiar fixings, a soldier tentatively looked at the pieces of cheesecake resting on a bed of ice near a table. Almost unsure of what to do, the young private looked to Outback employee Joe Gatto standing nearby.
“Do I just take one?” he asked, almost afraid and embarrassed for not knowing the protocol.
“Yes, please do,” answered Gatto as he broke into a smile. “Or take two if you’d like.”
Standing just outside the dining facility, with his feast already consumed, Sgt. 1st Class Gregory Bosch, the movement non-commissioned officer with the 504th BfSB, exchanged his experiences with another soldier, excitedly speaking of the dinner he said he’d never expect in the middle of a war zone.
“I am so full right now,” he said as he exhaled, satiated by the meal. “That was something else – the music, the ambiance, the service – we’re just not used to it, and we’re thankful for it.”
Bosch’s family and loved ones are thankful as well. Prior to the dinner, Bosch posted a message on the social media site Facebook, sharing with family and friends that he and fellow soldiers would be served dinner by Outback, and immediately, hosts of friends “liked” the post, some even indicating they’d support Outback more for their effort, he said.
“We appreciate that, but that’s not what this is about,” Alverado said back in the dining facility when he a soldier later related the story. “We’re just here for the soldiers.”
With dinner served and new memories created, a handful of the servers, still wide awake by adrenaline and jet lag, trekked to the base’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation Center for a game of cards with the soldiers they’d met the night before. Huddled around a table, they began sharing stories with one another, and more importantly, contact information. Soldiers promised they would write and the volunteers promised care packages.
In the dark of the night, with the moon lighting their path, the Outback volunteers began walking back to the tent in which they stayed. Wondering aloud whether the soldiers had enjoyed the event, Jessie Gour, of Columbia, S.C., was informed by an armed escort that soldiers had enjoyed the event, and was told about a soldier who said the meal reminded her of her honeymoon.
“Good. That’s what we wanted to hear,” she said under her breath as she and Robinson walked over the rocky, dusty path toward their tent, retiring for the night before their early-morning helicopter ride, readying themselves to feed more soldiers from yet another forward operating base.
| Date Taken: | 09.08.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 09.10.2011 06:41 |
| Story ID: | 76800 |
| Location: | SPIN BOLDAK, AF |
| Web Views: | 1,136 |
| Downloads: | 4 |
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