The Third Jar

The Third Jar

When our boys get allowance (when we remember to dole it out!) their money is split into three jars. One is for fun. They can keep the money to save up for a toy, a video game, or maybe treats when they get to go out with friends. The second jar is for (parent enforced!) savings. The third portion of their money goes into the donate jar. After a little time has accumulated a bit of scratch, the three boys pool their money and we help them pick a charity.

Usually they try to help out kids in need, and often the cause is related to what they have seen in the news or heard about at school. They have donated to help out kids made homeless by Katrina. They have donated to the Red Cross to help out kids uprooted by earthquakes. They have donated to UNICEF to help hungry children around the world.

When I read about War Kids Relief, it immediately struck me as a cause the kids would want to support. They provide help for children in Iraq whose lives have been uprooted by the war.

http://warkidsrelief.org/

This campaign was started by Gunnar Swanson, a soldier who patrolled the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers when he was deployed to Iraq in 2003 and 2004. He saw firsthand the tragic effects of war on children, including the betrayal of recruitment of children by insurgents to become child soldiers.

He is currently marching from Texas to Minnesota and has made it as far as Kansas. Tune in to follow his progress on A soldier's march for peace:

http://warkidsrelief.org/march/

Is anyone out there reading along his route? You can find it here:

http://warkidsrelief.org/march/about/

I often speak about the combat support hospital at medical or educational events. I usually show this picture, one taken by my brother's friend as he patrolled around Iraq. It shows how children, happy smiling children like our own, are walking to school on the same roads travelled by Humvees. They are in constant danger from insurgent attacks in the form of IED's, suicide bombers, and VBIEDs. We hope for a future when they are safe.

Burn Pits and Electrocution

One of the most common Iraq questions I receive is "What was the burn pit like?"

Well, quite simply, it stank!

The burn pit is a facility for open pit burning of solid waste. Bit by bit, the base in Iraq has gotten three or four high temperature incinerators online, but as far as I know, the pit burns on today, for a portion of the waste.

It was in the news recently as two OK veterans sued Haliburton and KBR over health risks associated with the burn pit:

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=14&articleid=20090718_14_A1_TwoOkl510860

As for my experience, I found that when the wind was blowing the smoke plume from the burn pit to the hospital, it was tougher breathing and I would cough up dark phlegm. We called it the "Balad Crud". It reminded me of how I would feel when I was laying down tar on summer jobs during high school.

War is war, and the conditions are not ideal, but I was disappointed that the smoky haze over the hospital produced by the burn pit continued year after year. It isn't the only situation created by the suboptimal environment in theater. Faulty wiring has been found responsible for the deaths of several soldiers, including Special Forces soldier, Staff SGT. Ryan Maseth, who was electrocuted in the shower in Baghdad 2 JAN 2008.

http://www.militarycity.com/valor/3291713.html

More info on other soldiers killed here:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=4489783&page=1

A great patriot and concerned citizen, Deb, AKA "Ms. Sparky" has worked tirelessly to keep the public informed about dangerous conditions for troops and holding contractors responsible for protecting their lives.

http://mssparky.com/

We Americans should all strive to keep the welfare of the troops ever-present in our minds.

Have you had an experience with poorly constructed or dangerous base facilities? Do you have any ideas on how to better protect our troops? Please post your thoughts in the comments.

Below is a picture of the burn pit in action.


Be well, love life, and remember our troops!

Contest: Laptops for Flattops

Hey, All,

I got a message about a contest for troops' families:

All-American Direct

http://www.allamericandirect.com/

An online retailer, is going to give away two laptops and webcams to contest winners, so that a family at home can have video conferences with their deployed troop.

Families can enter the contest here:

http://www.allamericandirect.com/military

The contest is over 4 SEP so pass it on to military families you know. I really appreciate it when companies take notice of the sacrifice that families are making when a troop deploys.

I couldn't have made it without email when I was away. It was my lifeline to home, family, and friends. M. and I tried the video conference once. I went to the MWR room in the hospital, signed my life away to check out a webcam that had been authorized for the government computer, and waited for a booth. The connection kept coming in and out, and it was a choppy conversation, so we decide that simple email was good enough for us! It was actually more reliable than the phone lines. For two deployments, our laptops were our conduit of contact.

I would love to hear from others how they kept in touch while they were apart. Post it here in the comments!

Here's a shot of the MWR facility in the old tent hospital from which I sent many a longing email.