At the age of 63 I got drafted again.  I’m now in Ninepatch’s Army.  Our mission:   while in Austin for Net Roots Nation, we plan to pack and send 100 Care Packages to our troops.  Tonight we have Jonathan Norrell on the line [think of my role here as Larry King – without the paycheck or toupe].  Jonathan is still in the Army and has been a recipient of care packages – but not from Ninepatch or any of you.  

As promised, I wanted to update everyone on how well the Cahir Package Project went.  

We just finished posting our new photo gallery for the CPP.  Please take a look as we will be adding photos for every service project we conduct like this.  We will take this service project to a different town in the PA-05 every time.

All together the volunteers filled 18 boxes with things like granola bars, shaving cream, soap, pop tarts, coffee and a bunch of other items.  Before Bill left for drill weekend, he went shopping and loaded up on the supplies.  Volunteers brought items as well.  And not only did they pack supplies, but the volunteers wrote notes to the men and women of the military who will be receiving the Cahir Package.

As I mentioned in a previous post, if you are conducting a service project like the CPP or of another kind and want to send us pictures, we will feature them over on our Take 5 blog and our photos page.

Thanks to all those who participated over the weekend.

Four weeks ago I came here and asked my fellow Kossacks to open their hearts and wallets so Blogging for Michigan could send care packages to Michigan soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

You responded generously and I want to say thank you. And as promised that evening, I have pictures too.

Cross posted from BFM

Wow!  That was nuts!

I never thought I'd spend $1,000 in one trip, on candy, dvd movies, and games.

More stuff, if you jump ..

Dinga-dang-dong we’re the champions!

Over at Blogging For Michigan, we’ve spent the last 2 weeks raising money for troops that are deployed overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The goal is to get $350 for each group we are supporting to create and ship care packages to in time for the holidays.  As of right now, we have about $3,400 raised, due largely in part by UAW Local 598, and a few donations from bloggers.  The money, when divided amongst our 12 groups makes about $283.

We are $804 short of our goal, and since we are donating to 12 different groups courtesy of anysoldier.com, that comes out to about $67 per group.

Cross-posted from Blogging For Michigan

Another day, another $1700-ish!  We are now up to over $2700!

BFM wants to send a special thanks out to DKos and VetVoice, who have sent some donations our way.  We also want to send some love out to GM Truck & Bus, where the folks are really rocking Troop Care!  And of course, thanks to all the rest of you who have donated.

For those of you who are just joining us, Troop Care is our effort to bring a little comfort to Michigan troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Here's how it works:

1. We beg you for money.  Seriously.  We're not proud.
   

2. You give us money, because you hate to see us beg. 
   

3. We get a big shopping list from anysoldier.com.
   

4. We shop, pack, and ship to our troops.
   

5. Our troops get a little happiness for the holidays.

Cross-posted at BFM

Hooyah!  We've got 14 Michigan units asking for support through AnySoldier.com, and BFM & friends are committed to sending a care package to each one of them.  We're looking for about $350 for each unit.

What do the troops need?

Here's a note from a medic from the UP:

Hello back in The Great USA, we are a section of medical personnel supporting the mission in Iraq. We are required to be on duty on varying shifts and sometimes on duty 24 hours a day. This does not allow much time for acquiring simple pleasures such as snack items, and other niceties to bring a little pleasure into an otherwise stressful situation.

There's more ..

First of all, thank you all so much for supporting us both last year and now again. I've already received many packages for the soldiers in my unit.

I'm sorry I won't be able to reply to you in person like last time. I know it must be frustrating to wonder whether or not what you've sent has actually reached the recipient. However, I can assure you that, I know every package my wife has ever sent has reached me. We were even recently concerned about one that was sent as 1 of 3 that was late, but finally reached me today, about 5 days later.

I'm writing this because it appears I will be leaving prematurely due to an illness requiring my wife's hospitalization. It's serious, but stable and should go well, but I am heading home on emergency leave. Surprisingly, I may not be returning for our last couple of weeks of redeployment duties...

This is a follow-up to my diary earlier this week exhorting you all to send care packages to the troops via AnySoldier.com. A friend of DailyKos over in Iraq, CPT Matt Larson, has agreed to distribute the packages to those in his unit who are not receiving mail.

The deadline for CPT Larson's unit is November 1, so let's get some stuff out to him! You can also take the opportunity to ship a box to another soldier listed on AnySoldier.com.

Who, what, where, when, why, etc. below the flip, along with a glamour shot of the items I've prepared for my own care packages!

It’s time for Kossacks to put together another box drive to our troops overseas, courtesy of AnySoldier.com!

It has been several months since we last organized a DailyKos box drive. CPT Matt Larson is a friend of DailyKos over in Iraq, and he will distribute these care packages to other soldiers who are not receiving mail, or anyone who needs some cheering up. Plus, there are hundreds of other soldiers who could use a surprise from those of us who are stateside.

Click below for information on what, where, and why to send...

I feel that it's prudent to remind everyone (including myself) that our Armed Forces abroad are in need of our support.

Despite our opinions, those who have volunteered to serve have little choice other than to participate, often at the cost of their lives, their physical health, or their mental stability.

I've been playing Christmas music lately, while reading or sewing or  wrapping packages (for financial reasons, we're lean and mean this year;  I scrounged through my  "I bought this and never gave it to someone" drawer" for many of them). One of my favorite CDs features Bing Crosby in a concert for the troop during WW IIs, and I always tear up when I hear "I'll Be Home For Christmas" and it resonates strongly with me.  The final line is "...If only in my dreams."  The song was written in 1943, at the height of World War II. It summed up the feelings of lonely G.I.s in Europe and the Pacific, dreaming of home and family while a war raged and hoping that next year they would indeed be home for Christmas.  

The song has special meaning for me. As most of you Kossacks know, I was a Navy wife for 15 out of the 18 years I've been with my husband as wife and lover.  

Today's Boston Globe (10/26/05) has a heartbreaking and informative section that tells stories of soldiers who have died in Iraq, largely through the eyes of their families.  Words, pictures, graphics and statistics round out the story: race, geographic distribution, service branch, where they died in Iraq.  

The clear message that emerges is that the loved ones left behind feel that they are alone in their grief because the American community has moved on to other concerns; the "Mission Accomplished" message became an excuse for most of us to forget the sacrifices that are still being made.