Fleet Week: May 26th - June 1st

Many people think fleet week is a time when sailors, Marines and the Coast Guard infiltrate our cities and come to party. While this does happen there are actual military reasons why they visit. There are countless activities and tours you can participate in during this week.

This year, New York's Fleet Week will be May 26th through June 1st all along the New York Harbor. Ships also dock in Stapleton, which many people don't know because the sailors often take the ferry to Manhattan for a more exciting nightlife. But you may be lucky enough to see some of them bar hopping on Bay Street.

They kick off Fleet Week with the parade of ships entering the harbor. During the rest of the week, you can visit the USS Intrepid Sea, Air Space Muesem, watch Broadway shows on a ship deck, and watch some strong military men duke it out in an intense match of tug-of-war. They also hold ceremonies on Memorial Day, unfurling the American Flag, paying tribute to those who gave their lives for their country.

For a complete list of events visit http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/Fleet-Week-Schedule.aspx.

And if you're around the city at night, you'll be sure to run into some drunken sailors that love talking to local New Yorkers. My experiences during Fleet Week have always been fun. So if you run into any sailor or Marines, show them your support and buy them a drink.

Sarah Croop: Army Wife

The men and women in the military make great sacrifices for us at home. They live away from their loved ones for months at a time with limited contact. This is hard on them, and their loved ones, especially spouses. They are left to take care of things on the home front while their significant other is deployed.

Sarah Croop is and army wife currently living in Anchorage, Alaska. My cousin led me to her when I told her about my military blog. Sarah’s husband just recently got out of the army.

She is 25 years-old, he is 26. They met working at a restaurant when she attended Drexel and he, Temple. She is a graphic designer and worked in Pennsylvania, Florida and now Alaska, where she freelances for the company she worked for in Florida. They got in married in June 2007 while he was on R&R (leave) during a tour in Iraq. He has also been to Afghanistan until this January. Now, at the end of his service, they are moving back to Pennsylvania to be closer to their families.

While she enjoyed moving to Alaska because she loves to travel and she knew it wouldn’t be permanent, she never liked the frequent packing and moving. Often times she did it alone. “In some cases, the military helps with this, but I fell under some loopholes and had to do it myself.” While he was gone, the hardest things she had to face were the holidays. Also, things like a car breaking down would leave her in shambles because no one was there to help.

Living on base though, wasn’t as tough. “One thing that surprised me about being a military wife is that there are a lot of people willing to step up and help when needed. Friends I've only known a few months, military wives I've barely met, or guys that work with my husband have at one point all helped me out with a situation I couldn't handle on my own. It creates strong bonds between people and good friends to miss when you leave.”

Since Sarah and her husband do not have children, she didn’t feel too many extra burdens. Only having to take care of herself made housework, cooking and laundry manageable, while other military spouses have children to take care of also. “I did feel a huge extra burden when it came to moving in and out of our apartments. I had to deal with a large majority of it myself which became extremely stressful on me.”


Depending on what you do in the military, depends on how often you have access to phones and internet. “Having him away for a year at a time is hard, but for us we had very limited communication. Often times, phones, internet, and mail were unreliable. I would spend weeks at a time worrying and wondering if he was ok. I felt that it had a serious effect on my daily life to be so worried all the time and rarely hear any news.”

There are tons of blogs written by military spouses. Some get picked up by Milblogging(http://www.milblogging.com/) which has a database dedicated to military blogs. Spousebuzz is strictly for military spouses to input their personal experiences and offer support to other in their situation. Other bloggers who do not get picked up usually have a lot to say against the military and government, but still are interesting (http://www.spousebuzz.com/).

With the growing popularity of blogs, these spouses, mostly women, have another outlet and support system while their spouse is away. Sarah has a blog, but is not a daily record of her daily routines and thoughts, but inspirational quotes and lyrics that get her through the day and hopefully others (http://armywifeinspirations.blogspot.com/).

How to Make a Care Package

In an effort to support our troops, I decided to make a care package. So, instinctively, the first thing I did was Google, “how to make a care package.” WikiHow and eHow gave me the jist of things (weight requirements, length requirements, etc). But I wondered what I would actually send and who to send it to.

First, I learned that you used to be able to send a care package addressed to “Any Soldier (Airman, Marine, Coast Guard, Sailor, etc.)”. But after 9/11 and the threat of Anthrax and other deadly, mailable substances, you can no longer do that. So now, Anysoldier.com, give you a list of military men and women and address to their base, so you can help them out. http://anysoldier.com/WhereToSend/

Secondly, I learned what to send and what not to send. Anything illegal will land you a date with the FBI. Alcohol is off limits, which was a shock to me because I thought they were allowed to drink. Pornography is also prohibited. According to anysoldier.com, porn is highly offensive to most Middle Eastern countries and you do not want to disrespect them.

If you know people in the military, then ask them specifically what they need. If you choose someone on the registered list from anysoldier.com, there are general things that every soldier needs overseas:

Toiletries –
MUST be travel sized, labeled and put in a zip locked bag

Toothpaste
Sanitizer
Toothbrushes
Babywipes (these are extremely important – sometimes they cannot shower for days)
Sun Block

AA Batteries
Magazines (again, nothing offensive)
Phone Cards
Deck of Cards
Energy Drinks – I was told by a Marine friend that Gatorade Powder is a favorite
Socks
Writing Materials and Envelopes
CDs / DVDs
Non-Perishable Food (nothing that can melt)

I’ve also been told that depending on where a soldier is and what they are doing, they would like coloring books and small toys to distribute to children around their base. Do not just send these items anywhere – make sure that they are stationed near and work with locals.

After getting a box, purchasing the items and securing them, seal the box securely and address it to the person you have chosen. When taking it to the post office, pay a flat rate instead of weighing it – it comes out cheaper.

These packages are a great way to support our troops as a whole and each person individually. Make sure to include a note to personalize your package, you may not get a response, but it will definitely brighten their day.

For more helpful tips and restrictions visit the United State Postal Service Web Site:
http://www.usps.com/supportingourtroops/

Cell Phones for Soldiers

There are many ways you can support the troops overseas without much hassle. One way, that is growing more popular is cell phone donations. If you are trading up your cell phone for a newer model, don't just toss is in the garbage. You can bring it to a local drop-off point where the cell phone is traded for pre-paid calling cards. This service help soldiers call home without worrying about cell phone bills.

Here is a link to show Staten Island drop-off locations.
http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/search_results.asp

This service was started by two kids from Boston after hearing on the news that a soldiers phone bill was $8,000.00. They raised the money to pay off the bill and then started Cell Phones for Soldiers to help families keep in touch overseas without worrying about money.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPdHyeTIcPA&feature=player_embedded

James Hartnett

I have known James for almost ten years now. We went to middle school together and he was my first boyfriend. After high school he joined the Air Force. When I heard that he had joined the military, it didn’t surprise me one bit. Because even though we were young when we dated, he was still one of the most patriotic people I know, and still know today.

James has seventy-something days until his Date of Separation from Active Duty. He plans to come back to the States, and continue working in the same career field as he was trained. “I’ll be interviewing with Secret Service, the FBI and the NYPD.” He will go back to school full-time to finish his degree (which the military pays for) and will also be employed through the New York State National Guard out of Hampton Beach. “One weekend out of every month, I have to go to Long Island and work…the only downside to this is that I could still be deployed.”

James comes from a loving, supportive family, which helps him since he is so far away. He has been in England for the past two years, working for the Military Intelligence Unit. “Basically, I deal with reporting on terrorist activity in my area of responsibility…and send the information to high ranking officers all the way to the soldiers in the field.”

His job is intense, but couldn’t further explain to me what he did, for obvious reasons. He is excited to come home, even though he loves what he is doing. He went on to describe to me that living there is much different than here. “Everything shuts down at five o’clock and everybody’s in the pubs…They don’t exercise or anything…just drink every night.” He tells me that by any American’s standard, they are considered serious alcoholics. It’s not the drinking though that bothers him. “People [in England] treat their own military like shit. They get no support from civilians…I appreciate everybody’s patriotism [back home] so much more now.”

Joe Loizzo

Joe Loizzo has been in the army for four years and is currently deployed in Al Anbar, Iraq (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governorates_of_Iraq). He is my good friend’s cousin and I’ve know him for a few years. He is 22 years-old and from Brooklyn, NY. Thankfully, he will be home in a few months.

I asked Joe about his feelings about the war, military and American government. While he admits he’d rather be in college, he now sees how strong and efficient our military is. “I think it’s great that we the government fix what we break.”

Joe works on a four man special operations team, not because of any special training, but because their rank structure is unique, and different from the usual military unit you would imagine. “Those typical military companies of a few hundred soldiers are here. And if they want something improved in their area of operations, they escort us to the site and we do an assessment. Then we do some paperwork to justify funding a project and once it's all approved we hire a contractor to do the work.”

A typical day for Joe would be spent either doing paperwork in an office for a project they’re funding, visiting a project or just interacting with the locals. They try to improve the standard of living of the locals in an attempt to "win the hearts and minds" of Iraqi civilians. They assess water treatment plants, electric grids, sewage, schools, infrastructure, etc. and hire contractors to work on them. They also support the civil military operations. “If the commander needs to spend money to improve something in his area of operations were his guys.”

It sounds like a normal, day-to-day job that anyone can hold back here at home. But he and his unit’s efforts to rebuild are dangerous. While their everyday life is office work and funding, “combat can happen any day someone shoots at you…the aftermath goes on for years [after the war ends].”

Joe also interacts with locals in an effort to build relationships with them. During a Humanitarian Assistance Project, Joe spent time with underprivileged kids, who live in a combat zone, giving them school supplies and book bags. He describes their reactions as simply amazing. “I realized that children are children no matter where they are in the world. And that feeling of giving back or making a child happy was the proudest moment of my life. I'm proud to be part of the rebuilding and not part of the tearing down. It's definitely different than expected”

Through e-mails, Joe has shown me an aspect of the military, and Iraq, that I was never aware of. Joe is right now in what’s called a Combat Zone. According to him, “it’s not really a war zone. When you think of war you think that you will kill or be killed each day you leave camp. Everyone in the country you’re fighting is your enemy. But that's not the case anymore.”
Joe feels that Iraq’s biggest problem is lack of information. “Most people in Iraq don’t have internet or computer access. Some have never seen a microwave. Pop some corn and they’ll be amazed.”

With little information and hardly any resources, most information is passed through word of mouth. “Picture a world where all information is passed by word of mouth. No international news to gain another perspective… Suppose you have a question and you ask someone older than you for answer…you have no way of checking their answer so you take it as truth. Keep in mind that this person never left your neighborhood may not be able to read and their answer might be wrong… It's a vicious cycle.”

Humanitarian Assistance Project