Migration
Everyone gets into July Fourth fun at Kandahar
Stars and Stripes
July 5, 2007
Shooting tournament official and U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Kerry Koepp, 28, of Chicago observes an Air Force airman as he fires one-handed at a target. (Monte Morin / S&S)
Shooting tournament official and U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Kerry Koepp, 28, of Chicago observes an Air Force airman as he fires one-handed at a target. (Monte Morin / S&S)
A Canadian Army soldier prepares to run from one target to another while ejecting a magazine from his 9 mm pistol. Shooters were required to move between a series of shooting positions during the competition. (Monte Morin / S&S)
Runners shoved off from the starting line of Kandahar Air Field's 5K Fun Run early Wednesday morning, the first event in a day-long series of competitions celebrating the Fourth of July. (Monte Morin / S&S)
U.S. Navy Senior Chief Keith Davis, 37, of Virginia Beach, Va., uses a bullhorn and stopwatch to announce running times as a two entrants vie for the finish line. (Monte Morin / S&S)
Pistol tournament official and Air Force Staff Sgt. Bradley Tarbox, 29, of Clinton, N.Y., watches as a U.S. Army competitor fires his 9 mm pistol at a series of paper targets. (Monte Morin / S&S)
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Celebrating July Fourth was the order of the day here Wednesday — even though Kandahar Air Field is a NATO military base in the sultry foothills of Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush.
Soldiers, sailors and airmen from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Mongolia, Romania and a host of other nations took part in a series of competitions that were held to mark Independence Day.
The games included an early morning 5-kilometer run, a pistol shooting competition, a volleyball tournament, a balloon toss, an egg race, a tug of war and a talent competition dubbed Kandahar IDOL.
Food service workers served up a traditional barbecue dinner at the air field’s sprawling “Boardwalk” — an enormous wood promenade containing athletic fields, a bazaar and fast food concessions.