Public approval for the war in Iraq has fallen but private support of US troops continues as strong as ever. Letters, care packages, even hand sanitizer are flowing to US troops abroad. Domestically, some troop-support groups are even seeing increased participation. But some believe Americans should be doing more.
What does supporting the troops mean to you?
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"...for me, supporting the troops means keeping them in our daily prayers and thoughts and remembering to separate the troops from those who falsely led this country into an unjust and unethical war."
Catherine Ross, Kansas City, Mo., USA
"The Iraq war, built on a pile of lies, was a strategic and tactical mistake of a magnitude that is hard to overstate. Nobody is "supporting the troops" by giving blind loyalty to the compounding of a mistake."
Whit Selert, Sparks, Nev., USA
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"Stop telling us you support the troops. Those words often ring hollow to those of us who serve. You support this war? Enlist, so that the soldiers who are on their third and fourth year-plus deployments can have a break ..."
De Lozada, Ft. Hood, Tex., USA
"...we need to get involved. Talk doesn't encourage someone huddled on the cold ground in a war zone, but a letter, card, or care package can. "
Clarence Campbell III, Layton, Utah, USA
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Soldiers with the Army's 31st Combat Air Support Hospital, leaving El Paso, Texas, will head to Iraq after training. Military supporters worry that middle-class Americans aren't willing to sacrifice for the war because fewer and fewer of them serve in the armed forces.
MARK LAMBIE/EL PASO TIMES/AP
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March 26, 2007
Ask Navy corpsman Adam Shepherd what he wants Americans to know about his service in Iraq and he says it boils down to one thing. "Just don't forget that we sacrificed a lot to be out here," says the medic, stationed at Camp Taqaddum, Iraq. [ Read more ]
March 23, 2007
Four years into the war in Iraq, private support for US soldiers looks as strong as ever. [ Read more ]
Like GIs, the phrase 'Support our troops' should not be used to win the political debate over Iraq. [ Read more ]
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COURTESY ANYSOLDIER.COM
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"Volunteers in war zones act for the folks around them who don't get mail," says Marty Horn, founder of AnySoldier.com. The site allows potential care package senders to find a group of soldiers registered on AnySoldier.com, see their list of needs, and send them a care package. There's no "middle man" with AnySoldier.com, says Mr. Horn.
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COURTESY OPERATION QUIET COMFORT
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Perfect for anyone with old blue jeans or someone who loves quilting. OQC makes quilts for wounded service members out of six-inch denim squares, in addition to providing clothes for and other items. They also send care packages to the medical personnel who treat wounded soldiers. "These items that will make the wounded troops feel a little bit of dignity and let them put into something a little more comfortable than a paper gown or a paper pair of shorts," says Marian Watt, public relations chairperson for OQC.
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COURTESY LANDSTUHL HOSPITAL CARE PROJECT
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"When the troops are wounded, in the extent of assessing wounds their clothes often get cut off," explains Rachel Hause, secretary of LHCP. They're then most likely sent to a hospital on a separate base, so soldiers end up without any of their own clothes. To address this problem, LHCP provides clothing at hospitals for the soldiers. They also provide other items to help make wounded soldiers more comfortable during their time in the hospital.
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Mental health professionals offer their time pro bono to soldiers returning from combat and their families who may need help dealing with changes in their loved one. "Re-establishing human connectedness is the most powerful tool we have in healing," says Judith Broder, MD and founder and director of the Soldier's Project. They also offer educational seminars for local community organizations about how to help soldiers deal with the mental baggage of war.
Like many soldier aid organizations, KIA WIA, Inc. was started as a grassroots movement by husband-and-wife team Jim and Kate Sawyer. With her husband in the Army for over 17 years, Mrs. Sawyer says, "We've had a lot of our friends die and a bunch of them get wounded." After a friends funeral they decided to make a logo for KIA (killed in action) and WIA (wounded in action) soldiers. Now they sell t-shirts, hats, bumper stickers and other items with the logo. All net proceeds benefit the families of KIA soldiers and wounded service members.
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