Tis' the season of giving

ALI AIR BASE, Iraq -- Tech. Sgt. Paul Wright tosses a bag of toys into the third crate filled with even more toys Dec. 22 in support of Operation Iraqi Child led by the Focus 5/6 and Top 3 councils. In just over a month, Airmen on base collected thousands of school supply items, soccer balls, stuffed animals and toys from back home. Airmen from across all eight squadrons spent a few hours sorting all the donated items which the office of special investigations will give to Iraqi families in the An Nasiriyah area villages. Sergeant Wright is assigned to the 407th Expeditionary Provost Marshal Office and is deployed from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Jonathan Snyder)

Tis' the season of giving

ALI AIR BASE, Iraq -- After only a few hours of sorting and organizing everything, Dec. 22, over four tons of supplies are ready to be given out in support of Operation Iraqi Child led by the Focus 5/6 and Top 3 councils. In just over a month, Airmen on base collected thousands of school supply items, soccer balls, stuffed animals and toys from back home. Airmen from across all eight squadrons spent a few hours sorting all the donated items which the office of special investigations will give to Iraqi families in the An Nasiriyah area villages. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Jonathan Snyder)

Tis' the season of giving

ALI AIR BASE, Iraq -- Airmen on base volunteered their time to help pitch and sort school supplies in assembly-line style Dec. 22 in support of Operation Iraqi Child led by the Focus 5/6 and Top 3 councils. In just over a month, Airmen on base collected thousands of school supply items, soccer balls, stuffed animals and toys from back home. Airmen from across all eight squadrons spent a few hours sorting all the donated items which the office of special investigations will give to Iraqi families in the An Nasiriyah area villages. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Jonathan Snyder)

Tis' the season of giving

ALI AIR BASE, Iraq -- Chaplain (Capt.) Robert Borger hands out packs of paper Dec. 22 in support of Operation Iraqi Child led by the Focus 5/6 and Top 3 councils. In just over a month, Airmen on base collected thousands of school supply items, soccer balls, stuffed animals and toys from back home. Airmen from across all eight squadrons spent a few hours sorting all the donated items which the office of special investigations will give to Iraqi families in the An Nasiriyah area villages. Chaplain Borger is assigned to the 407th Air Expeditionary Group and is deployed from Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Jonathan Snyder)

Iraqi Operation Child donations packed, ready to make Iraqi children smile

Published Jan. 2, 2008
By Tech. Sgt. Phyllis Hanson
407th Air Expeditionary Group

ALI BASE, Iraq -- More than 50 Airmen from across all the squadrons here came together Dec. 22 to help sort through thousands of school supplies, toys and more for families in southern Iraq.

"Ask and ye shall receive," is the simplest way to explain how in just over one month, hundreds of boxes filled with donations reached this base to support the Operation Iraqi Child project.

"We are truly among people who care about the future of Iraq," said Col. Matthew Dorschel, 407th Air Expeditionary Group commander.

"It is evident that our families and friends back home deeply care for the Iraqi people," Colonel Dorschel said to the volunteers amidst thousands of school supply items and boxes heaping with stuffed animals and toys.

"The outpouring of support is fantastic," said Colonel Dorschel, who is deployed from Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii.

A base-wide project that started just a little over a month ago turned into an outpouring of support from servicemembers' families and friends from both stateside and overseas.

Airmen unloaded truck beds full of boxes and went straight to sorting through all of them.

After boxes and boxes of school supplies were organized, an assembly line of about 30 Airmen went to each supply station opening up bags in trick-or-treat fashion while other Airmen put in pencils, paper, notebooks, folders, crayons, scissors and other items. At least 2,000 kits were put together in just under three hours.

"Giving these school supplies to the kids is great," said Airman 1st Class Derek Hatcher from the 407th Provost Marshall's Office.

"This deployment has been a blessing for me, being able to help volunteer for this gives me a good feeling knowing I'm helping the Iraqis get back on their feet," said Airman Hatcher who is deployed from RAF Lakenheath, England.

Although the southern Iraqi children are in dire need of school supplies, the number of toys donated came in bounds.

More than 100 soccer balls, a favorite with boys in this country, were pumped up and ready for play. Thousands of toys from fuzzy bears and beanie babies to games, matchbox cars and dolls were bagged with care. Also included in the mix were puzzles, crafts, and lots of clothing, blankets and shoes.

Operation Iraqi Child isn't about the holidays, but it is about the spirit of giving -- and family and friends from around the U.S. and abroad, and the Airmen here, have shown that spirit.

"As we're going through the transition of a new rotation, this was the perfect time because the folks deploying in will be able to carry the torch and continue [to support] the endless need for school supplies as people of Iraq continue to gain strength and stability," said Senior Master Sgt. Richard Coyle, 407th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron first sergeant.

"We're convinced the next rotation will carry this on and it's not going to stop," said Sergeant Coyle who is deployed from RAF Mildenhall, England

Four pallets full, and four 3-by 4-foot tri-walls filled to the top with stuffed animals, soccer balls and schools supplies of every kind were loaded onto forklifts and hauled away to a storage area. In the future, the Air Force will distribute the school supplies, toys and other donations to Iraqi families in local villages in the An Nasiriyah area.