Part 11: Flag football on Thanksgiving in Iraq

December 7th, 2009

Cobra Staff member and Golf Entertainer/World Long Drive Champion, Dan Boever, is visiting Iraq on a goodwill tour to meet with the troops. This is the eleventh in a series of updates from his travels.

December 2, 2009
Today is Thanksgiving. It is a day with a long-standing tradition of eating piles of turkey and watching football. We did that before the day was over, but in ways that were not the norm.

It was checkout time at the JVB (Joint Visitors Bureau) because we would be catching a C-130 and traveling west to Al Asad Airbase. As was the case for most of the trip we had to maintain a certain degree of flexibility with our departure times. We had originally been scheduled to leave early and get to Al Asad and have Thanksgiving lunch with the troops. Those plans changed and we headed to Camp Victory for our meal.

On the drive over we spotted a large group of soldiers playing flag football. Because we had plenty of time before lunch we decided to stop and watch. There were multiple teams and when we got there they were playing the championship game.

It may have just been flag football, but you would not have wanted to be on that field unless you had on some padding. The weather was a picture perfect and these guys were jumping and screaming and having a great time. I snapped some pictures and shot video of a few plays.

Of course, there were players there who recognized Watson, Pavin and Simpson, and once the game was over they stopped by to meet them. As usual, our guys went out of their way to be accommodating.

At lunch we ran into Commanding General Raymond Odierno. He was out seeing the troops. I can’t imagine how many holidays he has sacrificed away from his family to serve our country. Here is what one of my new friends in Iraq told me about the General:

“Did you know that he used to be the commander of III Corps at Fort Hood, Texas? He came out here with them in 2007-08 for 15 months, went home in the spring of 2008, and then got picked as the MNF-1 Commander, so he turned around and came right back in the fall of 2008 and has been here ever since. 2010 is right around the corner and he will probably be here for a good bit of next year. ounting West Point, that (more than) 38 years of choppers and C-130’s so far.”

I have no doubt the troops appreciated it. In fact, it was fun to watch men and women take pictures with him. It was like watching people come up to an athlete or movie star. This time though, they were in the presence of a real hero.

After lunch it was time to put on the gear, say our goodbyes and head to Al Asad. I was told it would be a 40-minute flight. Once in the air things were great for about 30 minutes and then our hosts in the cockpit decided they would give us some fun, at our own expense.

As we descended into Al Asad they did a couple maneuvers that made all of us go weightless. When I saw the fire hydrant of a man Tim Simpson lift off his seat I knew I was in trouble. Later, these young, snotty-nosed punks said the moves had to do with safety, something about avoiding small-arms fire. I say it had to do with them being bored and wanting us to get sick.

There is nothing I like about sitting sideways in a plane with no view out a window. C-130’s should be outlawed.

Once we hit the ground we met with our MWR contact and headed to a place called the “White Elephant” for a meet and greet. They had a big wall of fame and it was cool looking at all the different people who had been there before to meet the troops.

Later that night I tried to call my wife to wish a Happy Thanksgiving, a holiday we have spent together for the past 20 years. The phone area was packed with troops and once I found a spot to call I couldn’t get through. Calls kept getting dropped, lines were busy or I just couldn’t catch her on her cell. I must have dialed 20-25 times when I finally got through to my daughter. Fifteen seconds later the call dropped un-expectantly and I could not get them back.

I was so frustrated and angry about not being able to get through, I just said forget it. I was able to send a quick e-mail wishing them all well. For me it would only be a week of not communicating. I had to think, what about all these men and women I was meeting, how often do they just go to their room and say, “Forget it?”

THIS BLOG WAS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN ON NOV. 26.

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