Super Bowl, Super Early For Soldiers In Kuwait

Published on February 22, 2009 by Seahawk Fanatic     

As Super Bowl parties go Josh Wilson may have the best story of them all. While most of us watched the big game at home with friends and family the Seahawks defensive back got up at 2 a.m. in Kuwait to watch the game with 500 members of the United States Military.

“There’s an 11 hour time difference so we were watching the game at 3 o’clock in the morning in Kuwait. The troops were great, we had fun,”

Josh traveled to Kuwait and Iraq as part of the Pro Sports Super Sunday Tour. He was accompanied on the trip by Hall of Fame tackle Willie Roaf, Super Bowl hero Sammy Moore and three members of the Oakland Raiders cheerleading team.

The group arrived in Kuwait on January 29th and traveled by military vehicle to Camp Arifjan. After the 14 hour flight and drive the group had dinner and retired for the night.

The next day they visited the Commanders office and met Col. Pendergast before traveling to the Kuwait Naval Base where they visited Camp Patriot for a meet and greet.

Josh carried a camera with him on the trip and is happy to share some of the photos of his experience. The group had a opportunity to go aboard some of the small Navy boats used to support the larger ships in the Gulf region.

On New Years Eve they traveled to Camp Buehring in Kuwait for lunch at a DFAC (dining facility) with more of the troops. The next stop was Camp LSA for another meet and greet, then to the Rock where they met Commander Lt. Col. Feathers and his troops.

On February 1 they stayed at Arifjan which has the largest concentration of soliders in Kuwait. Kickoff for the Super Bowl was at 3:18 a.m. in Kuwait. The group watched the game with troops at Zone 6 Morale, Welfare and Recreation Center.

At half time they moved over to Zone 1 so they could meet more of the military personnel stationed at Arifjan.

“We met a lot of NFL fans, gave out a bunchof 12th man flags and other stuff. I saw a lot of people from the northwest, big Seahawks fans,” Josh said.

On February 2 the group flew in a Blackhawk helicopter to Camp Bucca in Iraq. “We watched a re-enlistment ceremony and then had dinner with the soliders,”

They flew over to Basra the next day for a meeting with Major Hodges at Camp Charlie and then it was on to Cowshed where they were able to meet pilots and mechanics of the Apaches and Blackhawks.

That night the group flew into Baghdad arriving at 2:30 a.m. They visited Armed Forces Network radio before flying over to Freedom Rest, and R&R stop for soldiers.

On February 5 they flew back to Kuwait for the long trip back to the United States.

“I have a greater appreciation than ever for the men and women serving in the military,” said Josh when he stopped by Seahawks headquarters last week. “At first I hesitated about taking the trip but now I’m glad I went. It was my first time out of the USA. I’m thankful for the nation we live in. We have freedoms that a lot of other nations don’t have. Our military takes good care of us.

Tags: 12th Man, Big Game, Camp Arifjan, Camp Buehring, Cheerleading Team, hall of fame, Josh Wilson, Military Vehicle, Morale Welfare And Recreation, New Years Eve, Nfl Fans, O Clock, Oakland Raiders, Pendergast, Pro Sports, seahawks fans, Soldiers In Kuwait, Soliders, Time Difference, Watching The Game, Willie Roaf