Bringing a taste of home to Iraq

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Nicholasa M. Reed
  • 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England (USAFENS) --  The further you travel from home the quicker you learn things are still very much the same.

Army Capt. Mark Stoneman, Bravo battery commander, Task Force One, 30th Infantry Division, found this out after traveling halfway across the world to lead his battery of 100 men on regular convoys to secure a war-torn region of Iraq.

The battery’s routine patrols brought sights of Iraqi men and children playing British football that were like a letter from home for Captain Stoneman. Born and raised in Ipswich, England, the captain considers himself an avid football fan.

Yet the site of one game tugged at the captain’s heart. This game was being played on a dusty roadside, on a makeshift field in the middle of the countryside.

Many of the men and children wore their jerseys insideout because the mixed-matched jerseys they had were given from the former government and read “A gift from the President, Saddam Hussein,” said Captain Stoneman.

The sight of his hometown sport being played by mostly barefoot children made the captain want to do something for his fellow football fans.

Captain Stoneman immediately called back to England and spoke with Phillip Ham, of Ipswich, who runs a football support Web site. Through his Web site and word of mouth, Mr. Ham rallied aid from local support trusts and football clubs to send football equipment to Iraq.

More than 400 items were collected to send to Iraq. Kits full of equipment such as jerseys, shorts, socks, shin pads and shoes. The kits were sent with the help of Carl Day, a local shipping logistics business owner and Ipswich Independent Support Trust chairman.

“It was good to give equipment to those who want it and will make use of it,” said Mr. Ham. “One community helping another.”

“It was not an enormous amount of work and it’s not going to change their lives immensely, but it helps give a little lift for those who are living in very trying circumstances,” Mr. Ham continued.

After four months of coordination, Captain Stoneman’s dream of offering a small gift to his local football counterparts came true.

“In an area where unemployment is at least 70 percent, football offers these young people, ages 5 to 25 something positive to do,” said Captain Stoneman.

“Otherwise they become a target for the enemy to recruit for placing (improvised explosive devices) and attacking Iraqi or U.S. security forces.”

Distributing the equipment the last day of his deployment alongside the mayor of the province, Captain Stoneman recalled the words of the mayor that made the whole venture worthwhile, “You’ve had a good year, here, you’ve made a lot more friends than enemies.”