By Spc. Nathan J. Hoskins
1st Air Cavalry Brigade Public Affairs
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – "I would like some yams with a side of yams and some yams with that, as well. If you could just give me a huge can of yams, I'll be set."
Not too many people will make this request. Aside from it not being very healthy, it really does not offer a wide variety for the palate.
But what if it was for a higher cause? What if someone said you would make some children's lives a little better by consuming some yams – a lot of yams.
That happened to Island Lake, Ill., native Sgt. Thomas Noga, an early warning system operator for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.
"We were having a gift exchanging party in the tactical operations center. When I went up to claim my prize, I had a captain approach me before I got to open it," he said.
That gift turned out to be a large – 42 ounces large – can of yams. Then the challenge was announced.
The challenger, a captain from HHC, 1st ACB, told the Soldiers in attendance that Baker Victory Services, or BVS, a nonprofit special education school for students with severe emotional and behavioral disabilities, had sent out 10 care packages full of goodies, and he had received one.
The challenge from the captain was if whoever received the can of yams could eat the entire seven servings contained inside within two minutes, then the captain would add another $200 to the amount he was already donating to BVS, said Fort Washington, Md., native Sgt. Teri Parker, an intelligence analyst for HHC, 1st ACB.
The captain wishes to remain anonymous due to his charitable donation, but he said his gift at the exchange was giving someone else the opportunity for an act of generosity.
"It was based off whoever picked up the gift so it could've been anybody. It just happened to be me," said Noga.
"We were hoping for Sgt. Noga to actually get it and he pulled it! That's the funny part of it. We know he loves those eating games," Parker said, while laughing.
As luck would have it, Noga was one of the very few that could have accomplished this task within two minutes, said the captain.
"I thought [the challenge] was just hilarious because everyone knows in the TOC that there's only one person that can do something like that, and that's me.
No one can match my eating ability – so that was fate," said Noga.
What made the challenge all the more interesting was that Noga had never eaten yams in his entire life, he said.
"I had never had yams [prior to this]. I pretty much knew kind of what they were ... I'll say this, I'll never have them again," Noga said.
The day came for the challenge and Noga was ready. He donned his fancy trash bag bib, stood on a floor mat and took the stance of a fighter willing to risk losing his lunch for charity.
Then he was signaled to start and the time began to count down.
"After the first bite I knew I was going to have a hard time with it. They were nasty. They were lukewarm. They were horrible," said Noga.
With time dwindling down, Noga faced the temptation to give up.
"I got to about a minute and thirty seconds and they were counting off the time and I still had a bit left. I was like 'I don't know if I can do this,'" Noga recalled.
Like a good Soldier, Noga drove on despite the adversity, said the captain.
"The American Soldier will never cease to amaze you. I guess it was a show of selfless service ... or maybe it was personal courage, too," the captain joked. "He was just slopping it and shoveling it in there."
"I had already gagged about seven times and everyone saw it and they were starting to gag [as well]. Finally, with thirty seconds left, I'm like, 'I've gotten this far! I'm going to finish this!'" Noga said.
And he did finish. With only three seconds remaining, Noga consumed the full seven servings of yams.
Even though this meant that the captain had to give up more money, it did not faze him whatsoever.
"It felt good to watch him do it. I was rooting for him. I was that much poorer because of it, but I was still richer for the experience. I attribute it to the American Soldier," said the captain.
In this situation everybody wins. The Soldiers are receiving support and in return, they are supporting others, he said.
This challenge brought on two great aspects: it boosted the morale of the Soldiers and it raised money for a good cause in the states, said Parker.
Other Soldiers gave to the cause as well, submitting donations to the BVS through the captain who sent one lump-sum check.
| Date Taken: |
12.31.2006 |
| Date Posted: |
12.31.2006 16:19 |
| Story ID: |
8708 |
| Location: |
TAJI, IQ |
| Web Views: |
195 |
| Downloads: |
151 |
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