PROUDLY SUPPORTING OUR TROOPS OVERSEAS
The Office of the Provost Marshal
LSAANACONDA
APOAE 09302-1440
Oct. 3. 2007
Thank you so much for your kind letter and box of jackets, pants, & shirts for the children. We gave these to six Afghan Soldier's families. They were very happy to receive them and have asked us to thank you for them. I tried to attach a picture of them with this email, but our system here would not support that. I will try to mail you the pictures on a CD.
The Afghan soldiers are paid about $130 per month, the Officers about $230. That is just enough to feed a small family, but most have five to ten children. They are a proud but poor people. The needs of my soldiers and I are not as great as these children. Thank you for what you have sent.
Please tell everyone back home to not lose faith with our mission here, OEF & OIF. In spite of what you hear in the "reported" news, we are winning this war big! You only need to see what we see here to know why we are here and why we must win. Don't let reporters and actors who could not name the five elements of national power, tell you how wrong this war is. Nobody likes or wants war. That really is not the issue.
Thank you again for caring. Your support now means more than ever before.
Robert W Dingle, SC National Guard Army, Camp Alamo, Afghanistan
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Michael Tomberlin is a reporter for The Birmingham News and a Field Artillery Major in the Alabama Army National Guard. He has been in the National Guard for 21 years, having joined at the age of 17.
Hollywood and fiction writers would have us believe that what a soldier values most is the adrenaline rush of a fire-fight or destroying the enemy. In other words, that violence is our motivation. And while I won't deny that we train for such circumstances and some of us even thrive under that kind of pressure and intensity, it is not at all what is most important to us. What we value is the American spirit of helping others. Sometimes the "others" are our own family, friends and the people of the United States, so we fight for their safety, their freedoms, their way of life. Sometimes the "others" are the people of a country we rescue from an oppressive regime, from an insurgency of terrorists, from poverty and disease. At the end of the day, the thing we really value is home and all it represents. That's why I am thankful for Operation: Show Our Love and what you do. The care packages give us both a taste of home and the recognition of support. They even give us more "ammunition" to use in our fight to help others. What we value most has to be more idealistic than violence, and thankfully it is. We value hope, love, support, freedom and all America means to us. Why is mail call so critical to a soldier? Because inside each box and envelope is a reminder of those ideals that compel us to wear the uniform. I know it's not the kind of stuff you could write a blockbuster screenplay about and it's not going to make for a pageturner on The New York Times Bestseller List, but it's what really matters to the professional soldier.
Thanks for understanding, and we really appreciate everything that you sent; it was greatly appreciated by all. I am in Al Anbar and it is very busy. It is great though because time flies by because you are always on the go day after day. I will submit to you that it is amazing what your Marines, Sailors and Soldiers do on a daily basis to support their country. They truly recognize that the safety of our country is based on the service that they provide over here and their number one concern is providing security for those at home by fighting the war over here, so that it would ensure that the safety of those at home is protected. To hear young Americans with this type of insight and compassion for selfless service makes us proud of what we are doing to bring liberty to this country and to protect the liberty of ours. The care packages are truly a blessing and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for demonstrating to our young service members that you do care and their service is appreciated. I will continually keep you in my prayers. God bless, you both.
Semper Fidelis, (Always Faithful)
George Shine SgtMaj USMC
4 April 2007
Dear Mr. and Mrs. St. John,
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your generosity and kind words towards me, my troops and all the service men and women around the world that are currently deployed or supporting those that are, in the Global War Against Terrorism. Most often just a letter of support is enough to reassure us that America is behind us and supports our efforts; but it is Americans like you that go the extra mile in raising morale that makes our lives a lot easier and turns some really hard days into good days. The care package, which consisted of several items of much needed toiletries, snacks, and other supplies, was right on target and a welcome gift for my troops. Sometimes giving is a thankless job, but I honestly wish you could have seen the troops as they received the items; there were literally no unclaimed items within 10 minutes.
I can’t remember exactly what I wrote on the Airman.com bio, but the troops you supported consists of 45 Air Force enlisted Security Forces troops from five different bases around the world. We deployed to this site in Iraq and are currently embedded with the Army conducting all the Law and Order operations. Most of the troops work 12-hr shifts and 6 days per week. Life isn’t too bad at the moment and the morale amongst the troops is pretty high, considering some of the other jobs and places of other deployed troops. The mission is important and many of these troops are learning jobs and responsibilities that are foreign to them. Likewise, of the 45 troops assigned to this unit, 26 are married and 21 have children. That always poses a morale challenge as we are currently only in our third month of an 8-month rotation. It is only natural that problems, stress, and challenges will arise as the troops are away from their spouses, family, friends and children. Your attached photo is great and your letter is hanging in our hallway. As two caring people you probably realize some of the problems these young men and women must be experiencing. The work these young troops are doing is hard, tedious and at times very stressful. It is messages and support like yours that keep us focused on our mission and keep us looking forward to getting reunited with our families.
Mr. and Mrs. St. John, it is an honor to be currently serving in the United States Air Force and supporting you and the other Americans who support the troops. You have our equal respect and I will follow in your footsteps one day by continuing to support the troops when I can no longer support the effort through active duty service. Please know that you have truly touched the 45-person team of Security Forces members here at LSA Anaconda, Iraq. Know that your gratitude will be remembered by these young Air Force troops, many on their first deployment, and they will remember the support of people like you for the rest of their lives.
Thank you on behalf of the 332 ESFS/PMO,
//SIGNED//
SMSgt Kevin D. McCaw
Operations Superintendent
Near Baghdad, Iraq
I got back very late Thursday night and then we had visitors all day yesterday. These people are the ones that will replace us in a few months. Good news is that they are coming to replace us and it seems closer to our return home. However, it is bittersweet knowing that someone else now has to pick up where we have left off and someone else's family will suffer through the separation of a long deployment. Today we went to a village about 10 kilometers from our location to engage the local leaders and to talk on their local radio network to share the information about how the local security forces are making a difference in their communities. It is a battle of information operations over their own people.
....As I mentioned we went to a local village where we spoke to the leaders and asked for their help in influencing their people as well as the neighbors. Afterwards we went outside and gave out schools supplies, toys, clothes, snacks and shoes to these poor children. It is really hard to describe the despair of these children. They are so happy to receive these items and I know 100% that these children will remember this for their lifetime. There were about a 100 children that came and received these goodies.
I don't know if I mentioned this to you before but I was one of these poor kids many years ago. I was a very poor child growing up in Korea in the late 60s and I specifically remember the Americans that were part of NGOs that came and took care of us poor kids in the remote parts. I grew up in Incheon, South Korea and we did not have much. My father was a Korean soldier that was deployed to Vietnam for almost 4 years with the Korean Army. So, my mother had to work to take care of me and my grandmother.
Anyway, I wanted you to know that I know these kids will remember this just like I did as a child. Thanks for everything you and your supporters do for us here. You do make a difference - more than my small words can ever say. Your support allows us to achieve success here.
Sincerely,
Sonny and Team
Follow-up letter from Sonny:
Thanks for your note. I don't mind you sending the info about my background and the visit to the local villages. As a matter of fact, I attached some more pictures from another visit to a different village yesterday after a meeting with the local religious leader. We have people here called Sayads. These people are religious icons to the people because supposedly they are direct descendents of the Prophet Mohammed. They influence the people in many cases more than the recognized city and government leaders. As a result, I try to meet with the local Sayads and other elders as much as possible to have them basically control their own people. But what is important is that I always bring the Iraqi General with me and have him lead the discussions. Also, in the pictures, I sent has one of the locally elected Mayors along with the Iraqi General giving out the toys, school supplies, clothes and shoes from you and your supporters. I purposely make them give it out because the Iraqis need to see "their" leaders giving them stuff. If we continue to give them stuff and we leave, then they both are no better off. I hope you understand this.
I was born in 1969. I came to the US after my father got back from fighting in Vietnam with my parents and my younger brother. We came to the US in 1976 and moved to NJ, where my father's oldest sister lived. I grew up there until I left to join the service in 1988. I went to West Point and graduated in 1993 and have served since. I met my wife in 1987 in high school and have been with her since. I know - wow. I am very loyal and dedicated to my family. Nothing is more important to me than my wife and my 3 children. My wife is very well educated "Ivy League" but we have chosen our children and family instead of her taking a full time job. She does a lot of volunteer work for the military.
Many people ask why I stayed in when most of my classmates left the Army. I am not quite sure. Or at least I don't know how to describe it. I guess the best way to describe it is - I don't know of an honor greater than serving my soldiers as we face hardships together for the betterment of others. This may sound corny but I can not describe to you the emotions that I feel when I look into the eyes of my young men and say to them "we have a job to do, let's get after it." And then we hold each others hands as we pray before we face our fears together. I don't care how much money I can make in the private companies, the honor of leading these courageous men can never be replaced.
Thanks for your support and for all that you do for me and my soldiers. I hope this finds you and your family well.
Sincerely,
Sonny and Team.
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