I saw this and am really pissed off about it. Not that they took this action but that they had to. Even more than before, terrorists disgust me.
This was / is a program to allow Americans to reach out and give support to individual soldiers who are away from home. Now becuase of the threat of bio warfare it is halted.
Damn!
Mav
Here it the notice on the web site of
www.adopt-a-soldier.com _____________________________
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*** Attention ***
Please check back to our web site often. As soon as we hear from the American Red Cross on alernatives, or that we can start mail back to the "Any Service Member" program again, we'll pass it on to you. Thank you all for your willingness to touch the life of our Military Members.
Lin and Gene Roland
Adopt-A-Soldier
(A generic term we use for our organization which supports the Military as a whole).
Here is what we received from the American Red Cross....
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Dear Friends,
Due to security reasons, we need to halt any letters and care packages going to "Any Service Member". The following is a letter we received from the American Red Cross:
Based on information just received from the Military and with an increased concern for the security of our Red Cross workers and the Military members we serve, the "Any Service Member" program is being halted until further notice. This program allowed the American public, especially school children, to send letters to U.S. Service Members overseas. Though these letters are greatly appreciated and boost the morale of our troops, Red Cross has decided to temporarily discontinue this program. Red Cross will be meeting with DoD officials as soon as possible to determine the appropriate courses of action.
"Because of the recent terrorist attacks, the old ways of doing business have changed and today we must consider all aspects of security for our citizens and for our
troops," said Sue Richter, vice president of American Red Cross Armed Forces Emergency Services (AFES). "The possibility of chemical or biological contamination is on everyone's mind now and it is now necessary to heighten security on all fronts," Richter added.
Commensurate with this request, Red Cross chapters across the country and stations on Military installations around the workd are asked to:
Not accept or mail items addressed to "Any Service Member".
Hold all "Any Service Member" items already received at the chapter or station, and leave these items unopened until further notice.
Inform your communities that Red Cross cannot accept "Any Service Member" items until further notice.
We understand the strong need for Americans to show their appreciation to members of our Armed Forces. We are developing alternative solutions to the "Any Service Member" program that will be based on the needs of our Military Personnel and their families. This is a top priority,especially with the holidays approaching. We are
planning several exciting alternatives and we ask for your patience as we develop then in collaboration with the DoD.
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