FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq - While not as glamorous as festivities at camps and forward operating bases, Soldiers operating from joint security stations and patrol bases across Baghdad and Iraq made the time in between busy patrol schedules, guard duty and daily operations to enjoy an American tradition amongst good friends and good food.

Soldiers of Troop C, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, watched Super Bowl XLIII during the early morning hours and again later that night, enjoying the austere comforts characteristic of a patrol base nestled in the Rashid District of southern Baghdad.

Catching the live broadcast for the game was a challenging task for many of the Soldiers, who are “just worn out” and “just wanted to sleep,” said 1st Sgt. Henry Williams, Troop C, 7th Sqdn., 10th Cav. Regt., but the opportunity to watch the National Football League’s championship game was “a big morale boost for everyone.”

Williams, calling himself an “Air Force brat, who ended up in Texas,” supervised both events for the Soldiers of “Comanche” Troop.

The leaders of Comanche Troop adjusted rotations for patrol schedules and guard duty, shifting times and duties to afford every Soldier at least one opportunity to watch the game and enjoy the camaraderie, food and fun.

Having the opportunity to “relax and unwind” with buddies and watch the big game is something most people back in the United States take for granted, but for the Soldiers of Troop C, it is “a little taste of home,” said Staff Sgt. Arto Brown, a cavalry scout team leader from Fort Meyers, Fla.
Super Bowl Sunday usually means his wife is cooking, and Brown throwing some meat on the grill for Family and friends coming over to have a good time, he explained.

Just one day after Iraq’s provincial elections, the celebrations were welcomed by the Soldiers, who recently doubled their combat operations in support of Iraqi security forces working to protect the citizens of the Abu T’shir and Saha communities during Iraq’s third democratic elections, said Brown.

“I think everyone had a good time at it and probably wished they could do more of it, but there will be more time for that when we get home,” Brown explained.

Not all of the Soldiers in the troop participated in the festivities though, as many Soldiers like Pfc. John Hannon, a cavalry scout from Martinsville, Ind., who said the shift in patrol schedules and guard duty created a window of opportunity for him to catch-up on much needed sleep.

Others, like Spc. Steven Beare, a cavalry scout from Catskill, N.Y., who grew up watching the game every year with his father, made certain to call home during the game, saying it was good despite the fact that he obviously couldn’t be there this year.

It’s been a long year, but with everything that the troops have accomplished, the break definitely raised morale, he said.

Instead of spending time with his family, Beare said he enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with his other family, seeing his superiors on a more personal level and not just the usual mission-oriented, professional basis that he has experienced year-round.

Not short on morale, Beare noted that his leaders have made time for the Soldiers for phone calls home, and during the holidays, and trips to Freedom Rest in the International Zone, but the cavalry scout, who has two years experience in the troop, said that he thanks his leaders for recognizing the Soldiers, who have been working long, hard hours to accomplish their mission.

“It feels like an award,” he said. “It feels like something that our leaders planned out … it’s something that they felt we should have; the chance to sit down for a couple hours, nothing to do; no work-related tasks and just relax. It was definitely needed,” said Beare, who lived in Phoenix for nearly three years and rooted for the Arizona Cardinals until the Pittsburgh Steelers won in the final seconds of the game, 27-23.

The Super Bowl party was in many aspects a culmination of a year’s worth of combat operations, security patrols and the long hours of any given day, said Pfc. Rafael Martinez, a cavalry scout from Spring Valley, Calif., who watched his game after a ten hour patrol with a follow-on four hours of guard duty.

“It’s a load off, but our job obviously isn’t done here yet,” Martinez said. “We’re still here; we’re not going to ease up — but there is satisfaction, almost like an award, to be able to sit back and look at the fruits of your labor.”

Martinez said that more important for him was the opportunity to relax, enjoying the game in light of everything that the troop has accomplished during the past 11 months working with the citizens of Rashid and the Iraqi security forces.

“It was great knowing that the people are still safe because we are still going to have other people out there patrolling, and the ISF protecting the citizens of Abu T’shir,” said Martinez.

With little more than 15 months of service, most of it with the troop in Iraq, Martinez said he is happy with the work he and his comrades accomplished in Iraq, providing security and building the confidence in citizens of Abu T’shir and Saha in the Iraqi national police and Iraqi police.

“To me that means that we did a great job integrating the IP and NP into our mission sets and training them the right way,” he explained. “I hope to see what we have accomplished here not go away — people who are able to go out to vote without a single casualty, without a single problem out here; I don’t want to lose that.”

Martinez said he is thankful for his leaders providing him the opportunity to enjoy the Super Bowl and even more grateful to serve his country.

“Really this is in remembrance of every single Soldier that we have lost out here in the past; that has given their blood, sweat and tears in the previous tours,” he said. “What we accomplished here is what I am sure they would have wished to accomplish during their first tours at the beginning of this conflict.”

The Soldiers of the 1st “Raider” Brigade, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B, continue their ongoing mission in support of ISF working to provide security and stability for the approximately 1.6 million Iraqi citizens of the Rashid District in southern Baghdad.