"You guys are what we are fighting for... "

This letter was recently received by Patti Bader, founder of Soldiers' Angels.

I have been chatting with one of your Angels for about a year now. Her name is XXXX and I told her about how my unit has gone through countless patrol and convoy ambushes and how we lose at least a soldier every time we go out.

I was pretty down and upset that my comrades were dying and that I was still alive. She asked for people to send me cards and letters to help cheer me up and show their support for what we are doing over here.

I just wanted to say thank you so much because I have been swarmed every day with letters and cards that come from your group and I share them with my squad and they all tell me that it really makes their day when they see how much people back home care about us and support us.

My whole squad just start crying when I show them the countless letters that I get from your group. They just can't believe their eyes when they see that so many people care that much to write to soldiers that they don't even know just to say hi and so their support. Thank you so much.

You guys are what we are fighting and dying for everyday. Thank You.

I tell my dad who is a WWII vet about all the letters that I have received from you guys and he says that it makes him smile and cry at the same time to hear of the support that the military is getting from back home. He says that he wished this group was around during Viet Nam when he had two sons over there because it would have made their day to see that people really cared for them and what they stood for even if they did not like the fact that we were in a war.

Like I said over and over again Thank You.

Proudly Serving God And Country,

SPC XXXX

4th of July Visit to Outpatients at Kleber near Landstuhl

As we sit outside the barracks on this beautiful Independence Day 2005 the planes heading into Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany fly overhead. Each time, we all look up. “C-17”, comments a Soldier, “much more comfortable evac than a C-130”. “C-5”, says another, a few minutes later. Then, “another C-17”, says a Marine. Each time, we fall silent for a moment before we start talking again.

They talk about how weird it is to ride on the bus from Ramstein to the hospital on a public highway with non-Military vehicles all around them. One says, “I’m like, those vehicles are so close to us! Where the %$&§ is the gunner - why isn’t he firing warning shots at them?!?” He’s been here for two days now, so it’s funny.

I look over at a guy with a cast on his arm who’s really quiet and ask, “When’d you get here?” “A couple of hours ago”, he answers. I hand him a beer and welcome him ‘home’.

As always, they can’t quite figure out what we’re doing there. “You guys aren’t Military, are you?” “Is your husband down range?” “Are you a Military Mom?”

“Then why are you here?”, they eventually ask.

“Well, we’re Soldiers’ Angels and we’re here because we love and support you.”

A chorus of, “Wow, that’s really nice”, “Cool!”, “We get so much stuff from ya’ll down range”, “Damn… ”

Willie, Rudi, Natalie and I arrive at 10am because we know the staff are busy with new arrivals in the afternoons. We have snacks like brownies and chips in baskets decorated with red, white and blue ribbons, 5 more pictures for the Wall of Thanks, and 10 more Transitional backpacks for the hospital.


That’s Natalie on the left and me flanked by Air Force and Army.


Rudi’s probably thinking that if I have one more comment about how he’s hanging the pictures then I should do it myself...

The pictures are part of the ongoing Wall of Thanks project. Our goal is to fill the hallways of the barracks with pictures from people back home as a personal expression of thanks and support.

After we’re done we go out to the picnic table outside the barracks. Willie and Rudi have brought soft drinks, beer, and picnic baskets full of food, plates, silverware – even a tablecloth. We know there are lots of guys who don’t feel up to leaving the barracks and don’t have much to look forward to this 4th of July.


As guys come out for some sun or to smoke, we round them up. Here we are with one Soldier (in the red T-Shirt) and trying to convince another (in the background) to join us. Despite my threatening gesture with a fork Willie is able to persuade him to come over.

The group gets bigger…


… and bigger. It’s like a big backyard picnic with a bunch of strangers who come and go, but everybody has fun and is able to forget about other stuff for a little while.


It’s after 9pm and time to go. Rudi says a last goodbye and Willie gathers up all the picnic stuff.

If you would like to help support our projects for the soldiers in Kleber barracks email me.

About Soldiers' Angels Germany

Soldiers' Angels Germany is a group of volunteers living in Germany. We are supported by the Soldiers' Angels organization and many private donors.

Our mission is to support wounded and ill warriors being treated at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center facilities after medical evacuation from Iraq, Afghanistan, and other theaters of operations around the Middle East and Africa.

Please read About Medevacs to Germany and Balad: The First Step of a Long Journey Home.

Information about wounded/ill service members (family only, please)
- Contact the unit's Rear Detachment which can provide you with information.
- Call the LRMC 24 hour number, which can be found here. Please be prepared to provide proof of identity.
- You may also email me for general information. Patient privacy laws (HIPAA) are strictly observed by Landstuhl staff and no medical information is available through Soldiers' Angels Germany.

In 2010, Soldiers' Angels Germany provided over 300 onsite volunteer days, 1500 offsite volunteer hours, and distributed about $300,000 in donations at LRMC. Donations include phone cards, clothing, Blankets of Hope, snacks, get well cards, and much more. See the links under "How You Can Help" to the right.

Shipping Information:
MTD
Attn: Soldiers' Angels
CMR 402
APO AE 09180

Important:
- Check links to the right under "HOW YOU CAN HELP" for current needs before shipping donations.
- Notify us when items are shipped.
- Include a note with your name, Email address, and short description of items sent in your packages. Without this information, we regret will not be able to confirm their receipt.
- Please allow 6-8 weeks for receipt confirmation.


Soldiers' Angels has received numerous awards, including the Department of Defense's Spirit of Hope Award and the Army's Civilian Award for Humanitarian Service. In August of 2010, Soldiers' Angels Germany received the Presidential Citizens Medal for the organization's volunteer work at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.




Please take a moment to view the Soldiers' Angels Project Overview Video which contains more information about our mission, particularly our Medical Support efforts. Created by Laurie of Soldiers' Angels New York.

Dear Maryann,


I am home now, and working hard at being Kim’s husband (you may recall that this is my current career goal!).

I just wanted to thank you and your Angels again (and again) for what you do every day to care for, uplift and honor our wounded and their families.

On my visit to Landstuhl (I stopped there twice this year to visit our wounded and thank the staff), I was so humbled by your caring attitudes and selfless service. I just wanted to say thanks.

Of my enduring memories of my life as a Soldier, there is little doubt that the way we care for and protect each other will be top of the list, and in amongst those memories will be the countless Samaritans like you and your Angels.

Thanks.

Respectfully,


CSM Jeffrey J. Mellinger

Multi-National Force – Iraq CSM Aug 04 – May 07

Photos of staff, patients, and angels at Landstuhl hospital can be found at the Soldiers' Angels Germany Facebook page.

"Support our troops, make their home worthy of them."

As Ralph Peters notes in his NY Post column today, it’s been a while since we’ve heard the latest on Army recruitment numbers. In the spring, media coverage of recruitment shortfalls was everywhere.

And now? Overall year to date, first-time enlistment and re-enlistment rates are all at over 100% of targets.

Guess we have to face it: Patriotism is alive and well. Soldiers believe in the Army, and they believe in their missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. They love their comrades, too. And yes, the word is "love." They would die for the man or woman serving beside them. They're risking their lives to save a broken state, to give tens of millions of human beings a chance at decent lives, to do the grim work that no one else in the world is willing to do.

Their reward? The Cindy Sheehan Extravaganza. Predictions of disaster. The depiction of Michael Moore as a hero and our soldiers as dupes. And a ceaseless attempt to convince the American people that there's no hope in Iraq.

The ugly truth is that much of the media only cares about our soldiers when they're dead or crippled. That's a story.

As you read this, 500,000 soldiers are on active duty because they chose to serve their country. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of Reservists and Guard members have been called into uniform. And they're all behaving as true soldiers do: Running toward the sound of the guns, not away from them.

We should be humbled by their choices, honored by their sacrifices, and proud of what they're fighting to achieve. Instead of the jerk's refrain "Support our troops, bring them home," the line should run "Support our troops, make their home worthy of them."

Our young men and women in uniform — in every service — deserve far better than we've given them.

Read the whole thing.

About Medical Evacuations to Germany

(See also Balad: First Step of a Long Journey Home)

Injured and ill soldiers are normally extracted by a medevac helicopter to a U.S. Army Combat Support Hospital (CSH) at a forward field operating base or FOB. Once they have undergone surgery, if necessary, and are in stable condition, their overall condition is evaluated. If doctors there agree on the need, the patients are then transported to a level II military treatment facility (MTF). The closest is Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

There are a number of aircraft used to medevac patients to Germany, the most common being C-17 Globemasters and C-130 Hercules. (C-141 Starlifters are typically used for the medevac from Germany on to the U.S.) The C-17 is configured to carry 48 litter patients on racks along the center of the aircraft and troop seats for 40 ambulatory patients along the walls. The C-130 can be configured to carry "all litter" with racks for 70 litter patients along the walls, or "all ambulatory", or a combination.

OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM (AFPN) -- Capt. Kristen McCabe holds a soldier's hand and talks to him during his flight to Germany. The special forces soldier was seriously injured in an ambush in southern Afghanistan. McCabe is a Critical Care Aeromedical Transport Team nurse with the 438th Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron. (U.S. Army photo by Cpl. Keith Kluwe)


OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM -- U.S. Air Force aeromedical-evacuation technicians carry a soldier from the medical airlift staging facility at Baghdad International Airport to a C-130 Hercules. The 15 people who staff the MASF are responsible for getting sick and wounded people out of the combat environment and into a hospital where they can receive more extensive care. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Cherie A. Thurlby)

Upon arrival at Ramstein AFB in Germany, the patients are transferred 5km by bus to LRMC where they are evaluated and admitted either to the hospital or to the Medical Transient Detachment outpatient facility.

The medical facilities in Germany are transitional facilities. After a short stay (3 days to 3 weeks), the patients either return to Iraq or Afghanistan or are flown to a medical facility in the US for further treatment.

To find out how you can support our injured and ill troops during their stay in Germany email me.


Two Videos about Medevac Flights to Germany



This first video shows the transport of non-critical and ambulatory patients. It starts at the CASF in Balad, Iraq. Patients on litters are taken from the CASF to the bus for transport to the aircraft. On the bus, the litters are suspended to reduce jarring during the short ride. The patients are awake and conversing with the Airmen of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing.

Then you'll see the inside of the aircraft where the litter patients are placed on "racks". Behind the racks you can get a glimpse of the ambulatory patients who sit along the outer sides of the aircraft in troop seats. Specialized in-flight medical personnel care for the patients during flight.




This video is about Critical Care Air Transport. The CCATT, or Critical Care Air Transport Team, is made up of highly specialized personnel experienced in the in-flight care of critically injured patients with multiple trauma, burns, and other life-threatening conditions.

The first green litter you'll see holds supplies/equipment. Later a team of six Airmen carries the first patient on board the aircraft. At about the 1:52 mark you get a good look at what is required to safely transport critical patients out of theater. The patient's head is to the right of the shot. Equipment is mounted on a raised rack over his lower extremeties.

The medical equipment includes miniature versions of everything found in a typical critical care hospital environment: Complete monitoring of vital organ functions, ventilator, an electronically-controlled multi-channel infusion (IV) system, electronic wound vacs, and drains and other catheters as required by the patient's condition.

After arrival at Ramstein Air Base the patients are accompanied by medical personnel during the 5km drive to Landstuhl hospital. A few days later the process is reversed as the patients are again prepared for flight, this time from Germany to the US - the last leg of a long journey home.

Your donations - from receipt to distribution

Mail call! Mail is delivered about three times a week. Yvonne's got a big smile on her face even though she's now got her work cut out for her :-) Those large boxes are blankets and although it looks like a lot, the number of blankets shown here can be gone within two days. (All of these photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.)




The receiving room where donations are unpacked and documented.




Here volunteers are sorting mixed personal care items so they can be stored and distributed by type.




Many items are distributed as soon as they unpacked, but others move into storage. Nothing stays around long - the items in the storage rooms turn over completely about once a month. The shelves shown here have bins of knit caps, flip flops, and men's deoderant in addition to the blankets you can see.




Like most medical facilities, space is tight so our shelves are only a few feet apart. Part of the shelf to the left has a box with religious items as well as electronics like hand-held games and iPods. On the back wall you can see some blankets sorted by service branch.




Toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, soap, razors, shaving cream, nail clippers, q-tips, combs, foot powder, deoderant, lotion - you name it, we got it (from all of you!!).




In another storage room additional blankets and travel pillows are stored in boxes stacked against the back wall, and in front of the shelves are grab bins with lounge pants.




Sweat pants and hoodies are most difficult to keep in stock, as you can see by the sparse shelves. T-shirts, underwear, and socks are stored on an island of shelves to the right in the middle of the room.




Leta unpacking a shipment of sweats.




Clothing, blankets, and personal care items are placed on self-service shelves in the laundry rooms of both outpatient barracks so they are are available 24/7. There are three sets of shelves in each building where the outpatients stay while being evaluated and treated at the hospital.




Gold Star Mom Linda Ferrara helping a patient select a blanket. He's wearing a Soldiers' Angels t-shirt he received in an SA backpack at a hospital in Afghanistan.








Linda and MaryAnn unpacking quilts.




Calling cards, blankets, travel pillows, knit caps, and other items are delivered to the hospital wards for inpatients, as well as coffee for the nursing staff.





May no Soldier go unloved,
May no Soldier walk alone,
May no Soldier be forgotten,
Until they all come home.

Supporting Wounded Warriors at Landstuhl Hospital

This page has moved. Please click here to view the current page.

All Sewing / Knitting Projects

Blankets of Hope. Blankets (no lap robes or knitted items, please) are always needed both in Germany and at the Combat Support Hospitals. Email me for complete information.

Knitted/crocheted items as well as lap robes for patients at VA and other long-term medical facilities in the US. Remember that many veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are in these VAs - and that the older guys there are Heroes, too! You can find detailed information here.

Knitted and sewn baby items for the newborns of deployed troops. Please visit Operation TopKnot and Operation Marine Corps Kids for information.

Knitted and fleece watch caps for both Germany and the CSHs. They must be black or other dark color and look like the examples shown here:
- Knitted Caps
- Fleece Caps

Thank you for caring about our soldiers who have sacrificed so much for us.


This information is current as of June 2011.

First Response Backpacks

The Soldiers' Angels have adopted the Combat Support Hospitals in Iraq and all the Military hospitals worldwide. Soldiers’ Angels Germany supports the patients at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. See About Medical Evacuations to Germany.

The First Response Backpacks include a t-shirt, get well card, Blanket of Hope, underwear, socks, etc. Receiving these items from everyday Americans provides a level of personal support that has a very positive impact on a patient´s morale, and therefore on the recovery process.

Soldiers' Angels is requesting donations of:

Get well cards
Blankets of Hope
Phone Cards
T-Shirts (solid color, M, L and XL)
Sweatpants & Zippered Hoodie Sweatshirts (M, L and XL)
Sleep or Lounge Pants (M, L, XL)
Boxerbriefs (M, L and XL)
Socks
FlipFlops to wear while showering (men's large sizes)
Non-skid slipper socks

Please send all items to:

MTD
Attn: Soldiers' Angels
CMR 402
APO AE 09180

Please notify us when items are shipped.
- Include a note with your name, Email address, and short description of items sentin your packages. Without this information, we regret we will not be able to confirm their receipt.
- Allow 6 - 8 weeks for receipt confirmation.

First of all, I want to thank you for the great support you have given us in the form of the Soldiers' Angels Backpacks. Soldiers really appreciate the thoughtfulness that goes in to filling and providing one of the backpacks.

One soldier recently told me that if it were not for the backpack and its contents he would have had nothing to wear except a hospital gown all weekend until he could have gotten off the ward and down to the chaplain’s closet.

Thanks again for your thoughtfulness and support.

This information is current as of June 2009.

" ...even in a hell like this , God has sent yet another Angel"

From Sara of Soldiers' Angels.

Dec 18, 2003

Dear "Army Mom,"

Just wanted to take a second to tell you what happened in Iraq today. It was raining - and I was just coming in to my headquarters when when I passed by one of my newer soldiers - an immigrant from the former Soviet Union - and one of my BEST privates.

I was stopped in my tracks, for behold - on such a dreary day he was smiling. I was being funny (at first) and I said "awww you got a package with some goodies? Who sent that to you?" And as I expected to hear him say "my mom“ (or something like that) he turned his face to me and said "I don't know...." he had a smile on his face.....and as I saw his eyes glazing he said " ...that's why I was smiling" and at that my eyes began to glaze too.

I can never take for granted their service, not for one minute - not for one second. And now... even in a hell like this - God has sent yet another Angel.

I'll bet you didn't know that did you? How truly amazing - how close we come to God in such a far away place.

And how silly I am for thinking that this private's safety is for me only to keep. Seems there are many who share this burden - and make me sleep sound.

You made one of my soldiers smile today - sitting there by himself - and for that, you have touched my soul.

I'd thank you, but that's not why Angels do what they do (I know). So instead I'll just say - Well Done! You can rest easy, message received. And I'll do my best to bring them home. I owe God one ;-)

Thank you from my soul,



PS From the Fourth Army son of a mom like you no doubt.