BEMOWO PISKIE TRAINING AREA, Poland – “Three … two … one …” The crowd counted down together, voices rising as the Christmas tree at BPTA lit up and the night brightened.
For U.S. Army Pfc. Nonde Melvin, it felt familiar in an unexpected place. “When they lit up the tree,” she said, “The countdown, it felt like Times Square almost.”
At BPTA, a Polish military base that hosts the NATO Multinational Battlegroup, where many service members are spending the holidays far from family, familiar traditions are helping troops and allied partners feel connected to their roots.
A basewide tree lighting brought together U.S. Army companies from 3-8 Cavalry, 3rd Brigade Engineer Battalion, and 1-5 Field Artillery alongside NATO allies from the United Kingdom, Romania and Croatia for a shared caroling performance, while the USO’s holiday bake-off offered another kind of comfort, a taste of home while deployed.
The tree lighting didn’t just draw a crowd, it pulled people into the same moment. U.S. Army units took turns singing, then allied partners stepped in with their own voices and cadence. For a base made up of different uniforms and different home countries, the carols gave everyone something in common to focus on.
Pfc. Max Mather said events like the tree lighting matter because they create connection on purpose, instead of leaving people to go through the season alone.
“It’s a way to reconnect and a way to feel at home without being at home,” Mather said.
For Mather, the biggest reminder of Christmas back home wasn’t the lights or decorations. It was the act of people singing together.
“My favorite part was probably the caroling, the singing,” he said. “When I was a kid there would always be people coming around and singing at your doorstep. I think that’s the biggest part of the Christmas spirit, everybody is engaged.”
Pfc. Nonde Melvin, whose family is in New York, said the holidays at BPTA come with a choice she has to make every day, focus on the distance, or build something meaningful with what is here.
“I am trying to make the best time out of Christmas while being away from family and friends,” Melvin said.
Even with the celebration, both soldiers said their thoughts stay anchored back home. Melvin’s message to her family was simple: “Tell them I love them and I’ll be back soon to see them.” Mather’s message carried the same promise. “I’ll be back soon, miss them and I can’t wait to see them again,” he said.
That mix, celebrating where you are while missing where you’re from, is part of what the USO tries to meet head-on during the season.
USO center operations specialist, Job Ojo, said the organization’s Holiday Bake-Off is designed to bring service members from different backgrounds together around something many grew up with, baking during the holidays.
“We want to bring comfort, joy, and a taste of home to service members during the holidays.” Ojo Said. “ We hope to create connection, boost morale, and make service members and their families feel appreciated, supported, and home during the holiday season”
One of the people helping create that space is U.S. Army Spc. Ni Du, a USO volunteer who said she started helping partly to pass the time, but stayed because of the community it builds. Du moved from China to the United States and later joined the Army looking for challenge and growth. She said she had been studying psychology, but wanted something that pushed her further in a different way.
“The Army has been perfect for me,” Du said. “It pushes me out of my comfort zone.”
At the USO, Du said, she enjoys meeting NATO allies and getting to know people whose traditions and backgrounds are different from her own, something she has been doing most of her life.
Coming from China, she explained, she has been meeting new people “my entire life.”
For troops stationed far from home, Christmas at BPTA won’t look exactly like it does back in their home states, where carolers used to stop at the door. But between a countdown under the lights and a shared table at the USO, the season still delivers something many are chasing this time of year, the feeling that they’re not celebrating alone. -30-