Captain Kristen Augé's Sandbox Trip: Santa Visits Basra, Iraq!

Christmas in Iraq…as one friend emailed me; I will probably never be closer to the birth place of Christ. It’s interesting to reflect on that aspect, however, I hope this is the last time I ever spend any time in Iraq. I guess, only time will tell.

I have been looking forward to this holiday since Thanksgiving made November fly by. Unfortunately, this has not been the case this week. Time came to a screeching halt and I felt like I might as well be watching paint dry. As everyone was preparing for the big snowstorm at home, we were enjoying 60+ degree weather. There are some good things about Iraq. Only a few.

I figured the busier I made myself the easier it would be to not miss my family and friends at home. So with that, I decided to host a Christmas party with the help of Sergeant Groeneweg and Santa. After going to Christmas service in our new Chapel, I got busy preparing for the party. Thanks to family and friends, I had enough cookies to feed an Army – literally! Lots of great cookie choices and the most symbolic were the Red Bull cookies made by our friend, Scott.

We held our Christmas Friday at 5 and my roommate even made an appearance. She wore the princess crown, well! One of our Chaplains, who regularly attends, commented that this was his last Friday at 5 since he is leaving on ADVON; lucky guy to be leaving this place so early.

The Christmas party kicked off at 7pm and between socializing, a visit from Santa, Karaoke Christmas songs and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, the night flew by and ended with me falling asleep during the movie. I know, for those of you that have socialized with me in my home, you find this hard to believe! But, I have to plead my case; I was visiting with our night crew the previous evening and was running on only 4 hours of sleep.

One of the typically questions asked of each other is; “Is this your first Christmas away from home?” For some Soldiers, they have spent quite a few Christmases away from home. For me the answer is; yes. Even though I was glad I had my military family to celebrate this holiday, I longingly wished I was at home with my family.

Merry Christmas to my family and friends back home! Soon, very soon, I’ll be seeing you in 2010!