Being deployed and away from home on this final Thanksgiving Day of Operation Enduring Freedom did not dampen the celebration held on Bagram Air Field on the 27th November.
The event was the Freedom Riders Grand Finale – Harley-Davidson Street 750 giveaway, held by Military AutoSource and Harley-Davidson Military Sales. This was the day one lucky soldier would win their very own brand new 2015 Street 750, as debuted in the Captain America Winter Soldier blockbuster! But before the winner was drawn there were plenty of fun activities to keep everyone in attendance entertained. With the generous help of the USO, activities at the Thanksgiving Tailgate Party such as Corn Hole, Near Beer Pong, Madden 15 Challenge, Poker Night & Karaoke were organized and everyone in attendance took part and looked to have a great time. Winners of each event walked away with some amazing prizes. There was also one very lucky winner of a new PS4 from a raffle that took place for everyone in attendance.
Our resident Harley Davidson was pressed into service in the USO with lots of troops taking the opportunity to have their pictures taken on the real deal Harley.
The time had finally come for main event of the day – the Harley-Davidson Street 750 final draw. Col Gradford & CSM Latter were on hand to draw the lucky winner. The Col mentioned how someone with the luck of the Irish would be walking away with a new Harley and that lucky soldier with the ‘Rub of the Green’ was SSGT Mackie based on Camp Vance, Afghanistan who later informed us of his Irish descent – seems the luck of the Irish held strong this Thanksgiving! SSGT Mackie, a massive Harley-Davidson enthusiast was delighted when he heard the news as he had just sold his bike prior to this deployment and cannot wait to get his hands on his new Harley-Davidson when he returns home.
“I would like to thank Harley Davidson, the [Military AutoSource], Col Gradford and CSM Latter for this exciting win of the 2015 Harley Street 750. You really take care of the Soldiers and I can’t wait to get him and take this bike for a ride. Many thanks to everyone involved”
-SSGT Christopher Mackie
On hand throughout the day were volunteers from who helped with events and also handed out free goodies & refreshments to all ahead for the big Football game. A special thanks should go out to all these people who made the day extra special.
This was a great opportunity for everyone in attendance to take their mind off their day today’s slog and party down ahead of the big game. Thanksgiving Day is huge celebration Stateside, so why not bring a bit of home to the service members on Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan with another day to remember this November.
