Greetings from Camp Buehring in Kuwait! We just finished an awesome event where we were able to connect with our troops, serve them a great steak dinner, and help them connect with their families back in St Paul. I’m excited to tell you all about it!

50 volunteers made the trip from MSP to Kuwait, 5 of us from Delta. We arrived at Kuwait City and then dispersed to 5 different camps throughout Kuwait, each selected for its concentration of Minnesota based soldiers. Our group came to Camp Buehring, which is located 30 miles from the Iraqi border and is home to over 1,500 men and women from the Minnesota Nat’l Guard.

The troops have been incredible! They were really glad to see some faces from home, and they told us it was great to talk to some folks that “aren’t Army”. There were a lot of talks about favorite restaurants, favorite lakes to fish in and hometown stories.

It’s very humbling to meet these men and women especially in this setting. We got to see and feel first hand the sacrifices they are making for months at a time to serve our country and protect our way of life. One of the sergeants that spent a lot of time with us was my age and also had 3 daughters – I can’t imagine not being able to see my girls for so long.

We got to spend the day talking to the troops, cooking and serving over 4,000 steaks. Some of the soldiers were hanging out by the grill and sampling the steaks throughout the day – I couldn’t believe how much it impacted them. It seems like such a small gesture to us, but I know it meant a lot to them.

It’s great to work for a company that places such a value on supporting our community and our military, and proving me this opportunity. I was very proud to be a Delta employee this week, but I was mostly proud to be an American, and I’m so proud of the men and women that are putting themselves in harms way every day to protect the freedom we enjoy. God bless our troops!

Matt Sparks

Director of Line Maintenance, MSP.