Last year I tried to adopt a soldier… you know, get matched up with someone who maybe wasn’t getting support from home. I went through a program I found by googling “adopt a soldier” (naturally). At the time, I had to provide information about myself, and had to be (I assume) checked out as a non-crazy, non-threatening person. I filled out info on two different sites. One, after several weeks, gave me the name of a soldier whom I never heard from. Six weeks after I had written him, I informed the group that I hadn’t gotten a reply from “my soldier”. Now, I hope the young man is alive and well, and that there was some reason for no reply… but I did think that maybe I could write to someone else as well… (I’m rambling…)
Anyway, on the second site, I never received anything.
I’m not a crazy stalker. I am an almost 32-year-old woman raising two children in a country I love. I appreciate the efforts of those on my behalf, and would like to let at least one soldier who might not otherwise hear it, that there is one person here that specifically cares about him.
Could someone either a) point me in the direction of a good Adopt a Soldier program, or b) refer me to a family member in the military, who might know of some lonely soldier that could use a note from home and some oreos. (I’m not a good cook, so if they are longing for mom’s home-cooked meals, better pass on me:) )
Actually, one of the best ways to get an Armed Forces pen pal who you know will write back to you is to be in an elementary school class. All across America, kids are writing to their local troops stationed in Iraq and other places.
Ask around, where you’re at. Call the TV station, call the newspaper–they’ll know what Indiana units are where, and can probably get you started with an address or a contact of some kind.
I’ve adopted several soldiers through both www.adoptaplatoon.org and www.operationmilitarysupport.com , so you should try them. However, you really should still be writing and sending packages to the guy you originally signed up to support. The idea is that we send stuff to cheer them up and make the time pass more quickly, and they can write back if they choose. They may be in a place where it’s hard to come by writing materials, or they just may not have a lot of free time to respond.
You can try enclosing pens and paper in your next package, and also writing down your e-mail address if he/she prefers to communicate that way.
Depending on where you signed up. . . you’re not supposed to expect replies.
It’s a nice treat when they do write–it doesn’t mean they are a jerk when they don’t. They’re quite busy, for one thing, and may not have time to write–or they may lack the paper and pen, or room to do it. You don’t know what their circumstances are or what their schedules are like or when/if they got your letters or packages. I always told my soldiers I’d love to hear from them, but if they had a wife or sweetheart or family back home, by all means make sure they wrote to them first, that was more important.
If you want a soldier as a pen pal, I think there are sites which will help you with that. But the support sites I’m familiar with (the same ones tsarina mentioned) ask supporters to enter into the venture with the expectation that it might be one-sided. It’s neat when the soldiers write (some even send cool stuff)! but they are not all so inclined (or able to).
