FLASH TRAFFIC...RICHARD SENDS...
It's been said that submariners are a crazy lot – as in, literally nuckin' futz. Perhaps that explains a lot about me. What else would possess anyone to choose a branch of military service that removes you from the surface dwellers for months at a time, punching holes in the ocean with 110 other
doomed souls shipmates, locked inside a high tech sewer pipe that’s 30 feet wide and a few hundred feet long? Let's stipulate that boats are no place for the claustrophobic, and that there is absolutely no personal space.
It can be a lonely and boring existence, punctuated by moments of sheer terror hundreds of feet below the surface -->
At the height of the cold war in the 1970s, U.S. Navy sailors in the submarine service didn’t have the luxury of internet communication with loved ones thousands of miles away. We didn’t get regular news updates on what was happening in the world. Entertainment consisted of weekly “casino nights” or spades tournaments, perhaps an old movie threaded into a 16MM projector in the crew’s mess (an eating area outside of the galley) and shown on a small screen hung from the bulkhead. And reading. Lots and lots and lots of reading.
Mission secrecy and stealth were the highest of priorities, regardless of what geographic location on the globe or which body of water you were operating in at any given moment. The Navy wanted you focused. Any reminder of the planet that existed topside was a distraction.
The only contact that most bubbleheads had with the outside world was the occasional “family gram”. A family gram was limited to 20 words in a telegram format. A wife, parent, or close relative was allowed to send only one every 30 days or so. As you might imagine, whoever was sending the family gram had to get more creative than a tweet when crafting the communication. There were many restrictions on what could be sent from both operational security and personal standpoints, and there was zero privacy for both the sender and the receiver.
Most family grams read something like this:
Kids fine, Joey got an D in math. Took dog to vet. Will be at pier when you return. Love!
But occasionally, an interesting one would slip through the censor's net - jump past the orange thingy for...ahem...a fun example...
Break out your secret decoder ring and see if you can unlock the meaning of the following (for context, a wife sent it to her husband early in an extended deployment):
Curly and the twins miss you. Keel laying successful, launching sometime around August 25.
Even as limited in words as family grams were, these brief communiques were a key element in maintaining crew morale. Finding that scrap of radio room teletype paper lying on your bunk, and just knowing that someone living in the sunlight still cared for you no matter where you were or what operations your boat was involved in, made all the difference in the world.
Serving in the military today is a much less isolated experience. A soldier in Afghanistan or any other outpost has opportunities for the occasional video chat with family, email, and relatively reliable mail service. Keeping up with the news is only a matter of logging onto the web. All of the technology available to a soldier, sailor or airman on an extended deployment, though, doesn’t replace being home. Military service is still inherently a lonely endeavor.
One of our own, DKos member Showtime, wrote a diary in December 2011 describing his experience in Afghanistan, and how personally impactful that receiving a NFTT care package can be:
In a war that has been going on for longer than any other in the history of the United States, we need you. We need to know that you are there waiting for us and that you are supporting us. We need to know that we are not forgotten. We are American Warriors. We are the front lines. But we are human. And when we receive this kind of support, it lets us know that we are not forgotten. That is possibly the strongest gift you could give us.
Family grams were a lifeline that let me know my family missed me, and cared for me. What family grams didn’t do was give me the feeling that there was a larger community supporting my efforts. And that’s the point of the Netroots for the Troops.
Take a moment today and consider the young man or woman who has been thousands of miles from home for many, many months. A military member in that position can lose sight of the bigger picture very easily, and a care package from NFTT can – and does – make a profound statement. It sends a clear message that there’s a caring, supportive community waiting for their safe return.
Netroots For The Troops Blogathon: February 20-24, 2012
Netroots For The Troops® is holding a blogathon this week to raise funds to send Care Packages to our soldiers stationed overseas. For the first time this year, we will also be sending Care Packages domestically to troops rehabilitating at Veterans Administration Hospitals around the country.
We are asking all of you to support our efforts and to also make a contribution for this worthwhile cause.
We are honored and delighted that Senator John Kerry (D-MA); Democratic Candidate for the United States Senate from Massachusetts, Ms. Elizabeth Warren; and former Governor Howard Dean (D-VT) will be joining us through this week. Many Kossacks will also be contributing their thoughts, ideas, and support during the week.
|
Over the years, many soldiers have sent letters to express their appreciation for these Care Packages and even posted thanks at Daily Kos
It was in the middle six months of my assignment in Afghanistan that the packages started arriving. I received an array of things from them… letters, candy, toothpaste, floss, baby wipes, razors, food, socks, books, dvd’s. The list could go on and on. It was amazing. Netroots for the Troops was always there... The packages were a reminder that our country knows about our fight. Every day, because of their support, I knew that if it was going to be my last day, I would be remembered and I would be honored.
Please make a donation HERE. Thank you from the entire 2012 NFTT Team.
Netroots For The Troops® is a project of Netroots for the Troops, Inc., a Virginia non-profit corporation. The organization raises money for the assembly, mailing and delivery of Care Packages to American military in war zones and to provide assistance to military families in the United States. Netroots For The Troops, Inc. is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization.
|
|