Dust to Dusk

Image courtesy: Sgt. Ruth Pagan

On Christmas Day in Afghanistan, a group of soldiers with the Army's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division celebrated by playing a game of football. As the above photo shows, dust from an earlier helicopter landing by generous fellow troops delivering Christmas presents filled the Kandahar province air as the deployed warriors tossed around the pigskin.

Some troops in Afghanistan were able to relax on Christmas, though I suspect it's still difficult to unwind while separated from your family by thousands of miles. Some U.S. troops, however, had to go outside the wire and fight. The enemy doesn't take a break for Christmas or New Year's Day, and our brave men and women in uniform are there to stop them from terrorizing Afghan citizens and planning new attacks on the United States.

Northeast of the dust-filled football game, a soldier named Staff Sgt. Joseph Altmann went out on a Christmas Day patrol with the Army's 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division in Afghanistan's rugged Kunar province. As Staff Sgt. Altmann fought, his wife, who lives in Texas, and his parents, who live in Wisconsin, tried to enjoy the holiday while undoubtedly worrying about the safety of their loved one.

According to the Pentagon, Altmann was killed on Christmas when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire.

"Christmas will never be the same in the Altmann home," the soldier's father, John Altmann, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel after being notified of his son's death on Christmas night.

Image courtesy: Facebook

Don Behm reports that the 27-year-old combat medic previously served two combat tours in Iraq after graduating from high school in 2003, when both post-9/11 conflicts simultaneously raged.

The soldier's dad told the newspaper that when it came to being a soldier, his son took a similar approach that helped him excel in high school sports.

"He was not a superstar," his father explained. "He just played his heart out."

As much of America remains wrapped in the holiday season, the Altmann family is bringing home their hero from Delaware's Dover Air Force Base. After witnessing multiple dignified transfer ceremonies at the base, I still cannot imagine what families go through when they see their loved one's flag-draped casket return from a war zone, where their husband, wife, son, daughter, brother, or sister performed their last measure of devotion to freedom.

Instead of being caught up in deciding which New Year's Eve party to attend or which college football bowl games to watch, let's think about those troops throwing around a football in the dust. Let's ponder the ultimate sacrifice of Staff Sgt. Joseph Altmann and his family, as well as other heroes giving everything to keep America safe.

Few of us can say that we've spent every waking moment of a day protecting something. But that's exactly what our troops in Afghanistan are doing from dawn to dusk, even on Christmas.

Image courtesy: Sgt. Ruth Pagan