Iraqi guests join American's Thanksgiving feast

[UsaPride]

FORWARD OPERATING BASE COBRA, Iraq - North Carolina National Guardsmen celebrated Thanksgiving on Thursday with a feast, and they took time to remember their families and the things they are thankful for.

In a gesture of appreciation to their Iraqi counterparts, the soldiers invited leaders from the eastern Diyala Province to their base to share the meal.

Lt. Col. Gary Thompson, commander of the 1st Battalion, 252nd Armor, which has its headquarters in Fayetteville, said he wanted to reciprocate for the kindness local leaders have shown his men.

"Some of them think MREs are real American food," Thompson said after visiting with Gen. Nazim Sharif Mohammad, commander of the Iraqi Border Police in Diyala. "We wanted them to try some real American food and to repay some of the great hospitality they have shown since we've been here."

About 650 National Guardsmen and about two dozen Iraqi leaders feasted on turkey, beef, Cornish hens and all the trimmings. The dining hall was decorated with the colors of autumn, crepe-paper turkeys and horns of plenty.

When the meal began, an explosion about a mile away could be heard, as if to remind the soldiers that they were still in Iraq.

Thompson, a 54-year-old Sanford resident, said that if he wasn't in Iraq he would have been at home with his family. "I'd be watching football, eating too much and getting fat," he said.


Generosity repaid

Thompson said it was important to invite the Iraqi leaders to the meal because they have been so giving. He said that every meeting with Iraqi officials entails at least two cups of chai, or sweet tea, and often a full meal.

"These people are so generous that they would give you their last piece of bread," he said.

Among the guests were Col. Hesham Ishmail, commander of the Khanaqin Joint Coordination Center and the mayor of Qara Tapa, Shirwan Shukr Samin. They, and others like them, work daily with North Carolina Guard units on security, infrastructure and development in their communities.


"The officials from the U.S. Army, they are my friends," Nazim, the border police commander, said through an interpreter. He said the meal was "very good."


Preparing the feast

The 14 cooks at Forward Operating Base Cobra spent nearly 26 hours preparing the feast, which was served from 3 to 6 p.m.

Sgt. 1st Class Robert Abbott is the food service sergeant for the base. The 40-year-old Fayetteville resident supervises the preparation and serving of two hot meals a day to the base's population of about 650 soldiers.

Abbott's cooks began preparing the Thanksgiving meal about 1 p.m. Wednesday. The food arrived a week earlier on a regular supply delivery.

"This is above and beyond what we normally do," Abbott said. "The stuff that we're cooking is made for conventional or commercial-type ovens."

His cooks had only field equipment. They stayed up until midnight Wednesday preparing most of the meats and began work on the Cornish hens at 3 a.m. Thursday. "It's a 24-hour operation," Abbott said.

Spc. Bryan Johnson, a 34-year-old medic from Fayetteville, said the food was a welcome break from the standard Army food.

Johnson and Spc. Kevin Pleasant arrived at the dining hall about 10 minutes before 3 p.m. and had a 30-minute wait to get in. They were eating with two other men from their unit, A Company, 1st Battalion, 252nd Armor, which is based in Parkton.

"For what we've been getting, this is outstanding," Johnson said.



Thanksgiving celebration

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With the soldiers in Iraq


Pleasant is a 34-year-old mechanic from Fayetteville. "I'm thankful to be alive for one thing, and that I'm going home soon," he said.

Johnson said that if he wasn't in Iraq, he would have been eating and watching football and old Clint Eastwood movies. "I would be spending time with the family, eating and watching the (Dallas) Cowboys," he said. "But I'm happy to be eating here with my buddies."

Sgt. Edward Kimbrell, 48, of Hope Mills, said he was thinking about his wife and three grown children. He said he e-mailed them Wednesday night to let them know he misses them.

"On Thanksgiving, we usually just sit around and be thankful that we're all together," he said. "I told my kids, 'Drink a beer for me because we can't here.' "

Kimbrell, a graduate of Seventy-First High School, works for the state Department of Transportation in Fayetteville. He is a support platoon squad leader for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 252nd Armor.

He said he is happy to be going home soon but proud of his time in Iraq.

"I'm thankful that we're over here trying to keep the peace so my kids don't have to worry about it," he said.

http://www.fayettevillenc.com/story.php?Template=local&Story=6704722

 

[krisy]

It's great to hear that our guys are getting a real Thanksgiving meal!!!. It's also great to hear that there are good people over there willing to taste a little bit of an Amercan holiday!!