ATTN: Any Soldier by meimeibrowncoat

REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

ATTN: Any Soldier

POSTED BY: MEIMEIBROWNCOAT
UPDATED: Sunday, July 11, 2004 22:20
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VIEWED: 2880
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Wednesday, July 7, 2004 7:43 PM

Hey browncoats -

I was on the internet and stumbled onto the ATTN: Any Soldier website. < http://www.anysoldier.us/> I'm excited about finding a relatively easy way to reach out to the heroes overseas and let 'em know that we love and support them -- ALL politics aside.

Some people already know about this but I thought I'd mention it to ya'll. Have a look at the site and see how you feel about it. This could be a good thread to just discuss what different people want to do or how to go about it. I just wanted to encourage you guys to participate in this or any project that directly contacts or provides needed supplies to these guys.

As far as pessimists go, I wrote a fairly hefty book on it. I don't believe you can change the world or "turn the tide of glorious history". But what these guys are doing is nothing short of selfless heroism and I wanna thank them for it.

They are bleeding and dying for us every day. They are BDH's.

-andrea

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Thursday, July 8, 2004 12:23 PM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.

I am sure there are many such programs on the web, one that I am aware of is Operation Gratitude - http://opgratitude.com/website/html/index.php

I will be attending a party this Saturday at which the hostess will be collecting donations of items from their wish list to send to the troops in Iraq. It is actually her birthday party as well, but she has told everyone not to get her anything and spend the money on our troops instead.

wo men ren ran zai fei xing.

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Thursday, July 8, 2004 1:48 PM

MEIMEIBROWNCOAT

Wow! That's another GREAT program.

I can't read about these guys and how much they appreciate the suppport without crying.

I haven't decided how I'm gonna go about sending stuff. It's hard to know which method of packaging and sending is the most efficient and useful.

If anyone has thoughts or suggestions let me know.

-andrea

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Friday, July 9, 2004 3:55 AM

GHOULMAN

Considering the terrible support the White House is giving the soldiers (cut pay, cut danger pay, longer tours of duty, "drafting",... oh it goes on ) I am of the opinion that soldiers stationed in dry war zones are NOT getting the support they should be getting from thier Commander and Chief. Not nearly enough!

Now, if only at least one person or group in the USA, just one, would create an Aid group for the over 10000 Iraqi people killed and the thousands more displaced and living in horror ...

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Friday, July 9, 2004 4:02 AM

INEVITABLEBETRAYAL

Ghoulman, next time you post, make sure it's on topic. I believe it was support for the troops, not the Commander in Chief, or the Iraqi population. I do believe that MeiMei even said something about "politics aside." Then again, any opportunity to point the blame finger, eh?

_______________________________________________
I wish I had a magical wish-granting plank.

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Friday, July 9, 2004 6:33 AM

GHOULMAN

I apologize.

If anything I wanted to show there is a REAL need to support the troops... because they are not getting it from thier bosses, etc.

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Friday, July 9, 2004 11:02 AM

INEVITABLEBETRAYAL

Well, with all due respect, Ghoulman, I think you're wrong. As one of "the troops" (I spent time both in Afghanistan and Iraq), I can tell you that we do get support from the leaders of this country. When we asked for armored HMMWVs in Iraq, we got them. When we asked for more body armor in Iraq, we got it. Air support (which Clinton denied the Rangers in Somali) was plentiful.

It's the Pentagon--not the White House--that plans to cut special pay, and the pay will not going away entirely, just return to the original level of $150 dollars per month Imminent Danger pay and $100 Family Separation Allowance. Again, it is the Pentagon, not the White House, requesting the return to previous pay levels.

The "drafting" you refer to is the activation of Ready Reserve personnel. Every service member must serve eight years--so if your enlistment is 4 years, you do 4 more in the Ready Reserve. If you do a six-year hitch, you do 2 in the Ready Reserve. You get the idea. The idea is that if the need is dire, Ready Reserve personnel are activated to augment the military. A draft is involuntary. Ready Reserve time is voluntary (everyone who enlists agrees to it. Besides which, the Ready Reserve is being activated to provide relief to soldiers in Iraq, and to allow returning soldiers more time with their families. Sounds like support to me.

If you want to point the blame finger, point it at John Kerry--he voted against S. 1689 "Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Iraq and Afghanistan Security and Reconstruction Act, 2004" that supplied 87 billion for, among other things, body armor for the troops and reconstruction money for all those Iraqis that you talked about earlier. So before you shoot off your mouth about who does and does not support the troops, check your facts.

_______________________________________________
I wish I had a magical wish-granting plank.

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Friday, July 9, 2004 3:13 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Yes, but who is "the Pentagon" except Rumsfeld (a Bush appointee)? His aim to reduce the military even more (faster better cheaper) is well-known.

What do you think of the report that Gnl Shinseki just wrote? In it, he said that the military was deployed before support was in place, that units were forced to scavenge parts, siphon fuel out of Iraqi vehicles and tanks, ran low on water and MREs etc. Is that all bogus? (Not being confrontational, I just want to know what it looked like from your viewpoint.)

http://www.detnews.com/2004/nation/0407/04/nation-202100.htm

BTW, he also praised the training and decision-making of the troops and mid-level officers during the invaison, particularly Colonel Perkins' "thunder run" into Baghdad, and decision to stay and fight rather than w/draw. Any opinions??

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Friday, July 9, 2004 5:37 PM

MEIMEIBROWNCOAT

C'mon guys...

It's really easy to jump onto a message board and snipe away about politics. I get it. You're passionate. Put it to good use. HELP someone.

We're sitting over here bitchin' and moanin' about the economy, and the leaders, and the war while there are guys on the other side of the world dying! I don't have the courage to lay it ALL on the line like that.

I do appreciate INEVITABLEBETRAYAL letting us know what he saw during his time over there. I wish we knew more about how things are really going.

ANYWAY, I wrote an email to the Operation Gratitude folks, asking a couple questions about where/to whom they send the packages and this was the reply:

---------------

We shio packages to any service member in any branch that is deployed overseas.

To date, we have sent well over 19,000 care packages addressed to individually named troops in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Korea, Kosovo and onto ships all over the world. We obtain names either directly from the service members, from their buddies (either in their unit or others), or from their loved ones (mostly through the secure form on our website). Commencing with our 2003 Holiday Drive, the vast majority of names were sent to us directly from senior personnel who had seen the positive impact our program was having on the men and women in their command.

---------------

A couple of things anyone can do:

1. Pick out a couple of things on the wishlist < http://opgratitude.com/website/html/modules/sections/index.php?op=view
article&artid=5> and send 'em to the OG address.

2. Donate a little money through check or paypal.

3. Or if you don't have money to spare for this program, just get people you know to write cards and letters (leave 'em unsealed), throw them in a box and send it to the OG address:

Operation Gratitude
16444 Refugio Road
Encino, California 91436

If you want more info, here the site again:
< http://opgratitude.com/website/html/index.php>

Is anyone else remotely interested in this sorta thing? Maybe throw some encouragement this way.

OK I'm gonna go away now.

-andrea

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Friday, July 9, 2004 5:45 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Well actually the reason why I posted was tp ask about the situation in Iraq.

edited- Sorry I had to run off an do something. What I'm saying is... on the one hand, we hear that supplies, ammunition, MREs and such are in short supply. OTOH, we've just heard that everything is "fine". Is Inevitablebetrayal saying that these programs (providing vests, T-shirts, medical supplies etc.) are unnecessary? A fraud? I was hoping to get some clarification from someone who is actually there... hopefully, from more than one person who is actually there! Of course I can't supply ammo and water but what about- sunscreen? Insect repellant? Baby wipes? A note? Some cookies?

I feel for the enlisted who are there. I wish they were coming home soon. I'd like to show my gratitude to THEM with something that's useful- not just some stateside person's wishlist items.

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Saturday, July 10, 2004 2:21 AM

DRAKON

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
I feel for the enlisted who are there. I wish they were coming home soon. I'd like to show my gratitude to THEM with something that's useful- not just some stateside person's wishlist items.

Don't be so down on such efforts. YOu would really be surprised how well even incidental things like cookies, bug spray, or such trivial items can mean to a serviceman. It may look silly and small to you, but over there, its a different story altogether.

I remember my own days under the water, sleeping with nuclear weapons. The wives club used to make little treats up for us to find out about about half way through patrol. One Christmas, it was a tiny stocking full of candy, and a small present from my wife. (She didn't even tell me, the witch

) And when you are a million miles from home, sometimes a small thing means a lot.

"Wash, where is my damn spaceship?"

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Saturday, July 10, 2004 2:53 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Well hey! Then bugspray, sunscreen and cookies it is!

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Saturday, July 10, 2004 4:20 AM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.

An item that was not on the Operation Gratitude wish list, but that my friend who is giving the party tonight added, is dog or cat flea collars that can be worn around the ankles, for protection from sand fleas.

wo men ren ran zai fei xing.

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Saturday, July 10, 2004 5:48 AM

GHOULMAN

Sorry again (I feel baited), this "politics" forum can sound like CounterStrike on CNN... and it's just as sad.

Best wishes in your efforts MeiMei, and come back! We need people like you!

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Sunday, July 11, 2004 10:20 PM

MEIMEIBROWNCOAT

ECGORDON - That 's a really surprising item that I never would have thought of. Bugs and fleas are a really bad problem in a lot of areas, in addition to the heat... and the hunger... and the boredom... and the lack of soap... and the bullets of course. I couldn't handle it. I'm all kinds a soft.

GHOULMAN - Thanks for your words of encouragement. :)

-------------
Just a couple of other notes:

While food, hygiene products and notes of support are the MAIN concerns, boredom is another problem for some of these guys. A lot of them just want somethin' to read or watch to help them pass the time and get their minds off their troubles. A good way to help with that would be to keep an eye on eBay for cheap books by the more popular fiction authors: Stephen King, Dean Koontz, John Grisham, Tom Clancy, Michael Crighton... (paperback).

Also libraries sometimes discard magazines after a month or two so you might be able to pick some up for free.. The most popular would probably be anything to do with Sports, Cars, Hunting & Fishing, or other recreational activities.

Just some other little ways you can help. Have a great day, browncoats. Keep flyin'.

-andrea

Edited to add the website:
Operation Gratitude
< http://opgratitude.com/website/html/index.php>

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