Santa's sleigh and reindeer was swapped for a workhorse CH-47 Chinook helicopter as hundreds of American troops based in Syria received Christmas gifts thanks to Operation Holiday Express.
In this Monday, Dec. 23, 2019, photo, a U.S. soldier carries Christmas gifts from a helicopter to deliver to his comrades on a base near the al-Omar oilfield in eastern Syria. It's an operation is called Holiday Express - in addition to delivering presents, the U.S.-led coalition forces brought a U.S. military band to play Christmas carols and music to several bases in eastern Syria.
This year, Santa’s sleigh and reindeer were apparently swapped for a workhorse CH-47 Chinook helicopter. But coalition forces still donned jolly red caps as they unloaded boxes of gifts at five locations in eastern Syria, as seen by The Associated Press on Monday. Caggins said the aim of Operation Holiday Express was to bring a little Christmas cheer to those on active duty. AP toured bases in five locations: the al-Omar oil field, Deir el-Zour, Shaddadeh, Hassakeh and Rumeilan.
While President Donald Trump has said he will withdraw the bulk of the roughly 1,000 American troops from Syria, he’s made it clear he’ll leave some military forces in the country to help secure the oil fields across eastern Syria from any IS resurgence.
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