COMBAT OUTPOST OUTLAW, Kandahar Province -- After days on end of the ubiquitous Meals Ready to Eat, the soldiers of the 1st platoon - part of the Fort Lewis-based 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division - were ready for a change. More than two dozen soldiers pitched in to buy okra, potatoes, onions and some odd-looking tomato sauce produced in Iran and distributed through Russia.

Though some of these guys are partial to the cheese manicotti MRES, I would not call any of them vegetarians. They craved some meat, and hungrily eyed the sheep that milled about the fields surrounding this outpost in the Arghandab Valley.

On Monday, they finally struck a deal with a local herder to purchase one of the animals. Since there is no refrigeration here, they planned for a giant mutton feast.

The animal was quickly dispatched and trussed up at the far end of the courtyard to be skinned and butchered. No one had any special expertise in sheep. But 21-year-old Spc. Ryan Sharp of Wisconsin was a hunter who had dressed down quite a few deer. He and Sgt. Kenneth Rickman of Illinois took charge of the butchering.

They worked deep into the night until they had a excellent array of legs and other prime cuts that were then doused with Johnny''s Seasoning Salt (manufactured by Johnny's Fine Foods of Tacoma). The meat was laid out on a grill made from wire grating used to hold together blast barriers. The fire was fed with some of the wood from pomegranate trees that had been chopped down earlier in the month.

A crowd of soldiers gathered around the grill, and patiently watched the meat cook. Each piece was cut into small morsels, and then served buffet style.

Everyone agreed the mutton was delicious, a welcome break from the normal fare here.

The next day, it was back to MRES.

A note to readers: There are no photos with this post, since it is difficult to send them from here.