Posted on 06/23/2005 7:41:54 PM PDT by Marine_Uncle
By Staff Sgt. Nick Minecci
214th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
CAMP TAJI , Iraq — Army Chief Warrant Officer Randy Kirgiss takes delight watching a line of parachutes open below his helicopter as he flies over Iraq .
He is not watching Special Forces Soldiers descend to engage the terrorists, but his personal army of good-will ambassadors, stuffed animals, enlisted into service with the mission of bringing smiles to the faces of Iraqi children.
The troops on the front lines of his smile offensive are what he calls “Parabears” or “Teddy Troopers.”
“Operation Teddy Drop” was the brainstorm of Kirgiss, a UH-60 Black Hawk pilot with Company C, 4th Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment (Assault Helicopter), who has dropped over 1,000 of his stuffed animal army so far.
“When I was preparing to deploy, I thought about my previous deployments and the things people sent me. This time I decided I wanted to do something different and do something for the local children,” the 19-year veteran said.
“When I was in Bosnia I saw kids getting school supplies, and in Kosovo we gave out teddy bears. Then I got the idea of modeling something with teddy bears after Col. Gail Halvorsen, better known to the world as the ‘Candy Bomber' during the 1948 Berlin Airlift, who dropped bundles of candy to the German children,” said the father of two boys.
Having the idea and being able to follow through with it are two different things Kirgiss said, and to drop his Parabears across the countryside, he said he had to have the approval of his chain of command.
“I approached Capt. Christopher Kirk, Co. C commander, and Lt. Col. Johan Haraldesn, the 4th Bn. commander, and they were completely behind the idea.”
Kirgiss, a native of Hector, Minn. , said the other officers helped him brainstorm the safest way to drop the stuffed animals so they would not interfere with the aircraft's operation.
He said the goal is to get the stuffed animals to the countryside, where the poorest Iraqi children live. Kirgiss also said there are definite rules for the delivery of the Teddy Troopers, like not dropping them in a city where children could run into traffic or a dangerous area and get hurt.
“This is supposed to be something positive, I don't want it to wind up hurting anyone,” he said. “I also try to take a good look and see how many kids are on the ground and then drop one per kid. I don't want to drop five bears where there are 10 kids and then have them fighting over the toys.”
To make sure the stuffed animals don't just tumble to the ground, Kirgiss said he prepares homemade parachutes for them the night before each mission.
“I got some old parachutes from a military surplus store in Lancaster , Ohio , and at night I will look at the size of the stuffed animal and cut a specialized chute,” he said, adding it normally takes three to five minutes to cut and rig up a parachute. “I use 550 cord to attach it to the Teddy Trooper, then that little guy is ready to report for duty.”
On the day of a mission, Kirgiss takes several boxes filled with stuffed animals to his helicopter. The crew chief sets them up so as they fly over the countryside, he can reach over and grab a handful to drop.
“The mission we are flying always comes first; that is rule number one,” Kirgiss said. “But dropping the bears doesn't detract from the mission, and we are able to execute the mission and continue Operation Teddy Drop at the same time.”
The stuffed animals that make their way to the children are all donated. He said he told some family and friends about the idea, and soon boxes of stuffed animals began arriving.
“My 10 and 12-year-old sons think it's pretty cool what we are doing, and they cleaned out their closet pretty quickly to help,” he said with fatherly pride.
“Then the word spread, and I started getting boxes from all over the states, even from teddy bear manufacturers. One day I received eight boxes of stuffed animals, and the boxes were stacked to my ceiling!” he exclaimed.
That windfall of recruits led to his largest drop of more than 200 Teddy Troopers descending on the countryside, including one recruit who stood out from the others.
“There was this bear … it was over three feet tall and weighed about six pounds. I had to make a special chute for that guy,” he said.
Seeing the kids' excitement when stuffed animals float to the ground motivates Kirgiss. “When they realize what is coming to them, some of them run and catch the bear before it hits the ground.
“They will wave and you can see the smiles on their faces, and that is so great. These kids, they may one day be the decision-makers for Iraq , and if they remember the good feeling they got from a Teddy Trooper, maybe it will be good for everyone when they are deciding on issues,” he said.
As for his nickname “the teddy bear guy,” Kirgiss said in almost two decades of being a Soldier, an instructor pilot and safety officer, “there are a lot worse things I can be remembered for, than being the teddy bear guy.”
This tradition started during the Berlin airlift...nice to see it ongoing..
That is just too cool.
My wife has a bunch of leftover bears from a fundraiser. I'll have to have her drop this guy a line.
I am a personal friend of Randy. He is a great guy! He is doing good work over there.
Rock of the Marne!
That is flipping kool. I emailed them to see if I could become involved.
Thought some might like it. Every act of kindness, every new school, every new water treatment plant, every silly eraser and coloring book, every time a damn fool blows up a water main and the US GI/Marines comes in and fixes it, every time we prevent some innocent Iraqis from getting killed and they witness the prevention. I somehow do not think these people are going to be wild Islamofacist haters of the USA in the future.
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