Greetings Kossacks! Once again, NFTT is asking you to open your hearts and your pockets to support your troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
My brother served in the Army from the mid-80's through the 1990's. He served as a doctor -- his specialty is psychiatry. Imagine what it's like to have your only sibling grow into a headshrinker! Truth be told, though, my big brother is my hero (just don't tell him.) I asked him to answer some questions about his deployment in Haiti, and his answers are below the fold.
I gave him the handle Major Pain. I am his little sister after all.
About Haiti
rb: What were you doing in Haiti?
MP: I was deployed to Haiti as the psychiatrist responsible for Combat Stress management with the 2/3 of our Division that was sent. We were extremely fortunate in that we had time to prepare, were aware of many of the hazards of the Third World environment we were entering, and that we were under only minimal threat from the Haitians.
rb: What was it like for the troops once you got there?
MP: It was an adjustment for the troops, witnessing the squalor in the Haitian villages and the violence perpetrated between the locals as they patrolled the Haitian streets night after night to keep the peace. There was also a rapid-responding team who got called several times to help control problems at the prison, which I learned second hand was appalling as was the Haitian morgue.
rb: What were the conditions like in Haiti?
MP: The Haitian residents collected food from garbage heaps and relived themselves in the same areas. The air smelled of feces anytime it rained, and the water that ran in the small river through Port a Prince was filthy. We were told that as many as 1/3 of the residents were HIV positive, though I had no way of confirming this.
rb: Were there public health or emergency services in Haiti?
MP: My medical company was traveling from one area to another on the island, and a Haitian "tap tap" (a flat bed truck built to carry passengers) over-filled with Haitians suddenly overturned, spewing the passengers all over the road and along side it. We jumped out of our bus and opened our emergency kits, and responded to broken bones, head injuries, neck injuries, and a woman with an apparent pelvic fracture. Our orders were to assist them, then allow the Haitian emergency medical system to take over. After waiting a half an hour for the system to respond, the Haitians who were splinted, had cervical collars, and a couple who were being resuscitated were picked up in little more than station wagons manned by untrained personnel with nothing more than bandages at their disposal. Our soldiers know first hand how much of the world lives and dies, and how wonderful our country is.
About Deployment and Care Packages
rb: What was your life like when you served in Haiti?
MP: For me, being away from home was difficult, particularly when I discovered, to my surprise, that the first 5-6 months we were deployed there was almost nothing for me as a psychiatrist to do. The units from the commanders to the youngest privates were actively setting up their bases and busily performing their duties. It was as if there was no time for anyone to have "stress," doubts, depression, or anxiety. My greatest stress was trying to find some meaning in my particular mission and coping with being away from my family, including my 6 month old son.
rb: What, to your mind, is the most useful thing we can send to the troops?
MP: When we originally prepared to deploy, we assumed that we would be allotted limited phone time on the military system only. I had brainstormed how I might be able to maintain contact via email, assuming I would have little contact with family when I was gone. When we arrived in Haiti, however, we discovered that commercial phone lines had been set up, and for a price, we could talk as long as we wanted to friends and family back home. Regular phone contact was more meaningful to me than any letter, snack collection, photo collection, CD or DVD I received. I donate calling cards to young soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, particularly targeting enlisted soldiers who don’t have the discretionary income that I had when I was on active duty. Many of these soldiers are barely out of high school, and many have young wives or husbands who are also alone and worried.
rb: Did you get any oddness in a care package?
MP: My assertion by phone that mosquitoes were a big problem in Haiti was definitely heard, because several of my extended family and friends sent me "care packages" of insect repellant, sometimes more than one dispenser, and often different brands so that I ultimately wound up with what may have been the most impressive and varied collection of bug spray on the island!
rb: What was your favorite gift?
MP: My favorite "care package" was a collection of letters written by third graders as an assignment a teacher gave to the class to share their thoughts and questions of me while I was deployed. I think these gifts have meaning beyond the simple material support they provide. They support a soldier’s pride and sense of self worth when they are remembered and recognized for what they are doing. Please help our troops by sending gifts, notes, anything that shows your support!
We raised $16,500 so far, but our goal is $50,000!
Our goal for Netroots For The Troops 2009 is $50,000.00 (cash or in-kind donations).
PLEASE DONATE HERE
We realize that you would like to donate something tangible to go inside the packages that will be mailed to the troops. Unfortunately, accepting in-kind donations from individuals is not practical in terms of storage and handling of the items. The Pittsburgh Convention Center is a union shop so we have more stringent rules that need to be followed. Instead, we will only be accepting corporate donations or cash from YOU to purchase items for the care packages this year.
Here’s how YOU can help:
- Please contact TexDem or VeloVixen if you know someone who might be helpful in securing the corporate in-kind donations. To help you think of companies who could donate products, see below* for a list of potential items. Put your thinking caps on and let us hear from you. It takes time to get through the corporate processes so we need to hear from you ASAP!
- We are accepting cash from individuals and
beg ask that you DONATE HERE to contribute to this worthy cause. Your donation will enable us to purchase the things that we are unable to obtain through corporate donations, and will help to pay the costs of shipping them to our troops. This year your donations will be tax deductible, thanks to Netroots Nation and their partner Netroots Arts and Education Initiative, a California 501(c)3 corporation.
- Sign up for a diary! Our goal is to post two diaries per day until NN09. That’s a lot of diaries! Don’t worry---we’ve made it easy for you. We’ve got a template set up, and all you need to do is add a small introduction telling us why you are donating, sharing a story of someone you know who has served or is serving, or any other thing you want to share that might help motivate others to donate. Please contact politik if you are interested in posting a diary.
- Do you know a service member who would like to receive a care package? Email a request to: NFTT.request@gmail.com before July 31, 2009.
Please include all of the following information. Unfortunately we will not be able to process any incomplete requests:
Rank:
Last name:
First name:
APO Address Line 1:
APO Address Line 2:
APO Address Zip:
- Write letters to be included in the packages! Our own jlms qkw is collecting the letters and will print them out and bring them to Pittsburgh. Just email your letter to her jlms_qkw@yahoo.com. Look for more information from jlms qkw soon. If you need some ideas, rbutters wrote an excellent diary with tips on how to write letters to troops and why it’s so important to them.
- Help us assemble the packages in Pittsburgh. It's fun! More information will be forthcoming for those of you who are going to be in Pittsburgh and would like to help there.
- Please consider joining the NFTT FaceBook Group. Invite your FaceBook and non-FaceBook friends.
_____________________
*The following list contains some of the things we would like to include in the packages. Please let us know if you know someone who might be helpful in securing these corporate in-kind donations. (Please DO NOT send these items yourself! We have no way to accept them. Instead, your cash donation is the very best way to help make this happen on the ground in Pittsburgh.)
- Baby wipes
- Mechanix gloves
- Language translation books or CDs (Rosetta Stone as an example)
- LED flashlights
- Gel shoe insoles
- Goop Cleaning Gel
- Powdered energy drinks
- Gel energy food packets
- DVDs and CDs
- Letters to the soldiers
- More suggestions coming soon
Books for Soldiers
Soldiers love to receive books, but due once again to the logistics of collecting and storing them prior to NN09, books will not be included in the packages that NFTT will put together this year. Other organizations are more specialized in the collection and distribution of books to Iraq and Afghanistan. If you are interested in sending books, please consider checking out the Books for Soldiers Website. It is run by DKos's very own StormBearand is a great resource for giving.
Important Note about Successful Online Donations
PLEASE DONATE HERE
When you make your online donation, the screen indicates that you are donating to Netroots Nation. This is the right screen! Rest assured all donations WILL go to NFTT. If you wish, feel free to use the comment area provided to note that your donation is intended for Netroots For The Troops. It isn’t necessary to do this however, as this is the only fundraising activity being conducted for Netroots Nation at this time. For further information about online donations, please read TexDem's diary on the subject.