During the fund raising phase of this project, Chapter members submitted the names of 16 military personnel, currently stationed in either Afghanistan or Iraq. In late August, a shopping budget was established and on September 1st, a group of Dallas ALA volunteers headed off to the WAL-MART at Central Expressway and Hall Street, to purchase the 38 different items that would represent our gifts to the troops. By breaking into 3 teams and blitzing different quadrants of the store, the shopping carts were filled within 25 minutes and we headed to the checkout counter. More than 500 items were purchased and we stayed within budget! It should be noted that our ALA volunteers were the most enthusiastic shoppers to frequent the store that evening, acknowledging that it was exhilarating to spend someone else's money.

On September 15th the Dallas volunteers met again to sort and pack the gifts into the boxes. After completing the necessary customs forms, printing photos of our project activities and preparing the letters to the troops, 48 boxes were shipped off on September 19th to:

We hope that these brave and dedicated individuals will feel our appreciation and admiration as the packages arrive in the coming weeks. Many thanks to each of you who made financial contributions and a special thank you to each of the 21 Chapter members who volunteered on the project. I think that we can all safely say ”Mission Accomplished!”

I’m enclosing a couple of photos from Afghanistan so you can see a little bit of what we are doing and how things are here. I don’t know if you are a football fan, but many of us here are and now that football season began, we have an extra diversion to keep ouselves busy in our limited, but precious free time. I’m a big Dallas Cowboy fan and have enjoyed watching the games (except the Redskins game). Watching football here is grueling though as we are 8 and a half hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time (don’t understand that extra half-hour) and it makes for some difficult sleep patterns to watch the games. We also have several football contests and fantasy leagues to keep us busy.

Again, a sincere “thank you” to you personally and your organization. You all may not always hear back from Soldiers who receive packages, but I can assure you that support like this from back home means a great deal to everyone here.

Jay Waters
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army
Combined Joint Task Force-76
Director of Manpower and Personnel

1. Thank you for the care package full of snacks, and know that I’m sharing these precious items with my soldiers to ensure your generosity is appreciated by many. It feels great knowing we’re supported by our fellow countrymen during these trying of times. I promise to ensure that everything you sent goes to someone that truly appreciates the time and effort spent buying and sending the package.

BRIAN W. LASSETTER
CAPT, IN,
Commanding

Dear Jeff,
Today, we received the three boxes of 'goodies' you folks sent us. On behalf of the Kandahar Education Center, I want to express our deep appreciation for your generosity and, more importantly, the fact that we were in your thoughts.

I am a Department of Defense civilian and have worked with the Army for 29 years. Attached is a picture of the Education Center staff. My staff is comprised of Central Texas College and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University employees. We provide civilian and military education services and programs to the service members stationed in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

All Americans can be very proud of the outstanding work our men and women of the Armed Services are providing to Afghanistan. From fighting the 'bad guys' to rebuilding the country's infrastructure, their efforts are giving the people of Afghanistan an opportunity to live in peace for the first time in many years. My staff and I feel very privileged to have this opportunity to serve these fine Americans.

Once again, my deep thanks to the members of ALA.

Paul Lovello
Director
Kandahar Education Center