Thanksgiving in Afghanistan – baste the turkey, dodge mortar fire

As she prepares Thanksgiving lunch and dinner, Spc. Nikki Barthelemy faces a few holiday challenges — cooking the turkey evenly, finishing side dishes on time, avoiding incoming mortar fire.

Wait — what?

Barthelemey is head cook for an Army infantry company at Combat Outpost Bowri Tana  in remote east Afghanistan near the Pakistan border, a transit region for militants entering the country, and an unlikely setting for a traditional American Thanksgiving.

“Just want everybody to be happy,” she said. “You can’t be with your family, but you can be with me.”

Read more in Stars and Stripes about how Company C, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, is celebrating Thanksgiving during deployment.