Ms. Kerr,
I'm sorry it has taken me so long to write and thank you for the kind, caring, thoughtfulness, and support to ensure we enjoyed a little holiday cheer! Thank you, thank you, thank you! The stockings were a big hit and now everyone has one for Christmas. Its not the same being home with our families, but I do want to know it is comforting to know that there are great Americans out there who support us when its not vogue to support our Commander-in-Chief. The way I see it, you can't have one without the other, but I won't get on my high horse and preach to the choir. Again, a huge heartfelt thank you from all of us here in Bagram. God bless you, your families, our President, and America.
Respectfully,
CPT Brett
Bagram, Afghanistan
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Hi Brett,
You and those who recieved the packages are the ones who should be thanked.
My son is on his second tour of Iraq. He is with the 101st Airborne the 426th. I don't know where he is exactly.I think he in a compound working on the wounded.He is a combat medic. He is going to go out with the infantry soon. Again, where I don't know. Barrett is to be a new father around the 21st of Dec.. His wife is staying in the home in Clarksville, TN next to Fort Campbell. This is a tough tour, since the baby is coming, and he won't be there. He went in the first day of fighting two years ago, and thought he was macho man. He took a lot of chances that others said were brave, but I beg to differ. This tour is completely the opposite. He is being more cautious because of that tiny person who hasn't even been born.It is funny how a girl as tiny as she is, can wrap a strapping 6'5" 280 lb.beast around her finger.
We just loaded the last SUV full of boxes. Our goal this year was 1,000 stockings to be sent to the deployed. We went wayyyyyyy over thanks to a generous and compassionate community. I may be the head of the BA BSMs, but I have a corp of twenty moms who are the heart. They have donated hundreds of hours to make this work. Of course, the past experiences of doing this has taught us that not just those personnel will benefit from the boxes. The troops usually share everything they get, so we try to send a little of everything. Our community helps with the donations and funds to mail the boxes year round. It there is something that you especially need (sorry,no smokes, no liquor nor girly magazines) let us know. Please tell others to send us their APO addresses. They can either write or email them to us. We want to be sure all those deployed know that we are thinking of them and praying for them all the time.
My son, the medic, told me over and again about the depression the troops suffered while there. We can not cure all the ills of this situation, but we would just like to brighten some of the dark corners. God Bless You and keep you safe until you are home again,
Marci Kerr
Mrs. Kerr,
I appreciate your email and more importantly what you and BlueStar has done and continues to do for the troops. I, like your son, am on my second tour, only I'm in Afghanistan this go round and already I can say this is a totally different experience than the one I had in Iraq. I think in part to the outpouring of care packages I've received coupled with my eagerness/desire to get out and make a difference as opposed to sitting behind a keyboard as a staff officer, though that is really what my title is this deployment. However, that being said, I've already commanded over a dozen combat patrols and have personally treated 200 Afghan patients, not to mention the nearly 100 Soldiers I've treated for physical therapy. Even as a PT, I'm the closest most rural Afghans have or will ever get treatment from. Fortunately I've been blessed to have received a few boxes full of children's medicines; mostly elixirs for cold and flu type symptoms... but hey, a parent with a sick child is no different in the US or Afghanistan. I mostly dispense over-the-counter meds. and have cleared all my triage with the MD so there's no crossing of that ethical line. Just wanted to throw that out there for PC sake.
I'm pleased your son is taking a more cautious approach to this deployment. I have two kids at home and I miss them dearly and I know what's it like to have the thought of them lingering in the back of my head. However, I must say, I will always remember my three P's: 1) be Polite 2) be Professional 3) be Prepare, to kill. Even as a medical professional and healthcare provider, I am not afraid to adhere to number 3 and unfortunately I have had to exercise that on a number of occasions. The good news is, our last trip, which ended today, I feel much better about the area we were in because for the first time since August, we did not get attacked. August was the first time we started going in to a certain area on a regular basis. Additionally, I strongly feel that the locals are tired of getting a bad reputation and partial blame placed on them for the enemie's actions. Like I keep telling them, as long as the bad guys are around we won't do any projects in your area. I think after four years they're finally getting the message.
I do wish your son and daughter-in-law the very best with their expecting son. Congrats early, grandma. God bless you, your family, and our great Nation.
Respectfully,
Brett