Troops Celebrate Thanksgiving

US Troops in Kabul, Afghanistan 

Celebrate Thanksgiving

 

It was Army Sgt Keith Wells first 

Thanksgiving Day away from his 

family and despite a cornucopia of 

 food provided for the troops, his 

taste buds were craving his wife's 

macaroni and cheese back home.

"My wife's a foodie — you know the Food Network, cooking shows. 

Everything she makes is golden," Wells of Charlotte, NC, said 

Thursday at a large international military base in the Afghan capital, 

Kabul.

The dining hall served up mac-and-cheese along with traditional 

Thanksgiving Day fixings. Wells was thankful for the good food, 

but he still missed his wife's home-cooking.

Huge hunks of beef greeted the estimated 2,500 diners as soldiers 

lined up in the dining hall. Red-white-and-blue decorations filled 

the room. Brochures titled "Learn about combat stress" served 

as table centerpieces.

There was roast turkey, sliced turkey, ham and rib-eye steaks. 

The troops were served steaming side dishes of dressing, corn, 

collard greens, yams and mashed potatoes and gravy that some 

lapped up with spoons. For dessert, there was a massive cake 

with a turkey etched in icing, pumpkin spice cookies and scores 

of pies.

A short walk from the dining hall, service members were playing 

a modified version of American football. American guys in sweats 

tossing the pigskin, a scoreboard, a coin toss to start the game.

But on this military base, concrete barriers surrounded the field. 

The referees wore camouflaged shirts and the spectators carried 

rifles. The artificial turf was frayed and so dusty that when one 

player spiked the football, a puff of dirt rose from the field.

The players used a regulation football, but the game was a mix 

of football, soccer and rugby to fit the short field.

Some soldiers commented about the 11-year-old war that has 
claimed the lives of 2,029 American service members.

Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Chuck Minton of Monroe, Ga., 

who has traveled extensively across Afghanistan, was optimistic. 

"It's been progressing here, getting better. The Afghans have 

taken over more missions," Minton said.

President Barack Obama pulled 10,000 troops out of Afghanistan 

in 2011 and 23,000 more this year, leaving about 66,000 American 

service members still deployed in the country. Nearly all 

international combat troops are to withdraw by the end of 2014 

when Afghan forces will be fully in charge of securing the nation.

Army Maj. Rodney Gehrett of Colorado Springs, Colo., said 

he was surprised that the war was barely mentioned during the 

last U.S. presidential election — evidence that some Americans 

had tuned out the news from the front line a half a world away.

"The war in Afghanistan wasn't even brought up as a topic of 
conversation" during the election, Gehrett said. "It was a little 
surprising to me. Hopefully, that will change and people will 
realize that we still have troops here and they are 
fighting every day."

Army Sgt. Adam Draughn of Denver, Colo., said some people back 

home have the impression that the Afghan people don't want 

American troops in their country.

"Honestly, I think the biggest misconception in my opinion is that, 

you know, we actually are loved here," Draughn said. "The 

nationals do care about us. They do want us here to help them. 

We're not here uninvited."

Most of the holiday chatter, however, was focused on family.

Taking a break from the game, Army Capt. Robert Mikyska 

of North Aurora, Ill., pulled out a photocopied photo that was 

taken of he and his wife just before he deployed to Afghanistan 

nine months ago.

"Hi, honey!" Mikyska said, looking at the picture. "In a couple 

weeks, I'll be home. I can't wait to be back."

"My family's here," Army Spc. Ricky Clay, also of Monroe, Ga., 

said as he smiled and embraced his teammates on the 

sidelines of the football field.