“I think it is great,” said Spc. Jesse Caldwell of Winston. “We get to watch it just like everyone back home.”
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Editor’s Note: The following information about the 1221st Transportation Unit, which includes members from Trenton, was provided by Missouri National Guard Public Affairs Officer Lt. Tamara Spicer.
A group of guys huddled around a television set watching the Super Bowl isn’t very unusual on Super Bowl Sunday. But imagine if it was actually 2 a.m. on the morning after the Super Bowl and the guys were in the middle of the Iraqi desert.
“I think it is great,” said Spc. Jesse Caldwell of Winston. “We get to watch it just like everyone back home.”
The soldiers of the 1221st Transportation Company, out of Trenton, Dexter, Centertown and Jefferson Barracks, currently stationed at a base camp in southern Iraq, spent the early morning of Feb. 2, watching the Super Bowl live on Armed Forces Network.
“Where else can you get up in the middle of night and watch the Super Bowl,” asked Sgt. Daniel Liska of Lee’s Summit, as he sat with a small group in the pitch dark outside one of the unit trailers where the company had set up an additional television for the program.
There were several options for soldiers wanting to watch the game. The base camp television area was showing the program and the 1221st set up a special area in a tent area and outside on the trailers where unit members could enjoy the show. The camp dining facility provided the company with chicken wings, meatballs, pizza pockets, beans and soda for the festivities.
“The 1221st did a lot to make the troops happy tonight,” said Shawn Harris of St. Louis. “It’s a good deal, watch it with your company and relax.”
About 40 soldiers from the unit gathered in the company tent and trailer area. Most of the soldiers watched inside the tent area, but a few stayed outside for the game.
“I liked it outside because it wasn’t as crowded,” Liska said. “It sure is a different experience. But it’s fun, I just miss being home.”
Just like any group of guys watching the game, there were supporters for each side and a lot of noise whenever an exciting play happened. One major difference between watching the game in Iraq and the United States was the lack of commercials. Because the networks donate their shows to AFN in support of the military, they do not show commercials.
“I miss the commercials,” Harris said. “It doesn’t take away from the game, but you really do look forward to all the neat commercials.”
The higher command of the 1221st Transportation Company worked to make sure as many soldiers as possible were at the base camp for the Super Bowl. The unit is a medium transportation company, hauling equipment and supplies all over Iraq and Kuwait. The soldiers are especially busy right now with the large rotation of units and troops on the ground in the theater of operations.
The unit has been on active duty since March 2003 and has been overseas since June 2003. The soldiers are prepared to stay in theater until June 2004, so the leadership took the Super Bowl opportunity to help unit morale by making a party out of it.
“They sure went to a lot of work to make this nice,” Caldwell said. “Other than the fact I am sitting in a tent, it is a lot like most Super Bowl parties.”
“I sure wish we were rooting for Missouri teams,” Liska said. “Maybe next year.”