CAMP ARIFJAN, KUWAIT – In a region known more for sandstorms and supply chains than surprise connections, two women, one in uniform and the other in Exchange attire, discovered that family can be found even at the front lines.
Army Lt. Col. Regina Williams, the Theater Inspector General for the Area of Responsibility, and Colette Watson, the Exchange’s contracting team leader, were both assigned to Kuwait when they crossed paths in a most unexpected way: They were family friends and didn’t even know it at first.
“I found out through my mom,” Watson recalled. “She mentioned that my sister’s dad had a friend deploying here too, and showed me a picture. I didn’t think much of it until I kept passing Regina around base and thought, ‘Wait, I think that’s her.’ ”
As it turns out, Watson and Williams arrived in Kuwait on the same rotation, potentially even on the same flight, without realizing it. Their initial connection was sparked not in person, but through a message.
“My friend, who happens to be Colette’s sister’s father, reached out and said, ‘Hey, she’s arriving soon, can you look out for her?” Williams said. “I messaged her and said, ‘I’m here if you need anything.’ From there, we started building a connection that’s grown into something really special.”
The two now meet up regularly, often over coffee at one of Camp Arifjan’s 24-hour Starbucks locations, and offer each other the kind of support that only those deployed can truly understand.
“This environment creates bonds that are hard to explain to people back home,” Watson said. “You start off as strangers, but shared experiences, like living in tents, making do when the PX closes, lining up for Hunt Brothers Pizza, turn into lifelong connections. I used to wonder how Soldiers came back from deployments with lifelong friends. Now I get it.”
For both women, the deployment has deepened their appreciation for the Exchange’s mission.
“I’ll be honest; I didn’t fully understand the value of the Exchange until the Twelve-Day War,” Williams said. “When the PX closed, it was the only source of essentials, and suddenly that access was gone. The team here moved quickly, re-routing merchandise, opening alternate stores. That’s when you see the real impact of what the Exchange does for troops.”
Watson added that the experience has reinforced her belief in family serving family, the Exchange’s long-standing core value.
“When I walk into an Exchange concession and they greet me by name, or when I see the same faces at church or the DFAC, it reminds me that we’re not just serving, we’re connected,” she said. “This mission is about more than selling uniforms or snacks. It’s about being there when it matters, for our troops and for each other.”
Williams agrees. “I know most of the concessionaires by name, and they know me. One even had surgery recently, and when I didn’t see him for a few days, I messaged him to check in. That’s the kind of community that’s built here. You just don’t get that kind of relationship at the average retail store back home.”
Though their connection may have started as a chance encounter, both women say they’ll keep it going long after this deployment ends.
“If I don’t hear from her, I’ll send a text,” Williams said. “Just to say, ‘Hey, are you OK?’ That’s what family does, especially family forged under deployment conditions. We may not talk every day, but we’re always checking in.”
And as they continue their work in support of thousands of deployed troops, Williams and Watson stand as living proof that even in the harshest environments, the Exchange’s mission of serving those who serve brings people and families together in the most unexpected and meaningful ways.
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