Christmas at Camp Victory in Kuwait: My Experience

In 2003 and 2004, I had the privilege of serving the United States of America in Operation Iraqi Freedom. I was in the United States Army and my tour of duty was to be stationed at Camp Victory Kuwait. This camp was a newly established military camp since most military operations were being conducted in the middle of the dessert. When I first arrived at Camp Victory Kuwait, I was amazed to find out that I was actually going to be living in the middle of a hot desert for as long as the military was going to keep me there. In the Army, you are given orders and sometimes those orders don't tell you exactly when you are going home. Sometimes you even get orders that tell you, you will be leaving a deployed area in just a few months and then find out that your orders have been extended.

I arrived at Camp Victory in February of 2003. The soldiers and I all thought that we would be leaving Kuwait and Iraq soon after we invaded the country. We thought that we would be out of there in just 6 months. However, history became much more evident that we would not be coming home anytime soon. We all prepared for the worst when we realized that soldiers were still being deployed to the region in October and the following months. Something was telling us all that this would be a never ending war. At first the idea of another Vietnam felt far fetched. We didn't feel like we should be honored in the same way that Vietnam Vets had been honored for their military service in Vietnam. We thought that by saying this would make us seem as though we were blowing our deployment out of proportion. However, we all felt like we had no idea why we were in Iraq and Kuwait. The only thing that we told ourselves was that it won't be for long.

Christmas at Camp Victory Kuwait was actually an excellent Christmas. What most people don't realize is that the United States of America takes good care of their troops while stationed overseas. I was shocked to find out that we had turkey and all the trimmings as well as other foods to make us feel like we were more at Christmas while being stationed overseas. The biggest downfall was that we didn't have out families with us. We were hard at work defending the United States of America. Some people think that this is unfair. However, the United States depends upon its troops to fight a war that most Americans would not be willing to fight. The United States Army is a volunteer Army and being stationed overseas means that you are serving your country in a time of need.

Being a soldier during Christmas is actually a blessing. You actually get all you can eat food and its good food. This is not a "TV" dinner. This is actually food that has been created by chefs and Army cooks. This is all given to soldiers on a dessert. Some Americans have this idea in their heads that soldiers are eating MRE's (meals ready to eat) everyday. Soldiers very rarely have to eat meals out of a bag unless they are a Special Forces unit or another secretive type of unit. The majority of soldiers stationed overseas are eating well; probably better than most American families. Soldiers in a war zone are given daily access to military dining facilities no matter if they are somewhere out in a dessert or on a military base. The nice thing about being stationed overseas during the holidays is all of the extra money that you get. Soldiers stationed overseas are receiving hazardous pay and their regular pay. Their spouses are receiving extra money and so are their children. Best of all, its all tax free money. This money can be used to help military families.

All that we hear on the news is bad things about soldiers being stationed overseas in Iraq. However, I personally thought that it was a time for me to save money and to actually learn more about myself. Yes, it's boring and lonely. However, there is no job in the world that can promise you that you will never have to work a holiday again in your life. Some jobs require you to travel and to be away from your family for days, weeks and often months. The military is not the only job that requires you to work overseas.

Christmas day at Camp Victory Kuwait is probably one of the best examples of what Christmas should be for deployed soldiers. Soldiers sleep in tents in the middle of a hot dessert, but also they have air-conditioning pumping into the tents as well. It's not all that bad. On Christmas day, the army allows most soldiers to have part or all of the day off. Even if you are in a hazardous zone. There are always some soldiers on duty to monitor posts. However, these positions are usually given in 12 and 24 hour shifts making it possible for most of the soldiers to enjoy their holiday. Camp Victory Kuwait has become more well known for it's in between state for soldiers transitioning from Iraq to the United States.

Believe it or not, they have a Christmas tree set up in the "mess tent" on Christmas day and also church services. Just because you are in the middle of a dessert, doesn't mean that the Army hasn't forgotten about soldiers needs. Being a soldier at Camp Victory means that you are having your fellow military brothers and sisters around you.

The greatest feeling that you can have at Christmas is feeling as though you are giving a gift to another person. Soldiers are giving their lives at Christmas so that the rest of the nation can enjoy their Christmas holiday.