WAHIAWA — The topic was supposed to be Iraqi food.

But for wives of soldiers of the 25th Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade at Schofield Barracks Thursday night, the heart of a video teleconference with Army officials was the chance to hear a bit more about their husbands' mission and to see the terrain in which the soldiers live and work.

Cultural adviser Sameh Youseff, an Army man raised in the Middle East who has done three tours in Iraq and served as an interpreter for two commanding generals, introduced the 20 or so women to lamb kebabs and flatbreads, tzaziki and dolmas.

But for spouses such as Michelle Mathis-Carmical, whose husband, Robert, is a sergeant and divides his time between playing trumpet in the base band and working as a public affairs officer, the main event was a briefing from Gen. Robert L. Caslen Jr.

Caslen spoke of the work the soldiers are doing to suppress counterinsurgency around the base, which is near the former Baathist party stronghold of Tikrit, home of the executed former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.

"My husband can only tell me so much of what he's doing in his daily life," said Mathis-Carmical, a bride of eight months, because of security regulations regarding military missions. "I got a lot more knowledge out of this than I do in talking with him.

"It was very eye-opening, very moving to see and hear from people who are in the same place as he is."

Also moved were girlfriends Becky Staley, wife of Sgt. Justin Staley, and Jennifer Gonzalez, wife of Lt. Col. Raul Gonzalez. "This is the second one I've come to," Gonzalez said. "I learned more about where they are and what they're doing than from anything else."

Both women said a highlight was a short video prepared by Task Force Lightning Public Affairs showing the men participating in the Iraq version of the Great Aloha Run Feb. 8, which involved 700 soldiers on a six-mile course.

The video not only drew laughter as the soldiers mugged for the cameras, flashed shakas or jogged by in various costumes, but also showed market scenes, men on patrol and soldiers working with remote-controlled bomb defusers and mini-tanks that carried weapons.

"It was good to see the streets and the businesses. It gives you more of a picture of what the men are seeing," said Becky Staley. "It kind of makes you sad, too, the differences in the way we live and the way the Iraqis are living."

As the video played over a soundtrack of rock music about hard times in the city, the women watched intently, hoping, no doubt, for a glimpse of a familiar face.

Caslen and Youseff's presentation on Iraqi food and dining customs was greeted with interest and some laughter, especially when Caslan talked about having to politely sip goat's milk and tea so heavily sugared that the spoon practically stands up in it.

Mathis-Carmical said her husband has remarked that he has experienced the tantalizing aromas of meals prepared by Iraqi base cooks for themselves. But he's eating ribs and cheeseburgers.

Army brass have more frequent opportunities to taste local dishes when they meet with government officials or are entertained by tribal chiefs. They have had to learn to eat barehanded and how to indicate that they've had enough of the strong, Turkish-style coffee (wiggle the cup rather than handing it back).

All this was interesting, said Gonzalez, but not as vital as a few minutes of sharing her husband's landscape. "I'm glad (the military is) reaching out to the families in this way," she said.