Thanksgiving with a bigger family
Story and Photos by Ardian Nrecaj, Public Affairs Specialist
In the United States the Thanksgiving
holiday is traditionally celebrated with
family, but for U.S. soldiers deployed to
Kosovo as part of NATO mission, it was a
different celebration. Around 150 local
civilians that work at Camp Bondsteel
brought their families to celebrate
Thanksgiving together with U.S. troops.
Emira Mehaj-Veselaj, an administrative
assistant for Area Support Team Balkans’
Department of Public Works, was one of
those civilians that brought her family.
Her husband, Urim, said they enjoyed
their time at Bondsteel.
Children visiting Camp Bondsteel took
the time to visit with Santa Clause and
receive candy at the post exchange.
“One of the reasons we come to visit on
Thanksgiving is to show our support to
U.S. troops and show our gratitude to
them for all they have done for us,” said
Veselaj.
Mehaj-Veselaj added that her children
took their time to play with her work desk
and made a mess. “Tomorrow I will have
to fix it,” she said.
“We feel much
safer with them
here “– Nakije
Baliu
Nakije Baliu, the sister of Sadbere BaliuMehmeti, who is a linguist with Northrop
Grumman assigned to Liaison Monitoring
Team 3, explained that Kosovo locals do
not celebrate Thanksgiving but they
wanted to see how it’s celebrated.
“We were interested to see how they
serve the food and taste some of
traditional Thanksgiving food,” said Baliu.
Baliu added that the food at the dining
facility was great.
“Starting with appetizers, then the main
meal, then deserts, I do not think I am
going to eat again this week,” said Baliu
and laughed.
Baliu emphasized her gratitude for the
sacrifices that U.S. soldiers and their
families go through during the holidays.
“I would also like to extend my greetings
to the families of the soldiers, and tell them
that they [soldiers] are doing an excellent
job; we feel much safer with them here,”
said Baliu.
U.S. Army Capt. Lisa Paradee, the Task
Force Aviation lift company commander,
said that it’s a good thing seeing the
locals with their families.
“Thanksgiving is about sharing, is about
giving back, is about being thankful, so
that is part of what we are doing,” said
Paradee. “It’s about a bigger family then
just your immediate family.”
Paradee added that they all miss their
families, especially in holidays like this
when the entire family gets together.
“But communication is a lot better these
days,” said Paradee. “We can Skype,
which I will be doing later today and at
least get to see everybody.”
Approximately 150 local
civilians brought their
families to Camp
Bondsteel to celebrate
Thanksgiving with U.S.
troops.
Special thanksgiving
lunch was served by
Camp Bondsteel dining
facility.
Ice cream was the
favorite food among
children visiting Camp
Bondsteel on
Thanksgiving.
Emira Mehaj-Vesela, an administrative assistant for Area Support Team Balkans’ Department of Public
Works, brought her two children, husband and her sister with her child to Camp Bondsteel to help
celebrate the American Thanksgiving holiday Nov. 28.
THE BONDSTEEL BULLET ● Page 3