A Westbrook man in Iraq was promoted this month, feasted on Thanksgiving and enjoyed a holiday show featuring the New England Patriots’ cheerleaders at Kirkuk Regional Air Base.
“The entertainment was fabulous,” Staff Sgt. Gerald Doyon, who is serving with the Air Force, said in an e-mail.
Besides the entertainment, Doyon ate a Thanksgiving dinner. The menu included roast turkey, ham, prime rib, lobster, scallops, cornbread dressing, sweet potatoes, garlic roasted potatoes and vegetables. For dessert, there were pies, cakes, homemade brownies and ice cream.
“The dining facility put out a great spread for us. I really stuffed myself,” Doyon said.
Doyon, of the Air National Guard based in South Portland, volunteered for deployment to Iraq. However, he missed being home with his wife, Donna Doyon, and their children for Thanksgiving. Their daughter, Elizabeth Doyon, also a member of the Air National Guard, is a student at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland and son, Sean Doyon, is a junior at Westbrook High School.
His parents are Priscilla Armstrong, Biddeford, and Albert Doyon, Westbrook.
In Iraq, Doyon is a computer communications operator serving with the 506 Expeditionary Communications Squadron. He described his job as “24×7.”
“In a nutshell, our job is to keep the base computer and communications systems (Internet, e-mail, voice) up and running,” Doyon said.
He had served four years of active duty in the U.S. Air Force from 1982 to 1986. Doyon joined the Air National Guard’s 265th Combat Communications Squadron based in South Portland in June last year.
In December, he attended technical school at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., to learn the communications-computer systems.
“I volunteered for a four-month deployment to Iraq. Twelve members of my unit and I shipped out on Sept. 10 and arrived at Kirkuk Regional Air Base, Iraq Sept. 13 where we will stay until the latter part of January 2008,” Doyan said.
This fall, Doyon was awarded the Diamond Sharp Award for exemplary behavior and professionalism. He and his unit were awarded the Iraq campaign medal in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was promoted to staff sergeant on Nov. 8.
Doyon stays fit, running for exercise, and he reported that daytime temperatures there are in the mid-60s to mid-70s. He lives in a modular unit with 16 rooms with four in each room.
“We have most of the comforts of home as well. Each of our rooms contains a large TV, DVD player and small refrigerator,” Doyon said.
Serving with the Air Force in Iraq, Staff Sgt. Gerald Doyon of Westbrook greets two of the New England Patriot cheerleaders who visited troops and put on a show on Thanksgiving.
Holiday treats for Westbrook soldier
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