troop letter: Valentine cards

February 16, 2010

Many thousands of troops move through our little center each year

My name is Jed . I’m just a retired old man of 61 years from Salt Lake City, Utah who wants to do my part to thank the troops on behalf of myself and my family. I’m currently a civilian contractor working for the Dept. of Defense in the village of Manas, Kyrgyzstan where I help to give the troops a taste of America as they travel to and from Afghanistan. Many thousands of troops move through our little center each year and we get a chance to see and visit with most of them where we are.

We received some boxes of cookies, candies and cards from your organization this morning and I wanted to thank you for taking the time and making the effort to put a few things together for the troops. As you can imagine, as the troops move into Afghanistan their minds are still back at home, missing loved ones and wondering about what might await them as they continue their travels. My job is to give them a last taste of America, even though we’re so far from home.

In the other direction, we meet the weary, battle-hardened troops who are just returning from months of difficulty in a harsh climate and impossible terrain as they’ve engaged in combat in Afghanistan. For them, we provide a first taste of America, a place to warm up and use a telephone or a computer, to watch a movie or a basketball game on television, to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate as an escape from our current winter temperature of minus nine degrees Fahrenheit.

As we opened the boxes this morning and began placing the items on our counter for the troops the smiles and wide eyes quickly spread across the room. As we opened the Valentine cards and placed them out where the troops could read them we drew a crowd as they were so interested in reading the kind and friendly words from home.

My personal thanks and gratitude go out to you and your organizations for all that you do for these brave men and women. I know that our young men and women won’t all take time to give you a personal thank you, but I wanted you to know that your efforts have a tremendous impact on the morale and well-being of our Soldiers, Marines and Airmen in Kyrgyzstan.

My sincerest, heartfelt thanks to all of you,

Jed