A Request from Bagram

[...] I am the commander over the Emergency Dept at Bagram AB, Afghanistan. We are the largest and most extensive medical facility in Afghanistan, serving more than 2000 patients a month, seeing more than 100 trauma patients monthly and transporting our most seriously wounded soldiers/sailors/airmen back to Germany for definitive care from every area in Afghanistan. They all have to travel through our facility in one way or another before being sent out of the Afghani theater. That being said, obviously we are extremely busy but are all proud to be here and happy to be able to take care of our most important personnel.

[...]I am hoping you could help me out with a rather large project that I am trying to set up. In Bagram, we are surrounded by mountains and as such, the weather in the winter time gets very cold. Temperatures can drop below zero on a regular basis and snow is pretty much guaranteed. While there is certainly worse places to be living, the housing arrangements for a vast majority of the medical personnel and some patients is sort of flimsy. We live in what's called B-Huts, which are essentially 1/2 inch plywood buildings that are approximately 30X18, divided into 8 sections by 8 foot tall plywood walls and open throughout the top. They are definitely better than living in tents but are pretty susceptible to the elements and are very difficult to regulate temperature and dust.

We have been banned from having space heaters due to fire danger but are allowed to have electric blankets. Here's where my request for help comes in. Is there any way possible that your organization could help us out by collecting and donating electric blankets to help us get through the winter? Or, if not, do you know of any other organization that may be willing and able to help? I realize it's an odd request and one that will probably be pretty expensive but you don't know how grateful we would be to have someone helps us out in this way. What I'm hoping to collect is a total of 100 blankets that meet fire safety guidelines and distribute them first to the patient buildings (these people are usually transitting through with very little in the way of personal gear or comfort items) and then to those younger troops who can not afford to have them shipped over from the States. They will also be handed down to the future medics and patients that will be needing them in later rotations. Definitely a luxury item that is highly sought after!

Please feel free to contact me at this email address with any help you can provide.

Sincerely,

V/R
Melissa Buzbee, Capt, USAF
[contact info redacted]