Hi all, is anyone else curious as to what has happened to Artis Addison and Dustin Bell? I sent Addison a ton of stuff and had another big box ready to go and he's gone.  I've opened the box and I'm filling other requests out of it, but I am really curious.  Dustin Bell sounded sad and a little desperate to me and now he's gone.  Any thoughts or has anyone else sent to them or heard anything about them?

I sent a big box to Artis Addison but haven't heard from him. I am disappointed that he's gone. He sounded so concerned about the people he sees and their needs. I thought he would be a great contact since he travels and sees lots of folks.

I hope we hear from him again. Maybe the fact that he travels a lot makes it hard for him to stay in touch. 

Pam 

 

 

 

 

Hi Pam,

    I felt the same way about Artis.  I thought that he was in a good position to reach the ones that really were doing without the things that they need and didn't know where to turn for help.

I think that I might write him a short letter and maybe he can answer it or email to me.  I may do that with Dustin Bell to, but I think he was in one of those remote places, cut off from communication. 

I hope we hear from them again.
 

I will write to Artis Addison too. Thank you for the suggestion.

Even if he cannot continue as an Anysoldier contact, he will know that we are thinking of him, and that can't be a bad thing! I think I already told him that his posting touched my heart, but I doubt he will mind if I repeat myself.

I looked up Dustin Bell because the name sounded familiar. I remember his posting. Let us know if you hear from him.

Pam 

Hi,

I don't think it is odd that neither Artis nor Dustin have been heard from yet. 

Both are in Afghanistan, where packages take longer to get to the recipient.  Artis is traveling so her mail may not have even caught up with her.  Dustin was in an area that received theirs by air drops.  It doesn't say that he is still in the same area when his address changed but if he is that could explain it, since they have limited air drops and it depends on the weather and sometimes in some regions the air drops end up dropping down into a canyon where the Taliban live.  It could also have been that his address changed before he got the packages and they are still catching up to him.  Both of them probably have limited internet access, so even if they do have access, there may be more important things they have to take care of before updating their anysoldier profile.

I think it is a good idea to send them a letter, but you may have to be very patient for a response.  Many areas in Afghanistan have mail that goes out only once a month or maybe more infrequently.  If you put your email address, you may get a reply a lot sooner.  Maybe even tell them to relay a message to you, if they are able.  It is a real waiting game for us, but they need us.  Most of us supporters have never heard back from someone or many.  I feel that they especially need our support in Afghanistan and the remote areas of Iraq. 

I hope this information is helpful.  My daughter tells me that I am always trying to tell people what to do, it probably comes from being the oldest of nine children. lol   These are just suggestions and I don't mean to insult anyone's intelligence.

Vicki
 

VickiV:

Most of us supporters have never heard back from someone or many.  I feel that they especially need our support in Afghanistan and the remote areas of Iraq.

Vicki:

Artis Addison has gone to "Old Contacts." I'm not concerned with getting a reply personally. I'm disappointed that this person is no longer an Anysoldier contact.

I agree that the people in Afghanistan need us; all my packages go there. However, the Anysoldier policy is that we shouldn't send to people who haven't updated and are therefore dropped.  Sad as it is, this policy makes sense. If the contact isn't current, we don't know if the address has changed, or whether the person is still willing or able to serve as a contact, etc. I do think it's okay to send just a letter to the address I have, but I wouldn't send a package unless the soldier's name reappears in active contacts.

Pam 

Vicki - we always called the ones who took that roll as the "Mother Hen", oldest or not.  There was usually one in the family if there were more than two.

Gran

Pam,

I totally agree with you.  It is just that it really hasn't been that long for someone in Afghanistan to have not responded. I hope she has received all of your packages. 

Vicki 

Hi Gran,

I have 5 sisters and now there is a battle for the "Mother Hen" role.  The youngest sister is now 47, so none of us are "spring chickens" anymore. (cute pun don't ya' think?)   

Vicki 

Hi Vicki,

     I wasn't looking for a personal reply from Artis.  I was concerned that he dropped off of Any Soldier so quickly after posting such a sincere request for help.  I don't look for responses from any of the troops that I send things to.

Ann
 

Hi Ann 

Sorry, I didn't mean anything by my post I was just trying to be helpful.  It does seem quick, but I guess Marty has had so much experience with the contacts that 60 days is a reasonable amount of time to receive an update.  It seems to work.  You can tell by the responses who do post after going stale.  I am not sure but I think if they answer after going to old contacts, Marty does put them back in active.

Vicki 

I'm sure that it's done on an individual basis, but contacts who have gone to the inactive list have often come back days, weeks, or months afterward if they haven't been banned for some reason, just as they are reinstated coming back on successive deployments.

Gran

I've noticed a couple where there was a really long time between their past posts, so they must have been reinstated.

I'm sure people drop out for various reasons. I went over my "possibles" list and lots of them are gone. Of course, I hope they have gone home safe and sound.

In the case of Artis Addison, if he travels a lot, it may be that there simply wasn't anyone to handle the packages in his absence. He had forty-something requests, so that could generate a lot of boxes.

Pam 

Just something to keep in mind....the majority of the troops have extremely limited access to a computer.  If, by chance, they can get to one, they may have limited time to e-mail and post.  So don't give up hope!