Operation Troop Appreciation
This post is a salute to Operation Troop Appreciation (OTA). OTA was born from the efforts of Kristen Holloway who started with an idea to provide some comfort items to some National Guard soldiers deployed from her home state of Pennsylvania. The overwhelming response she recieved inspired her to take the idea to the next level and as a result OTA was established as a non-profit organization in July 2004.
I learned of Kristen's organization from the unit I replaced. I contatced her in the hopes of getting some Under Armour® t-shirts for our guys who are in the extreme heat all day. For those of you not familiar with Under Armour® apparel it is made of a special material that pulls moisture off the body and evaporates quickly thus keeping you dry. The stuff works and it is extremely popular over here, but it is also somewhat pricey. Therefore, some soldiers decide to do without it.
Kristen and OTA came through for us and provided 140 t-shirts and socks that I was able to hand out to some troops yesterday. These guys have the pleasure of manning guard towers, guarding entry control points, and/or riding in HMMWV's in the extreme Iraqi heat all day so they were extremely appreciative. Below are some pictures of the event.
Me providing a little story time
Christmas in August
Many of you continue to ask what you can do to help the troops over here. I encourage you to stop by the OTA website and make a donation. We are living proof that they are great organization and they continue to help deployed troops everyday.
I learned of Kristen's organization from the unit I replaced. I contatced her in the hopes of getting some Under Armour® t-shirts for our guys who are in the extreme heat all day. For those of you not familiar with Under Armour® apparel it is made of a special material that pulls moisture off the body and evaporates quickly thus keeping you dry. The stuff works and it is extremely popular over here, but it is also somewhat pricey. Therefore, some soldiers decide to do without it.
Kristen and OTA came through for us and provided 140 t-shirts and socks that I was able to hand out to some troops yesterday. These guys have the pleasure of manning guard towers, guarding entry control points, and/or riding in HMMWV's in the extreme Iraqi heat all day so they were extremely appreciative. Below are some pictures of the event.
Me providing a little story time
Christmas in August
Many of you continue to ask what you can do to help the troops over here. I encourage you to stop by the OTA website and make a donation. We are living proof that they are great organization and they continue to help deployed troops everyday.
posted by John at 11:10 PM
3 Comments:
Thanks for this information. There are a lot of people looking for ways to contribute. I've looked this up now, thanks to your blogs post, and it is a great organization. Thanks again.
God bless you and keep you safe.
Thanx for sharing that...this is one I did not know about but I will post it on my blog as well ;o)
Again your children, and my grandchildren continue to amaze me. And like Jessica, I am so proud of you. And I was saying to myself "That is my son, MY son!" So glad when you and your sister will be home. I will always worry about my children, but not so much when you are safely home. Love you so much, Momma
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