As many of you know, we started a project last year to make the holidays brighter for some of our men and women of our military that were spending the season away from their families and loved ones by sending decorations, stockings, and care packages overseas.  In 2008 my brother James, who was in Iraq, assisted us in supporting over 150 troops in the NMCB 7 (Naval Mobile Construction Battalion) stationed at Balad Air Base in Iraq.  Now that he safely returned to the states, he has assisted us in finding another military group in need of our assistance. 

Please take a moment to read an excerpt from Operations Specialist First Class Lynn Dangerfield, currently stationed in Fujairah, UAE (which is located at the entrance of the Persian Gulf).  These men and women have already been away from their families for months and will continue to be through the holiday season.   

“The majority of my unit are reservists. We've have so many distracting problems happen since we've gotten here ie. pay problems, and mailing addresses (which has now been taken care of 2 months later).  As we continue to work out some of the kinks, we find that morale is our toughest challenge.  To give you a background on what we do; we are patrol gunner boats that take care of any USS Ships or contracted boats in our Area of Responsibility so that any events related to the USS Cole and the Maesrk Alabama doesn't happen again.  We stand 16 hour watches on 34ft patrol boats suited up in 65lbs of armor, waiting for any case possible.  Our reservist quote is- "we do this as a hobby", but in general we do this because this is what is needed to keep shipments to our troops safe and to keep our loved ones safe to come home, civilian or military!  We have 90 men and 10 women in harms way, and the best thing ever for us is a little piece of home.  So if there is anything you can help keep moral up and let these guys know that no matter what they are being thought of, that would be awesome!  Thank you
so much.”    -Lynn Dangerfield