Deployed guardsmen treated to home cooking

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait — For Col. Eric Kerska, a visit from the boss last week didn’t mean some Army general but the mayor of Rochester, Minn.

Back home Kerska is a battalion fire chief in Rochester, and the mayor was in Kuwait as part of an event to support the Minnesota Guard soldiers. It’s the kind of thing that, despite all the talk of National Guard and active-duty soldiers being One Army when deployed, highlights a key distinction between the two: deep, lifelong roots in a community.

And so it was that Minnesota restaurant owners and city leaders — who had known some of the soldiers serving with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division since grade school — showed up in Kuwait with 13,000 steaks. They were there to grill up a good meal for their friends and neighbors, as well as those who serve alongside them.

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