How US troops celebrate Christmas abroad
As families across the United States gather for the holidays, thousands of U.S. service members are spending the season overseas, marking the occasion far from home while continuing their duties.American...
By Fox News · Fox News
As families across the United States gather for the holidays, thousands of U.S. service members are spending the season overseas, marking the occasion far from home while continuing their duties. American troops remain deployed across Europe, the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific, supporting missions that range from NATO deterrence operations to maritime patrols and humanitarian assistance. While Christmas abroad rarely resembles celebrations back home, service members often find ways to recognize the holiday within the constraints of their mission and location. Across overseas installations, troops commonly decorate workspaces, living areas and dining facilities with lights, trees or improvised decorations. Many bases organize special holiday meals, often with commanders and senior enlisted leaders serving food. Chaplains typically hold Christmas services when schedules and security allow, sometimes in chapels, hangars or temporary facilities. For sailors deployed at sea, Christmas is often marked between watches, with decorated mess decks and holiday meals worked around operational demands. The holiday season also brings outreach from senior leaders. In recent days, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth placed Christmas morale calls from the Pentagon to service members stationed across the globe, including troops in South Korea, Kuwait, Norway, Greenland and aboard a Navy aircraft carrier operating in the Pacific. The calls were intended to thank service members for standing watch away from home and to recognize the range of missions continuing through the holidays. AMERICANS TURNED CHRISTMAS DINNER INTO PATRIOTIC DUTY DURING WWI WITH WARTIME RECIPES In Japan , where thousands of U.S. service members are stationed year-round, bases often emphasize morale and community traditions during the holidays. At Yokota Air Base, leaders delivered baked cookies to airmen living in dorms as part of the installation’s annual "Cookie Crunch," a tradition aimed at supporting those spend…