Mission Statement

Letter from Etim Ekere. Click image to view larger.

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Thanks for your continued support, it's much appreciated by all of us!
As far as any special needs/requests go, the below items seem to be "highly desired":

• "Quick fix" microwaveable meals and "cup of pasta" meals (mac and cheese pouches, top ramen noodle, and any tv style dinners that don't require refrigeration)
• Chapstick (Blue or black label)
• Sunscreen (it's easy to get sunburn here with 24 hours of sunlight)
• Tampons, Plastic Applicator (not cardboard)
• Laundry Detergent Pods (they are the little pouches of detergent that melt when they come into contact with water)
• Peanuts, cheese-it crackers, and other various somewhat healthy snacks (candy not preferred)
• Canned spray cheese (for crackers)
• Cologne and perfume (helps when we aren't able to shower for a few days)
• Men's and women's deoderant
• Any short sleeve or long sleeve t-shirts sizes M-XL

Thanks so much! Attached is a picture of some of us from my unit. The mountain in the background of the picture had the top of it shaved off by a glacier (Mt. Dundas). It is finally starting to warm up out here and the snow is slowly starting to melt away. we are so ready for warmer weather!

V/R,
JEFFREY M. DESJARDINS, TSgt, USAF

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Dear Ms Knotts,

On behalf of the men and women of the 407 Expeditionary Communications Squadron at Ali Base in Iraq, I wanted to thank you for the kind and generous gifts you sent for the holiday season. We received a package that as best I can tell had items donated from all over. I apologize for not singling out anyone in particular who contributed to the package, my folks went through it pretty quick, especially the single folks that are not getting a lot of other packages. Let me say thanks again, so you know how much your gifts are very much appreciated. I obviously found your business card and decided to send an email and attach a photo for you to share with everyone involved.

A quick snapshot of us. We are a 65 person squadron tasked with providing all the communication needs to about 500 AF personnel here at Ali Base, Iraq. We just rotated in and are beginning a 6 month tour. The majority of personnel are from Tinker AFB in Oklahoma, but we do have a few from a mixture of other locations, as well, to include my duty station in Germany. Much to our excitement we received your gifts just a couple days before Christmas and they were gone before I knew it. The goodies and treats are appreciated, but even more than those, simply knowing that folks back home are thinking about us means more than you can imagine. Getting cards and letters from back home is a real morale booster, especially during the holiday season. For a lot of my folks, this is their first deployment, and first time away from family and loved ones during the holiday season. I've attached a photo of us gathering in our common area where I place the care packages for the folks to sort through.

I am the First Sergeant for this small group of folks and this is my second deployment. My job is simple.....people. I'm charged with ensuring that the health, morale and welfare of those under my supervision are taken care of. My job is pretty easy when we get packages like that from "home".

Once again thank you very much for the kindness shared.

Proud to Serve,

Kevin

///signed///
KEVIN D. ERNE, SMSgt, USAF
First Sgt, 407 ECS

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Hope you all had very happy holidays. Things over here are going as well as can be expected. Things are starting to slow down a little, its getting to cold for the bad guys to come out and play. I have been living in western Afghanistan, about 28 miles from the Iranian boarder. There aren't many of us here, we started with 12 a few months ago and are finally up to 28.

I'll try to write more later.

Mike Lehl

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Dear H.O.M.E.,

I would personally like to thank you for all the care packages. As a proud Soldier serving in honor of Operation Enduring Freedom it warms my heart to know there are organizations that care so much. Your packages makes us feel appreciated and drives us to continue to fight for the men and women of our great country. I wish I could explain in words how much of a morale booster your packages are for me and the soldiers who serve along side of me. During the holiday seasons when so many Soldiers are alone and away from their families receiving a package with a letter from a young American showing their appreciation for our service is amazing. Sorry it took so long for me to send a message back I apologize, but with the demanding task, connectivity problems and fight against the taliban it sometimes is a challenge to find five minutes of personal time. I set aside this time to thank you and let you know your work is not going without being noticed. I have received countless packages from you and I have shared with over 300 soldiers. Of all the packages I think everyone loved the chips and cheese dip the most, I must say it has put smiles on many soldiers faces. When I get back to the states in the next several months I would love to donate to your organization. My Battalion Commander would also like to send a token of his appreciation on Behalf of the men and women of 2-5 INF Battalion. So please continue to help the Soldiers of 2-5, but also the other Soldiers spread out over the middle east. You have a great organization and it really means allot to us. So again I would like to say THANKS HOME.

P.S. will we be looking forward to more Chips and Dip

CPT J'Varis Jackson
Adjutant

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