Lots to cover

There will be a few changes over the next few days at Canadian Angels. One is a new opportunity to share a program with the Soldiers Angels which they call Blankets of Hope (I want to come up with a suitably Canadian Name for our side of things!!). The Blankets of Hope are made or purchased by Angels in the US, and shipped to field hospitals in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as to Landstuhl Hospital in Germany where the seriously injured are taken. Injured soldiers are given the blankets with a little tag telling them who it is from. Canadians who would like to participate can contact Retta at dodgecityangel@yahoo.ca .

I will also be collecting get-well notes and postcards to send to Landstuhl. Address info to follow (I need to get a PO Box!).

From a corporate perspective, Canadian Angels will be receiving artwork and technical assistance from the amazingly generous employees at The Tube Store in Alberta. Dan contacted me the day Canadian Angels went live to offer me assistance, which I gratefully accepted. The Tube Store had previously been doing their bit to assist American troops in Iraq, and when the opportunity arose to assist our own guys and gals, they were glad to help in any way they could. Thanks to everyone at The Tube Store!!

There is also now a Guidelines page at Canadian Angels to help the Angels get started.

We have received nearly a hundred volunteer Angels so far! The support has been amazing, and I want to give a great big thanks to everyone who has signed up to adopt a soldier. Keep those adoption requests coming!

We're getting great feedback from those in the Forces as well. I will post more on that soon.

Five Canadians Injured, Two Brits Killed

Our thoughts and paryers go out the the families of two British soldiers killed in Basra.

The incident happened in Gizayza, north-west Basra, during a routine patrol in an armoured Land Rover, in support of operations to disrupt the insurgency.

Defence Secretary Des Browne said: "It was with profound sorrow that I heard of the tragic deaths last night of two British soldiers.

"Our thoughts are with the family and friends of these brave men. I am told that two other soldiers have sustained minor injuries."

Although we know it can never ease the pain, please know that they died as heroes.

Five Canadians were injured in a gunbattle wast of Kandahar.

The Canadian soldiers were on a patrol about 13 miles (20 kilometers) west of Kandahar when they were ambushed by militants early Monday, said Maj. Mario Couture, a coalition spokesman.

Five soldiers were wounded, including one who was seriously injured and flown to Germany for medical treatment, he said.

Fear not - those soldiers shipped to Germany are being cared for by not only an excellent medical team, but by MaryAnn at the Germnay branch of Soldiers Angels. MaryAnn and I have been communicating a lot recently, and she will be providing the Canadians with the get well notes Canadian Angels has sent over. Soldiers Angels believes that NO soldier should be left behind, and that includes us Canucks.

Thank you MaryAnn, for doing what we are too far away to do.

I received this from a Canadian Serviceman

I am a small and precious child,
my dad's been sent to fight...
The only place I'll see his face,
is in my dreams at night.
He will be gone too many days
For my young mind to keep track.
I may be sad, but I am proud.
My daddy's got your back.

I am a strong and loving wife,
with a husband soon to go.
There are times I'm terrified
in a way most never know.
I bite my lip, and force a smile
as I watch my husband pack...
My heart may break, but I am proud.
My husbands got your back...

I am a soldier, Serving Proudly, standing tall.
I fight for freedom, yours and mine by answering this call.
I do my job while knowing, the thanks it sometimes lacks.
Say a prayer that I'll come home. It's me who's got your back.

He sends the following message:

I would urge all of you as good, God fearing, patriotic, CANADIAN citizens to stand by all of the people that are already over there preparing to give their lives for us and our way of life.

The Soldier

I found this on another blog, and wanted to share...

A soldier stood and faced his God,
Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining,
Just as brightly as his brass.

"Step forward now, soldier,
How shall I deal with you ?
Have you always turned the other cheek ?
To My Church have you been true?"

The soldier squared his shoulders and said,
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't.
Because those of us who carry guns,
Can't always be a saint.

I've had to work most Sundays,
And at times my talk was tough.
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.

But, I never took a penny,
That wasn't mine to keep...
Though I worked a lot of overtime,
When the bills got just too steep.

And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God, forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.

I know I don't deserve a place,
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around,
Except to calm their fears.

If you've a place for me here, Lord,
It needn't be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand.

There was a silence all around the throne,
Where the saints had often trod.
As the soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.

"Step forward now, soldier,
You've borne your burdens well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."

~Author Unknown~

Helping us help you

Today I spoke with a member of the Armed Forces in Ottawa, who made a couple of suggestions for the Canadian Angels. Some of them I felt were very obvious, and others needed to be explained to me.

The two main points:

For reasons of privacy, only the soldier or an immediate family member should be able to sign them up. Random friends or strangers would be inappropriate. I'm okay with that.

The Canadian military is different from the Americans in many ways. It's no secret that we have fewer resources. We have been asked to please limit the size and weight of packages going over. Cards, letters - always great. Small packets, not too much of a problem. Large boxes? Maybe only around the holidays. I definitely agree with that point, as I can understand how quickly the military planes must get filled, how expensive it must be to make the trips over with supplies, equipment and mail, and how much the fuel is costing these days.

Remember, we are here to help the military in any way we can, and that includes the guys in Ottawa making the rules. To that end, a couple of small changes will be made on Canadian Angels later on tonight.

Support from Soldiers Angels

I received a wonderful email today from Retta, a fellow Canadian Soldiers Angels. Retta had been trying to set up a Canadian version of Soldiers Angels, officially affiliated with the American program. And then, without knowing any of this, I came lumbering into the fore.

Well, instead of acting territorial, or claiming that she had been there first, Retta has instead decided to join me and we'll pool our resources. For both of us, our first priority are the Canadian Armed Forces, serving overseas and facing danger day after day. Don't be surprised if you see Retta around here from time to time.

And Soldiers Angels has thrown their support behind Canadian Angels as well.

Today has been a great day.

Lucky outcome from a bad situation

A British military plane caught fire while landing in Kabul, but all aboard escaped without harm.

Thank God.

Canadian Angels Podcast

The Canadian Angels podcast with PA Pundits is up here. Go have a listen.

The military must be too risqué for Toronto

Well, as it turns out, Canadian Angels did make it into the National Post on Saturday, just not the Toronto edition. Toronto. Where I live. And buy the paper.

The front page of the Saturday National Post in Toronto was a pair of socks. Because socks are peaceful. Socks don't fight. Socks don't die.

Toronto can apparently only handle the fluff pieces about socks, whereas the rest of Canada has the guts to deal with the Armed Forces. Siri Agrell wrote a great piece, and at least the rest of Canada got to see it. If she has her way, Toronto may see it tomorrow. If not, and we wind up with tulips or something equally inoffensive, here is what she wrote:

Soldiers to get gifts from 'Angels': Torontonian inspired by U.S. group
National Post
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Page: A8
Section: Canada
Byline: Siri Agrell
Source: National Post

A Toronto woman has started a network to allow Canadians to express their
support for members of the armed forces.

Wendy Sullivan, a legal assistant and part-time blogger, yesterday launched
a Canadian version of Soldiers' Angels, a popular U.S. group that sends
letters, e-mails and care packages to members of the military.

Canadian Angels, which can be found at www.canadianangels.org, hopes to pair
citizens with Canadian armed forces personnel stationed in Afghanistan or
here at home.

Ms. Sullivan, who has no personal connection to the armed forces in Canada
or the United States, said she has long been looking for a way to express
her support for the Canadian military, but found few means to do so.

For the past year, as a member of Soldiers' Angels, Ms. Sullivan has sent
messages and gifts of support to individual U.S. soldiers in Iraq, joined a
group that has "adopted" the 82 Airborne division and raised money for a
program that provides voice-activated lap tops to wounded soldiers.

"It's really just a matter of sending letters, remembering birthdays,
sending off Christmas presents," she said. "All it is, is keeping in touch
and letting them know that there's someone at home who is thinking about
them."

Her main problem will be finding the names of individual soldiers for her
"angels" to communicate with.

"The system in the Canadian military is that you can send a package to a
soldier if you have his or her name and address, but you can not send
general mail," she said. "That leaves a whole bunch of people not being able
to hear from me. Short of showing up on [General Rick] Hillier's doorstep
and saying 'Hi, I'm Wendy,' I'm not quite sure what to do."

She received an e-mail from Patti Bader, head of the U.S. Soldiers' Angels
network, who gave her blessing and support to the project and Ms. Sullivan
also hopes to find a corporate partner. In the United States, a company
called Minimus provides travel- sized snacks and other products to the
Soldiers' Angel group and makes up care packages it ships to U.S. military
bases.

"I just sent one out to one of my American guys in Iraq," Ms. Sullivan said
yesterday. "They range in price from about $10 to $150 and it's just so
easy."

From her experience with such projects in the United States, Ms. Sullivan
says she knows first-hand how much these gifts can mean to soldiers and
hopes the project will take off in Canada.

She dismisses the idea that it is unfair to send gifts to some soldiers to
the exclusion of others, which is why the Canadian Armed Forces discourages
the public from sending gifts.

"Saying that they can't give things to some soldiers and not all of them, to
me that's kindergarten not war," she said. "I want to spoil them rotten."

"I thought, well, if I can't help the guy next door, I can help the country
next door, so I joined Soldiers' Angels," she said.

Ms. Sullivan is in the process of registering Canadian Angels as a
charitable organization, but she said she has already signed up about 20
volunteers and had people send money and express their support for the
project.

sagrell@nationalpost.com

Canadian Angels in the News

I will be on The World Tonight with Rob Breakenridge on CHQR in Calgary at 8:05pm Mountain Time tonight to talk about Canadian Angels.

Canadian Military Assists in Af'stan Development

I saw this article from the Globe & Mail this morning:

The aid project, the brainchild of the Canadian International Development Agency, was unveiled under tight security at a meeting of 300 tribal elders yesterday in a dusty desert village in the heart of Taliban territory in northeastern Kandahar province.

The region is so dangerous that the meeting had to be guarded by scores of heavily armed troops, policemen, bodyguards and security agents -- including a convoy of Canadian armoured vehicles and several dozen Canadian soldiers.

The aid project is to give villagers in rural areas an alternative to the Taliban for protection, funding and rule.

The new Canadian program, created by CIDA, is an unprecedented exercise in consulting Afghans on their own needs and priorities. It aims to rebuild the shattered authority of Afghanistan's local governments, giving people control of their own schools and clinics, and making the Taliban a much less attractive option.

"It's a uniquely Canadian approach," said an official of Canada's provincial reconstruction team in Kandahar. "It's never been done before. The whole point is community participation. If an insurgent comes to burn your school, you're more likely to defend it if it's your own school."

Looks like our men and women on the front lines are providing a very useful service to the redevelopment of very dangerous territory. I shall be keeping an eye on this story.

*************************************************

In other news, emails have been flying back and forth between members of the original Soldiers Angels, other bloggers, myself... So I'll set the record straight.

Canadian Angels is not officially affiliated with Soldiers Angels in the USA, though it is based on the same premise: to support those on the front lines and show them they are loved. Canadian Angels has received the blessing of Patti Bader, founder of Soldiers Angels, who emailed me on Friday to tell me she was proud of me. It brought tears to my eyes.

The idea is to work together to make sure we don't miss anyone. If Patti's organization can do something easier and more efficiently, then they absolutely should. But if I can get more Canadians involved in the support of their soldiers, the way I have been supporting American Forces through Soldiers Angels, then I welcome the opportunity to do so.

And in addition, Canadians sending mail to Canadian troops pay less in postage. It's as simple as that. Sometimes it just makes more sense to have a localized angency assisting.

I envision a situation where Angels on both sides of the 49th Parallel feel comfortable exchanging information. We are all in this together. And that's a blessing in itself.

What a great first couple of days

In less than two days, my little idea has grown incredibly. I really want to thank the 30+ volunteers who have already signed up, with more emails coming in every hour. I have had calls offering me technical and financial help. I have been contacted by Siri Agrell of the National Post to do a follow-up on her piece of May 6th. And on Monday night I will be speaking to Rob Breakenridge on CHQR (Calgary) at 8:05pm Mountain Time.

The first post on the blog was entitled "Countering Apathy", but now I am beginning to rethink that. Canadians are not apathetic toward their military at all. They really care, as they've shown over the past couple of days.

Our main shortcoming remains the inability to get the word out to the troops en masse, but the applications are trickling in nonetheless.

People are offering advice, too. One person pointed out (to my shame) that I had referred to all our Forces as "soldiers", instead of the soldiers, sailors and airmen that are over there. It's a silly mistake that I promise will be corrected.

Keep the applications coming. As soon as we have more soldiers, everyone will have one to sponsor. And thanks again for all you've done so far.

We're open for business!!

Canadian Angels is officially launched, and volunteer applications have begun pouring in. It's heartwarming to see how many people want to support our troops and give them a helping hand when they're so far from home.

Now we need to get the word out to the troops themselves. So far, I have angels, and no one to match them to!! So if you have a friend or family member in the Armed Forces, spread the word. Maybe they don't need the extra attention (though really, who doesn't?), but they know someone who does. Someone who may not get a lot of mail, or who is stuck in a field hospital, or who is feeling kinda down. Sign 'em up! Believe me, there is more than enough love to go around.

We carry on

The results of the vote in the house of commons are in (149-145). Canada will fight in Afghanistan at least until 2009. Time to get a move on. Our military is thin, but their tough. Let's show them that we appreciate the efforts they make to keep us secure and free.

Visit us at Canadian Angels, and drop an email to sign up.

Tonight's a big night

Tonight our parliament will vote to see if the Canadian Forces will remain in Afghanistan for an additional two years, bringing us into 2009. Whether or not my project to support the troops goes forward is contingent on what is decided in Commons tonight. Check back for further update.

Countering Apathy

Welcome to Canadian Angels. This is only the first post of a new project, based on the wonderful work of Soldiers Angels in the United States. In the U.S., support of the troops is a time honoured tradition. Here in Canada, as well as in the coalition countries such as Britain, Australia, Poland and Italy, no such program exists. Is it because we don't care enough? Are we apathetic? Or are we just waiting for someone to make the first move?

I have thought of launching something like this before, and was finally spurred to action thanks to the dozens of emails I've received via Girl on the Right, and the article in the National Post for Saturday, May 6, 2006 about how it's time for us to give back to the men and women who fight for our freedoms. Make no mistake - these people are not just "peacekeepers." They fight. Life is hard, and they do their best to keep morale up. Wouldn't you like to help? I know I would.

In the next week or so, there will be an official Canadian Angels website where soldiers can sign up to receive care packages, and volunteers can sign up to be matched with them. In the meantime, if you want to get a head start, please email me at canadianangels@gmail.com.