LCDR Pethel is one of my contacts. He caught my attention with his very first post. Giving his own supplies away to those that need it! He is so appreciative of any packages and happily distributes to anyone who needs. He has sent a thank you card pictures and e-mails. He has such a large group so every item sent will find a home. When I first requested his address he didn't have that many requests. But I'm glad so many support him. He's such a great and caring man. Diane

Hello Everyone!

Yes I do have contacts in Afghanistan and they are doing a job that more than twice as many soldiers would be busy doing.

Thank you for starting this link because many have it as rough.

I have been running a small contest to boost morale at one FOB over there.

I have received positive replies. As it grows I hope to be able to expand it.

Anything we can do to make one day better is worth a whole year of writing and sending support.

The local soldiers who work side by side with our troops have been working with out very much.

Our troops are asking for basic supplies to share with their Afghan counterparts.

I hear good replies from the soldiers about Anysoldier supporters.

We are making a difference in the mental welfare of these soldiers.

Under extreme stress, a feeling of being loved and cared about, can mean the difference of mental survival, wellness and healing.

Our support works through the fabric of their lives and all who they work with and come in contact.

We are a morale support team and we have an important job to do. 

I consider it a privledge, to call you comrades in arms, that carry care packages.

May the Love that is with you, flow in deeds to the soldiers you support, door

iwojimaseabee:

LCDR Pethel has had some good postings and needs stuff for the patrols coming back from outposts as well as for the humanitarian missions they are doing. Astan is getting to be quite a place these days in terms of the challenges the forces are dealing with.

LCDR Pethel is one of my contacts, too -- I also requested his address from his very first post, and have continued to support him.  I agree with both Diane's (iwo & Brooklyn) -- he is indeed a caring, compassionate guy -- with a truly wry sense of humor in spite of sometimes truly bleak circumstances.

He has told me that from our packages he has been able to help our service men and women, his Afghan counterparts, and done humanitarian aid missions to local orphans.  Also, he along with his alternate, Mary Jo, a nurse at the hospital, have provided items to our wounded, our Afghan allies who are wounded, and local civilians, including children, who are wounded.  And, they've just done an incredibly successful health fair for the children of the Afghan soldiers on their base -- about 450-500 of them!!! 

Diane (iwo) -- I remember you said in an early post about him on his thread that he "had the soul of a Junkie" -- and I must say, I heartily agree!  John ROCKS!!!!

Love,

--Marilyn

Ditto, Marilyn.  He touched my heart with the first post saying something like 'even if he didn't get requests he would still hand out things from his own duffel bag'.  I also agree with the lottery mention.  I think he has a high number of requests now, not only because he writes so wonderfully and posts awesome pictures, but also because of the HA work.  HA contacts seem to always get a lot of requests. 

It is, indeed, a time for many prayers and a great show of support for all of our Afghanistan contacts!!!

I just heard a very detailed report on the radio ( about an hour ago) by a newsman that was there.  He talked about a big "effort" that occurred just 10 minutes from Kandahar.  He mentioned that all NATO forces and the ANA had gone into a valley (not Korengal) to "get" approximately 200 Taliban.  He also said that Britain lost it's first female service member. A very sad "first"...

I am sure this is all in the newspapers.  The thing that I was encouraged about was that finally Astan is getting some very detailed radio attention and bringing it to the US citizens!

On a sad note, but very personal for us AS junkies - he said that he had heard sirens and then an (American) Blackhawk with a Red Cross landed for what he assumed was a med-evac.  I immediately thought of the Combat Support Hospitals and was glad that we have so thoroughly supported them! 

Right there with all of you,

Kaylynn

Marilyn:

LCDR Pethel is one of my contacts, too ... he is indeed a caring, compassionate guy -- with a truly wry sense of humor in spite of sometimes truly bleak circumstances.

... Also, he along with his alternate, Mary Jo, a nurse at the hospital, have provided items to our wounded, our Afghan allies who are wounded, and local civilians, including children, who are wounded.  And, they've just done an incredibly successful health fair for the children of the Afghan soldiers on their base -- about 450-500 of them!!!

LCDR Pethel and Major Mary Jo Burleigh are also contacts of mine (Burleigh is his alternate contact, but does not have her own request on AnySoldier), and I also can't say enough good things about them. They touch far more people than the numbers on Pethel's contact page show.

If you want to see the threads specifically about them, including a bit about their current needs, go here: 

http://forum.anysoldier.com/forums/t/5054.aspx

I have other contacts in Afghanistan, and also haven't heard a lot from them lately. I pray they're safe and send short e-mail reminders every now and then that if they need anything to let me know. (I don't send multiple e-mails asking why they haven't written, and tell them I'm worried, since I figure they have enough to deal with already!) And I also send a lot of postcards and letters, so even if I'm not in direct communication with them, they're still hearing from me.

I also have several Afghanistan contacts that are about to come home (Yay!), so as soon as I can take on any more I'll keep my eyes peeled for those in Afghanistan who may not have as much support as others. I hate hearing anyone, whether in Iraq, Afghanistan, or elsewhere saying they feel forgotten. And I'm more than a little annoyed at the media calling Afghanistan the "Forgotten War" - I've never forgotten it's going on, and neither have my friends or family. If it was forgotten by anyone, it was forgotten by the mainstream media, due to their own agendas. (Sorry for the mini-rant, that's really been bugging me!)

  Jenifer

Lots more activity in Afghanistan, including ambushes in the eastern areas near Pakistan (where several of my guys are). I sent boxes of goodie bags last week for units totalling around 200, and a bunch of postcards. I hope others who might not be over-extended already will "adopt" some names from A'Stan who don't already have a lot of requests. I'm tapped out for care packages (and time), so am sending a lot of postcards.

Jenifer - Yes, it's annoying to see Afghanistan called the Forgotten War. You'll notice that on many news sites, there are sections devoted to the "Iraq War" and no section for Afghanistan. When I see that, I often send an email to the person who seems to be in charge of that area of reporting, and copy it to the site blogger if there is one.  I include  quotes from my soldiers to (hopefully) make them feel guilty - ha.
 

KristenF:

Andrew Kemp, expected to leave 4/09: currently has 18 requests for 675!!! Soldiers

Andrew Kemp posted again today 6/26... since signing up on 6/11 he has gotten 3 packages already!  15 days to the notoriously inaccessible mountains of Afghanistan, that's pretty incredible!  You junkies rock!

He's up to 29 requests now, that's a great improvement in just a few days!  WIth 675 though, I'm sure more wouldn't hurt!  Hopefully this recent post putting him back on the first page of the list will draw some more attention.

Yay!

KristenF:

Andrew Kemp posted again today 6/26... since signing up on 6/11 he has gotten 3 packages already!  15 days to the notoriously inaccessible mountains of Afghanistan, that's pretty incredible!  You junkies rock!

He's up to 29 requests now, that's a great improvement in just a few days!  WIth 675 though, I'm sure more wouldn't hurt!  Hopefully this recent post putting him back on the first page of the list will draw some more attention.

I'm going to put through a request at www.gotbooks.com to see if they will donate some. (update - they are sending books, so I'll let him know they are on the way)

 From the "sound" of his postings, I would think that he's supporting people who are probably just arriving to replace those leaving the Korengal Valley, and elsewhere.  We all know how terrible that area is.   You can see the website for this group by clicking  HERE.  I have some contacts in Nashville, and the Tennessee area.  I'll see if any of them are willing to do something.  They are going to be there until the end of next April.

George

P.S.  You can see some of their "challenging" conditions by doing the following:

• Click on the link above
• Scroll down on the left to 506th today
• Click on 2nd Battalion
• Click on photographs
• Scroll to the bottom and click on Afghanistan 2008-2009 (pic of guy next to a camel) 
  

They pluck chickens for dinner! 

My packages to FOB Boris and Orgun (near the Pakistan border) have been arriving in 11-13 days, which surprised me. I was expecting up to 20 days or so! 

Thanks for the unit link, George. I try to find links to the units for all of my "adoptions."

So did Andrew email that they were plucking chickens, or did you read that somewhere? I haven't seen any details like that. 

Please check the Where to Send page today.  God, all we can do is pray...

George,

   I new here and need some help.   I met a young man last week at a Nascar race here in Milwaukee who was on leave from Afghanistan.  He did say when he goes back he is going into an area that was in the thick of things.   He is in C co. 2/506 3rd Platoon.  His name is Adelber J. Eastway (he goes by J) and he's from Michigan.   From your posting it looks like that would be in the Korengal Valley, am I right?   He's a very nice young man about 18 or 19, with a young pregnant wife. I'm thinking Andrew Kemp is probably in the 506 also by your posting and is probably collecting items for J's company to come in.

  I have more questions please.   I have 3 contacts so far all army, 2 in Afghanistan and 1 in Iraq.  I signed up for one and more touched my heart.   I wish I was a millionare so I could help them all.  What kind and color of socks and t-shirts should I send.   Also the cool ties can they only wear the camo ones?   One of the friends I was with that night is a sewer and I'm thinking that would be perfect for her to do.

Thank you all-I've learned alot from reading these posts.  

lulu:

Several things. .  .. . Yes, Andrew Kemp is in the 506. . but there are LOTS of people in the 506.  If you see the posting from him, he's representing 675 people, so the person you met is probably one of them.  But they are spread-out all over, and they will all have different addresses, depending upon their FOB (Forward Operating Base).  If you have the person's address, then you can certainly send him a package.  FYI, I would not recommend using the same address as Andrew Kemp because it is very likely that they are not in the same place, and the package would probably be returned. . . three months down the road.

Though Mr. Kemp does not say exactly where all of the guys are located, it's very possible that at least some are in the Korengal Valley.   There is a LOT of information and postings on the Korengal Valley here on the forum.  You can see the "main" thread by clicking HERE.  There are over 500 postings, so get a cup of coffee and a snack.    A very good overall view of what life is like there can be read in the Vanity Fair article, which was in the January 2008 issue, by clicking HERE.  There are also several pictures and a little video of the writer.  The guys everyone has been supporting, for the past year, will be returning home in the upcoming weeks, so certainly the people who are taking over from them are there now, and it's very likely that Andrew Kemp is supporting some of them. 

Cool Ties/Scarves - If you're buying them, click HERE for the thread about low prices.   If you're making them, then click HERE for the thread where you will find LOTS of information on what the ladies use to make them, and I'm sure they would not mind giving you some advice if you need it as well. You might also think about "sand scarves" which you will find in the thread about Cool Ties.

 Socks:  They will usually say what color they need.  If they don't say, then I would just send white, because they are easy to get at lots of places.  But if they say green/brown/black then you will need to go for whatever color is being requested.  The same for t-shirts.  If they do not request a specific color, then white should be ok.  If you're in doubt, then you might want to write them first and seen if they will write you back or email you.  Always give your email address.

IMPORTANT:  With any clothing/scarves/ties/socks/t-shirts. . . it needs to be 100% cotton.  Polyester melts, and the sad truth is. . . if there is an explosion, the person is burned much more severely when wearing polyester or a blend.

If you have any other questions, just let me or one of the other "junkies" know!  Welcome aboard!

George
 

I buy my cool ties from Heat Relief Depot...  They are still $1.79 each; I just ordered some more the other day. I noted that they were for soldiers in the comment box and they sent me an email advising that they would take 10% off the order since it was for the military. They do state that they will give a discount if you are sending to the military but they didn't provide a discount code anywhere so I used the comment box.

They also said that the khaki colored cool ties were the preferred "color" for the soldiers.

Hope this helps.

Jen

Jenifer...

If you hear from one of your AFG contacts in the KOP can you please ask them if they can divulge the unit that is replacing them? I realize they may not be able to do this due to security purposes. All of my KOP contacts have expired addresses and I haven't heard from them in a while.

Thanks!!!