From left to right are Nicole Erpelding, Kaitlin Nonko, Capt. Rebecca Lange (PolSci'00), Lisa Fikany and Lorraine Aceron.

 As part of the holiday USO tour, Tostitos sponsored a “Salute the Troops” football game with former pro players in Baghdad, Iraq, where I am stationed. Imagine my surprise when I heard, “…and featuring chearleaders from the University of Colorado!”

The game was close to my compound and when I heard the announcement, I grabbed my ever-present CU flag and camera and headed out to the dirt field. I heard the CU fight song and stopped in my tracks. Hearing my beloved university’s fight song normally doesn’t cause me to choke up, but the fact that young women from my alma mater gave up their Christmas vacation to support the men and women of the Armed Forces caused me to tear up a bit (although I’m probably not supposed to admit that).

Naturally, the ladies were very popular. When I finally made my way to them, I showed them my flag and proudly announced that I was a Buff. The first photo shows the precious reaction from one of the girls. It absolutely made my day to chat with these sweet and generous ladies. I expressed my sincere admiration for their selflessness. Imagine giving up your Christmas vacation from college to travel to Iraq!

Ever since I landed and have had “boots on the ground,” the overwhelming and heartfelt support of Americans has been felt every single day. Whether they are packages from communities, personal letters from the Alumni Association, holiday cards from classrooms and hearing my school fight song on a dirt field in the middle of Iraq, I could not be more proud to wear this uniform and dedicate every day to the freedoms of my great nation.

Rebecca Lange (PolSci’00) writes from Baghdad.  Read the Boulder Camera article on this.