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Santa hats replaced Kevlar helmets, at least for a little while, for Marines and sailors of 9th Engineer Support Battalion this Christmas at Camp Taqaddum, Iraq. There were volleyball and poker tournaments, holiday movie classics, more baked goods than any self-respecting Marine would even think about eating, and one first sergeant even managed to make the Morale, Welfare and Recreation tent "smell like Christmas." But the best part of all, said many of the Marines, from the battalion commanding officer to the privates, was a morning without alarm clocks. "My Marines were like ‘Merry Christmas — just give me some sleep,’ " Marine 1st Lt. Jason Bane said. At the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad's International Zone, Multinational Voices of Praise helped provide entertainment during the Christmas Eve celebration. Click here to jump ahead to photos from Christmas Eve at the Embassy.
Christmas at Camp Taqaddum
Megan McCloskey / Stars and Stripes
Staff Sgt. Ramon Rivera, at left wearing the Santa hat, enjoys a cigar while other 9th Engineer Support Battalion Marines roast marshmallows at a Christmas Eve bonfire at Camp Taqaddum, Iraq.
Megan McCloskey / Stars and Stripes
Navy Lt. Alan Snyder, left, 9th Engineer Support Battalion chaplain, and Sgt. Remsey Eisha play "Away in a Manger" at Camp Taqaddum on Christmas Eve.
Megan McCloskey / Stars and Stripes
Pfc. Derik Briskey, 21, (left) and Sgt. Justin Caughey, 26, reservists with Company B, 6th Engineer Support Battalion serving in Iraq with the 9th Engineer Support Battalion out of Okinawa, build a gingerbread house on Christmas Eve, complete with a protective Hesco barrier surrounding the front (made from Scrabble letters spelling "Hesco"). But the house didn't make it to completion; the roof collapsed. "I guess we can eat the glue now," Briskey said, grabbing the icing.
Megan McCloskey / Stars and Stripes
Petty Officer 3rd Class Travis Fowler gives Petty Officer 3rd Class Khalid Helps a Christmas card. Fowler's girlfriend made cards for the entire 9th Engineer Support Battalion, and he and Cpl. Patricia Fultz were hand-delivering each card on Christmas, while dressed as Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.
Megan McCloskey / Stars and Stripes
Gunnery Sgt. Robert Ruiz, in the Santa hat, 1st Sgt. Melvin Lewis, center, and Gunnery Sgt. William Neal serve Christmas dinner at the chow hall. Noncommissioned officers and officers of the 9th Engineer Support Battalion, from Okinawa, pulled duty at the Camp Taqaddum dining facilities for the holiday meal.
Megan McCloskey / Stars and Stripes
Gunnery Sgt. Steven Burkett pours a class of eggnog at the chow hall on Christmas Day. Burkett, 1st Lt. John Boutin, left, and 1st Sgt. Lenny Maldonado, foreground, served nonalcoholic eggnog and sparkling cider at the "wine bar" on Christmas Day at Camp Taqaddum.
Megan McCloskey / Stars and Stripes
Lance Cpl. Edwin Francois, with the 9th Engineer Support Battalion, competes in the Jingle Bell Run at Camp Taqaddum, on Christmas Eve.
Christmas Eve at the U.S. Embassy
Lisa Burgess / Stars and Stripes
Air Force Lt. Col. Rob Rhyne, 41, of Millis, Mass., who works in the Air Component Coordination Element in Baghdad, plays the trumpet during the Christmas Eve celebration at the U.S. Embassy in the International Zone in Baghdad. Rhyne is stationed with the 21st Airlift Squadron at Travis Air Force Base, Calif.
Lisa Burgess / Stars and Stripes
Sgt. 1st Class La Saundra Stuckey, 40, a National Guardsman from Harrisburg, Pa., sang several solos during the Christmas Eve celebration at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Stuckey, who is on her second yearlong deployment and works for the 28th Joint Area Support Group, had a brother, T.J., also a soldier, in the crowd to applaud her efforts. She has a third brother who is deployed to Ramadi, Iraq.
Lisa Burgess / Stars and Stripes
Leslie Barnes, left, a Defense Department civilian from Indianapolis who works for the Department of Defense Inspector general in Baghdad, and Senior Airman LaTesha Davis, 22, from Clarkesville, Tenn., who works for the Joint Contractor Command in Baghdad's Regional Contracting Center, sing a carol with the Multinational Voices of Praise. The group helped provide entertainment during the Christmas Eve celebration at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
Lisa Burgess / Stars and Stripes
Navy Cmdr. Janet Lomax, 39, of Dam Neck, Va., takes her turn as a soloist during the Christmas Eve celebration at the U.S. Embassy. Lomax works in reserve management for Multinational Forces-Iraq. In the States, Lomax is stationed at the Human Performance Center in Chesapeake, Va.
Lisa Burgess / Stars and Stripes
Lt. Col. Garry Hines, 49, a U.S. Army Reservist with the 412th Engineering Command from Vicksburg, Miss., sings a Christmas carol with Multinational Voices of Praise. Hines, who hails from Monroe, La., works for the Gulf Region Division in Baghdad.
Lisa Burgess / Stars and Stripes
Special Agent Tisa Brown, with the Army Criminal Investigation Command in Baghdad, wows the crowd with her solo rendition of "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" at the U.S. Embassy. Brown's hometown is Baltimore; she was deployed to Iraq from Fort McPherson, Ga.
Lisa Burgess / Stars and Stripes
Maj. Neil Anderson, 44, plays the bagpipes during the Christmas Eve celebration at the U.S. Embassy. Anderson, a member of the U.S. Army Reserve, works for the Civil Police Assistance Training Team in Baghdad. His hometown is Fort Jackson, S.C.
Lisa Burgess / Stars and Stripes
Army Col. Karen A. Doyle, 46, a member of Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq in Baghdad, gets a heaping handful of Christmas candy from Santa during the Christmas Eve celebration at the U.S. Embassy. Santa was played for the second year in a row at the embassy party by KBR employee John Walker, a fire department captain from Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
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