Something to think about...

Meet the needs of our Wounded Heros - DONATE

The Air National Guard 161st Medical Group is getting ready to deploy to Landstuhl General Hospital in Germany in support of our wounded warriors. They will have extra room on their planes and have been asked to bring as much as they can in the way of donations.

Tucson donations can be delivered to me and I'll get them to Phoenix! Deadline for Tucson is September 22.

Donations can be dropped off at the following locations:

Deadline for this drop location is September 22
Glenn Klassen, Director Wing Family Programs
Phoenix Air National Guard
3200 E. Old Tower Rd.
Bldg 10 Room 221

Deadline for these drop locations is September 15
Lakeview Family Healthcare
2090 N. Smoketree Ave
Lake Havasu City

OR

Dr. Mike Ward, ER
Kingman Regional Medical Center


Here is the list of requested items:
Wheelchairs in good condition.
Video Games (Wii, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360)
Shower Shoes
Disposable Razors
Shaving Cream
Individual (travel sized) toiletries (shampoo, body wash toothpaste etc)
Sewing Kits
Tooth brushes
Travel Pillows
Winter Jackets
Board Games
Black Backpacks
Pajama/work-out pants
AAFES Gift Cards (for purchase of patient duffle bags)
Magazine subscriptions - not magazines. Subscriptions only.
Dish Sets (Microwave safe)
DVDs (New releases, no war related or overly violent please)
MP3 player headphones
Phone cards for emergency use

Kim Sloan

Ladies Auxiliary to Veterans of Foreign Wars

(H) 520-887-8339 (O) 520-577-7800 (C) 520-256-9687

Email: auxvfwarizona@msn.com

Yahoooo!

He'll be in Tucson later today! Thanks to all of you, I made it thru his deployment. God Bless all of you!

Memorial Day - A Tribute

Armed Forces Day

The third Saturday every May is Armed Forces Day. It’s a day to celebrate all the men and women in uniform.

The first Armed Forces Day was held under President Harry Truman in 1950. Before then, each branch held a separate day of celebration. Many branches still observe their day unofficially.

Today’s video is a song by Taylor Hicks. Enjoy the video. And share it with someone to thank them for their service.

Good News from Iraq

Refurbished school opens in Salman Pak
By Maj. Joe Sowers, 3rd HBCT, 3rd Inf. Div. PAO


FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – The only secondary school for girls in the Salman Pak area opened its doors with a ribbon-cutting ceremony April 24.

Leaders of the Salman Pak Council, the Iraqi Army, the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment and 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, gathered in Salman Pak for the ceremony, which marked the completion of a $200,000 project initiated Feb. 28.

Members of the Salman Pak Council brought the decrepit school to the attention of 1-15th Inf. Regt. leadership in January. The school was in disrepair and local leaders’ desire to improve educational facilities matched the goals of the battalion leadership.

“We were looking for a big school to refurbish to make an impact,” said Capt. Matt Givens, from Columbus, Ga., the civil-military operations officer for 1-15th Inf. Regt. “It was the only female secondary school in the area. Before the refurbishment, the school was pretty much falling down. It had no electricity and students couldn’t use the restrooms.”

Givens said the project completely overhauled the building. Iraqi contractors repaired structural damage, erected a security wall, rewired electrical outlets, replastered the outside and repainted the inside.

Two of the most significant improvements were connecting the restrooms to a septic tank and the construction of a concrete courtyard.

“Unpaved courtyards get quite muddy when it rains,” said Givens, who has facilitated 13 different school refurbishment projects during his unit’s 14-month deployment. “School administrators commonly ask for concrete courtyards for assemblies and recreation.”

Givens said these projects make a difference in the community.

“People view it as you’re helping take care of their children and it helps to build trust within the community,” he said. “They are excited when they see you helping their children.”

The 1-15th Inf. Regt. is assigned to the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, from Fort Benning, Ga. and has been deployed to Iraq since March 2007. The 2-6th Inf. Regt. is assigned to the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division from Baumholder, Germany, and will soon replace the 3rd HBCT in the Mada’in Qada.
Posted by David Spunt on 04/29 at 09:31 PM

Ryan's 'Thank You' on anysoldier.com

i want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for the packages and letters that you have been sending. as luck would have it...my tour has been shortened and i will be going home in about a week!!! it is just more proof that things here are starting to go in the right directions. the changes in this country are not going to happen over night. and it will take years before this country will be able to stand on it's feet. but the people of our country sould be proud that that the guys in the armed forces are willing to fight and die for this country. it is an honor. it is what we do...and we do it well.

thank you all who took time to send me a birthday card on my 30th birthday. i sat here and thought about what i had done in my 30 years of life. i helped to liberate 2 countries from opression. that's pretty damn good. some of my non military friends have finished college, and bought houses....have great careers. i have had to put all that on hold...so i could do the military. no degree, no house...no civilian career....but i saved millions of people from genocide. i wouldn't change it for the world.

thank you for all of your support!

until next time.