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Steelers game brings home closer to their fans at war

Jan-15-2005 » Filed Under: 1/25 SBCT

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By Robert Dvorchak, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Jeff Mehl will be wearing battle dress utilities, body armor, desert combat boots and Kevlar helmet today while his Army unit conducts such missions as raiding houses, searching for weapons or doing a security patrol near Mosul, Iraq.

But off-duty tonight, Mehl will don his Jerome Bettis jersey or Big Ben T-shirt and wave his Terrible Towel while parked in front of a big screen TV to watch the Steelers take on the Jets.

"No matter how tired I am after a hard day's work, if there is any way to watch the Steelers, I do," said Mehl, a staff sergeant and communications supervisor in the First Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Division.

"It's a definite morale booster as service members can take a break from the realities of combat, if only for a little while," he added. "I can't tell you what it means to guys to take their minds off things and have something that brings a piece of home over here."

Watching a Steelers playoff game with family and friends is an act taken for granted at home. But for soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen deployed in and around Iraq or on duty anywhere around the world, it's a welcome slice of home.


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