During Operation Iraqi Freedom 2003-2004 (OIF1) , the soldiers of the 744th MP BN were called to active duty and deployed to Iraq. We made our way up the Main Supply Route and set up HQ at Tallil Airbase. We had no running water, no electricity and we made our home in an old bombed out building.

Our only respite from the daily grind and up-tempo of our mission was a small nook at the end of the hall of that old wreck of a building. There, one of our soldiers, Letty Caban, took it upon herself to make coffee for her fellow soldiers. Every morning she brewed one pot after the other, never asking for anything in return. Every morning the troops would gather and share stories, jokes, laughs and even a few tears now and again.

As word of Caban's great coffee started spreading throughout the airbase, service members from all around would stop by and share in this makeshift oasis. An oasis they dubbed Café Cabana. They would bring tributes of every kind, from coffee, to creamers to sugar and filters. People would leave their cups and chairs there to come back to when they had some down time. Coffee time was much more than coffee and not just in the morning. Café Cabana became a social gathering amongst comrades. A boost for morale and the welfare of our troops. Some would bring their guitars and start a jam session. Others would sing along while others would just sit and forget for the moment where they were. One bold combat engineer, brought a bulldozer, leveled off the sand and built a deck so that those in attendance could gather. Every morning as the sun rose over the horizon and every evening as it gave way to the multitude of stars that illuminated the night sky, Café  Cabana was the place to be.

The dream to bring Cafe Cabana back to serve our veterans and local community is about to become a reality. But we need your help. Help Letty raise $35,000 to get Cafe Cabana up and running.