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U.S. servicemembers enjoy Qatari hospitality

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Kia Atkins
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
AL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar --  U.S. servicemembers deployed to Al Udeid Air Base and Camp As Sayliyah, their families and Department of Defense civilians, enjoyed some fun in the sun during the Qatari Minister of Defense’s Beach House event near Al Khor, Qatar, Dec. 7 through 16.

The beach house event, held annually, was hosted by Qatar Minister of Defense, Maj. Gen. Hamad Al-Attiyah as a gesture of goodwill and friendship towards U.S. counterparts, here. The event gave U.S. servicemembers the opportunity to take a break from their hard work, even if only for a day, to experience a little piece of Qatar.

“With the high operations tempo on base, a lot of us stay very busy most of the time, so it’s nice to come out here to rest and take a break,” said 1st Lt. Enoch Stohry, 379th AEW deputy chief of protocol deployed from Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. “Also, it’s a nice chance to see off base because not everyone has the opportunity to do that here.”

The 379th Air Expeditionary Wing’s Host Nation Coordination Cell, worked closely with General Headquarters Qatar to ensure the event ran smoothly. Events such as these allow U.S. military members to work side-by-side with their host nation, helping improve upon and enhance relations.

“An invitation like this provides us the unique opportunity to work together and strengthen our partnership while boosting the morale of our servicemembers,” said Maj. Ryan Wong, 379th AEW HNCC deployed from Scott Air Force Base, Ill.

“It’s an honor to be able to work with the Qataris,” Wong said. “I’ve learned a lot about their culture just by talking to the people I work with during these events. Even though we live half a world away and have different views and practices, we’re actually very similar.”

Over 2,500 U.S. military members, families and DoD civilians attended the beach house event where they participated in activities ranging from camel riding to deep-sea fishing.

“I had the opportunity to ride a very feisty camel,” joked Staff Sgt. Neftali Rivera, 340th Aircraft Maintenance Unit crew chief deployed from March Air Force Base, Calif. “It was really great to experience all of the things going on out here and also just to relax on the beach. I had a really great time overall and really appreciate the hard work that went into making it happen.”