Support OUR Troops

I was driving to work this week listening to talk radio and all the politics of pro war and anti war and a Ford Escort wagon passed me. All over the back of it were those ribbons we all see. Most of them were originally to show support for our kids in the military serving all over the world. Then you get the pink ones for Breast Cancer, puzzle pieced colors for Autism, and the list goes on. There were so many of them you couldn't tell what color the car was. The driver probally suffers from support anxiety or ADHD. I'm sure there was a ribbon for it I just couldn't catch it going sixty miles per hour.

On the radio is an older gentleman, Bob Meaders, that is doing all that he can to support our troops with his organization modifying soldiers helmets. Along with several former military veterans and friends they make the helmets safer for the troops. The standard issue helmets do not offer enough protection and many soldiers are getting seriously hurt without the modifications. Brain injuries from roadside bombs and head trauma are rampant due to the fact that the helmets were never designed for such activity. The cost to retro fit these helmets is less than one hundred dollars each. The cost to medically treat and care for a soldier with blunt force head injuries can run into the millions over a lifetime. I'm doing the math in my head quickly and I think I like the idea of the retro fitting of the helmets better. This is not a Pro Democrat or Pro Republican organization, they just care about our kids in harms way.

OPERATION HELMET pays all of its own expenses and the cost to modify the helmets is all covered by donations. To date they have provided over 4500 kits to make the battle gear helmets safer for our kids. They are far behind all the requests they have from military units in Iraq for their service. You can check out their web site for yourself and decide for yourself if you want to put another troops ribbon on your car or really make a difference.

http://operation-helmet.org/

My thanks to Bob Meaders and his organization, Operation Helmet, for trully supporting our troops. Sometimes it takes more than just a ribbon on your car to show that you care about our kids in service to all of our country.

Papamoka
Worcester, MA