The More We Know's video: U S Troops Celebrate Christmas In Afghanistan

U.S soldiers shared a Christmas lunch on Wednesday (December 25) at their base in Kabul, making the most of the festive atmosphere but missing family members and friends back home. "It is always hard to be away from my family, family friends back in the States but I have my military family and we are just this close as my blood relatives, so I am okay with them, I can share Christmas with my friends and family down range and it is a just great experience," said Major Leslie Desanden, U.S deputy inspector general. "I want to say a very merry Christmas to all my friends and family back home in central Texas and have a very blessed and prosperous new year," said U.S Navy lieutenant Mark Klaerner Meanwhile U.S soldiers at Bagram airbase, the largest in the country, celebrated Christmas along their colleagues by taking pictures under a Santa-shaped inflated balloon. There are about 47,000 U.S troops serving in Afghanistan currently. President Obama plans to withdraw the force from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 if a security bilateral agreement is not signed with Kabul allowing U.S troops to stay beyond 2014. The alliance plans to leave a training and advisory mission, expected to number 8,000 to 12,000 soldiers in Afghanistan.