There will be no Christmas turkey and trimmings for US marines at Patrol Base Talibjan this year — a chemically heated meal of preserved meat is all the infantry men expect.
The troops — living in unheated tents in the Taliban heartland of Musa Qala district, in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province — will climb out of their sleeping bags as usual, plan patrols and hope the day ends without casualties.
“I’m hoping it’s going to be a quiet day and our guys can relax a little bit,” says Staff Sergeant Josh McCall, 32, who will call his wife and children at home in rural North Carolina on Saturday.
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