Operation Care is dedicated to the welfare of both the people of Afghanistan and ISAF, according to their mission statement. The program is a part of COIN, deployed by ISAF to fight the insurgency.
Clothing, food, pens, pencils, schoolbooks and other school supplies are a big part of what the program distributes to the Afghan people. Amidst the poverty-stricken families, items like this are often considered frivolous, but according to Melendez, the children would disagree.“The kids are more vocal and they will tell you that they don’t have things like books,” said Melendez. “For them, it means being able to go to school and have the basic supplies and things that they need to just be a student.”"The volunteers don’t let this request go unheard, and the Afghan children make sure they know how grateful they are," he said. “They’re always happy and excited when we come,” said Melendez. “They’re always very grateful, saying thanks for the help that we provide to them.” This gratitude, while more than enough payment, is not the only reason the service members said that they take the time out of their day to help the program. “It is a way to give back and help out. I feel that there's a part of Afghanistan that I didn’t get to see,” said Sgt. 1st Class Heidi Lansing, a land mgt. NCO, part of Co B, 334th BSB, TF Archer, a part of the 2nd BCT, 34th ID, TF Red Bulls. “I volunteer in order to do something, and help out where I can. It's an aspect of our military jobs that I enjoy.” Selfless service and doing what is right are common themes among the volunteers, but some said they've more personal reasons. “I grew up without a lot of things, so for me it’s about being able to give back, and not have a kid go to school without a book, or spend a winter without a warm coat and the basic necessities that we take for granted,” said Melendez. “I think it's a good thing to do, giving back to the people; no matter what country you're in.” The program distributes packages to more than just locals. They also send basic supplies out to service members stationed at remote outposts. “I think that the packages let the Soldiers know that somebody cares for them,” said Lansing. “We put the basics into the packages, what many of the Soldiers without Post Exchanges can’t get. So, I'm pretty sure that they're grateful for what we send them.” The volunteers work with Operation Care in their off-time 3 days a week to sort and assemble the packages for distribution. “What I've learned since I've been working with Operation Care is the overwhelming generosity of the American people,” said Lansing. “We get so many packages from individuals to large orgs., or groups.” Lansing makes sure that all the contributors know their donations are appreciated. “I write thank you letters to all the people and orgs., telling them how much everything they're sending means to the Soldiers and Afghan people,” she said.For more info, visit www.operationcareafghanistan.net.
MREs have never been very popular with service members; a fact not lost on Santiago and Ewoldt. They said they believe most Soldiers appreciate having hot meals for every meal, although it’s not something their fellow Soldiers are vocal about.
Ewoldt, having served 19.5 years as both an infantryman and a cook, understands that you don’t always get recognition being a cook in the military. “Being able to see this situation from both sides, I can recognize that they're just focused on their mission,” said Ewoldt. “It’s not a glamorous job, so many infantrymen don’t really notice it,” he said of the meals they prepare. “We’ve been fortunate to have some kitchen patrol help who take notice to the amount of work we put in, and that’s come as the deployment has gone along. “They bust our chops, but it’s guaranteed: if you’re with the infantry, they’re going to bust your chops,” Ewoldt said with a smile.
1st Sgt. Christopher Casey, the senior enlisted Soldier of Co. B. said that the infantry soldiers may grumble from time to time about the menu, the available snacks, or having to perform KP duty, but they appreciate the hot meals. “It doesn't matter what happened on a mission or whatever they did that day; they know they've a good, hot meal waiting for them at the end of the day," Casey said.
Ewoldt said that he plans the meals out a couple weeks in advance and orders the food re-supply based on that plan. “It helps to have people give suggestions as well,” he said. “Someone suggested grilled sandwiches the other day, and they were a hit. Everyone loved them because they were hot off the grill.”
Santiago worked in the food service industry since he was 16, and served as cook for all of his 5 years with the National Guard. He said getting used to being with the infantry has been a challenge. He was previously assigned to the 3655th Maintenance Co., out of Camp Dodge, Iowa, before he volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan.
“I’ve been trying to volunteer for a deployment for the past 2 to 3 years, and I finally got lucky to get on this one,” Santiago said. He said there were differences between serving with the maintenance unit, and serving with the infantry. “It’s different,” Santiago said about being a cook in Afghanistan. “We don’t have as much equipment here as we do stateside, so it makes things a lot more challenging. That, plus with the work space we have, it’s not really big. But, overall, it’s not too bad.”
Casey said the cooks bring variety to the table. “Sgt. Ewoldt is a more seasoned veteran with lots of experience, and Sgt. Santiago is the young, energetic NCO who keeps Soldiers entertained," said Casey.
Despite the differences in age and experience, the team of 2 said that they work well together. They rotate the breakfast shifts to allow the other a few extra hours of rest. Even so, the 2 Soldiers don’t get much down-time. A 15-or-more hour day is pretty common for them, and they do it day after day, but still manage to help the infantry company manage base ops if needed.
“If they need us for something else, they know that they can come and get us; even if it’s for something like entry control point duty or whatever,” said Ewoldt. Not only do they help with the base ops, Santiago has even helped the infantrymen on their daily missions.
“I’ve actually been on 3 missions. I’m stoked!” Santiago said. “I’ve been wanting to go on more, because I don’t want to be stuck on the base.” Helping out around the COP and with missions, allows the 2 to break up the monotony of the life of a cook in the Army, but they said that they know their main mission's what's most important.
"I've told the cooks that the meals they prepare are the highest contributing factor to Soldier morale,” said Casey.
The previous chief of police, Khan Mohammad Khan, was assassinated by a Taliban suicide bomber, Apr. 15.
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