ECBC, RDECOM employees connect with Warfighters

By Mr. Roger Teel (RDECOM)March 22, 2010

Treats for Troops
Terry Gustafson and Sue Procell push the first of 68 comfort boxes, called Treats for Troops, to a loading dock to be picked up my U.S. Mail handlers. Jerry Starnes, left, helps get the boxes on their way to Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan who have ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Two Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center employees led an inspired collection effort called Treats for Troops that resulted in 68 comfort packages being mailed March 22 to 44 individual servicemen and women in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We know how important it is for Soldier's to get boxes from home," said Terry Gustafson and Sue Procell, both speaking from experience. "It's also really important for people working here to remember that we're working for the Soldier; that we support the Warfighter."

"My son, Marine Cpl. Matthew Procell, just came back from Afghanistan," Procell said. "For me, I like working where I'm serving the Soldier, where I'm helping the Soldier. My son being there made me more aware of how hard it is for them and how much receiving a package with some treats means to them."

Gustafson's son-in-law, Army Sgt. Scott Davis, deploys in May for a second tour in Afghanistan.

"When he was there, I'd find out what he wanted through my daughter and send him packages. When he returned I ask him if I sent the right things. He told me, "Everything you sent was great, but it doesn't really matter what you send. What was really important is knowing that someone was thinking of me."

Inspired by their personal experiences, Gustafson and Procell organized a collection of snack, entertainment and hygiene items, doing so in a way that linked members of ECBC with deployed Army Warfighters. After garnering command support and clearing all legal hurdles, Procell and Gustafson lined up a group of people who were willing to collect donations and then drafted a message to the workforce along with a list of items suitable for shipment.

"The idea was to send boxes to Soldiers, Marines, Airmen and Sailors in Iraq and Afghanistan who are the friends and family members of ECBC personnel," Gustafson said. "The effort quickly expanded to the Research, Development and Engineering Command headquarters, and that was great because we got a lot more contributions and names."

"We have a daughter, we have a couple of sons, we have a brother-in-law, we have several cousins, a whole lot of friends and we have a grandson - all connected to ECBC and RDECOM headquarters in some way.

"One of our employees used to be with the 22th Chemical Battalion and knew some of them who were deployed. We got their addresses, too," Procell added.

Once donations started coming in, Procell and Gustafson targeted shipping day.

"Terry also had the idea of inviting family members to pack their Soldier's box. So at lunch time over the course of a couple weeks, mom or dad came and packed their kid's box," Procell said.

They included a letter in each box to explain to the Soldier why they were receiving the treats.

"We explained that they're our customer and yet most of us don't interact with Soldiers on a daily basis. This way we can reach out and touch a Soldier, connect with one. In the letter, we would say, "Your mom gave us your address..." so they would understand how they got linked with us and why they received the box.

"The boxes were tightly packed," Procell said. No space was left because it was $11.95 to ship each one, more than $800 for all 68 boxes.

"I typed all those names twice on the mailing labels and on the customs forms," Gustafson said of the last-minute rush. "I signed 272 customs forms. As I was packing boxes I found myself walking around the piles of donations talking to these Soldiers, saying, "Hey Ryan, do you like this kind of oatmeal or do you like this kind'"

"It was fun. I don't know these people but it felt like I did. And sometimes I felt like I was getting a message from them about what kind of cookies they liked. So that was fun."

"In addition to contributing more than 700 pounds of items to be shipped, people were really, really generous in donating for the postage," Gustafson continued. "The first day one of the ECBC employees came in my office and handed me $60. The response by the workforce was overwhelming.Aca,!A?

"We didn't know until the very end how many boxes we'd have, At one point we were about $150 in the hole. The last day someone gave us a $20 bill and that just topped it off, exactly the amount we needed."

Procell and Gustafson agree that the project brought personal satisfaction from doing something meaningful for a small number of troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Aca,!A"My hope,Aca,!A? said Gustafson, Aca,!A"is that many of the people who supported this effort will also feel good about it and will continue to support the troops by adopting a soldier through a website such as anysoldier.com or anymarine.com. As for me, IAca,!a,,cll soon be packing and shipping boxes to my son-in-law again.Aca,!A?

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