Angels at Work

CHRISTMAS MAIL DEADLINES

Remember, Angels: although the holidays are still a few weeks away, any Christmas letters and packages you have for your adopted heroes should be going out now make sure that they have a merry Christmas. According to USPS.com, “To ensure delivery of holiday cards and packages by December 25 to military APO/FPO addresses overseas and to international addresses, we suggest that mail be entered by the recommended mailing dates. Beat the last-minute rush and take your mail to your U. S. Post Office™ by these suggested dates.”

For military mail addressed to FPOs/APOs beginning with 093, the deadline for all letters, cards and Priority Mail packages was December 5 (remember, packages and mail can certainly be sent after these dates. Mailing by these deadlines just ups your chances that our heroes will receive their packages on time. For all other FPO and APO destinations, the deadline is December 10.

Thank you, Angels, for helping to take care of our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines during this holiday season!

ANGELS HELP CAMP FALCON RECOVER FROM FIRE

The morning of October 21 was a discouraging one for the members of A Co 703D 4BDE 3ID at Camp Falcon. Faulty wiring caused a fire in the barracks, resulting in a little over 15 heroes losing everything except the clothes they had on their backs, and more than 20 others losing some of their belongings to smoke and water damage.

Florida Angel Michele was informed of the fire by Sgt. Lissette M., her daughter’s official soldier. Michele immediately sent out the call to fellow Angels via the message boards, letting them know what was needed to help replace all that was lost. More than 25 Angels answered the call and immediately sent boxes containing everything from sheets, pillows, towels, toiletries and other essential items to snacks and new personal items.

Once again Soldiers’ Angels discovered a need and filled that need right away. Thank you, Michele and the other Angels who participated in this speedy effort to make things a little easier for our brave troops.

This unit is scheduled to return home in January 2006.

SA DONATIONS AT AN ALL-TIME LOW

Although donation levels have increased somewhat over the past few months, in October, Patti Patton-Bader, founder of Soldiers’ Angels, said donations for SA were at an all-time low. Patti stated, “We will not be able to effectively assist soldiers if this continues.” Don MacKay, Executive Director of Soldiers’ Angels, attributes most of the fall-off in donations to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. He said the hurricanes have “drastically affected our ability to raise funds.”

What can be done to spread the word and raise the donation level? The most obvious answer is for Angels to make monetary donations to Soldiers’ Angels, if they are able to do so. Angels can also seek publicity for SA by contacting media outlets in their areas. Almost all communities have their own newspapers, even if they are free publications. By contacting the community news or opinions editors, Angels can share the works of Soldiers’ Angels through print media. Even writing a letter to the editor can bring priceless exposure to SA. For those who are a little more assertive, contacting the radio and television stations in their areas is a wonderful opportunity for exposure. The Public Relations team is available for advice and information on what to say once communication has been established with the media. The PR team can be contacted at prteam@soldiersangels.org.

One of the most effective ways to spread the word about Soldiers’ Angels is to talk. If Angels talk to people they know and to people they don’t know about SA, statistically speaking, that action has to create even more Angels. And more Angels talking means the word will continue to spread and people will donate. Handing out SA business cards is a very simple way to let people know about Soldiers’ Angels. The template can be found under Documents on the side bar of the SA message board.

MacKay wants to remind everyone that “our mission – our vital mission of supporting the brave men and women who risk so much so that we might remain free, must be carried forth throughout the holidays and beyond. Soldiers’ Angels is an organization that relies on the generosities of every man, woman and child in America to see this vision through. We do not have corporate sponsors or government grants to do what we do. What we do comes from the heart inside of each and everyone of us. I would ask that we continue to share, continue to spread the word about our mission, continue to bring new Angels into the family and continue to grow. By doing this, we will enable this organization to go on for years to come – supporting heroes in this conflict and the next.”

However one chooses to get the word out about Soldiers’ Angels and how the Angels of the organization support and encourage our troops, it is imperative to get the word out, raise funds and continue the mission: May No Soldier Go Unloved.

Donations can be made through www.paypal.com sent to donations@soldiersangels.com, by visiting www.soldiersangels.org and clicking on Donate Now, or by sending it to Soldiers’ Angels, 1792 East Washington Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104.

NEW TALK SHOW LAUNCHES FOR SOLDIERS

YoungHeroes.US, editors of the new Walking With Heroes book series, is proud to introduce Talking With Heroes--America's new talk show!

Talking with Heroes , which is available at www.talkingwithheroes.com, is not about politics. Guests will be men and women in the military, military support groups, companies who help our troops, entertainers and more. Guests are listed at www.talkingwithheroes.com.

The very first guests on the December 11th (5pm PST) show are Patti, the founder of Soldiers' Angels, and Debby Frerichs, the SA Central Region Director. Also listen for SA's own Linda Dominik, LWT Co-Leader, who will be on the show January 8th to talk about her program, Guardian Angels For Soldiers' Pets. Don MacKay, the SA General Manager, will be on the February 26th show.

Charlie Daniels will be on the Dec 18th show.

All of the talk shows will be kept in archives, which is particularly beneficial for our men and women who are deployed and do not have a lot of time to get on the Internet. Archived talk shows will be available 24/7 from anywhere in the world where there is access to the Internet.

According to www.talkingwithheroes.com, "We will interview men and women in the military, military support groups, veterans groups who have programs for helping men and women who are or who have been deployed, companies who have projects for helping our troops, musicians with support our troops and patriotic songs, athletes who support our troops and more. Men and women in the military will talk about their experiences in Iraq or Afghanistan with a focus on the untold stories: what they did or witnessed that involved helping the people in these countries."

For more information, please visit www.talkingwithheroes.com. You can also contact SA's good friend, Bob Calvert, at bob at youngheroes.us, with any questions or to help sponsor the site with a $25 donation.

HERO BEN TAKES THE TORCH FOR “THE CANDY GUY”

Many Angels have sent candy and other supplies for Doug and Richard the Medic to distribute to the children of Iraq. We are glad to announce that both of this big-hearted heroes are now on mail stop and are preparing to return to the United States. Angel Sara tells us that Ben has graciously stepped up to be our new donations point-person for the children in the area. As we’ve learned from past posts, establishing a positive, nuturing relationship with the Iraqis is crucial for our soldiers—and, in fact, can even save the lives of our heroes. Wrote Richard, "The humanitarian efforts are essential for getting the good-will of the Iraqi people. They see us caring for them, and consequently, they side with us to a greater degree. " He added, "This gives them a favorable impression of us, and makes them less likely to support terrorism against us."

Writes Ben, "Here in Iraq, my team works with the Iraqi police. We are working with them so they can secure their own country so we can come home.

"Yes, we would love anything you can send for the Iraqi children, they have my heart."

If you would like to help, please contact Sara at sje2555 at yahoo.com for Ben’s mailing information.



A FOUR-LEGGED FRIENDSHIP

Angel Stella recently wrote to a soldier and included a letter from her dog, Bandido, to his K-9 dog. Below is an excerpt from Bandido’s letter, as well as the reply from Polo.

Says Stella, “I thought it was fun and lighthearted and another side of thewar and our heroes overseas...[Bandido’s] tail is wagging when we talk about his new friend from across the miles.”

If you find yourself struggling for something to say in a letter to your hero, consider including a letter from the perspective of a family pet. As you can see, the results can be both heartwarming and humorous.

Dear K-9 Heroes!

Hello, my name is Bandido and I am a Collie mix dog from Aruba, in the Dutch Caribbean. I am now living in Palm Beach, Florida and happy to be here. I am 12 years old this month!

I wanted to write to thank all of you K-9’s for all the great things you are doing over there with your soldiers, because of you, dogs like me can live a free and happy life here back home.....you are true heroes to all of us in the animal world and the human world too! My owner Stella talks about the brave soldiers all the time...and of you guys sacrificing so much for all of us back home. Its an honor to salute you paws up!

Thanks for all you do and we hope you return home safely to some good treats soon.

Your four-legged friend.
Bandido L
C/o Stella L

Dear Bandido,

Hi my name is Polo, I am a military working dog. I was born in the Netherlands and grew up in a dog farm until I was 1 ½ years old. Then I was bought by the U.S. Department of Defense and shipped to San Antonio, Texas along with about 100 hundred of my relatives there. Once I arrived I was entered into training to become a United States Military Working Dog. It has always been my dream to become a K-9 war hero just like many of my other relatives.

It took me a little while to get adjusted to military life which my first handlers can attest to. I used to be very stubborn and wanted my way. Over the next 3 years I had 4 different handlers who tried to mold me into the perfect military working dog but I only did the basics, which were required of me. Then one day I met my current handler, Brian A., and he related to me and earned my trust. Now at 7 years old, myself and SSgt A have been working together for 2 years now. We have grown to be a very solid team together and think as one now, which I have learned to be the key to being a great team. We like to think of ourselves as one of the best K-9 team at McGuire and are often referred to as that.

SSgt A takes very good care of me by making sure I’m fed everyday, bathing me when I need it, playing with me, making work fun and giving me lots of fun. Although I just turned 7 this month I still act like a puppy, I am full of energy and a love for life which my handler shares with me. I am on a strict diet for K-9’s but I enjoy an occasional doggy biscuit when I’m good. I love to chase and chew on just about anything. I work very hard for a ball or a kong when I’m working but when its my free time, I love jumping and catching my Frisbee. It’s a fun game me and my handler like to play. He will take me out to the play area and throw the Frisbee as fast as he can then I will chase it down and jump through the air and catch it. People say I’m too big to be a Frisbee dog but I think I am better than most. My handler loves playing this with me just as much as I like it because he says it makes me run faster and be able to jump and take down the bad guys better. I also love to bite bad guys but only when my handler tells me to. I will protect my handler at all costs just like he would do for me.

Once again we are deployed to a far away place that is nothing like home and it is very hot. I try my best to get used to the heat and do my job under the stressful conditions. I just keep in mind how important our job is out here in order to protect the public and the base. They call it work but I think of it as just a game. My job is to sniff out any explosives or weapons that could hurt people out here and I get my favorite toy when I find it.

I also thank you for your support out here where it is very much appreciated that people care about what we’re doing. Receiving great touching letters like yours gives us motivations to keep doing our job everyday to the best of our abilities. The thought of laying our lives down on the line for our country makes it easier when we know people like you can enjoy your way of life.

Thanks again,
Polo
Military Working Dog

SSgt Brian A
Military Working Dog Handler
USAF