Posted on 01/10/2006 4:19:13 AM PST by turbocat
Operation Thank You Names the Unit of the Month for January
Franklin, TN: Shooting USA Television has announced the "Operation Thank You" unit of the month. This time it's an Army Reserve Combat Engineering Company deployed above 7,000 feet in the Eastern Mountains of Afghanistan. Their Forward Operating Base (FOB) is a former Soviet Prison that's been crudely converted to barracks. The mission of Bravo Company of the 391st Engineering Battalion is detecting and clearing Improvised Explosive Devices while rebuilding the roads and trails between villages. This is in the area of Afghanistan still largely under the control of warlords and remnants of the Taliban… the area where Osama bin Laden is believed to have been hiding since 9/11.
Operation Thank You information is posted on the www.ShootingUSA.com website to connect viewers of the show with one unit each month deployed at a Forward Operating Base in Iraq or Afghanistan. Show viewers are invited to send a letter of thanks, a card, or a package of small items to express support for the troops risking their lives overseas. Jim Scoutten, Executive Producer of the Shooting USA series said, "It's our effort to let our troops know Americans support them, no matter what they may be seeing and hearing in the media. In the case of Afghanistan, the media and the public have largely forgotten we have troops there in harm's way."
Scoutten said the idea grew out of a request from a First Sergeant with the 101st Aviation Battalion. "The 101st was our unit of the month for December and they were very grateful for the packages, cards and letters. Now we've set up Bravo Company of the 391st Engineering Battalion with First Sergeant Carl Gehring as the mailing contact." Scoutten said. "The Army Mail Service will not deliver anything addressed to 'any soldier'. So everything from here is going over addressed to Sergeant Gehring, who will distribute it to the members of his company and the battalion."
"We had a really heartwarming response for the 101st in December." Scoutten said. "January doesn't have the gift-giving tradition of Christmas, but I hope the response will be as significant.. The last message I got from Sergeant Gehring said they were now struggling with 2 ½ feet of snow and could make good use of some warm socks."
Some updates will post later today.
That's AWESOME!!! Thanks for posting turbocat!!
Canteen ping
That's awesome.
Thanks for the ping!
BTTT
Just a BTTT.
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