'Do Nice Things' is Doing Great Things for Our Troops

 Here's How You Can Support Our U.S. Troops  

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FOR VALENTINE'S DAY

Marines are professionally trained killers, but they're still human and they need love too. So if you'd like to send one of our troops a Valentine's Day card, here you go: 

Send a valentine to Marines in Afghanistan. Mail by January 21 to:

Do One Nice Thing, 149 S. Barrington Ave., #279, Los Angeles, CA  90049-3310

We'll include it in a care package filled with goodies.

SEND YOUR COUPONS TO MILITARY FAMILIES

Times are hard for all of us, including military famalies. You can send coupons from newspapers or any other sources to military families all over the world. Yes, there are some items a little cheaper on base than in the civilian grocery stores, but in these tough economic times, every penny counts...even at the Comissarry. Oh, yes, you can also send expired coupons (up to two months). The

Overseas Coupon Program is the organization coordinating "coupons for military families." Click on this link - Laura Harding-Maditz

A CUP OF JAVA FOR A SERVICE MEMBER

Did you know that for $2 you can send a personal message along with a hot cup of coffee to a deployed service member via Green Beans Coffee - Jennie Steele Little  

SEND A BIRTHDAY CAKE TO OUR TROOPS 

 at Bake Me a Wish. A portion of the proceeds go towards another cake to be donated to a military member- Ellen Chartrand

CARDS FOR WOUNDED SERVICE MEMBERS

Send a card to wounded Army soldiers at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. The LRMC is the first place wounded soldiers are transported to after they leave Iraq and Afghanistan. Nothing would make their day brighter than a heartfelt, cheerful message from their supports here at home:

Here’s the address:

MTD
Attn: Soldiers' Angels
CMR 402
APO AE 09180

The cost is the same as mailing domestically.

If You Just Want to Say Thanks to a service member, do it with an ecard. 

ADOPT-A-PLATOON: Did you know you can adopt a deployed military platoon or become a pen pal to a soldier? If you love to write and can make time to send one letter or card a week, I know many service members who would appreciate it. This program is, obviously, very security conscious (you do not share your soldier's name or address with anyone). Paul Krieger of Minnesota says, "I've been with this group for 6 or 7 years. They are always asking if we could take on another soldier because of so many requests!"

iSERVED Stickers: If you've seen these white stickers on vehicles that read, "IRQ" or "AFG" they are the work of a non-profit organization that makes the stickers for Veterans of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. They ask that you donate any amount to help cover the cost of printing and postage.

If you are a veteran, a sticker/stickers will be sent to you for free.

FORE OUR SOLDIERS: Send new or gently-used sporting goods and other items to service members so they can enjoy them. - Scott Lokken

EXPIRED COUPONS CAN HELP TOO

Check out Overseas Coupon Program.  You adopt an overseas military base and send coupons there. Even coupons that are 2 months past expiration are accepted. - Rita Smith

Send a gift card to a deployed service member through GI Woodshop
GI Woodshop, Inc., PO Box 211398, Dallas, TX 75211. - Jeanne Minnich

   

ROOT BEER FOR THE TROOPS

For $25 (tax-deductible), you can send a 12-pack shipper of Sprecher Root Beer or any Sprecher gourmet soda to troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. This program is being sponsored by Sprecher Brewery and the nonprofit George Washington Stein Club. - Anne Sprecher 

CHAPLAINS' CLOSET provides new clothes to wounded service members when they arrive for treatment at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. Donations of new clothing are needed.

Please send any of the following new items:

Three Pack of men's or women's underwear, sizes Small, Medium, Large
Sweat tops or bottoms, S, M, L
Men's or women's athletic shoes, women's sizes 6-9; men's: 9-12
Black duffel bag 
PLUS a get-well card (a card alone is also great)

Mail to: 

LANDSTUHL REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER
ATTN: MCEUL-CH/Chaplains Office
CMR 402
APO AE 09180

More needed items: 

Phone calling cards, DVDs, portable DVD players and travel-size toiletries. They would also be happy to receive a financial donation for the Wounded Warriors Fund. 

 Make checks payable to: 

IMCOM-E  CTOF-WW and mail to the above address.

FIRST RESPONSE BACKPACKS FOR THE WOUNDED - Soldiers' Angels has put together a backpack which can be given to wounded soldiers as they arrive at combat support hospitals in Iraq and Afghanistan. When the wounded arrive they have only what they were wearing when they were injured, and it is often weeks before their belongings catch up to them. The pack contains hygiene items, a phone card and a blanket. Your donation will send a backpack directly to a wounded hero in urgent need. - Brenda Herman

VACATIONS FOR VETERANS: Peggy and Christopher Carr founded Vacations For Veterans, a nonprofit organization created to provide recently wounded veterans of the United States Armed Forces with a week of free lodgings donated by a vacation homeowner. If you have a home to donate for a week or are otherwise interested, contact the Carrs at info@vacationsforveterans.org.

TREAT MILITARY MOMS TO A SURPRISE: Check out the www.anysoldier.com site and pick out some female soldiers who have children. Then follow up with gifts for them at www.treatanysoldier.com. Judy Halston

Adopt Service Members: check out the Department of Defense web site, OurMilitary.mil. There's a host of organizations, many of them non-profit, grass roots types, that support the troops in many ways. Some that I have dealt with are Operation Air Conditioner, Operation Military Pride, USO, SI Yellow Ribbon and Soldiers Angels. Each organization does something just a little differently from the next, but the end result is the same -- it is a way to support our military, whether active duty, veterans, wounded solders, or military families (or families of fallen soldiers). Some of these organizations have been started by, and are run by, children and teenagers. - Pam Erickson

For other ways to help or just perform acts of kindness visit the Do Nice Things web site. If you ask me, it's kind of like a "Pay it Forward" site. 

Click HERE

Cuba and Venezuela could provide bases for Russian Bombers

Report: Cuba, Venezuela could host Russian bombers
By DAVID NOWAK, Asssociated Press Writer David Nowak, Asssociated Press Writer 1 hr 28 mins ago

MOSCOW – A Russian Air Force chief said Saturday that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has offered an island as a temporary base for strategic Russian bombers, the Interfax news agency reported.

The chief of staff of Russia's long range aviation, Maj. Gen. Anatoly Zhikharev, also said Cuba could be used to base the aircraft, Interfax reported.

The Kremlin, however, said the situation was hypothetical.

"The military is speaking about technical possibilities, that's all," Alexei Pavlov, a Kremlin official, told The Associated Press. "If there will be a development of the situation, then we can comment," he said.

Zhikharev said Chavez had offered "a whole island with an airdrome, which we can use as a temporary base for strategic bombers," the agency reported. "If there is a corresponding political decision, then the use of the island ... by the Russian Air Force is possible."

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U.S. doesn't say much about Naval stare down with China

US tries to play down naval confrontation with China
By Arshad Mohammed Arshad Mohammed 1 hr 50 mins ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States sought on Wednesday to play down a confrontation between Chinese and U.S. naval vessels as the two sides held high-level talks on reviving growth and reining in North Korea's nuclear program.

Tensions between the two countries rose over a weekend incident in the South China Sea in which five Chinese ships jostled with a U.S. Navy survey vessel off China's southern Hainan island, site of a major submarine base and other naval installations.

The United States has said its ship, the Impeccable, was in international waters. Beijing, however, has said the U.S. ship was in the wrong and Chinese navy officers have argued that it had violated their country's sovereignty.

There are no signs, however, that the disagreement will derail broader political and economic negotiations as the two countries seek to grapple with the global financial crisis, security challenges like North Korea and climate change.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she raised the issue with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, who was to see U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner later in the day and, in a rare gesture, to meet President Barack Obama on Thursday.
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Papi's Home!!

By Alicia Cruz
Senior writer
theblackurbantimes.com
Ask any sister, brother, parent, family member or wife what it feels like the first time you see your Marine, Soldier or Sailor return home from a long or dangerous deployment...and I assure their answers will be "relief," or "exhilarating." Ask a child and the emotion, the response will melt your heart.

Boy's wrapped birthday gift is dad back from Iraq

DAYTON, Nev. – Gabriel Hurles' sixth birthday party wasn't a surprise, but his present sure was. The kindergartner was so engrossed in the cupcakes his mother brought to his class on Wednesday that he didn't notice the enormous wrapped box off to the side.
"That's one big, giant present," a 6-year-old classmate told him. "See what you got, Gabriel."
Gabriel peeled back the wrapping paper to find the surprise of his young life — his father, an Army mechanic back in Nevada on leave from his second tour in Iraq.
"It's my dad!" he announced to his classmates at Sutro Elementary School in Dayton, a few miles northeast of Carson City. "Hi, Daddy."

Photo By Scandblue Flickr

Army Spc. Casey Hurles, 23, hadn't seen his son since he left in June. When he learned his leave would coincide with his son's birthday, he hatched a plan to hide out in the 4-foot-tall box. "It was such a rush of emotion," said Hurles, who said he got butterflies in his stomach while waiting in the box.

Photo by BrandonBlog

After Hurles sat down and ate a cupcake with the birthday boy, teacher Dawn VanSickle presented him with a banner from the class that read, "Welcome Home. Thank you for your service."
VanSickle said she was happy to arrange the reunion in her classroom.
"One of the first things (Gabriel) shared about himself was that his dad was in Iraq and that he was waiting for his dad to come home," she said. "He talks about his dad all the time."
Hurles, who joined the Army four years ago, is a mechanic in the 1st Cavalry Division stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. He completed one tour in Iraq and is seven months into his second tour. He expects to finish sometime this summer.

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