When I was in Afghanistan, one of the things my soldiers readily noticed was the tremendous amount of children who were either barefoot, or wearing worn out tattered shoes. We decided to launch Operation Shoe Fly asking folks back home to send us those gently used shoes that were stacked in the back of the closet, or in a box in the garage, after their children had grown out of them. We were humbled by your overwhelming support as we quickly found oursleves sorting through thousands upon thousands of pair of shoes.
It seems that members of Task Force Phoenix currently serving in Afghanistan have discovered the same need for shoes for the Afghan children. So in the spirit of Operation Shoe Fly, I’m asking that you again take a look in your closets and garages and gather up those gently used shoes your children no longer wear and send them to Task Force Phoenix. I would consider it a personal favor, and will repay said favor in spades at the earliest convenience. Thank you.
Michael T. Larkin
41 BCT HHC 1-180 SECFOR
Camp Phoenix, AF
APO, AE 09320
Believe it or not, your generosity in bringing the Hearts of America to the Soles of Afghanistan have contributed to achieving victory in ways the media is not able (or willing) to measure. Sgt Hook out.
I recently received an email from 1SG Clutinger in Afghanistan…
I want to thank you, we are starting to receive boxes of shoes thanks.
-1SG C.
Thank YOU Top. You and your Soldiers are doing the important work, both on the battlefield and at the schools, villages, and hospitals. Anyone else think we can scrounge up a few more boxes of gently used children’s shoes for the good first sergeant to deliver? If so, mail them to the following address:
1SG Larry Clutinger
“Operation Care”
Task Force Tiger
Bagram Air Field
APO AE 09354
Believe it or not, your generosity is helping our Soldiers accomplish the mission over here. I for one am extremely grateful for the outpourring of support my readers showed when I first asked for some shoes. For those who sent a pair or two, Thank You. For those about to send them, Thank You. And for those who helped to get the word out, Thank You. Now let’s show 1SG Clutinger that same American Spirit. Sgt Hook out.
UPDATE: Some have asked, “What kinda shoes?” Good question. Afghanistan has miles of desert that run into craggy mountains reaching as high as 15,000 feet. They have hot, hot summers, and frigid cold winters. So the answer, all kindsa shoes. Sandals or flip flops are useful in summers and low lying areas while sneakers or boots are welcome in the higher terrains and during winter months. Thanks again everyone, I’ve the greatest readers in the ’sphere.
Whilst deployed to Afghanistan a few years ago, my unit launched a program to deliver much needed shoes to the Afghan children. The program, coined Operation Shoe Fly, was an incredible success thanks largely to the generosity and kindess of my readers and the families and friends of the unit. I recently received an email from a first seargent currently deployed to Afghanistan asking if I might be able to help his unit obtain shoes for the barefoot children in their AO. They’ve named their program “Operation Care,” but the intentions are the same, to bring the hearts of America to the soles of Afghanistan.
So in the spirit of Operation Shoe Fly, I’m asking you to dig into the back of your closets, pull out those gently used shoes your kids have outgrown, and mail them to:
1SG Larry Clutinger
“Operation Care”
Task Force Tiger
Bagram Air Field
APO AE 09354
Each time I gave a pair of sneakers, boots, sandals to an Afghan child, my heart swelled and my eyes misted at seeing the incredible joy that crossed their faces. Equally as moving was the look in their parent’s eyes, sincerely appreciative of your generosity and caring of their children. Granted, it will take generations to change long held perceptions and attitudes towards the West in general and Americans specifically, but I’m willing to bet that 15 or 20 years from now, young Afghan adults will remember who it was that built schools for them when they were kids, who it was that dug wells for their villages, and who put a pair of shoes on their feet when they had none. Truthfully, we may never know if it makes a difference, but it sure seems like the right thing to do.
JILDALEK VILLAGE, Afghanistan — As the helicopters touched down and Soldiers exited the aircraft, many villagers looked on with anticipation.
The two CH-47 Chinook helicopters that landed in Jildalek Village were carrying more than 800 pounds of humanitarian aid donations including food, clothing, shoes and toys for the villagers. The donations were the result of the “Operation Shoe Fly” and “Angels for Afghanistan” programs.
Operation Shoe Fly, started by Company B, 214th Aviation Regiment, and Angels for Afghanistan, started by 1st Battalion, 211th Attack Aviation Regiment, are donation programs that have been set up by the family members of the Soldiers.
Starting off as local programs in Hawaii and Utah, respectively, the home states for the two units that comprise Task Force Pirate, they have grown nationwide. Angels for Afghanistan has even grown internationally, with donations coming from Australia, said Chief Warrant Officer Terry Stauffer, TF Pirate maintenance officer.
Due to the popularity of the two programs, some of the donations have been allocated to Honduras, since the donations can be used to help the locals there as well, said Stauffer.
While the main delivery for Angels for Afghanistan, two cargo planes full of donations, has not yet reached Afghanistan, packages have been received by individual Soldiers on a constant basis during the last few months.
Using the supplies that have already arrived in Afghanistan, TF Pirate has been working with the Parwan Provincial Reconstruction Team to locate villages that are in need of donations from an outside source.
Jildalek was identified as one of those villages.
“When we found out the Soldiers were there for the donations, we sent word out to the surrounding villages that donations were available at the school construction site,” said Qayoom, the regional security commander.
The construction site that was used for distributing the donations is a PRT-funded project to help rebuild the education system in the area.
While the PRT is working to improve the educational opportunities in Jildalek, the Soldiers of TF Pirate are using the donations supplied through the two organizations to improve the everyday lives of the people.
Although not all the villagers knew about the donations in advance, more than 200 people came to the donation site to receive clothing, shoes and humanitarian aid from the Soldiers.
Along with supplying the villagers with supplies, the Soldiers are also working to make the village elders a part of the re-stabilization efforts in the region.
In an attempt to give the village elders a larger role in the donation process, the Soldiers let the elders hand out the gifts, while they oversaw the process and took care of crowd control, which was necessary due to the large turnout.
On a recent trip to Jildalek, the only villagers that came to receive the donations were the men and boys, said CWO Layne Pace, TF Pirate AH-64 Apache pilot. During this visit the Soldiers had a nice surprise.
“This time, while there were still no women, there were quite a few young girls who came to the donation site and received shoes, clothes and stuffed animals,” he said.
As a sign of gratitude for what is being done for the people in the village, Qayoom invited the Soldiers to a tea lunch, which included green tea and cookies in the shape of a tree.
Qayoom again thanked the Soldiers for all the help they are providing to the village.
“We welcome all the help you are able to provide to the region,” said Qayoom. “We know that all help is from the heart, and we are very grateful.”
Qayoom also talked to the Soldiers about other needs in the village and future projects with the PRT.
“This isn’t the first time you have visited our village and I’m sure you will continue to help,” he said. “My only request for more donations is for coats, blankets and warm clothes that will help the people make it through the winter. The winters here are very harsh and the people don’t have warm clothes.”
Pace told Qayoom that they were awaiting a shipment of 1,000 blankets to come in before the next donation, and also that they would find out about any jackets that are being sent.
Before the helicopters returned to take the Soldiers back to Bagram Air Base, Qayoom had one last thing to tell the Soldiers.
“We are ready and willing to help the military in any way possible in the work they are doing to improve the region,” he said. “I hope this is the beginning of a long and lasting relationship between the military and the people of our village.”
With that, the Soldiers boarded the Chinooks, with the agreement that they would return again soon.
Feeling philanthropic? Head on over to It’s All Greek to Me and make a pledge to the 24-hour blog-a-thon called Project Blog where bloggers will peck away at the keyboard for 24-hours straight, begining promptly at 0800 hours EST, all to raise money for some very deserving charities.
Or visit Operation Shoe Fly and discover a worthy way to get rid of your kid’s shoes that are piling up in the hallway closet while at the same time helping Afghani children who have no shoes on their feet. If there is one thing I’ve learned about the blogosphere over the past year, is that there is no other group with a bigger collective heart than bloggers. Sgt Hook out.
Driving down the dusty road in a white van we approached the gate, stopping as the well armed sentry standing outside of the wood guard shack, beneath an Egyptian flag waving in the wind, raised his hand. Our driver spoke to him briefly and the sentry returned to his post to use the black phone hanging on the wall just inside the door. It was starting to heat up nicely in the late morning hour. The gate was raised and we drove through waving to the well armed, smiling sentry as we passed.
The hospital commander greeted us warmly, shaking each of our hands and inviting us to sit in his sparsely decorated office. A picture of President Hosni Mubarak hung in the place of honor behind the commander’s desk made of plywood and two-by fours. A surgeon from the hospital joined us acting as translator for the Egyptian commander, again greeting us warmly and shaking each of our hands. A Soldier, probably of lesser rank though I am not familiar with the Egyptian Army insignia of rank, came next into the room carrying a tray of cold Diet Pepsi which was written so on the cans in both English and Arabic. Though not a big fan of soda and certainly not diet soda, I graciously accepted not wanting to offend our hosts. The cold soda went down well in that heat.
A man in his late twenties or early thirties showed us his wound on his right thigh where a bullet had entered his body and embedded itself in his pelvis three days prior. The doctor/translator explained how the man was being released today, the removal of said bullet a success. Another man I would guess to be in his late thirties wearing a Green Bay Packers t-shirt struggled to sit up on his cot to greet us, he had only one leg, the right one was no longer from just above the knee which was covered with white bandages wrapping their way up the remainder of his leg. He had a long, black beard with many gray hairs in it. Another man, again in his late thirties and also with a long black beard with many gray hairs, sat on his cot with a boy of about 10 or 11 years of age. The boy was very skinny and dirty and wore sandals on his feet that looked as if they had been his father’s sandals when he was of the same age. I reached into my bag and produced a pair of Nike sneakers and presented them to the boy. He looked at his father who gave a nod and the boy returned to quickly accept my offer smiling from ear to ear. A fellow Soldier held out a hand filled with hard candies and Tootsie Rolls for the boy who did not wait for dad’s approval, snatching the sweets from the American Soldier. He managed to say what sounded very close to “thank you.” His father looked deeply into my eyes and nodded slightly, managing to convey what I took to be a “thank you.”
A four month old girl lay on a cot, crying and wheezing, struggling to breathe with her asthmatic little lungs. On either side sat her mother and father each holding a tiny little finger, each with a scared, pained look on their faces. I had some beanie babies in my bag and offered a little kitty cat to her father who accepted cautiously, feeling it with his fingers and looking questioningly to his wife who took the soft doll and inspected it herself. After a moment she laid the brown and white kitty cat next to her sick baby girl and they both looked at me silently saying “thank you” with their pained eyes. Neither looked as if they had slept in days.
I gave another beanie baby bear to a four year old girl who suffered with third-degree burns covering 30% of her body as a result of a land mine explosion. She was asleep. I hope the soft purple bear will bring her a smile when she awakes.
Later, in the waiting area of the outpatient care tent, I called to some kids to come over. They did. When I opened my duffel to pull out some shoes, they went crazy each grabbing a new pair of shoes whether it fit or not. I was mobbed. After finally getting them to calm down, we handed out some candies to all and the remaining beanie babies that I had brought. As we were leaving, a little boy of about 8 years tugged on my uniform blouse. He had his little brother in his arms, his head lying across his shoulder; he might have been eighteen months old. With his free hand, the older boy pointed to his feet, black from dirt, and asked, “Boots? Boots?” I had no more. “All gone, all gone,” I lamely said shrugging my shoulders with both palms facing upwards, empty. Finding a few pieces of candy I gave them some and felt my heart sink that I didn’t have enough shoes to provide for him and his brother whom he carried on his shoulder.
The Egyptians, as part of the Coalition Forces serving in Afghanistan, provide medical treatment to the Afghans in our area of operations. They were very grateful to have us come by and bring some gifts to the impoverished people that they treat. I’ll be going back again. Sgt Hook out.
This site is a collection of my writings, thoughts, and ramblings and in no way reflects the official positions of the United States Army or the Department of Defense. OPSEC trumps everything.
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In view of a recent tendency to identify characters in fiction with real people, it seems proper to state that there are no real people in this volume: both the characters and their names are ficticious. The names or designations of any military units are ficticious. There are no living people nor existing military units presented in this book.
-Ernest Hemingway
Halfway down the road to hell,
In a shady meadow green,
Are the souls of all dead troopers camped
Near a good old-time canteen.
And this eternal resting place
Is known as Fiddler's Green.
-Author Unknown
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