Santa visits Camp Bucca, Iraq

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Phillip Butterfield
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing public affairs
CAMP BUCCA, IRAQ -- --  Santa Claus traded in his sleigh and reindeer for a Black Hawk helicopter and he visited Airmen here Dec. 24 and 25.

Col. Robert Swisher, 386th Air Expeditionary Wing commander, dawned the red suit, black boots, body armor and 9 mm pistol and flew into Iraq with a bag of candy canes to spread holiday cheer.

"Showing up as Santa is critical. It demonstrates to the Airmen that I care," said Colonel Swisher. "Climbing the towers to visit Airmen thousands of miles from home in a combat zone to tell them Merry Christmas and 'thank you from a nation that appreciates the fact you are providing the freedom for all to celebrate the holiday season' is an essential element of command. You can say 'I care' a million times, but after about the 30th tower you've climbed in body armor and a Santa suit, Airmen know you mean it."

For some Airmen it had been a while since they'd seen Santa. Meeting him up in a watch tower made it all the more special.

"It's actually quite funny I haven't seen him in a long time," said Airman 1st Class Marlena Temple, 586th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron detainee operations member deployed from Misawa Air Base, Japan. "I like it; he's got a lot of courage to come up here in a Santa suit."

Santa wasn't just bringing candy canes to the Airmen on Christmas Eve, he was taking people out of the war and hardships of a deployment, if only for five minutes.

"I loved the reaction to the Santa suit," said Colonel Swisher. "It's amazing when you see the oldest toughest combat veteran slowly break into a big smile as memories of Christmas past come rolling back into their mind. You can just stand there and watch the scales of toughness slide off and they're a kid again; I love watching it. Then you ask the trigger question 'Where's your home town?' and in an instant they're back home in their mind."

Seeing Santa didn't just turn warriors into children but gave the deployed Airmen a light at the end of the tunnel.

"Being here during the holidays is really tough," said Airman 1st Class Benjamin Dodd, 586th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron controller. "Seeing Santa makes the deployment seem easier. He brings a touch of home and a feeling that it's not all bad and we'll be home soon."