Exchange, Traeger Bring Barbecue to 1,000 Service Members in the Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – The Exchange ships thousands of products around the world every day, but earlier this year the opportunity came up to do something special: bring barbeque to service members deployed overseas on Veterans Day weekend.

After a similar event with the Navy Exchange Service Command for service members at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, executives at Traeger Wood Fired Grills wanted to bring the party to service members serving in Iraq. For this event, they grilled, smoked and served brisket and pulled pork, side dishes and drinks to 1,000 people in two locations.

“I couldn’t think of a better way to say thank you to the men and women that volunteer to protect our way of life than bringing the barbeque to them, especially on Veterans Day weekend,” said Traeger Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Andrus.

Exchange teams, Traeger help make it happen

Exchange teams, working together with Traeger, made it happen.

The operation began several months before. Exchange senior hardlines buyer Linda Jerome worked closely with the Exchange general manager in Iraq; Logistics, Contingency; and planning allocation and replenishment; to plan the event.

Vice President of Contingency Plans Roger Neumann selected the locations: Union III and the Baghdad Embassy.

Storage and Distribution Manager Miles Bowman worked with Traeger to plan the transportation for the people, equipment and food, including 16 Traeger grills, cherry and pecan wood pellets, pulled pork, brisket, barbecue rubs and sauces and drink mixes.

Jerome worked with Kristine Cowley, Exchange General Manager in Iraq, to plan the event.

Before the barbeque took place, Cowley moved to her new assignment, and was replaced by Brian Smith. When the Traeger team arrived, Smith had the community ready to receive them at both locations.

Feeding more than 1,000 service members

Logistics shipped and tracked the grills’ departure from Kuwait to Baghdad to ensure a timely arrival.  The container arrived well in advance, allowing the Exchange team in Iraq to begin setting up at both locations. Approximately 400 service members, Department of Defense civilians and contractors enjoyed the barbecue at Union III, and over 600 at the Baghdad Embassy compound.

“The Traeger team were clearly a gracious and friendly group of folks. They easily won over the command and community at both locations, and received commander’s coins,” said John Burk, Exchange Southwest Asia Regional Vice President. “This event made a lasting impact on our deployed military and Department of State communities.”

After the cookouts, Traeger donated the grills and leftover supplies to the troops there for future use.

“Thank you to the folks at Traeger, who helped us ‘go where you go’ to serve the troops who serve all of us,” said Brian Smith, the Exchange’s general manager in Iraq.