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May 30, 2004
Operation 31 Flavors
If you were stationed at a distant outpost in the middle of a remote area of the Al Anbar province and the commanding general asked you if there was anything you needed, what would you ask for?
Captain Valerie Hodgson asked for ice cream.
3rd MAW Major General James F Amos visited the MWSS-374 detachment in early spring. He explained, "I was talking to the Marines and asking them how things were going, so I could get a read on if they were happy or if there was anything they needed. After talking with them, to be honest, I didn't get a single Marine who said anything negative."
The General persisted. Finally, Capt. Hodgson looked at him and said, "Sir, send us some ice cream." And he did.
A few weeks later, 800 containers of ice cream landed in the middle of the desert. Chief Warant Officer 3 Samuel Pamoleras expedited the shipment. "We used resources that we have in Kuwait to make this happen." He added, "We were able to get it palletized, put on dry ice, get it shipped to Al Asad, and put it into cold storage within a matter of a few days." Marines on the other end - Mudyasis, Korean Village, and Al Quim - were surprised and delighted during evening chow. PFC Dustin Hawkins from Houston Commented, "After a hard day's work, any food is good, but this is awesome." Cpl Michael Rice from Indianapolis added, "It shows that our leaders have actually seen a difference in what we're doing out here, so they're rewarding us." Captain Hodgson agreed. "Being in a remote area, I think it's easy for people to forget about us, but clearly they did not because they worked so hard to get this ice cream out to us. Having ice cream out here is a reward for the hard work that the Marines and Sailors put in everyday."
Lt.Col. David Leppelmeier, CO for the MWSS-374 said, "They know I care about them and want to get out to see them more since they have a little tougher scenario than everyone else because of location. They get a kick out of seeing us and they really appreciate the general's gesture with the ice cream."
The general appreciated the troops too. "It really warms my heart to do something like this for our Marines and Sailors. It's only a small gesture but just doing it brings a smile to my face."
Posted by Deb at May 30, 2004 06:36 PM
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