Division West (First Army) and Fort Carson commanding general, Maj. Gen. Mark A. Graham and Garrison Command Sgt. Maj. James Kilpatrick serve up Christmas dinner Dec. 25 at the Salvation Army headquarters in Colorado Springs. NCOs and Soldiers from F...

FORT CARSON, Colo.Aca,!"Christmas day is typically a time spent with family. Gifts are opened and tried out, pictures are taken, and families relax and take stock as another hectic year starts to wind down. However, for some Fort Carson Soldiers, this past Christmas Day was spent helping people they had never seen before.

Staff Sgt. David J. Sundell, a section sergeant with the 43rd Sustainment Brigade's 549th Quartermaster Company, put his normal Christmas Day plans aside to lend a hand in the Colorado Springs community. He was one of a number of Fort Carson Soldiers helping by delivering food to Salvation Army sites throughout the area.

His day started at 5 a.m. when he drove to Fort Carson's Striker CafAfA Dining Facility to pick up enough food to feed 300 people. Cooks from the 43rd Sustainment Brigade and 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division prepared 5,000 Christmas meals of ham, mashed potatoes and corn. Sundell spent the morning driving to Salvation Army sites throughout Colorado Springs dropping off the food in time for the mid-day meal.

The Soldiers' efforts were part of an annual program delivering meals for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.

"I just thought about the less fortunate," said Sundell. "I thought about my three kids, and how I would feel if they were in that kind of situation. So volunteering was the least I could do."

Staff Sgt. Jason Van Steenbergen, a cook with the 43rd SB, helped prepare the food and keep things running smoothly.

He noted there were some issues with the Thanksgiving meal preparation, "so at Christmas, I focused on making sure the meals were ready for the drivers and were separated properly. I think things went pretty well," Van Steenbergen said.

After the meals, the drivers collected up the containers used to transport the food and brought them back to the dining facility. It was then time to head home to their Families.

"We opened up presents on Christmas afternoon," said Sundell. "It was still a great Christmas."

Sundell had a Christmas message to all Fort Carson Soldiers, one straight from the Army values, "Hey, it's all about selfless service."