Making Iraq's future brighter: Operation School Supplies

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Kevin Williams
  • 506th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
KIRKUK AIR BASE, Iraq (AFNEWS) --  No more pencils, no more books ... literally. 

Airmen from the 506th Air Expeditionary Group here are doing what they can to put these and other needed supplies back in the hands of Iraqi children.

Operation Iraqi School Supplies is a program where school supplies are donated to local Iraqi students who wouldn't otherwise have what's needed for a good education. Airmen made solicitations to organizations in the U.S. to send the most basic, and much needed, items students need for education.

"The supplies come from all over the U.S.," said Senior Airman Misty Edwards, a 506th AEG chaplain assistant. "(Items came) mostly from schools, church groups, companies and individuals. We even received supplies from a biker organization."

In all, Airman Edwards said they received 4,000 pounds of supplies during the Air Expeditionary Force 5 and 6 cycle. She expects that number to be about 5,000 pounds by the end of her tour next month.

Volunteers are crucial to the operation, Airman Edwards said. They are needed to collect and sort donations, bag and inventory the supplies, and coordinate the deliveries.

Once the supplies arrive at Kirkuk Air Base, organizing them and getting everything ready for delivery is a top priority for volunteers throughout the base.

Most of our volunteers are from the fire department, Airman Edwards said. They come out two days a month. For the most part, we will have about eight people every time.

"We'll sort the supplies into separate bins every Tuesday, and we fill the bags every Thursday," Airman Edwards said. "Each bag is packed with construction paper, a notebook, a box of crayons, 10 pencils, five pens, five markers, five color pencils, an eraser, glue, scissors, a metric ruler and a little toy. We also send coloring books and soccer balls for all the students."

For the volunteers, Operation School Supplies is a great experience and something they will be able to take with them when they leave Iraq, not to mention, what it does for the children of Iraq.

"Being a volunteer is a very rewarding experience," said Senior Master Sgt. Patrick Vanderbeck of the 506th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron. "I enjoy the conversation and camaraderie with the other volunteers. More important, I enjoy being part of something larger than myself and my own personal concerns or mission-related challenges. What better way to exemplify 'service before self' than by serving those who have so little?"

"One thing that was important to me going into this deployment was to find a way to stay busy and help others," said Tech. Sgt. Brian Smith of the 506th Expeditionary Communications Squadron. "As soon as I arrived in Kirkuk, I worked closely with the chapel to find a way to help others and stay busy. This gave me less time to think about how long I was going to be here and something to feel good about. It worked great. After working with Operation School Supplies, I could walk away knowing I had been involved with making a child's life a little bit better." 

One aspect the volunteers could not personally be involved with was delivering the supplies to the children. Previous rotations were allowed off base for community relations missions like this, but that policy changed about a year ago. Now only Airmen directly involved in combat operations are allowed off base.

Although personally delivering the supplies would be an absolute thrill for Airman Edwards, she said she still gets an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction in what she does.

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