FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Following a recent deployment to Afghanistan plagued by low morale and “low energy,” soldiers from the 504th Military Police Battalion came together this week to watch the awarding of the only Bronze Star resulting from their time in theater—to S2 Captain Taylor Regan’s coffee station.

“For most of us, our hearts just weren’t into it this time around Afghanistan,” admitted Master Sgt. Raymond Phelps, who as part of the battalion’s headquarters element had access to both the S2’s classified material and the delicious coffee that flowed nonstop from the TSCIF. “But that coffee pot, it never wavered. It did a lot of the heavy lifting.”

Lt. Col. Max Collins, the battalion commander, agreed.

“The troops were plugged in with Rip Its and Monsters, and they’re great for that surge,” Collins said. “But the black nectar in the S2’s area was a life saver. They had French roast, mocha, espresso—all the good stuff, none of that sissified flavored crap.”