With so many members of the military fighting for our freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan during the Christmas season, it is critical we make a special effort to remember the troops and their families. Having spent last Christmas deployed in Afghanistan, I cannot tell you how much my family appreciates the blessing of being together over the holidays.
However, we have a particular and personal connection with those troops and families who must endure the hardship of war this year. As a reminder of what I was feeling last year, I reread the article I wrote home about the experience of being away from loved ones while in combat over Christmas. It was the toughest time of my year away and the account reminded me of so much I could take for granted this year.
I have asked The Times and Democrat to republish a portion of that article, primarily as a dedication to all the troops and families serving in Iraq or Afghanistan this year. They are all facing various challenges, but I pray readers can understand a few of those challenges from my experience last year. Let us all take time out to pray that God protects our troops and gives their families his peace over Christmas. God Bless America and Merry Christmas to the troops and their families.
Christmas in the war zone
Leaving the United States on Dec. 2 to head back to Afghanistan was not easy. This trip back had followed a wonderful two-week leave at home with my immediate family. As it is with many soldiers, saying goodbye after midtour leave was much harder then when I left at the beginning of a 15-month mobilization. This would seem counter-intuitive to most, as I had gone well past the halfway point in my one-year combat tour after leave. However, I knew I would miss something very special in my wife and children’s lives — a time I have cherished with family. The celebration of the birth of Jesus this year would be away from home and in a war zone far away. That’s something I’d like to describe for others: the celebration of Christmas for a soldier in Afghanistan.
First, it took me three days of flying to get back to the Southern Afghanistan city of Kandahar. This was during the early part of December. I flew from Atlanta through Germany to Kuwait. After a few hours, I then flew to Qatar. Next, I flew threw Bagram, Afghanistan, to catch a flight south to Kandahar. Upon arrival near Kandahar, I noticed a drastic change in the weather: It was noticeably hot when I left in November and had become rather chilly now. Southern Afghanistan is not nearly as cold as the northern part of the country, yet the change in weather is quite abrupt. I mention all this because the cool weather in December becomes a constant reminder of the upcoming Christmas holiday period at home. I wanted to put the celebration of Christmas out of my head so I would not dwell on how much I missed being with family during this time. It wasn’t an issue of the remembrance of the birth of Jesus, but the reminder of missed time with my wife and kids. As I soon discovered, even in a war zone, it is impossible to put Christmas celebration out of one’s head.
The amazing thing to see in a deployed environment is the ingenuity of soldiers in celebration of Christmas. When I went to catch my helicopter from Kandahar, I noticed the flight crew had various decorations up in their office. Another thing I observed in most offices and rooms was Christmas care packages from Americans to “any soldier.” When I got back to my base, I saw little Christmas trees popping up in various rooms and offices. In visiting one of my teams at a remote location later that week, I saw soldiers with “Santa” hats on at night and other Christmas paraphernalia. Packages arrived to this Spartan base with wrapped presents to be put under the little make-shift trees. The base chapels near our locations had decorations and Nativity scenes to remind all of the true meaning of Christmas. I decided there would be no way to put Christmas out of my head. In this case, the only way to deal with Christmas away was with thoughts and prayers and the occasional phone call to home.
Another tough part about being deployed over Christmas is that you cannot let your guard down. The enemy, who in this case is not Christian, is actually more likely to take advantage of a time like Christmas time to attack. Soldiers cannot become complacent and must keep focused. All of this brings emotions swirling around during Christmas away from home and family. In my case, I was determined to keep my men focused on the mission, while keeping appropriate remembrance of the birth of Jesus. As I write this article, Christmas is only a week away.
The best way I can think for Americans to help deployed military members during the Christmas season: Take the extra time to care about the families of those in combat. Family members of the deployed have, by far, the toughest jobs in the world. Wives must carry on and help the children through Christmas without their fathers. These women must keep it a special time for the children, even while being broken-hearted about the separation. The children must make it through this special season without their fathers and yet understand the love of their fathers in being deployed. All family members must go through this time not knowing what dangers or hardships face their deployed loved one. Not knowing if they may ever again celebrate Christmas with that loved one or if their celebration may be disturbed by the worst of news.
Do one thing this Christmas: Pray for the families of the troops overseas. Pray they get through this special time without becoming depressed or bitter. Pray they can keep the birth of Jesus foremost in their minds while going through such hardship. Thank you, God bless you, and Merry Christmas.
Tags: Afghanistan, Christmas, Lieutenant Governor, South Carolina, south carolina lieutenant governor
