'Racing buddies' come through for overseas troops

By Gregory Ripps, 470th Military Intelligence Brigade Public AffairsDecember 7, 2012

Box from Racing Buddies
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Lee McKinney prepares to box T-shirts, caps, coozies and other accessories with racecar sponsor logos for troops overseas. Every year his "racing buddies" give him items to send to U.S. military serving abroad. This year McKinney is mailing two boxes to the 201st Military Intelligence Battalion, which deployed to Afghanistan. McKinney, 470th MI Brigade security officer, serves as a racing official at San Antonio Raceway on weekends. A retired master chief petty officer, he began preparing such annual mailings in 2001 -- about 550 boxes ago -- while serving in the U.S. Navy.