We're the Military and Airpower Guys of Jonah Goldberg of National Review Online + a stray we found wandering around looking lost. All original material JHD, BHD, JR, WT, and KA 2003-2010 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/01/note_from_the_d.html Sat, 24 Mar 2012 15:22:56 Z Movable Type 4.12 en Copyright 2012 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/01/note_from_the_d.html http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/01/note_from_the_d.html Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:59:00 -0600 ...how hard would it be to set up a concerted effort to procure and distribute all the little things that help a serviceman get through day-to-day life out in the middle of nowhere, and do his job more effectively?

The AAFES mafia would squawk that DoD was cutting the legs out from under the PX/BX system by doing that. Those items are major revenue for 'em.

My personal squawk is with system inconsistencies. I can't buy underwear or socks in the PX here because they're *issue* items, but I can buy uniform items and LBE accessories All Day Long...]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/01/note_from_the_d.html#comment-83670 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/01/note_from_the_d.html#comment-83670 Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:21:19 -0600 ]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/01/note_from_the_d.html#comment-83669 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2009/01/note_from_the_d.html#comment-83669 Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:18:58 -0600
One word answer:  Bureaucracy.  We move faster and more efficiently to meet needs that may not have even made it up the chain of command, yet.  For example, when Valour-IT started, we were doing things that the VA was supposed to be doing but wasn't.  About 18 months later we were working cooperatively with them.  Today things like bedside/built-in computers are becoming available in some hospital rooms, and there are other creative projects and ideas underway to help severely wounded warriors use the technology that so many of us are dependent on these days.

And beyond the the aspect of meeting a physical need, the visual proof of citizens who cared enough to gather and ship all these "little" things is a powerful reminder of home, and proof that they are remembered by at least some of us civilians here at home.

At leaste, that's my theory... ;)
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