Supporting the troops

Here's a photo of the box we sent overseas to an Army sargeant to distribute amongst the soldiers in her division in Iraq. (I don't know if that's a platoon, squadron, etc?-- need to find out.)

Contents:
32 Valentines signed by us and our family and friends (with a note from me & Emily & the web address of this blog)
Conversation hearts
Valentine's day chocolate candies
Bagel chips and Chex mix (snacks were requested)
Cotton squares (they requested something like this for use with facial astringent, which you can understand given where they are stationed)

I put the chocolates and snacks in individual, sealed, gallon-size Ziploc bags so that, just in case that stuff it out in the sun OR exposed to some fleas or sand mites or something, it's protected, but also so that the other stuff is protected from it.

I sent this 7 lb. package via priority mail for under $20! If you are interested in supporting the troops but don't know who to send things to, check out www.anysoldier.com, and feel free to ask any questions that you might have via the blog.

Valentine's Project

This week Margaret and I met to discuss revisions for Hardcore. As we were talking, I mentioned that I hadn't ever done anything like send a letter to the troops or a care package as I was putting together the script for Hardcore because I wanted to try and remain somewhat "neutral." However, in my research for the project I came across many great causes and always thought about trying to help in some way. While I'm sure there's many people who send things for the holidays, I told Margaret I should probably send something now when the troops were probably not remembered by as many.
She said, "You should do something for Valentine's Day."
And I replied, "Yeah."
She then said, "Let's do it, let's send valentine's."
So we devised a plan to ask our friends and family members for messages and we then bought some valentines and treats to send to them.

Tonight we wrote out the messages and we'll soon send them off. It took us only about an hour and a half to do this. As we were finishing, we talked about how easy it was to do. And we decided that there are many more things that one can accomplish in about an hour. What could you do?

Troops who led 2003 invasion deploy for third tour

POSTED: 11:21 p.m. EST, January 10, 2007
FORT STEWART, Georgia (AP) -- Twice before, Sgt. Michael Konvicka has picked up a rifle to go to war. Doing it a third time won't be any easier.
"Every time I come back from Iraq, I tell my wife, 'I'm done honey, stick a fork in me,"' said Konvicka, 36, of Flint, Michigan. "I'm not really looking forward to it. But I've got 10 years in the Army, and I'm not about to throw that away."
Hours before President Bush was to announce his plan Wednesday to increase U.S. forces in Iraq, soldiers of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division said goodbye to their families as they deployed on their third tour. (Watch U.S. troops fighting in streets of Baghdad )
The 19,000-troop 3rd Infantry, which helped lead the 2003 charge to Baghdad, is the first Army division to be tapped for a third deployment to the war. Barely a year has passed since its soldiers returned from their last yearlong rotation.
"It's another year I have to endure, and it's not easy," said Konvicka's wife, Sharon, resting her head on her husband's shoulder while soldiers piled duffel bags and rucksacks into trucks for shipping to Iraq.
Wives wept and wrapped their arms around husbands with rifles slung over their shoulders. Some 400 troops of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment departing Wednesday are among 4,000 soldiers of the division's 1st Brigade Combat Team deploying this month.
"I hope it's the last one," said Staff Sgt. Harold Hensel, 30, of Little Valley, New York, hugging his pregnant wife, who is due in May, before leaving for his second combat tour. "I was hoping the first one was the last one. But duty calls."
The 3rd Infantry's three remaining combat brigades are scheduled to deploy later this year, including the 3rd Brigade at Fort Benning, Georgia, where Bush planned a visit Thursday.
Sgt. Brad Weston, 23, said he could see positives and negatives to the president's plan to increase troop levels in Iraq while he's deployed there.
"The benefit is you do get more time where you're not having to be out patrolling," said Weston of South Bend, Indiana, who is deploying on his third tour. "The negative thing is there's more violence when there are new people there who don't know the area well."
When the 3rd Infantry first deployed to Iraq in 2003, it quickly helped topple Saddam Hussein's regime. During its second tour in 2005, troops saw Iraqis elect their first democratic government.
But Cpl. Matt Venn, 21, of Wichita, Kansas, said he sees few signs of hope in 2007 with the increasing violence from insurgents and sectarian militias.
"There's not many people over there who are on the straight and narrow," said Venn, who had deployed to Iraq once before, in 2005. "Out of the year, you'll find two families who are really innocent. And that's the people, I guess, we're trying to help out."
Venn's wife, Theresa, said she fears Iraq has become "a hopeless cause."
Unlike most military spouses, she served in Iraq in 2004 as a surgical technician, treating everything from bullet wounds to burns and cuts from roadside bombs.
"It makes it harder, because I've dealt with every injury known to man," the 25-year-old said.
She is no longer in the military. "It's unnerving, but I like to be positive and just put it out of my mind."
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Hard Core: Women's Reflections on Iraq First Production

Hard Core cast members: Catherine Cox, Kenlyn Kanouse, Neda Armstrong,

and Amber Scott. Photo by Steve K. Zylius

So after about a year of working to put together Hard Core: Women's Reflections on Iraq, the first script from the Women and War project, we finally had our production which opened on Veteran's Day at the Hunger Artists.

I'm quite proud of the production. We had 8 wonderful actresses and one actor fill the shoes of our interviewees and they brought truth and compassion to these roles. It was quite scary and difficult for me to be in the audience when some of the people we interviewed came to the show, but I can't imagine how it may be for them to relive some of these moments. However, I think that it was a thought-provoking show and many audience members commented that they still wanted to know more. My amazing co-editor, Margaret O'Hora, and I plan on revising and hope to take this script to other theatres as well.

As I worked on editing the interviews into a script as well as rehearsing, I became more and more obsessed with hearing as much as I could about Iraq. I'd read as much as I could and tried to listen to the news often. Everything became more personal to me and I kept thinking about it as much as possible. I can't say that it was ever the same as some of the people I interviewed, but I definitely became more aware and that was my hope for the project--to make people more aware.

However, after the close of the show, I went back to not being quite as obsessed with Iraq. Yes, I still listen and read articles, but I have the luxury of not having this consume my thoughts. And then I keep thinking of those who can't push this as easily away as many Americans do.

Catherine Cox, Amber Scott, Katie Chidester, and Rose Chang rehearsing Hard Core.

Photo by Steve K. Zylius.