Helping The Deployed Military

[choeppner]

Ways we can help - PLEASE READ

Hey Everyone:

I did a thread on this about 6 months ago and we got some great results. Thanks to everyone back then that signed up. I felt like I should do it agian as we are nearing the holiday season. I am a member of a program callled Operation Soldiers Angels. Basically we just ask people to "Adopt" one soldier while he is deployed. All that it entails is sending Cards, or letters and a Care package every once in awhile. I was deployed to Iraq 2 times, and let me tell you.....Getting those care packages in the mail was a godsend :):) You have no idea how much youcan brighten up a persons life, but sending him a card, or a box of snack food. We're not talking about very much money at all here guys. Less than most of us spend on a dozen balls. LOL Here's some items from the site:

"....Suddenly my day wasn't as bad, and I hadn't even read your letter yet. Mail has secret powers that are felt most by those farthest removed. I wuld like to let you know how much your letter means to me...."
A hero in Iraq

" Thank you so much. Your organization is wonderful and so helpful. Please forward this message to all angels as I have received so many letters and packages from all over the world. I could not possible answer all of the angels due to time constraints in the war zone. Please tell everyone thanks so much, your letters and packages has saved me from going crazy some times. Anytime someone gets mail here everybody perks up. I am assigned to the **** **** in **** Iraq as the night time helicopter pad Superintendent. This is a trauma hospital which receives patients such as: American, Iraqi civilians, Iraqi Police, Iraqi children and other allied NATO forces working with us. This hospital is in the Red Zone which is a bad place to be and gets mortared almost every day. So as you can see, any mail is greatly appreciated and we all share our gifts with each other. Keep up the great work.

MSgt Ronald "

If anyone is interested the website is:

http://soldiersangels.com/

I have done this on a few other forums as well and gotten a great response. Let's see if we can get the same result here :)

Thanks in advance.

-CHRIS-

[choeppner]

Just a bump as we're ning a ton ofpeople over there. Heck, even I will be thee inabout 45 days. If yal can find te time I know it does make a huge difference to the soldiers to get a card or a package full of lovely junk food :tongue::):D

 

Thanks,

 

-Chris

 

An excert from the site

 

-CHRIS-

 

The Soldiers' Angels was started by a self-described ordinary mother of an ordinary young man turned hero, Sgt. Brandon Varn. Brandon was deployed in Iraq and has since honorably completed his mission and has returned back to his proud and loving family.

 

In the summer of 2003, he wrote home expressing his concern that some soldiers did not receive any mail or support from home. Being a caring and loving mother, she decided not to allow a situation like that to continue. She contacted a few friends and extended family to ask if they would write to a soldier or two. Within a few short months, Soldiers' Angels went from a mother writing a few extra letters to an Internet Community with thousands of angels worldwide.

 

With more and more merchants donating services, money and items for packages, the Angels reorganized as a 501 c 3 non-profit so all donations would be tax deductible.

Soldiers' Angels currently supports thousands of American Service Members stationed wherever we raise our Country's Flag and the number is growing daily.

Soldiers' Angels are dedicated in supporting our military during and after their deployment.

 

In December of 2004 a worldwide support forum was created. In hopes of providing a place where needs of our heroes can be fulfilled

In July 2006 This ordinary mothers youngest son, Bretton Varn started Boot Camp and looks forward to serving his country.

 

May God Bless Our Troops

[Golfchicago]

Chris I didn't even know this existed. I joined immediately and gave the a modest donation. I am looking forward to help sustain a soldier's motivation through this trying time for them.

[villa]

I didn't know this existed mate. I'm from the U.K and lost a close friend of mine in Iraq earlier this year.

 

I'll speak to my Company about getting something sorted, keep up the good work boys.

[choeppner]

Thanks Frank and Villa. I am sure they will greatly appreciate it :tongue:

 

-CHRIS-

[Pdougherty]

Thanks choeppner,

 

My sisters Fiance is in the coast guard and I know how much it means to those guys to get something.

[Spumoni]

Thanks for the idea. My nephew is a Navy SEAL and is going over later this year. I'll make sure I send him & the other guys on the team letters/gifts. ;)

[jonnyb03]

choeppner

 

thanks for what u do man. I am in the Air Force and i have not been there yet but alot of my friends are there and i should be but im not. but i have been deployed before and it is hard being away from the family and away from everyone. i know everyone thinks the Air Force is pampered but we are not and it is still tuff. but thanks to u and everyone that helps out.

[choeppner]

This was on yahoo news tonight and really struck home :

 

Americans support the troops with food, soap, DVDs By Tom A. Peter, Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor

Fri Mar 23, 4:00 AM ET

 

 

 

What do US soldiers need in Iraq? Probably not hand-knitted caps and booties.

 

ADVERTISEMENT

 

"We're running into a lot of knitted items" in care packages, says Marine 1st Lieutenant Barry Edwards, public affairs officer for Regimental Combat Team Six in Fallujah. "Great job on the knitting, but we're starting to break 85 degrees [F.] ... and in about another month it's going to be over 100."

 

Four years into America's war in Iraq, public approval of the effort has fallen sharply, but private support for the troops looks as strong as ever. Since no official statistics exist, the evidence is necessarily anecdotal. Soldiers in war zones receive a steady influx of care packages and letters. Domestically, organizations that offer aid to soldiers and their families have enjoyed consistent support, and some have even grown.

 

After only three months in Iraq, Lieutenant Edwards has received over 200 care packages addressed to him. They came from friends, family, and complete strangers, he said in a phone interview, adding that he distributes most of them throughout the regiment.

 

"We definitely receive more now than in previous deployments. America's support for her troops has not waned," he says.

 

Other troops report similar experiences. "I have received so much stuff, I would be hard-pressed to say 'thanks' enough," writes Commander Paul Eich, a naval aviator working as an intelligence officer in Baghdad, in an e-mail. Commander Eich, speaking as a citizen, not a representative of the US military or government, says he once received two boxes with enough hand sanitizer to last him over six months.

 

Army Pvt. Ryan Zarzecki, from the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment in southern Baghdad, said he's often surprised to get mail from a stranger.

 

"Anything you get in the mail that's not a bill is a nice thing," he says with a smile.

 

Mailing is easier

Mailing letters to troops deployed overseas has become much easier, contributing to the steady support. With over four years to build up bases and establish effective logistical supply routes, mail service has drastically improved since 2003.

 

During and immediately after the initial invasion of Iraq, it could often take months for packages to reach soldiers at the "tip of the sword." Now care packages mailed from the United States can arrive just about anywhere in Iraq within seven to 10 days. Mail sent shortly after soldiers deploy sometimes arrives in Iraq before they do.

 

Significant support has come from private groups. AnySoldier.com, for example, allows individuals with or without a connection to the military to send letters or packages to US forces deployed in dangerous places. Service members create a post on the site and list the items their unit needs or would appreciate. People wishing to support soldiers can search the postings, find one that appeals to them, and send the unit a care package.

 

Marty Horn, a retired Army sergeant 1st class, and his wife founded AnySoldier.com in August 2003 to support their son's unit deployed in northern Iraq. Mr. Horn and his wife were "going broke" sending their son care packages when he asked for more because he'd been sharing his packages with colleagues who didn't get mail.

 

To meet their son's request, Horn and his wife enlisted the help of their friends. Four months later AnySoldier.com was helping to connect US troops deployed in any war zone with care packages and letters. Now AnySoldier.com helps an estimated 115,134 soldiers.

 

What's inside that box?

Care packages sent through AnySoldier.com, and a host of other organizations, include anything from snacks to toilet paper to books about Islam.

 

"The most common thing that we've seen in care packages recently and in previous deployments I've participated in has been snack items, small hygiene products, reading material, writing material, cards and letters, those kinds of things," says Edwards.

 

A number of people like to send candy, but service members ask that people please consider the nutritional value of what they're sending. "A little [candy] is fine, just not a lot," wrote hospital corpsman 3rd class Adam Shepherd in an e-mail from Al Taqaddum, Iraq. More popular is beef jerky and low-carb snacks.

 

For nonfood items, soldiers say they appreciate foot powder, high-quality toilet paper, baby wipes and old DVDs. More complete lists can be found on donation websites. Army Pvt. Tyler Moore, from the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment in Baghdad, enjoys the support packages. "It builds morale for the soldier just to receive something from back home," he says. "The soldiers want to know that someone else other than their family supports them."

 

Operation Quiet Comfort is one of several organizations that specifically helps wounded soldiers. Among other things, volunteers make quilts from old blue jeans to keep injured soldiers warm on long flights home on cold cargo plans. Each quilt takes 20 hours to make.

 

"It's not what is sent that makes us appreciate the packages. It's just knowing that people are thinking of us that matters," says Specialist Adam Lamberson in an e-mail from Scania, Iraq.

 

Some try to profit from aid efforts

An unfortunate side effect of the apparent continued goodwill toward US soldiers has been unethical entrepreneurs seeking to profit from people's desire to support the troops.

 

AnySoldier.com is taking legal action against four organizations that took the address of soldiers for free from their website and then sold them to other people trying to donate items to soldiers.

 

Other companies selling premade care packages reportedly use only a small percentage of donations for soldiers and make a healthy profit from the business.

 

To avoid scams, soldier aid organizations recommend going through established channels. Aside from dodging groups with dubious intents, Marian Watt, public relations chairperson for Operation Quiet Comfort, warns, "If you try to go out on your own to do something, you're not going to get very far. There's a lot of red tape."

 

Charles Moskos, noted military sociologist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., questions whether genuine, widespread support for troops exists.

 

"What I think characterizes America today is what I term 'patriotism light'," he explains. "It's more symbolic, rather than true support."

 

Not all care packages come from Americans who support the war, but many soldiers don't seem to mind.

 

"I would still accept it," says Pvt. David Bounds from the 610 Brigade Support Battalion in Baghdad. "They may not support the reasons why we are here, but it's good that they still care in some aspect."

 

• Correspondent Sam Dagher contributed reporting from Baghdad

[choeppner]

Here's the article's link :)

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20070323/ts_csm/asupport

 

and they aren't kidding guys. Beef Jerkey, Cheez It's Rice cakes the all important Toilet Paper and Baby wipes. Pens, paper, cards, trail mix, magazines, books, you name it. If one guy gets too much, he always shares. That's just the way it is. Another great thing...Pringles :):) Yummy.

 

I would like to personally thank everyone who is helping with this. I can say that it is greatly appreciated by all

 

-CHRIS-