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Gene, you should try and get in touch with these guys - they're in your neck of the woods.
[Link to Full Article]
By:Tom Watts, Macomb Daily Staff Writer
Baby wipes and flea collars could mean the difference between misery and sanity for U.S. troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
While such items are not readily available overseas, Allen Galdys of the VFW Bruce Post Men's Auxiliary in St. Clair Shores, along with Keith Whitten, are leading the call for donations by collecting more than 30,000 items and preparing them for shipment.
"We're looking for more," said Galdys, who with the help of Whitten started collecting donated goods in February and call their project Support Our Troops. "We want everyone in Macomb County to know what we're doing so we can send more to our troops."
Galdys said he quickly ran into a problem during the collection.
"We didn't have anyone who would get the donations to our troops," he said. "Red Cross is no longer able to do bulk shipments and Selfridge Air National Guard Base said they couldn't accept our supplies. I thought, 'We need to get these supplies to our soldiers.'''
Enter Whitten, a member of the VFW Bruce Post and project security manager for the Stryker Brigade Combat Team in Warren, who heard about Galdys' dilemma and offered to help.
"I dropped the idea through logistics of getting these donated supplies to the troops," Whitten said. "So we suggested (the post) adopt the Stryker Brigade Combat Team serving in Iraq. The command staff was on board with this."
The post then inquired how they could help their newly adopted team from Fort Lewis, Wash., serving in Iraq.
A transportation company is going to take the items to Germany, Whitten said. From there, the items will be pushed to the front.