Letter from Civil Affairs Team:

Chief,

Here are some photos of the balls that got handed out to Mama Hani's orphanage by one of the 402d Civil Affairs teams (SSG Countermine).Approximately half of the 80 children that she takes care of are either mentally or physically disabled. It is located in Garissa Kenya. The CA team goes there weekly. They also are organizing a soccer ball tournament in Garissa where they will hand out balls as prizes. The 350th is in Lamu, Kenya and they are also handing out balls. I will get something from them early next month. I am still waiting for the team in Yemen to send pix.

Thank you for your help by donating the balls to the CA teams to use.

v/r

LTC Largeman

THANK YOU! Soccer Ball Drive Contributors!

Janet Abazzia and Matt Petzel

Albany Brick Company, NAWIC
Athens Gourmet
Athens Red Hat Sweeties
Marie Battaglioli, Foster & Company
Janice Francis, Heery
Susan Carson, NAWIC
Stacey Chapman
Glenn & Linda Chapman
Dr. and Carol Cuff
Ashley Dale, Barton Malow
Stephanie & Glenn Golias
Mike & Nicole Hovis
Nancy Juneau, Juneau Construction
Jeff Mason, Heery
Renee Johnson, Running Gazelle
National Association of Women in Construction - NAWIC
Brent & Anna Norman, Running Gazelle
Frank Riggs
Linda Smith, Heery
Society for Marketing Professional Services - SMPS
Diane Taylor, Sawhorse
Kim, Pete and Trent Waldrop
Sharon Whitfield, Heery
And more…

Be Careful!

And more pictures...

And more...

More Pictures

CW5 John Ely's Pictures

Uganda Pet Monkey

A kid with his pet monkey in Acet, Uganda. Nothing to do with the Soccer Drive (well, this kid did get to play) but cute and blogworthy anyway.

Let's All Play Football

LETS ALL PLAY FOOTBALL (That’s African for Soccer).

Here is the local team on the ‘pitch’ at Atiak, Uganda. Note the soldier showing off his skills!

The Success of the Soccer Ball Drive

Greetings, readers, and here is a long overdue Soccer Ball update. I am sure that you all are eagerly awaiting some feedback on all your time and effort in getting the balls shipped and donated.

At this point, over 200 soccer balls, various pumps, and several dozen shin guards and a tremendous amount of goodwill have been distributed to the following nations: Djibouti, Tanzania, Kenya, Comoros, Ethiopia, and Uganda. The generosity and time that you folks have contributed to the Soccer Drive have made this effort a smashing success. Giving out the soccer balls may seem like a small thing, but this is the sort of good will that will lead to feelings of good will towards the United States and our people. The balls given out during this drive represent a tremendous gift to the people living in the nations of the Horn of Africa by helping us out with this mission, YOU, the reader, has contributed DIRECTLY to the war effort by providing the donations for this Soccer Ball Drive.

The following pictures were taken by a Civil Affairs /VETCP team who were in Uganda for the entire month of January. During their assistance visit there, these folks treated something on the order of 30,000 head of cattle, and vaccinated countless goats, cats, dogs and even a few monkeys. Oh, and they also managed to give out a few soccer balls. The team went to over twenty different villages in northern Uganda, villages that are technically refugee camps left over from Uganda’s civil unrest of the early 80’s. In some areas, these camps hold as many 100,000 people.

The Kids from the Ugandan Village of Olwiyo with a couple of the VETCAP security guys.

The Kids with their new soccer ball and one of the Vets at the Ugandan Village of Abili. Often, it was necessary to give the ball to the village elder (standing next to the vet) to prevent a “ruckus”.

Guest blog

Command, Family and Friends,

Though we have only completed just over half of our six month rotation it has been a very successful and fulfilling rotation. CW4 Webb our instructor pilot, SFC Whitfield, operations NCO, and myself arrived in Djibouti on September 6th in relief of the Arkansas flight detachment. The addition of the second aircraft soon after, has more than doubled the monthly flight hours previously flown, and provided redundancy for critical missions. We are now flying over 110 hours a month and we expect this average to increase. The trans-Atlantic C-26 crossing was accomplished when CW4 Hardy Hay, operations officer, CW3 Robert Negron, safety officer and CW2 Alton Chapman, pilot extraordinaire flew over 8,385 miles. We have now flown in almost every country in the Horn of Africa including: Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Yemen. We have also flown to Madagascar and Rwanda in support of the expanding HOA mission. You will note most of our flights are conducted in civilian clothes; this is Foreign Clearance guide and U.S. Embassy requirement for most of Africa.

We are continually amazed at the immensity and grandeur of Africa, the richness of its peoples and the changing beauty of the land. We have many opportunities to interact with the African people on our missions and throughout our travels. CW2 Alton Chapman and CW4 Jeff Webb both have had very generous friends and church groups that have sent them soccer balls and other equipment which we have had the pleasure of distributing to some very sincere and grateful people.

I am impressed with the leadership of HOA and how they conduct the mission. There is always a sincerity of purpose. They care for soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines. Their demonstration of care for the US tax dollar and Africans is evident in all they do. They believe in their mission statement and seek every day to make Africa a better place for Africans and the world. I truly believe that they are “Helping African’s Help African’s.”

The HOA mission is a lasting presence. They are helping to build schools, roads, water wells and help create infrastructure. I see enthusiasm and a true commitment and dedication from these soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines down range making all of this happen. This is a very rewarding mission. Additional information on the horn of Africa mission (HOA) can be found on the following website: www.hoa.centcom.mil.

Our unit will redeploy by the end of March, we look forward to our return to our friends and families. Thanks you for your continued support.

CW5 John Ely
GAARNG, AV
Detachment 9 OSA, Commanding

Sorry for Delay

Folks,
We have been flying so much that it has been hard to find time to let you know what is going on. We are scheduled to come home sometime in March. The exact timeframe keeps changing, so once we know for sure I will let you know.

Thank you for your continued support.