What did you do on Christmas Eve on a base in Viet Nam or Afghanistan, Iraq or Incirlik? On Christmas Day on an aircraft carrier or a destroyer? What would you like your kids, your parents, your brother, to know about your deployment?
Christmas in Camp Slayer is the third article in the Christmas On Deployment series, where veterans, active duty military personnel, law enforcement and first responders share their experiences. It’s an effort to give Americans an idea of the price paid for our freedom. The first two articles can be viewed at the following link titled Christmas On Deployment: VietNam and Christmas On Deployment: Al Asad, Iraq, 2o04.
“We were part of the Iraq Survey Group with a primary mission of searching for weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).”
Chris was an Arabic linguist who spent Christmas 2003 at Camp Slayer, Iraq. He was deployed first to Kuwait, and then to Iraq, “as part of the 306th Military Intelligence Company (an Army Reserve linguist unit, mostly Arabic) starting in February 2003,” Chris wrote. “There also were some 141 or 142 MI [141st and 142nd Military Intelligence Battalions] out of Salt Lake City and Provo, UT. We called them the ‘Stormin’ Mormons.’ Good folks.”
This was during the final days of the buildup to the liberation of Iraq from Saddam Hussein. It was still part of Operation Enduring Freedom in February. A month later the name would be changed to Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Chris writes: “We mobilized at Fort Bragg, NC and arrived in Kuwait on 24 March 2003 (we left Pope AFB in 22 March, so the entire day of 23 MAR was en route: Pope, Gander Newfoundland, Shannon Ireland, Vicenze Italy, Cyprus (Nicosea or Larnaca, can’t remember), and finally Camp Wolf Kuwait. It was a miserable flight.”
“Since we were a small specialized unit, our members were dispersed to different areas across Iraq. I ended up attached to the 513th MI Brigade for my time in Kuwait. Most of us then met up later in Iraq as part of the Iraq Survey Group with a primary mission of searching for weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).”
The Search for LCdr. Scott Speicher, MIA
“We had a secondary mission of looking for information on LCdr (Michael) Scott Speicher.” Scott Speicher was a U.S. Navy pilot who had been missing in action for 12 years. His F/A-18 Hornet had gone down on January 17, 1991, the opening night of Operation Desert Storm, the liberation of Kuwait.
Speicher had been a Lieutenant Commander when he was shot down. He was later promoted to Commander and then Captain during the years of uncertainty about whether he had died or had been captured. The Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein purposely had promoted confusion about his status for years, encouraging the belief that they held him as a prisoner.
A local Bedouin tribe finally led investigators to his grave in 2009
President Bush had made finding Speicher a priority secondary only to eliminating the WMD that the U.S. government believed the Iraqis held. A local Bedouin tribe finally led investigators to his grave in 2009, where they had buried him at the time his plane crashed. His remains were positively identified, and repatriated to a tomb in Arlington National Cemetery.
Chris and his unit were detailed to sort through all the captured Iraqi government files, looking for evidence of WMD, LCdr Speicher’s status, and other intelligence collection priorities. Their Arabic ability was pushed to the limit in the effort. “We were with the Combined Media Processing Center, Baghdad (CMPC-B) doing media exploitation. It included paper documents, personal effects, and government files, and there was a [separate] magnetic media element going through computers, tapes, and digital files of all types.”
Christmas in Camp Slayer – Vince McMahon, WWE, and Christmas Dinner
When Christmas came, Chris was in a relatively stable, settled environment. “My wife was sending packages regularly so getting gifts and loot was not a problem. The supply chain was well established so there were little shops on the base I was stationed at (Camp Slayer, HQ for the WMD search). Vince McMahon came with WWE to do a show just before Christmas.”
“I can’t find the photos of the chow hall holiday dinner, but it was amazing! There was a beautiful ice sculpture on the table. A Nepalese staff member was dressed as Santa, with a wooden staff with balloons attached (he was rail thin, but seemed to be having a good time). The meal was fabulous, all the usual holiday fare with the trimmings.”
“A Nepalese staff member was dressed as Santa, with a wooden staff with balloons attached (he was rail thin, but seemed to be having a good time).”
Chris brought up a point that many deployed military and diplomatic personnel have noted: the sacrifices that so many Iraqi nationals made by helping the American forces. These were mostly “the local and contract linguists who helped the cause. Many were threatened, as were their families, and a few were killed.”
“The native linguists we worked with were mostly Iraqis that had to flee for their lives during the reign of Saddam. They felt it was their patriotic duty to help the effort, but I didn’t want to endanger any of them by publishing a photo. Some of the hatred runs deep in these kinds of situations. They were our ‘deployed family’ members while we served, and I will protect them as much as possible.”
Send In Your Stories of Christmas On Deployment
Your experiences may or may not be dramatic. Most veterans say the same thing: some variation of “Oh, you know, it wasn’t very interesting, nothing really happened.” They don’t understand what civilians want to know.
… their families and friends want to know about their lives. So do the strangers who pray every night, asking God to protect our troops.
All deployed troops long for letters from home. Any letters – even those with only newsy bits about family and friends. Those newsy bits help them feel connected to home, to the things they are fighting for.
In the same way, their families and friends want to know about their lives, even the times when nothing really happened. So do all the strangers in America who pray every night, asking God to protect our troops. These stories are for them. What I’m looking for is to reflect the totality of the experience.
What did you do on Christmas Eve on a base in Viet Nam or Afghanistan, Iraq or Incirlik? On Christmas Day on an aircraft carrier or a destroyer? What made it difficult, and more important, what made it bearable? What would you like your kids, your parents, your brother, to know about your deployment?
Please email me your stories at [email protected] and I will retell them here. If you include your contact information, I will reach out and interview you. Help those who support our troops, pray for our troops, and thank you for your service and understanding what they are thanking you for.
Thank you.
