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'Cool' project to help U.S. troops fight heat

Jun-17-2006 » Filed Under: Homefront

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By Shantell M. Kirkendoll

Area hospitals announced a new war mission Thursday: They are sending ice packs to troops in Iraq, where temperatures are consistently over 110 degrees and often near 130 degrees.

The effort began at the request of Sgt. Larry J. VanderMolen, 22, an Owosso soldier who said drivers in his Stryker unit would pass out from the heat. He called his mother, Julie Innes, a Lansing health care worker, to see what she could do.

About 400 ice packs have already been sent after Owosso Memorial Healthcare and Sparrow Hospital chipped in. But more help is needed, and the community can be a part of "Operation Stay Cool."

"His first e-mail was, 'Mom, they work,'" Innes said during a news conference Thursday. "This is not just for my son. It's for everyone's son. It's hot, and they need our help."

Being sent are non-toxic Instant Ice Packs that need no pre-chilling, are activated by squeezing and last about 30 minutes. Hospitals often use the packs in their emergency rooms.

"They tuck the ice packs under their helmets and inside their flak jackets to keep cool," Innes said.

Innes' son is a member of the U.S. Army's 172nd Stryker Brigade, and the ice packs have been a lifesaver while on patrol searching for insurgents and weapons caches.


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