By 1st Lt. Jeremy Williams
C Company, 134 Brigade Support Battalion, Ali Al Salem Life Support Area Emergency Operations Center
KUWAIT - “The only blind person at Christmas time is he who has not Christmas in his heart,” said Helen Keller.
Envisioning Christmas when far away from home can be as challenging as tight-roping across the Niagara Gorge. While communication with loved ones back home over the holiday period is essential, with a little creativity and caring touch, home does not feel so far away.
LSA Post Chaplain Col. Ronald Huffman, LSA Deputy Camp Commander Maj. Rick Jensen, Military Welfare and Recreation staff, USO Director Piper Hardin and safety officer 1st Lt. Jacuelyn Rodrigues had lofty visions when aiming to make a regular weekend special on Camp LSA. All tenant units provided personnel to sing, play guitar,or be the designated elf or snowman for photographs.
“What started as an idea of getting eight singers involved ended in double that number from different camp entities,” states Rodrigues. “I felt so overjoyed seeing others join in and look forward to the Christmas Eve event of camp-wide caroling.”
The Christmas Eve candlelight service and evening festivities will be the culminating event over the month of celebration.
Partnership during this event was evident in every aspect of the evening.
Piper Hardin of the Camp USO commented, “We were excited to see the outcome of the collaboration of so many different camp entities offering volunteers. Working as a team, we accomplished so much more. Everyone’s synergy was contagious.”
Service members, DOD civilians and contractors partook in the lavish food provided. For those of a more daring nature, Christmas games involving solo dances or vocal performances awarded prizes to the winners. The stage was truly a flurry of activity.
Christmas time and holiday spirit are dependent on the zeal of those together. LSA Deputy Camp Commander Maj. Rick Jensen states, “It was important for us to provide some type of Christmas festivities away from home. The holidays are a time to spend with family and friends. Since we all can’t go home for the holidays, we can celebrate with our military family here. The sense of community that has been shown here is something our soldiers will always remember.”
This holiday season, celebrating the fanfare across Camp LSA brought a glow upon transient and permanent party service members alike.