With less than two weeks till Christmas, my sister Laura sent me this photo of herself in Iraq with Santa--hardly a scene I'd imagined for Baghdad. Especially when she tells me she must carry her weapon and wear 30 pounds of body armor when she leaves the small "base."
For those who don't know, my sister Laura's a federal agent and works for the Air Force as a civilian. She was deployed to Iraq right after Thanksgiving and will be there seven months conducting major criminal investigations. Her team is assisting Iraqi investigators with these cases, so they will eventually have the capability to run them on their own.
But as we head into the seventh year of conflict, it is highly unlikely that this independence will occur within the next week in time for Christmas. So, it's good to know men and women serving our country share at least a glimmer of Christmas spirit despite being so far from home. Technically, in the Middle East Laura's closer to the origin of Christmas than any of us. But if not for this simple symbolic event--a Christmas tree lighting she attended in a tent--I imagine she'd feel the farthest away from all that is "Christmas" to most of us. Please keep Laura and all brave service members in your thoughts and prayers this holiday season.
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