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WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Dept. of Defense is responding to queries from thousands of Americans who are again asking what they can do to show their support for service members, especially those serving overseas in this time of war?
The following are websites for several organizations sponsoring programs for members of the Armed Forces overseas. While it would be inappropriate for DoD to endorse any specifically, service members do value and appreciate such expressions of support:
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Donate a calling card to help keep service members in touch with their families at Operation Uplink at www.operationuplink.org |
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Send a greeting via e-mail through Operation Dear Abby at http://anyservicemember.navy.mil or www.OperationDearAbby.net |
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Sign a virtual thank you card at the Defend America Web site at www.defendamerica.mil/nmam.html |
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Make a donation to one of the military relief societies
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Army Emergency Relief at www.aerhq.org |
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Navy/Marine Relief Society at www.nmcrs.org |
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Air Force Aid Society at www.afas.org |
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Coast Guard Mutual Assistance at www.cgmahq.org |
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Donate to "Operation USO Care Package" at www.usometrodc.org/care |
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Support the American Red Cross Armed Forces Emergency Services at www.redcross.org/services/afes |
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Volunteer at a VA Hospital to honor veterans who bore the lamp of freedom in past conflicts. www.va.gov/vetsday |
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Support families whose loved ones are being treated at military and VA hospitals through a donation to the Fisher House at www.fisherhouse.org |
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Reach out to military families in your community, especially those with a loved one overseas.
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Purchase a CertifiCheck redeemable for merchandise or groceries at AAFES/DeCA by calling 1-877-770-4438 (GIFT) or logging on to www.aafes.com or www.commissaries.com. |
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Adopt a unit through the Veteran's of Foreign Wars "Adopt-A-Unit" program, www.vfw.org |
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Find opportunities for volunteering through www.usafreedomcorp.gov or by calling 1-877-USA-CORPS. |
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DoD officials ask citizens not to flood the military mail system with letters, cards, and gifts. Due to security concerns and transportation constraints, the Defense Department can't accept items to be mailed "Any Servicemember."
Some people have tried to avoid this prohibition by sending large numbers of packages to an individual service member's overseas address, which however well intentioned, clogs the mail and causes unnecessary delays.
-more-
U.S. troops deployed to the Persian Gulf region and other overseas locations can now receive personal messages from family members, friends, neighbors, colleagues and supporters via the pages of the Stars & Stripes newspaper.
"Messages of Support," a daily section that debuted March 17, gives family and friends of deployed service members a chance to pass their greetings, words of encouragement and announcements free of charge.
"Messages of Support" can be e-mailed to "Stars and Stripes" 24 hours a day at messages@estripes.com, are limited to 50 words or less and will be printed on a first-come, first-run basis. "Stars and Stripes" reserves the right to screen and edit all messages and to omit any determined inappropriate.
"Stars and Stripes" is the editorially independent, Defense Department-authorized daily newspaper distributed overseas for the U.S. military community. It provides commercially available U.S. and world news and objective, staff-produced stories relevant to the military community in a balanced, fair and accurate manner. S&S is currently increasing its Middle East circulation with the goal of providing one paper for every three persons stationed there.
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