Inkin' Out Loud: October 2007

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

A letter from Loretta in Iraq

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED

Lynne-

WOW!! many gracious thanks to you and your friends, I appreciate the support as do many of my army buddies. As Marion has mentioned we take items of need to the Wounded Warrior Wing at the Balad Air Force Hospital and hand them out to Soldiers who have illness or have been wounded in action and receiving treatment most are non serious to serious but not enough to warrant medical evacuation to Germany or the states. Many of these Soldiers have injuries are caused by flying debris to vehicle accidents most are a result of Improvised Explosive Devices IED's. Others are burns, gunshots small arms and multiple trauma injuries caused by the vehicles rolling over to avoid or hit by IED's. These are the Soldiers who deserve the thanks. I work for a Logistical General Command that is responsible for all areas of supply for the entire theater of Iraq. This means our Soldiers in our Brigades send Soldiers on the road to protect the supply routes and clear the routes for the transportation of the supplies via Air and Convoy. The Command coordinates the movement of the supplies with transportation battalions and air wing groups. We control and monitor the amount of supplies to include bottled water, fuel, mail, vehicles...you name it we are able to order it and ship it to its final destination. Think of it as the worlds largest Wal Mart supplying all sustaining items to operate a large city (at war).

My piece of the puzzle involves the personnel aspect; my office manages all the personnel that it takes to run the operation and maintains the operating strength above 70%. We conduct a huge audit of Soldiers on the battlefield every day and package it and present it to the commanding
general in a formal briefing each day. We manage 20-26 thousand Soldiers in our office. It has its days but even the bad days are not the worst it could be, we always consider ourselves fortunate that we are not on the road daily dodging IED's or flying in Blackhawk helicopters that are being targeted for high value kills. My staff and I work in an office, it's sparse but adequate with little or no excitement unless we are under attack with mortars or VBIED vehicle borne IED's.

Please know that I will share in the kindness of hearts with all that I have contact with here at LSA Anaconda in Balad Iraq and also know that Soldiers do appreciate the thoughtfulness especially items like yours that are hand made.

I will take some pictures and send to you showing a little of what its like here with this I attached a few of myself with some of my fellow comrades in arms.

Thanks again
Peace and most of all love
Loretta Vandeborne
Sergeant First Class US Army

Swap cards ready for PMS nights!

And this is what's left over for my PMS nights beginning in January. Did I say card swaps? Yep, boxes of them just ready for making cards from. So, make sure to join me beginning in January for an evening of stamping relaxation, popcorn and music as we create cards for the troops in Iraq! Make sure to check out my calendar of events but i'll also be sending emails to keep you informed.

Packaged and ready to go to the Post Office and on their way to Iraq

Addressed and ready to go to the Post Office destination Iraq!

Packaged cards ready to go to Iraq

With over 200 cards it took 2 Priority Mail Bulk Rate boxes to send them in!

The cards just kept coming. Everyone was on a roll so by the end of the day I was able to package up over 200 cards! That was just from one afternoon of stamping. Only got a chance to take one picture of our day but many thanks also to Teresa Saunders, her mom and aunt for a fabulous addition to our cards.

Monday, October 29, 2007

World Card Making Day Update

On World Card Making Day several of us gathered for a day of stamping. By the end of the day, we had stamped a pile of cards to be sent to the troops in Iraq. What started as a one day event will now continue at our monthly PMS (Popcorn, Music and Stamping) night on the second or third Friday night of each month beginning in January. Come stamp and destress from the week and life in general by recreating cards from my six years of card swaps. The cards will be sent to Iraq once again. Thanks to those who came and stamped that day. It will be truly appreciated by the troops.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Holiday Glitz Promotion

The Holiday Glitz Card making kit includes precut textured card stock, Designer Series Paper, Zig Zag stitched grosgrain ribbon, rhinestone brads, and envelopes for 15 cards! (Full-color Instructions are included too!)

Purchase this kit one of two ways: The kit by itself for $28.95 -OR- buy one of the four holiday stamp sets listed below and purchase the kit for the special price of $24.95.

Qualifying stamp sets include: