Troops Celebrate Thanksgiving in Iraq
Published on Nov 20, 2011 by AssociatedPress
US soldiers at Camp Victory in Iraq celebrated the American holiday of Thanksgiving on Sunday. The traditional Thanksgiving lunch was served four days early because the camp was being closed in preparation for the troops' departure. (November 20)
Showing posts with label Camp Victory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Camp Victory. Show all posts
Monday, November 21, 2011
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Deployed military couples find time together finally
Army couple's rarest asset in Iraq: time together
By HAMZA HENDAWI – 6 hours ago
BAGHDAD (AP) — They still feel like newlyweds, five years into their marriage. A lucky couple?
No, Nathan and Jennifer Williams just haven't seen much of each other.
The two young Americans, both Army captains, have each been deployed twice to Iraq on 12-month tours — but in different locations. Back home, they spent at least another year apart because of training commitments.
All told, they've been together for two of their five years of marriage.
The Williamses are among thousands of military couples whose lives have been disrupted by multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Starting a family has been put on hold. And time alone together, when it comes, is precious.
Every night since November, Nathan, 28, and Jennifer, 30, would get on the phone to pour out their thoughts about the day, decompress and chat about the kind of stuff married couples chat about.
Stationed at different outposts in Baghdad just six miles apart, they rarely had the chance to see each other in person — just once or twice a month — so the phone calls were crucial.
"I have been here long enough now that I understand his job so that he can kind of talk about his day and I understand everything he is saying," Jennifer said.
Still, the Williamses are luckier than many military couples, particularly those who have lost loved ones in battle. In both of their tours, they've served in the same brigade.
And starting this month, it's a relative honeymoon — or a reunion, perhaps. Nathan commands an infantry company that moved May 30 from an outpost in north Baghdad to Camp Victory, where his wife is stationed. So now, they will be able to see each other each day for the rest of their 12-month tour, which will end in late September or early October.
go here for more
Army couple's rarest asset in Iraq: time together The Associated Press
By HAMZA HENDAWI – 6 hours ago
BAGHDAD (AP) — They still feel like newlyweds, five years into their marriage. A lucky couple?
No, Nathan and Jennifer Williams just haven't seen much of each other.
The two young Americans, both Army captains, have each been deployed twice to Iraq on 12-month tours — but in different locations. Back home, they spent at least another year apart because of training commitments.
All told, they've been together for two of their five years of marriage.
The Williamses are among thousands of military couples whose lives have been disrupted by multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Starting a family has been put on hold. And time alone together, when it comes, is precious.
Every night since November, Nathan, 28, and Jennifer, 30, would get on the phone to pour out their thoughts about the day, decompress and chat about the kind of stuff married couples chat about.
Stationed at different outposts in Baghdad just six miles apart, they rarely had the chance to see each other in person — just once or twice a month — so the phone calls were crucial.
"I have been here long enough now that I understand his job so that he can kind of talk about his day and I understand everything he is saying," Jennifer said.
Still, the Williamses are luckier than many military couples, particularly those who have lost loved ones in battle. In both of their tours, they've served in the same brigade.
And starting this month, it's a relative honeymoon — or a reunion, perhaps. Nathan commands an infantry company that moved May 30 from an outpost in north Baghdad to Camp Victory, where his wife is stationed. So now, they will be able to see each other each day for the rest of their 12-month tour, which will end in late September or early October.
go here for more
Army couple's rarest asset in Iraq: time together The Associated Press
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Troops in Iraq, Afghanistan honor their fallen at Camp Victory
Troops in Iraq, Afghanistan honor their fallen
By Chelsea J. Carter and Heidi Vogt - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday May 26, 2009 8:51:00 EDT
BAGHDAD — American troops on Memorial Day honored their fallen on two battlefields, one war winding down and another ramping up. In Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. military remembered the toll so far on the troops — more than 4,900 dead — with the outcome still unclear.
In Iraq, soldiers and Marines stood solemnly during a playing of Taps at Baghdad’s Camp Victory. They saluted a memorial of a single helmet propped on a rifle beside a pair of boots.
Thousands of miles away, in the Afghan capital of Kabul, soldiers left mementos at a similar memorial for two comrades who recently died.
“Memorial Day for us is intensely personal,” Gen. David McKiernan, the outgoing U.S. commander in Afghanistan, told a crowd at Camp Eggers. The training command based there has lost 70 soldiers since last Memorial Day.
“It is the empty seat in the mess hall, the battle buddy who is no longer here, or the friend who did not return from patrol. And it is the commitment to carry on with the mission in their honor,” McKiernan said.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/05/ap_iraq_afghanistan_memorial_day_052609/
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