Southern Calif.-based Marines combine holiday spirit with esprit de corps in northwestern Iraq
AL QA"IM, Iraq, - Tis" the first week of December and Americans have already began stirring up the holiday spirits - even in Iraq.
Story and photos by Cpl. Michael S. Cifuentes,
Combat Correspondent,
3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment
U.S. Marines and sailors with 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, a southern Calif.-based battalion, didn"t have to dig deep for memories of sipping egg nog, decorating pine trees and listening to "Jingle Bell Rock."
Not only did the Marines bring their military gear to Iraq, but also their holiday season memories that they've accrued since childhood. They've recently been decking their living space with holiday morale boosters - decorations and good holiday spirit.
The battalion has operated in the northwestern region of Iraq"s Al Anbar Province, just miles shy from the Iraq-Syria border, since arriving here in September.
Daily life for these Marines means patrolling dangerous streets through Euphrates River cities in this region of about 125,000 people. Risking their lives alongside Iraqi Security Forces, the Marines are in search of improvised explosive devices, insurgents and weapons caches.
But it"s December, and Christmas is just around the corner. Some Marines are taking time to send holiday cards back home to family and friends. Others are busy opening countless care packages and presents they"re receiving in the mail.
Lance Cpl. Scott C. Creen, a 20-year-old Marine from Chisago City, Minn., says he"s sending Christmas cards to his family and friends state-side "just to remind them that there is Christmas in Iraq."
"I am sort of sending my family and some of my friends my ‘season"s greetings," because I won"t be there to celebrate the holidays with them," said Creen, who drives a humvee during daily patrols in Iraq.
"Most importantly, I am writing to them - my mom, the guys [friends] and the lovely gal [his girlfriend] - to tell them I miss them, and I will be missing them especially during this month," he said.
Regardless of the daily patrols and long work hours, the Marines here say they are making time to celebrate the holidays. After all, December is the one time of the year they get to take part in holiday festivities they"ve celebrated since they were children.
"Egg nog by the fire and ‘the Nutcracker" is what I am missing out on," said Creen. "I"d either be doing something like that right now or snowboarding."
Inside the living quarters of a U.S. Marine outpost in Al Ubaydi - one of dozens of small towns just miles east of the Iraq-Syria border - Marines and sailors put up Christmas lights, garlands of tinsel and other winter seasonal ornaments. Stockings and boot socks hang from makeshift fireplaces made out of the same plywood they use to make their furniture.
"Our place is starting to look like home," said Cpl. Joshua V. Pfaff, a St. Charles, Mo., native, describing the holiday decorations the Marines put up in their living quarters.
Still, holiday decorations are no substitute for the real thing back home, he says.
"Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night. It"s dark but I see my Christmas lights and think that I am home," said Pfaff. "But, a few seconds later, I realize I"m in Iraq."
Nonetheless, Pfaff and the Marines that live with him have the "Christmas spirit," he said. Even though it is tough being away from home during these times, he said he"s glad that he can celebrate the season"s holidays with his buddies here - a new "home away from home."
For the battalion"s India Company, which is based at one of many of the Marines" remote forward battle positions along the Euphrates River here, the Marines face such threats as small-arms fire and IEDs. They"re getting better at spotting IEDs - bombs emplaced by insurgents to attack Coalition and Iraqi forces - and are finding many of the hidden explosives before they go off. The Marines are also capturing more and more insurgents, which means less "bad guys" on the streets.
The Marines also mentor Iraqi police and soldiers, who they share their outpost with, imparting them with vital military tactics and procedures so they can maintain security in Iraq on their own.
When they"re not "outside the wire," some of the Marines are preparing for the holidays - setting up ornaments, writing cards and watching movies like "The Christmas Story," is a good way to break the monotony of everyday operations here, said Pfaff, who is spending his first Christmas away from home.
"If I were at home, I"d probably be helping my mom decorate the [Christmas] tree," said Lance Cpl. Raul Bravo, a Las Vegas native. "I"m still keeping the same spirit here though, I just don"t have to worry about breaking those $50 ornaments my mom gets."
The Marines receive the ornaments in care packages sent from family members and friends. The amount of incoming care packages has increased greatly since the week of Thanksgiving, said Lance Cpl. Blair Evans, a Holiday, Utah, native, and the battalion"s mail clerk.
"We"ve been getting loads and loads of boxes this week, and we"re expecting so much more this month," said Evans, who says he has already sorted through several tons of packages since Thanksgiving.
When the Marines pick up their mail and find a stack of boxes awaiting them, "Wow!" is usually the first word out of their mouths, said Evans.
"These packages keep the Marines smiling," added Evans. "When they come to pick up their mail and see that their section has boxes stacked, they go nuts."
The end of the holiday season means the battalion has surpassed the halfway point of the deployment. Even though combat operations won"t cease for any holiday, the Marines here say they hope for silent nights.
Contact Cpl. Cifuentes at: cifuentesms@gcemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil