Supporting Our Troops and Supporting the Families of Our Troops
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Let's Not Forget the Families of the Troops
While our love and hearts go out to the men and women in uniform and we want to find ways to support them, let's also remember the families they've left behind. For every man or woman soldier, there are family and friends who are back home, worrying about them and their safety. Moms and wives and children live for that next phone call or a precious email.
We can't walk in their shoes, but we can give them our thanks and say a silent prayer.
In this season of giving, let us remember the troops. There area a lot of fantastic organizations which send care packages, cards, and support to the men and women serving our nation, please visit them and help out if you can.
Where You Can Find Ways to Support the Troops
Looking for ways to support and honor U.S. military service members and veterans who protect our security and freedom?
- Military.com - Support the Troops
- In years past, you could wrap up a care package and mail it to "Any Service Member" for the holidays, but with increased mail restrictions, the Pentagon is asking people to help through financial contributions, letter-writing and e-mail, purchasing authorized pre-made care packages, or volunteering time through non-profits.
Military.com has an extensive list of resources and organizations who have support the troops.
Where to Get News About Our Troops
When your child or husband or wife is in harms way clear across the world, one of the most important things on your mind is being able to access up-to-date news.
- DefendAmerica.com
Defend America is in the forefront of the best places to get news about the troops on the frontlines in Iraq and Afghanistan and others in the global War of Terrorism.
Families Speak Out and Help Each Other
If you are a mom or dad, wife, child or other family member of a deployed serviceman or woman, find the support you need. The best support comes from others who are walking down the same road.
- Mom's Field Guide - What You Need to Know to Make it Through Your Loved One's Military Deployment
- Sandy Doell wrote a great book to help families deal with life when they have a loved one deployed to Iraq or other dangerous spots in the world. She tells how she coped when her own son was deployed in 2004, and gives lots of tips and shares her experience.
- While Our Children Serve - Supporting Families of the Troops Deployed Overseas
- A site dedicated to the families of our troops. While our troops are fighting the war on terror, the families are doing their part on the home front and we need to keep them in our hearts and prayers also.
- Footprints in the Sands of Iraq - A Mother's Blog
- Dottie created this blog to help keep her family and friends up to date with her son while in Iraq. She writes of her journey, but it's an inspiration to all who are walking on the same path. She writes, "I had no idea what it was like to have a son off at war but am finding out that everyday is a challenge." Dottie gives a voice to other mothers and family members who are back home.
- Army Wife Talk Radio
- Tara Crooks is the wife a a US soldier. She has a great weekly Internet talk radio broadcast from her website, ArmyWifeTalkRadio.com. Broadcast on Monday evenings at 8 pm ET, the show features up to date information, tips, and empowerment for military spouses. She also writes a column for military publications, including Military.com. One recent column, Military Parents Need Resources Too tells of the difficulties parents have when their kids are deployed and where to find resources to help.
- 101 Ways to Support Our Troops
- It is important we all support the brave men and women serving in the U.S. Military. You may not be sure what to do, how to help, or even how to get started. This free ebook, "101 Ways to Support Our Troops" offers you real ways to help and propels you to get started and then guide you as you move forward.
Troops Staying in Touch with Their Families
There is nothing more important to the morale of the troops than being in touch with their families back home. As important as cards and care packages are, there is nothing better than hearing your loved ones voice or connecting real time. It is now possible for troops to call home by phone and send emails, which wasn't the case in the past. Moms and dads and wives and kids live for that phone call, be it at 3 am. Here are some other ways to stay in touch.
- During the Deployment Journal
- Here is a fantastic software application called The During the Deployment Journal. This great resource is designed for families and military service members to stay connected by creating a written journal. You can also upload pictures to share. The journal automatically saves all entries and prints a wonderful keepsake document. It is available for PC as well as MAC users, which is fantastic. It downloads very quickly and is fun and easy to use. Try it today!
Adopt a Soldier Today
Great Organizations that Care
There are numerous organizations that have sprung up from the grass roots to help the soldiers. You and your community can get involved to help support the men and women who are protecting our country.
- Books for Soldiers
- If you want to send a book or DVD or magazine or even some comic books to the troops, Books for Soldiers is a great place to come. You need to register with them so that they can put you in touch with a soldier who is requesting that packages be mailed to him or her.
- Soldiers' Angels
- Soldiers' Angels has an Adopt a Soldier program. To adopt a soldier you must commit to sending a card or letter each week and at least 1 or 2 care packages per month. Care packages do not have to be expensive and you can put together your own. The duration of adoption is usually six to eight months.
- Operation Gratitude
- Operation Gratitude is a great organization whose purpose is to lift troops' morale, and bring a smile to their faces with care packages that are sent to servicemen and women overseas. Hundreds of thousands of troops are deployed in hostile, remote regions of the world, including the Middle East, Afghanistan, Africa, and on ships. The physical conditions they endure are difficult and they may be separated from loved ones for long periods of time. Operation Gratitude is there to send care packages containing food, toiletries, and entertainment items but also personal letters of appreciation, all wrapped with wishes of love and support.
Join Operation Gratitude in their collection drives, letter writing campaigns and donations of requested items or funds for shipping expenses. Operation Gratitude provides you a way to express your respect and appreciation to the men and women of the U.S. military in a hands-on manner. - Treats for Troops!
- Treats for Troops offers a wide range of ready to send packagesor you can choose from hundreds of individual items and put your own package together. They have a Foster-A-Soldier program if you'd just like to send a package to a deployed troop, or it's a great place to find items if you already know your soldier's address or TFT ID.
For example, Treat for Troops offers The Cool Stuff package which features sunscreen, lip balm, bug repellent, Anti-Monkey Butt powder, a shower-sized wet wipe, and a MiraCool bandana (filled with special crystals that when soaked in water, helps keep a soldier cool for over 24 hours. - America Supports You
- America Supports You is a program of the Department of Defense that recognizes citizens' support for our servicemen and women, and communicates that support to members of our Armed Forces, helping to sustain the morale of those fighting the Global War on Terrorism.
Individual citizens, businesses, and groups, from local schools to corporations and organizations nationwide are hosting events and undertaking projects to support America's troops.
Books for Soldiers
Here is a Way You and Your Civic or Church Group Can Help
Books for Soldiers is a great program. Since the DoD discontinued the "To Any Soldier" program, which was a program where you could address a package "To Any Soldier" and it would be sent to a random soldier, this organization provides the link between you and others who want to give and the soldiers, who much now request to receive a package per DoD guidelines.
Books For Soldiers accepts requests from those stationed all over the world.
Get Involved. Adopt a Soldier at Soldiers Angels
Make sure every soldier gets the support they need
Soldiers Angels has been supporting the nation's military men and women since 2003. Their mission is to provide aid and comfort to the military and its families, making sure no soldier feels unloved. They start with letters, care packages, and comfort items to the deployed. They also help their families here at home as requested.
Mom's Field Guide
What You Need to Know to Make It Through Your Loved Ones Military Deployment
Sandy Doell wrote Mom's Field Guide: What You Need to Know to Make It Through Your Loved One's Military Deployment so that other mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, extended family and friends of deployed soldiers would not have to do quite so much research as she and her friends did when their children were deployed in 2004.
The book actually started with instructions on how to mail a package overseas. Then she added a list of suggested contents for those packages. The instructions got more detailed and the list got longer each time she e-mailed it to someone.
After the deployment was over, they needed to decompress and talk about their feelings. At some point Sandy decided that she had gathered enough material and information to fill a book, so that's just what she did. She started writing and organizing, and this is the result.
Sandy also realized that much attention is paid to the military spouse and the children of servicemen and women, but that moms, dads, and other family members are simply thought of as an adjunct to that nuclear family. The general "military attitude" toward mothers is to give them plenty of respect and keep them in the dark because they worry too much. Sandy wanted to speak to those moms and other family members and give them the information that it took her a year and a lot of curiosity and research to gather.
We should all support the troops no matter what our political affiliation or beliefs. We don't all agree on the need for this war. We don't all agree on how it's being carried out. But one thing we can certainly agree on is that the men and women serving in the military today don't have a choice about whether to go fight it or not. They pledged to defend their country and follow their leaders' orders...they promised to give their lives for their country and that's what they're doing. The least we can do here is to send them some candy and a few CDs.
Sandy's son, Scott Broshear, wrote this son for his mom while his brother was deployed.
Recommended Reading
The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family
Amazon Price: (as of 12/11/2009) 
List Price: $24.95
Courage After Fire: Coping Strategies for Troops Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and Their Families
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 12/11/2009)
List Price: $14.95
Operation Homecoming: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front, in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families
Amazon Price: $17.79 (as of 12/11/2009)
List Price: $26.95
While They're at War: The True Story of American Families on the Homefront
Amazon Price: $16.33 (as of 12/11/2009)
List Price: $23.00
When the War Came Home: The Inside Story of Reservists And the Families They Leave Behind
Amazon Price: $29.95 (as of 12/11/2009)
List Price: $29.95
Children Helping the Troops
God Bless the Children
Children have such generous hearts. It's important that they have a chance to send their love to our troops who are deployed overseas. It means so much to the soldiers to receive a note or care package from a child. Putting together care packages is a good school project that will have meaning to the kids for years to come.
What's even more amazing are the stories of the youth who have started grass roots programs that have taken off like wild fire. Way to go guys!
What's even more amazing are the stories of the youth who have started grass roots programs that have taken off like wild fire. Way to go guys!
- Batteries for the Troops
- Lizzie Lulu started Troop Batteries at age 11. I quote this from dear Lizzie's website:
- Lizzie a.k.a "The Littlest Warrior" had a mission. She was impassioned to collect and send 1,000,000 AA batteries to men and women serving in the military and stationed in remote parts of the world. She knew that they endure harsh conditions each day and for months at a time. Lizzie often said, "These selfless men & woman of the military deserve a little joy in their lives." Think of them the next time you turn on your portable radio, or how easy is it for you to watch TV, or hum along to your favorite tune, or to use your electric shaver, or play a Gameboy? These are things in our daily lives we take for granted. By sending us AA Batteries you can help give the men & woman serving overseas a little joy in their lives. They may have a portable CD player, digital camera or handheld game but no access to AA batteries to use them. That's where we can help. 100% of the batteries collected by Troopbatteries.com will be sent in care packages going to soldiers serving overseas. Help us give the troops their CHARGE!!!
Sadly, Lizzie passed away last year at the age of 13 from Cystic Fibrosis. Her family is carrying on her dream. - A Million Thanks
- Shauna Fleming is an Orange, California high school student who set a goal two years ago to send a thank you card or letter to each and every one of our servicemen and women, which numbered 2.6 million, by Memorial Day. Her organization, A Million Thanks is a member organization of the Defense Department's America Supports You program, which facilitates ways Americans can support the nation's servicemembers.
May is National Military Appreciation Month.
Shauna reached her goal, but she continues on. Take a moment and send a note to show your appreciation for all that our servicemen and women do for us and our great nation. - Cell Phone for Soldiers
- Brittany Bergquist, 13, and her brother Robbie, 12, of Norwell, Massachusetts, heard a news report in 2004 about a local soldier who ran up a massive phone bill calling home from Iraq. They decided they wanted to do something to help. Starting with a small personal fund, the founded Cell Phones for Soldiers.
Their goal is to help our soldiers serving overseas be able to call home by providing as many soldiers as possible with prepaid calling cards. Eventually, they want to provide satellite phones, video phones and VOIP communications. They have already distributed thousands of calling cards to soldiers in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
You can help through generous donations and the recycling of your used cell phones at drop-off sites across the country.
From the Children's Eyes
Daddy's in Iraq, but I Want him Back
Amazon Price: $13.05 (as of 12/10/2009)
A Yellow Ribbon for Daddy
Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 12/10/2009)
Helping the Children of Fallen Soldiers
Families left behind suffer great hardships. No more so than the children of soldiers who have died in the line of duty. Here are some great organizations dedicated to helping the children.
- Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF)
- Since 1980, the Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF) has provided free college scholarship grants, financial aid, and educational counseling, to the children of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps Special Operations personnel who have been killed in an operational mission or training accident. One of the best foundations out there.
Great Cookies to Send to the Troops
Molasses Crisps
These cookies, despite their name, are more chewy than crisp. They are easy to make, they travel well, and they stand up to the heat. They are very good and were appreciated by all the soldiers and marines I sent them to.
1-1/2 cup butter or margarine
4 cups flour
4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup dark molasses
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground ginger
2-1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
Melt butter in large saucepan. Remove from heat. Let cool.
Sift flour with soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger.
To the melted, cooled butter, add 2 cups of the sugar, molasses, and eggs. Beat well.
When smooth and thick, stir in the flour mixture, a cup at a time. When the dough is well mixed, cover and chill 2 hours or longer.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll dough into small balls, using about 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons of dough for each. Roll balls in the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake about 10 minutes, until cookie is dark, golden
brown. Remove from oven and let cool about 2 minutes before moving to wire rack.
The great thing is, you can make this dough and then bake a dozen or so at a time and keep the dough in the fridge for the next day. Fresh cookies every day!
1-1/2 cup butter or margarine
4 cups flour
4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup dark molasses
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground ginger
2-1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
Melt butter in large saucepan. Remove from heat. Let cool.
Sift flour with soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger.
To the melted, cooled butter, add 2 cups of the sugar, molasses, and eggs. Beat well.
When smooth and thick, stir in the flour mixture, a cup at a time. When the dough is well mixed, cover and chill 2 hours or longer.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll dough into small balls, using about 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons of dough for each. Roll balls in the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake about 10 minutes, until cookie is dark, golden
brown. Remove from oven and let cool about 2 minutes before moving to wire rack.
The great thing is, you can make this dough and then bake a dozen or so at a time and keep the dough in the fridge for the next day. Fresh cookies every day!
Veterans Organizations Supporting the Troops
- Vets for Freedom
- Vets for Freedom is a nonpartisan organization established by combat veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Their mission is to educate the American public about the importance of achieving success in these conflicts. They apply their first-hand knowledge to issues of American strategy and tactics in Iraq.
Know that they support policymakers from both sides of the aisle who have stood behind this great generation of American warriors on the battlefield, and who have put long-term national security before short-term partisan political gain.
Vets for Freedom will continue to be America's most influential voice for veterans of the Global War on Terror, and will continue to educate Americans on the importance of never surrendering to extremists.
Thank You!
Hank Brake's beautiful song Thank You can be heard behind this moving Video slideshow of American Heroes.
Let's Not Forget the Wounded Soldiers
God Bless the Wounded Soldiers and Their Families
We need to remember than not only those who have died in this war and others, but those who have been wounded, are in great need of support. We owe them our gratitude and recognition. The families of the wounded soldiers also bear a great burden.
- Wounded Warriors
- The mission of Wounded Warriors is to provide support to the families of those who have been wounded, injured, or killed during combat operations. The families of our casualties suffer in many ways: some financially, some psychologically.
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- CourageCommunity CourageCommunity Aug 13, 2008 @ 8:32 pm
- Please help spread the word about a new online veteran support network, The Courage Community. It's a free, non-profit online social network and resource portal for veterans, their friends, families and supporters. Visit www.CourageCommunity.org to join.
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- SignARamaVermont SignARamaVermont Jul 9, 2008 @ 12:59 pm
- This is such an important lens. It's not about whether you agree with the war or not, it's about supporting our brave men and women who are serving. See what our
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- stargazer00 stargazer00 Jul 5, 2008 @ 12:59 pm
- I love what you've done here. 5*, a lensroll to my Navy Nukes lens and I'm sharing it with my Military Mom friends.
~Wife of a Vietnam Vet and Mom of a U.S. Sailor
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- sweetprettyflowers sweetprettyflowers Feb 5, 2008 @ 12:25 pm
- I really appreciate your site. I have just started a group Lens called For our Troops, and your Lens is just what I a looking for. The group is to raise people's awareness of the things that even they could do to help support our troops! I hope you come and join the group, For Our Troops. Just go to http://www.squidoo.com/groups/ForOurTroops to join
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- JDWheeler JDWheeler Jan 27, 2008 @ 11:17 am
- Nice page, I think the troops and their families need all the support they can get. Blue Fridays are also a great way to support soldiers and their loved ones.
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A Letter to Our Soldiers in Iraq
by Dennis Prager - May 8, 2007 - Townhall.com
Dear American Soldier in Iraq:
There are a few things you should know about how tens of millions of us back home feel about you and the fight you are waging. These things need to be said, especially now, given the fact that the head of one of America's two major political parties has announced that the war in Iraq is lost.
This war has not been lost. What has happened is that many Americans, for all sorts of reasons -- some out of simple fatigue, some because they do not believe that war solves anything, some out of deep loathing for the present administration -- do not believe that what you are doing is worth doing.
You know that what you are doing is worth continuing. You see on an almost daily basis the faces of people who count on you to help them make a freer society than they have ever known. You know that your presence in Iraq is all that stands between numberless men, women and children and a horrible death. But, for whatever reasons, the fate of these people and their country do not matter to those who feel you are wasting your time and our nation's resources in Iraq.
You know that the fight you wage is worth waging. You know that you are not, by and large, fighting Iraqis who do not want you there but fighting people from other countries who come into Iraq in order to blow up and maim as many innocent Iraqis as possible.
You know that you are fighting the most vicious and primitive ideology in the world today. It is the belief that one's God wants his followers to maim, torture and murder in order to spread a system of laws that sends societies back to a moral and intellectual state that is pre-civilization.
You know that the war you wage against these people and their totalitarian ideology is also necessary because a society unwilling to fight for its values does not have values worth sustaining. And for that reason, you in Iraq and many of us back home are worried about America.
You know that there is real good and real evil in the world. You have seen both more than any of us at home will probably see in a lifetime. Why so many in America and the West generally no longer believe that there is good and evil, let alone in the importance of having good vanquish evil, is a subject for a book.
Read more at Townhall.com
There are a few things you should know about how tens of millions of us back home feel about you and the fight you are waging. These things need to be said, especially now, given the fact that the head of one of America's two major political parties has announced that the war in Iraq is lost.
This war has not been lost. What has happened is that many Americans, for all sorts of reasons -- some out of simple fatigue, some because they do not believe that war solves anything, some out of deep loathing for the present administration -- do not believe that what you are doing is worth doing.
You know that what you are doing is worth continuing. You see on an almost daily basis the faces of people who count on you to help them make a freer society than they have ever known. You know that your presence in Iraq is all that stands between numberless men, women and children and a horrible death. But, for whatever reasons, the fate of these people and their country do not matter to those who feel you are wasting your time and our nation's resources in Iraq.
You know that the fight you wage is worth waging. You know that you are not, by and large, fighting Iraqis who do not want you there but fighting people from other countries who come into Iraq in order to blow up and maim as many innocent Iraqis as possible.
You know that you are fighting the most vicious and primitive ideology in the world today. It is the belief that one's God wants his followers to maim, torture and murder in order to spread a system of laws that sends societies back to a moral and intellectual state that is pre-civilization.
You know that the war you wage against these people and their totalitarian ideology is also necessary because a society unwilling to fight for its values does not have values worth sustaining. And for that reason, you in Iraq and many of us back home are worried about America.
You know that there is real good and real evil in the world. You have seen both more than any of us at home will probably see in a lifetime. Why so many in America and the West generally no longer believe that there is good and evil, let alone in the importance of having good vanquish evil, is a subject for a book.
Read more at Townhall.com
Supporting the Troops - In the News
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