Afghanistan My Last Tour

AF SSgt carrying boxes of school supplies

When I received word about transferring to a new camp, one of my first thoughts was about my team’s school supplies project.  Initially I told my wife Liisa to continue to collect the items, but don’t ship them until I could obtain my new mailing address.  The timing of this news also coincided with the Ramadan and Eid holy period and I wouldn’t be able to deliver them anyhow.  I used this time to modify my strategy and seek out new schools.  It didn’t take me long to achieve my goal.  My first day at camp, I met with AF Maj “O” and he briefly described his school supplies plans and I revealed ours.  Maj “O” is a celebrity and former world track star in his own right.  Later, I plan to devote an entire blog post to the

Donated school supplies

biography of this athlete.  Anyhow, we agreed to form a partnership and work together towards the same goal.  In turn this has turned out to be a multiplier of good will.

Last night, 24 volunteers met at the DFAC to help sort out the donated supplies.  Maj O’s donations filled 1/3 of a connex.  Combined with the boxes of supplies

More donated children's items

Liisa sent to me, (as you can see by the pics) we had quite a collection.  Initially we stacked all of the boxes in the back of the room.  We put labels on the chairs and tables and segregated the items by type, gender, and age of the children.  Maj O’s donors along with some other private donors sent stuffed animals, clothing, books, toys, food, hygiene items, etc., and

AF MSgt and SSgt carrying boxes of donated items

school supplies.  Some of the boxes were marked with their contents, while others remained a mystery.  It was almost like Christmas opening up these mystery containers.

My small team chose the school supplies table.  As we opened each box, we segregated the pens from the pencils,

AF Lt sorting through donated books

notebooks, erasers, pencil sharpeners and crayons.  It didn’t take long until the table was bending from the weight of the donated notebooks.  The pens formed a small mountain and began falling on the floor and the pencils seemed to stack like a small pile of logs.  To preclude having a mess on the floor and causing a safety hazard, we packed all the segregated items in separate boxes and marked the outside of the container.  Pencils alone filled 5 large boxes and the pens filled about 4.  That’s a lot of pens and pencils!

Earlier in the day I read a newspaper article detailing how the Taliban blew up a girl’s school in Pakistan and another article detailing the poisoning of 126 female students in Kapisa province (my

Army soldier carrying donated supplies

former AOR).  These articles reinforced my determination to supply the students with these supplies and defy the Taliban and their warped ideology.   It also supports my newly coined motto:  “Every pen and pencil donated to the kids in Afghanistan is like a sword in the Taliban’s heart.”   Seeing these stacks of supplies shows Americans still care about the destitute children in Afghanistan and their generosity is greatly appreciated.

For security reasons, I am unable to provide any details concerning the date or location when we will deliver the items.  Rest assured, when we do, I will be there with my camera to capture the images of the children receiving them.

AF SSgt and MSgt sorting stuffed animals

I am really excited about our newly-formed partnership and can’t wait to distribute the items.  If you, your church, or private organization is interested in collecting school supplies, please click on the School Supplies for Afghan Children tab at the top of this page.  You can make a difference!  I am so fortunate to have a loving wife who supports

Table full of pens, pencils, notebooks and erasers

my goals too.  She is the backbone behind this drive and the motivational speeches she gives at schools and private organizations have resulted in large donations of supplies and money to help offset the shipping expenses.  A Canadian anthropologist has labeled us as missionaries, but I think that title is a bit misleading because we are not focused on the religious aspect.  Instead, I think we are just a great husband and wife team.  My wife provides me my daily inspiration and motivation to succeed in winning this global war on terrorism.

Last night the French soldiers partied outside my B-hut until about 1:30 am.  They have served their 6 months in country and soon will be returning to their homeland and families.  Their replacements are here and last night they celebrated.  Hopefully tonight it will be much quieter.

Filed under: School supplies project Tagged: | Afghanistan, Deployment, education, ETT, humanitarian mission, Taliban, U.S. Air Force