Dear Soldier, Pen-Pal Program Boosts Troops In Balkans
In Bosnia, temperatures plummet below zero, the snow piles up outside makeshift barracks, and the threat of renewed violence among Muslims, Croats and Serbs hangs in the air.
So Thanksgiving and Christmas can be downright depressing, especially for those soldiers facing long hours of boredom who don’t have anyone to correspond with.
That’s why the Pentagon is encouraging people in the states to send regular mail - or electronic mail - addressed to “any service member” in Bosnia.
This will be the third holiday season that the pen-pal program has been under way for U.S. troops in the Balkans. While the military doesn’t keep figures on how many pieces of mail arrive for “any service member,” the Army says the flow is “spiking up” as the holidays are near.
“The soldiers very much appreciate the letters, the cookies, baked goods and embroidery that is being sent along,” said Maj. Casey Bain, an Army spokesman who has been to Bosnia three times. “It means a lot, especially when you might be assigned there for nine months.”
The U.S. has about 8,500 military personnel assigned to keep the peace in Bosnia as part of an international coalition. Most are Army troops.
Depending on where troops are based in Bosnia and the level of tension among the local residents, soldiers may not be allowed to leave their base camps. The pen-pal letters, along with a military television network, help provide the few links to the outside world.
Roy Parker, a senior Army warrant officer assigned to 159th Army aviation regiment in Tuzla, Bosnia, wrote about the troops’ loneliness to his pen pal Aaron Danzig, an attorney in New York City.
“Unfortunately, some of our soldiers have no families to return to and no one to send them letters of encouragement when they are deployed,” Parker told Danzig.
Since the program has been in effect, schoolchildren and corporations around the country have “adopted” troops and correspond with them regularly.
Third-graders at Manassas Park (Va.) Elementary School swapped letters with an Army sergeant. “He told us that those letters really helped him get through sometimes when he thought things were really bleak,” said teacher Pati Swan.
In Battle Creek, Mich., youngsters correspond with the 110th Fighter Wing, an Air National Guard outfit that patrols the Bosnian skies.
Some more cyber-oriented writers are using the Pentagon’s “Bosnia-Link” to post electronic mail to any soldier since some troops have access to computer facilities.
A number of e-mails sent from the states show concern for the safety of U.S. peacekeepers.
“Just a note from a former Air Force type,” began one e-mail. “All of you stationed there have my utmost hope for a safe and quick return. Strange as it may seem, I think we had it easier when I was in (during the Vietnam War) because we had a big enemy who really absorbed most of our attention. These days you can be sent anywhere for purposes that are a lot less clear.”
xxxx TO CORRESPOND To send mail to any member of the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines on the ground in Bosnia, write: Any Service Member; Operation Deliberate Guard; APO AE 09397-0001. To send a note to any service member aboard a ship around Bosnia, write: Any Service Member; Operation Deliberate Guard; FPO AA 09398-0001. Contact this Internet address to send e-mail: dtic.mil/bosnia/