http://operationmilitarypride.org/

[Acedeal]

This message was sent to me by one of our members. I for one am going to have my children write letters. Also will be working on a care package.
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Some of you don't agree with our country's leaders & what is going on in
the middle east, but keep in mind that the soldiers over there didn't make
the decisions to be there...Words cannot describe what it is like to be
5,000 miles from home, living in a tent in the middle of the desert, being
given little to no information about what is going on in the world and/or
what is going on towards a diplomatic solution & not knowing whether or not your going to be fighting tomorrow or the day after...Your world consists of waking up, eating meals, checking your equipment (for the ump-teenth time), pulling guard duty for hours on end (& yes, during the winter months in the desert it gets so cold that the water in your canteen will get ice slush in it while your out at the guard point), reading books (if you remembered to pack any or managed to bribe some from a buddy), Electricity is not readily accessible and so on...trust me, I was there 12 years ago...A simple box, with $10-$15 of cookies, toilet paper, a newspaper or 2, used books/comics, shaving cream, coffee grounds, etc can earn you a friend for life... I am still in contact with a few people that sent me letters/care packages in Desert Storm.

Remember, our troops are men & women just like you...they are just doing their jobs & following their orders...Lets show them a little pride & give them some support :)

(Below is a link for an organization that is a non-profit, private
organization that hooks up Soldiers & Citizens & tells you what they
can/cannot receive in care packages)

http://operationmilitarypride.org/

(PS: If you have kids, Soldiers love letters/drawings from kids...I can
remember tents with walls completely covered in kids drawings)

[Acedeal]

Also wanted to add;
Let's not forget our 4 legged friends also..

http://operationmilitarypride.org/kindk9.html

[res1uuff]

I just want to give you my respect for serving our country Acedeal. I cannot serve because of a prior medical condition, but I did try. I think that everyone is obligated to serve there country so that they can respect the freedoms that most people take for granted each and every day. I want to say this to everyone that has ever served our country, dead or alive. Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart!

[Learjet]

Great post Acedeal !

[Shaumelia]

I agree

It's a good thing to show people that there are more than just leaders :)

[-=DoW=- boba_fett]

Thanks for the support Ace, and I hope there are a lot more like you out there. After talking with some of the troops in my unit that were in Desert Storm, I came to realize that most of my generations perceptions of the Middle East are based upon Hollywood. They had some rather blunt stories that cut right to the heart of the matter, those soldiers did. Though what they said had scared the piss out of me, I will forever be grateful to them because they were able to prepare us that much more for what might lay ahead. they never had that help, because they were the first ones to go there. This is not all to say that life was Hell over there all the time, because anybody that knows the military knows that we have fun when we can, just a lot more stressful and uncomfortable than we as civilians are used to. If any of you would like to put a care pkg together, you can contact any neighborhood VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) and they can help you out with what would be acceptable, what the soldiers might need most. Write a letter to the soldiers, whether it is a general letter, or if you can get an assigned soldier to be a correspondent partner with you can make it a personal one. Tell them what is happening in the rest of the world, tell them what is going on in your life(but don't go to indepth), let them know that you and others like you support them. Soldiers are just men and women that took an oath to defend, support, or protect something that they hold very dear. They are like family members that would defend anybody in their family to the very end, even if it meant their life. If you can take just a short time to put yourself in that same mind frame, you will reach a certain understanding with any soldier. Sorry if my preaching has gotten to anybody, but this is my job, my life, my country, and my CHOICE. I do this because I love it, and because there were men and women who did it before me that loved what they were fighting for just as much. God Bless to all who support the troops of the world, especially those in the US, as we seem to be thought of as terrible people. I leave you with a paraphrased poem written during WWII.

When Hitler and the Nazi s came for the Jews I wasn't Jewish, therefore I did nothing,
And when they came for the gypsies I wasn't a gypsy, so I did nothing,
And when they came for the Unions and the Industrialist I was neither, so I did nothing,
And then they came for the Protestants, and I was a protestant, but when I called out for help there was no one left.

For those of you that know this poem I hope I didn't butcher it too badly. Right now I am too tired to try and find it and I didn't want to try to quote it if I had any chance of screwing it up. But take this poem to heart. If we don't do something now while we can, we might not get another chance.

[-=DoW=- SmokieRat]

As soon as I can I'm sendin out a care box. My grandpa was in the Korean War and he woulda loved somethin like this.

[Dark.Visage]

I had originally written a long post here...I don't know, something struck me with the words above
and I felt I needed to say something. I served in the Army as my father before me did. I spent times
at the Veterans Hospital when I
was younger, and I remember hearing from veterans about how letters could turn the worst day into a
day that wasn't so bad afterall.

I am in absolute amazement at the
patriotism and the Honor I see
here on the forums. I am fairly new here still so I'm still getting to know everyone one. But from what I
have seen and read, it would have
been an honor to serve beside any of you.

I salute each and every one of
you. I also would like to thank
you...for the freedom that I, and
my children, enjoy this day...Thank You.

-Dark.Visage