Captain Kristen Augé's Sandbox Trip: Happy Thanksgiving!

Yesterday I flew Space A to Ali Al Salem, Kuwait. It is never an easy process flying here and trying to secure a Space A flight is like trying to get a last minute flight on a holiday. I thought my luck had changed when I was manifested shortly after the other passengers. Not really. Once again, the flight was delayed so I spent some quality time at the PAX terminal. I finally arrived in Ali Al Salem, waited about an hour for my duffle bag to be unloaded and jumped on a bus which would take me to Arifjan.

I was to spend Thanksgiving with our troops stationed in Arifjan and I was looking forward to the change in scenery. Unlike Basra, where every week something changes on the base, I didn’t notice any changes to Camp Arifjan. It was refreshing to not feel closed in by the T-walls, HESCO barriers and concertina wire.

I got up early and joined First Lieutenant (1LT) Chris Meeusen, Sergeant (SGT) Ridgeway and Specialist (SPC) Winter for the Turkey Trot 5k. I was thinking of my mother who would be running later in the day in Duluth, Minnesota, in the Gobble Gallop 5k. Sixteen thousand miles separating us from running together….next year, Mom!

The registration for the race was in one of their gyms and the sponsors were yelling out numbers. Chris was explaining how we take a badge and turn it in at the end of the race to claim our T-shirts. It dawned on me that the numbers they were calling out corresponded to the badge colors which corresponded to age categories. Of course, I’m wearing the green badge (40-49). As if being older isn’t hard enough, now I have to display it on my chest. The only redeeming quality of the race is, I outran a lot of guys. A female and 41 years old, too! HA!

We stopped at Starbucks on the way back and SGT Ridgeway treated us to coffee. The Starbucks had been remodeled to accommodate inside seating since I visited last. The last time I visited, it was so sweltering hot and drinking coffee outside made it worse. Now that the weather is cooler, there is seating inside. Funny, how it works out that way. As always, it was just like a piece of heaven from home.

For lunch we hit the DFAC and it was all decked out with decorations, butter sculptures and melon carvings. As we were walking through I saw Command Sergeant Major Preston, Sergeant Major of the Army….the top enlisted guy for you civilians.

SGT Peterson took on the responsibility of party planner and coordinated a Thanksgiving party for the team. We played bingo and pin the feather on the turkey. She had some fun prizes and a coveted “good for one day off” certificate. Unbeknownst to Chris, she had T-shirts made with his picture. The caption read, “Fearlessly, our leader searches for the pool.” The inside side joke on this one is: There is a swimming pool located on this base and every time we call to talk to Chris, he’s at the pool. Not even close to being true but we definitely have fun giving him grief about it. I even won a T-shirt.

We had steaks from Mancini’s and some other side dishes. Not quite the usual spread that I’m used to back home but I was certainly just as full when the meal was over.

As much as I missed spending Thanksgiving with my family back home, I was glad I had the opportunity to spend it with my military family.

Here are my top 10 things I am thankful for. I could certainly list more than 10 but then I would be here all night. First on my list is my family which really goes without saying. They are and continue to be my support through this and the reason I continue to be a Soldier.

Family
Friends
Religious Freedom
Having an exciting job!
Good Health
Living in the USA
Education …and that my parents read to me when I was a kid
Food on my plate
A roof over my head
This experience…since it has brought such clarity to what really matters.