Sky Soldiers

Nearly 200 men of the 173rd Airborne, the Sky Soldiers, have been lost during their current tour in Afghanistan. They are stationed in the Korengal Valley near the Pakistani border, living in harsh, primative conditions. We are 5 years into this war, and these men are still taking baby wipe showers, living in barely heated tents, and only get to a decent base about once a month. Carhartt recently sent them 5,000 pairs of wool socks and 750 sets of thermal underwear due to the undying support of one Ms. Leta Carruth. Leta has put her heart, soul, and pocketbook on the line looking for support for these men. Read her blog, and you'll see what I mean. I'm proud to call her my friend.

My friend recently sent me a link to a New York Times article about the 173rd; an article that made them all out to be psychotic, depressed, and angry men. She knows their mental and physical states due to her contact with the Sky Soldiers and their families. She knows what kind of challenges they face, and it frustrates her beyond words, but this most recent article has her outraged and ready to launch a "Surge" of her own.

Her "surge" involves one of the most powerful weapons in the world: WORDS.

She's looking for letters and emails of support for "her boys", as I have nicknamed them. It doesn't have to be a long letter or a support package- just a note to tell these men that we appreciate them, love them, support them AND their mission, and telling them that they're making a difference. They need to know that not all Americans drink the Kool-Aid and wear tinfoil hats, guarding themselves against those "harmful and dishonest" POSITIVE stories about their successes in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Please. Take a few minutes and write two things:
1. An support email to skysoldiers173rd@gmail.com
2. A written note for the Sky Soldiers, sent to Leta Carruth, P O Box 100
Cordova, TN 38088

Sky Soldiers thank you.
Leta thanks you.
Matt thanks you.
Domestic Diva thanks you.
And I thank you....

And I can say that in advance because I know my readers (all 3 of you) will not let me down and you'll let these men know you think they ROCK.
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UPDATE
OK, first of all... The point of this post is to generate email and letter lovin' for the 173rd.
Secondly... I mistakenly wrote that over 200 Sky Soldiers have been lost. As two of you have pointed out in comments, there have been 30 killed. One said "I don't know where you get your information"... I got it from the website you linked, www.173rdairborne.com. I clicked on OEF Casualties, thinking that it would report 173rd casualties, and made a rough estimate because there were so many listed. Looking at that site now, it appears you have listed all casualties (which, as I obviously forgot, means injuries and deaths), not just 173rd casualties. There are many.

I'm not really sure why I've upset either of you by this error. No offense was intended. This is a little blog, with very low readership. I almost didn't post on this at all because anyone who reads my site has already seen this on Blackfive, but the two driving this campaign are good friends of mine and asked me to post it. As I said before, the point of this post is to generate letters and emails of support. In doing so, I pointed out the harsh conditions they've endured- including the deaths and injuries. This is pro-military, pro-victory site. No offense was meant by my mistake- please do not take it as such.