Soldier's Angels - Medical Support

Those wacky mail room guys

2009-10-21T02:43:00.003-05:00

Every military unit has a very important group of soldiers whose job is to make sure the mail gets delivered. Like the US Postal employees back home, they get snarled at when them mail arrives late, damaged or not at all. But we still love 'em for sure when something special arrives from back home.

Yesterday we received the most wonderful surprise – a large shipment from the Soldier’s Angels! Thank you so much for the wonderful and gracious donation of Purple Heart backpacks, microwave popcorn, instant oatmeal, freeze-pops, candy, and seasoning.

I must admit the Soldier who is our mail clerk was cursing my name when he went to check the mail yesterday and discovered that many of the packages had my name on them. Oh how the tune changed when it was discovered that the contents of the packages were for our wounded warriors and the Soldiers assigned to the team.

Thank you again so very much. We’ll send pictures out soon of the team filling the backpacks and enjoying the popcorn at our next movie night.

Jana L., Nurse
FOB Fenty, Afghanistan

Another message from the medics

2009-10-08T03:21:00.002-05:00

Why do many thousands of Soldiers' Angels volunteer their time, their money and their endless love for our soldiers?

From a nurse at the 47th CSH:

Thank you for everything you and your organization have done for us. The fact that you all are there supporting us and ensuring we are able to have something from home mean the most. For all those soldier in our unit who families cannot afford to send them care packages, those single parents with no support and our wounded soldiers we say THANK YOU.

GOD Bless you
J.....

yup, that's about it.
-rog

Once the military's busiest trauma hospital in Iraq, 'Baghdad ER' closes down

2009-10-02T05:21:00.006-05:00

(See my buddy MaryAnn's story about the closing of the Ibn Sina hospital by the 10th Combat Support Hospital unit here.

Ibn Sina, named for a 9th century scholar, was opened in 1964 by four Iraqi doctors with the aim of becoming the country's premier medical facility. It was later taken over by Saddam Hussein's regime in the 1970s, and then made Saddam's private hospital. His eldest son, Odai, was hospitalized there after being wounded in a failed assassination attempt.

After the fall of Baghdad in 2003, the military transformed Ibn Sina into its trauma center in central Baghdad. Its reputation grew in HBO's "Baghdad ER," a 2006 Emmy Award-winning documentary.

The closure has brought many of the soldiers of the 10th Combat Support Hospital full circle. The unit was deployed at the hospital at the height of the war's carnage in 2005 and 2006. The 10th Mountain (CSH) returned earlier this year and learned they would be shutting it down.
By CHELSEA J. CARTER (AP)

My niece has been deployed with the 10th CSH since last year, and they just moved out recently, and will be coming home by this Christmas. Soldiers' Angels has been supporting this hospital for several years. At the height of the surge last year, we were sending them massive support, including 200 of our First Response Backpacks per month. Thankfully, as the war is winding down, that need has diminished in Iraq, at least.

-Rog

Thank you from a wounded soldier

2009-09-30T03:00:00.004-05:00

Casualties in Afghanistan are very heavy and mounting. Emergency assistance is needed to supply every injured American with a Soldiers' Angels First Response Backpack.

Wounded American Soldier at Bagram, Afghanistan Hospital with Soldier's Angels First Response backpack

On September 26, we received this thank you email from a wounded soldier.....

I just wanted to say thank you. I was WIA on 24sept09. when I got to Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, there was a Purple Heart/Soldiers' Angels bag in my ICU room when I woke up. It is so nice to know that after what I saw, what I did, and what me and my crew went through, there were people who already had us in mind. I sleep with the fleece blanket I got, [and] the hygiene bag was wonderful, especially since mine burned to the ground with my vehicle. And the letters and cards from Karate for Kids in Utah made me smile. On behalf of myself, the medic for my team, my TC, SGT Nicholas W...., my gunner, SGT Jerry S....., and most of all, my driver, PFC Heath K..., who had the worst injuries of our crew, thank you so much.

SPC Helen L. R...

For the next few months, we urgently need your help to fill our First Response Backpacks. We have enough empty backpacks, but we need Angel Power to help fill them by sending supplies directly to the Combat Support Hospitals.

For complete directions, please email me HERE with the subject line "BACKPACKS." Tell me what you can send and how many of each, and I'll tell you where to send it.

NOTE: The following items are the only items that we need right now. All items must be new and unused. Please do not send clothing sizes small, 2X, or 3X.

Clothing and Blankets:

-Sweatpants and Zippered Hoodie Sweatshirts (L, XL - grey, black, dark blue)
-Lounge pants/sleep pants/pj bottoms (M, L, XL - any color or pattern)
-Plain T-shirts (M, L, XL - crew neck, any color)
-Men's Boxerbriefs or Boxers (M, L, XL). Please do not send "briefs".
-FlipFlops to wear while showering (men's large sizes)
-Twin-sized fleece blankets (any color) or Blankets of Hope (click for details)
-COMPLETE Personal Hygiene Kits containing all of the following (sealed in a single gallon-sized ZipLoc bag) This is a great project for a family, church or Scout activity!:

Toothbrush
Toothpaste (any size)
Bar Soap or Body Wash (any size)
Shampoo (any size)
Dental floss
Body Powder
Body lotion (any size)
Lip balm/chap stick
Nail Clippers (large or small)
Disposable razor
Shaving cream (travel sized aerosol cans or tubes of shaving gel)

-Thanks! Rog
Medical Support Director

The great Halloween candy project

2009-09-19T08:25:00.003-05:00

For the second year, our neighborhood and the Geneva, Illinois elementary schools are going to band together to donate and send a bunch of candy to our troops overseas. I had this idea last year to ask everybody to donate their left-over candy after Halloween.

We decorate our front yard for the big day, in ways that would alarm the neighbors any other time of year, in order to advertise the candy collection.

We put a box on the front porch the day before, and here's the surprise. When kids came trick-or-treating on Halloween, they saw the sign "candy for the troops", and a lot of them dumped their own candy right into the box. You gotta love that.

The Williamsburg and Harrison Street schools also collected candy, we ended up with over 1,000 pounds. Yes, that's right. 1,000 pounds of candy X 12 billion calories and a few hundred cavities in the process, I suppose. But a lot of happy soldiers.

So this year, we're going to repeat the project and aim even higher (and for more cavities in the process, but it's all good).

- Rog

Where have all the flowers gone

2009-09-17T01:59:00.004-05:00

Mary Travers, 1936 - 2009

Her message of peace, love and brotherhood will be missed.

Rest in Peace,
-Rog

The great Holiday care package project - 96 days to go!

2009-07-28T06:02:00.008-05:00

There may be a lot of shopping days left until Christmas, but we have only 96 days to collect items for our soldiers holiday packages and ship the packages overseas. By November 1, 2009, our goal is ship 180,000 packages to the war zones.

How did we come up with that number? Simple, one for every single member of our military who will be away from home this Holiday season. We are sending every deployed service member in a combat zone a care package with holiday greetings, including goodies and a beautiful homemade blanket.

Monetary donations are always accepted as we need postage money to ship our
holiday packages. Our website www.SoldiersAngels.org has a paypal option - click donate on our site or mail a check to us.

How Can You Help?
Challenge your school, PTA group, teachers, parents, senior citizen centers,
businesses, church, college, radio & TV stations, and newspapers. Get the word out tell everyone you know you are collecting hot cocoa packets to provide comfort and warmth for our military.

Every item collected is that much closer to filling a care package with
holiday cheer.

We need 180,000 of everything:

Hot Cocoa Packets
Hot Cider Packets
Men's White Socks (sizes 9-15)
Candy Bars (any size)
Hard Candy
Candy Canes
Power Bars
Nuts
Christmas Cards- signed but not sealed
...and we are open to just about anything that could be a "stocking stuffer"

Handmade Blanket of Belief - directions on our website
here

If you live east of the Mississippi, please ship care package donations to:

Soldiers' Angels
112 Greenhill Road
Ramseur NC 27316
(Dropoff avail. M-F, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.)

If you live west of the Mississippi, please ship care package donations to:

Soldiers' Angels
914 Tourmaline Dr
Newbury Park, CA 91320

Soldiers’ Angels is a volunteer-led 501 (c)(3) non-profit supporting the
troops since 2003
Help us meet our holiday goal of 180,000 by November 1, 2009
Soldiers' Angels

A friendly neighbor hood garage sale helps our troops

2009-07-26T06:15:00.004-05:00

This is a picture of my neighbor Jennifer, who was holding a garage sale recently. I dropped in, and Jen and her husband had over 300 CD's for sale. I told her I was looking for music to send to military hospitals in the Middle-East, and she gave me all of them for about half the asking price, and threw in a bunch of DVD's too.

Patriotism is everywhere, sometimes just down the street door.
-Rog

Three U.S. POWs added to roster of Hiroshima deaths

2009-07-16T06:50:00.005-05:00

Army Sgt. Ralph J. Neal

Army Sgt. Buford J. Ellison

Ensign John J. Hantschel

By Chiyomi Sumida, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Friday, July 17, 2009
Photos courtesy of Shigeaki Mori

The names of three American World War II POWs will be added to the official list of persons who died after Hiroshima was leveled by an atomic bomb on Aug. 6, 1945.

The three are Ensign John J. Hantschel, 23, of Wisconsin, a fighter pilot assigned to the USS Randolph; Army Sgt. Ralph J. Neal, 23, of Kentucky, a gunner aboard a B-24 Liberator named Lonesome Lady; and Army Sgt. Buford J. Ellison, 22, of Texas, an engineer on the Lonesome Lady.

Their names officially complete the list of the 12 Americans who died in the blast.

Shot down during bombing runs over Hiroshima, they were being held in Chugoku Military Police Headquarters, about 1,300 feet from the epicenter of the blast from the bomb dropped by the Enola Gay.

Their inclusion on the list of the 140,000 people believed to have died is the work of Shigeaki Mori, 72, a Hiroshima historian and atomic bomb survivor who spent three decades locating the families of the fallen Americans so they could officially request the names be added to the list.

Their photographs have been added to those on display in the Hall of Remembrance at the Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims.

"These Americans experienced unimaginable suffering, just like the Japanese people," Mori said.

"Remembering each and every victim is important not only for them and their families but for all human beings."

Welcome home brothers
-Rog

Inside the brutal Afghan war zone

2009-07-10T13:12:00.003-05:00

Another view of the action ongoing in Afghanstan's Helmand province, from the BBC.

This is another difficult video to watch; view it wisely.

Soldiers' Angels has adopted the Camp Bastion UK hospital, and is supplying over 250 backpacks for injured soldiers every month, in addition to large amounts of other supplies for the medics and patients.

We at Soldiers' Angels are proud to support theseBritish medics, as they care for injured British, US, Danish and Estonian NATO allies.

-Rog

Independence Day at Bagram Hospital in Afghanistan

2009-07-06T04:05:00.001-05:00

Our troops in Afghanistan are taking heavy casualties. Always remember what they do for us
-Rog
Medical Support Director

Chaplain's assistant and one of our heroes on Independence Day at Bagram Hospital - July 4, 2009

2009-07-02T02:11:00.001-05:00

Dear Soldiers’ Angels,

It’s hot here this week, and I bet it’s pretty warm where you are, too. And in the middle of the heat of summer… it’s time to think of winter holidays and Christmas! Yes, we’re making plans to wrap our heroes in love again this holiday season!

The centerpiece of this year’s care package will be our wonderful Soldiers’ Angels travel mugs. I’m so excited! We get such great feedback from soldiers who receive an Angel mug—they just love ‘em!

Major T.A. recently wrote to us, “I just arrived at a deployed location and inherited one of your travel coffee mugs. It keeps my coffee warm and me awake while I work nights. It’s…a reminder to all the Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen and others who are deployed that we still have the support of our nation behind us.”

Soldiers’ Angels Soldier Liaison Toby Nunn knows how it feels to receive an SA mug with packets of yummy hot chocolate when you’re fighting a war far from home. “It warms your heart. You get to enjoy sweet comfort, just like you when you were a 12-year-old playing with marshmallows. Pure gold,” he says. “It might be only two cups of hot chocolate, but it’ll be the best two cups you’ve ever had, because someone cared enough to send it.”

Please help us make sure each deployed service member knows the nation cares by donating especially to this project—every donation will go directly to buying and shipping the mugs and hot chocolate for our deployed heroes during the holiday season. We need to plan ahead in order to have enough mugs—and so we have until July 8th to raise $138,000 to buy mugs for our deployed heroes this winter!

DONATE HERE

To warm a soldier’s heart even more, you can write a note to be sent with along with the holiday care package for a hero! Just write it in the Comments section of your online donation, or email it separately to angels@soldiersangels.org (Subject: "Holiday Note").

Let's pull together to make sure the holiday season is a time of warmth and love for all the service members who will be serving our country far from home this winter! Please help spread the word!

Hospital sees more GIs from Afghan frontline

2009-07-01T03:14:00.002-05:00

‘We’ve seen a lot ... and I hope we can handle it,’ says one staffer

This is a very difficult video to watch, with some graphic footage of war-time injuries but it is valuable to see just what our medics and the soldiers who are injured experience.

The task force hospital at Bagram has been one of our main recipient of Soldiers' Angels support for over three years, and we've increased that support dramatically this year. Soldiers' Angels is sending over 200 First Response backpacks there every month now, and trying to help the medics any way we can.

-Rog

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Doctors at Bagram say there is nowhere in the world — except other war zones — where physicians face such severe wounds day after day. That constant stream takes a toll.

From MSNBC

Friends of Fisher House Illinois - Saturday, June 27, 2009 - Chicago Slaughter Championship Salute to the Troops!

2009-06-22T03:14:00.004-05:00

The Friends of Fisher House - Illinois organization is working hard to get ready for the long-needed opening of the new Fisher House at Hines VA hospital in Illinois. If you aren't familiar with Fisher Houses, they provide free housing for the families of wounded and ill veterans and soldiers who are receiving treatment at VA hospitals.

The Chicago Slaughter football team is running a Championship Salute to the Troops on Saturday, June 27, 2009. A portion of profits from ticket sales will do directly to the FOFH-IL organization.

You can visit the website here to learn more about Friends of Fisher house, and to learn how to purchase your tickets.

So come on out for an afternoon of some great football. Even if you can't attend, your ticket purchase goes to help a great cause! You can also visit the Friends of Fisher House of Illinois website at any time to learn how to help, or to make a donation to this great cause! Just click on the link on the right side of this page.

Thanks,
Rog

UK medics medevac a British Soldier to Camp Bastion

2009-06-21T01:59:00.003-05:00

Here's a video showing the medics we are supporting at the Camp Bastion hospital in Afghanistan as they fly out to get one of their own.

These amazing British medics also care for US Marines, Estonian and Danish NATO troops.

-Rog

Borders' Book Store collects coffee for our troops!

2009-06-19T02:38:00.004-05:00

The folks at Seattle's Best coffee shop in the Borders Book store #476 in San Antonio Tx had a great idea. Every Friday they offer a free medium beverage for every bag of coffee beans sold to our customers.

Several months ago, they decided to give the option to their customers to donate their bags of coffee beans to the Soldiers Angels. Many of our customers do, gladly!

They typically collect 25 bags of coffee a week, and send them to our Soldiers' Angels warehouse where we distribute them to military units all over the world.

Thanks to Peggy, Mea and the crew at Borders!
-Rog

Thanks from Afghanistan

2009-06-13T02:25:00.002-05:00

Today I received your letter of good will; thank you for your kind
words of support. Before I go any further, I would like to tell you
about our facility here. We are a NATO facility, the hospital is
managed by the UK and US jointly, staffed by the US, UK, Estonian,
Danes, and civilian volunteers. The total staff is 200, and we treat
everyone, to include local nationals and ANA (the Afghan National Army)
in their quest for freedom. Our job here is simple; treat, care, and
honor the wounded warrior.

But after the bandages have been applied, pain stopped, and the chaplain
gone; most of the troops look kinda lost...not sure of what or how to
feel...that is when we typically bring out one of the "Soldiers' Angels"
backpacks. I think the best part of the bag is the postcards/letters that
are written included....they just simply tumble out. And being that the
cards are so vibrant in color, it is the first thing that the service
members pick up and read, and smile....

So I want to personally thank you for your support of our first 4th of
July celebration support here at Camp Bastion. I will check daily for
your parcel and update you when we receive it.

Best,

Jac, CPT

War in Afghanistan

2009-06-10T00:50:00.003-05:00

One of our medics in Afghanistan works in a hospital, and mentioned the patients they see who are children. I offered to have our "Operation Outreach" team send toys, games, clothing and shoes for them. The answer will stay with me...
-Rog

The toy issue.....got time for a story?.....the nurses used to load up kids in the hospital with toys, the family and child said their goodbye's and left the facility. A week later, the whole family was killed.....there was an informant in their community that knew the child was treated by the American's by the toys the child brought home (Afghan children do not play with conventional toys)....and the killings were a reminder to the village that the Taliban was still around....so we have a policy not to give any children anything that resembles a toy....I know...it a sad day in the world when you can't give a child a toy to comfort them with, but it may just save their life, and the lives of their family......

Please, thank them, but I would not like to start collecting toys, in fear that someone will try to "sneak" one to a child....so the nurses give them candy, sugar is sugar..and they don’t leave the hospital with it........

Again, thank you.....

Respectfully,

J

British medics and Soldiers' Angels

2009-06-04T02:03:00.003-05:00

This year I hooked up with the UK hospital at Camp Bastion. These British docs and medics care for American Marines, along with their own British soldiers and Afghan Army troops who are injured.

My contact there is a US marine, who told me that the British don't get a lot of support from home. So, Soldiers' Angels stepped in to send them some support for the patients and medics.

I got them some of our First Response backpacks, extra clothing and toiletries for the patients, and the usual coffee, snacks and goodies. I also hooked them up with "Fore Our Soldiers", a great group that specializes in sending golf and other sports equipment to units overseas.

My contact writes:

Roger,
Today we received the packages that your organization and the sporting equipment from the "Fore Our Soldiers" organization. Again, thank you. We treat casualties (UK, US, even members from the Afghan National Army) daily. After the patching of wounds and treatment of pain, words from the padre and unit personnel, it's hard to figure out what they are thinking; but it's a certain there's "blank" look of unease. The emotional support that organization's like yours and the Fore Our Soldier's provide is the "glue" that holds the whole process together. It was mentioned by one of the UK nurses yesterday "It is so grand that you Americans at home support the troops here, it's simply amazing, I don't know why we don't have that support" I smiled, and stated, "it's the folks at home these Marine's are fighting for"

Hey, it's the least we can do, since they take such good care of our guys. Besides, they are medics, and that's what SA medical does.
-Rog

Rocket Attack on Forward Surgical Team

2009-05-30T01:29:00.004-05:00

My buddy Alberto sent me pictures of their OR after a rocket hit it this week. Amazingly, no one was injured.
The shrapnel traveled 20 meters, came right through the wall, and blew out the front entrance and communications tent.

Here's what shrapnel did to the AC unit, fire alarm and the wall. Al said they were picking chunks of rocket out of the wall and off the floor.

With his usual wit, he told me their morale is coming back to normal, although everybody gets a little excited when an alarm goes off indicating a rocket or mortar attack, which happens about three times a week. When that happens, "ee all look around for a bunker, or the best place to lay down".

He said "we still laugh remembering how this happened, where each of us was when it happened, and the fast response after the attack. Everybody picked themselves up off the floor, and went to the hospital to be ready and expecting casualties that never showed up" .

They were lucky; but there are no safe areas in this war.
-Rog

Memorial Day 2009

2009-05-25T06:40:00.008-05:00

I'd like to dedicate today's entry to the memory of those members of my family who did not hesitate to serve when their countries needed them:

My wife's great-great grandfather:

Samuel Runnels - 11th Mississippi Infantry, Battle of Vicksburg †

My great-grandfather:
Christian Godskesen, Royal Danish Army, Battle of Schleswig 1865†

My wife's grandfather:
Alonzo Runnels - US Army, WWI †

My grandfather:
Christian Martinus Swendsen, Royal Danish Army †

My great-uncle:
Oluf Swendsen, Royal Danish Army †

My Uncles:
Paul Swendsen - US Army forward artillery spotter - Europe, WWII †
Carl Swendsen - US Army, WWII †
Roy Swendsen - US Army Air Corp, South Pacific, WWII †
Henry Godskesen - US Army Engineering Corp, WWII †

My Father-In-Law:
Charlie Runnels - US Navy, Korea †

My cousin:
Harlan Roy Swendsen - US Navy, Vietnam †

My Brother-in-law:
Carlos Hernandez - US Army Helicopter Crewman, Vietnam †

For all you did for us, we remember
-Rog

Geneva school kids collect shoes for Iraqi school kids

2009-05-06T02:41:00.004-05:00

The students of the Mill Creek school in my home town collected almost 300 pair of shoes for the students of the Al-Sanoober school in Dhi Qar province. This school has about 60 students who are currently in a mud hut and doesn't have enough room for everyone.The soldiers of the 14th Engineering Bn, out of COB Adder, have adopted the school, and are building them a new school house with electricity, running water and 6 mondern classrooms.

Great job by everyone,

Rog

Easter In Iraq - hot wings and peeps

2009-04-15T03:35:00.004-05:00

It wasn't the traditional dinner, but the medics at the 10th CSH celebrated Easter with Hot Wings, a load of hot sauce along with decorations and some Easter bubbles. The latter supplies courtesy of our Angel volunteers.

And of course, there were plenty of Peeps to mark the day.

-Rog

Mitzvah Day - Homemade cookies for our Troops

2009-04-15T03:09:00.007-05:00

A Miztvah is a good deed of service to others. On this Mitzvah Day, the wonderful folks at Temple Israel baked 75 dozen home made cookies for our troops. The Grace Community Church and the Temple, both of Seal Beach, CA worked together to send these gifts to our troops recently.

That's about 900 individual messages of love and support that let a whole lot of our soldiers know someone back home was thinking about them.

Shalom, God Bless
-rog

Amazon defends us from hostile foreign powers!

2009-04-12T04:16:00.004-05:00

I recently had a request from a med unit for bread mix for their bread machine. I googled around and found the best deal on Amazon. Damn. That site does ship to APO's, sort of. But they have the strangest rules about what can and cannot be shipped that way. For instance:

Bread mix is apparently a classified, critical war materiel and cannot be allowed to fall into enemy hands. I of course include the french in that category, not that they'd descend to the level of eating bread from a mix. Or a from a bread machine. Or from America. anyway....

Over the years, I've encountered other items that are restricted byAmazon (and no one else) from shipping to APO addresses.

Hair conditioner. Not all brands, only some brands. God help us if their troops has hair as bouncy and shiny as ours!

Ionic breeze air cleaners. Now I called and got an explanation for this one that sorta made sense. Sort of. It turns out that these type cleaners contain a chip that cannot be shipped out of the country. I suspect this is because potentially hostile nations (read: North Korea) could use these chips to build oh, say....ICBM guidance systems. Since Amazon has successfully defended our freedom by blocking the export of these chips, the Koreans must have had to resort to using a Mr. Coffee chip instead, which explains why their latest missile didn't go where it was supposed to.

Score one for the good guys!
- Rog