«Operation Airtime,» a project to get telephone calling cards to members of the Wisconsin Army National Guard’s 32nd Military Police Company, will not end with the return of the 32nd to Wisconsin this week.

The American Legion, American Legion Auxiliary and Sons of the American Legion raised more than $45,000 after word was received that the 32nd could not connect with family and friends from remote locations in Iraq. Special phones and phone cards were needed for the task.

Unused funds will be transferred to other units from Wisconsin needing similar assistance.

The 264th Engineers, one 128th Infantry Battalion and the 139th Public Affairs Detachment are listed as Wisconsin units serving overseas.

Persons wishing to contribute to the Wisconsin American Legion family’s efforts may do so by sending donations to Project Airtime, P. O. Box 388, Portage, Wis. 53901.

More information is available by contacting the Wisconsin American Legion headquarters at 1–608–745–1090.

The 32nd Military Police served more than 16 months on active duty, with 14 months service in Iraq.

The entire company is scheduled to return today to Volk Field Air National Guard base. The company will return without soldier Michelle Witmer of New Berlin, the first female soldier killed in action in Wisconsin National Guard history.

Donations are also being accepted for the 32nd Military Police and may be sent to 32nd MP Co., Family Support Group, 17125 CW Bluemound Road, Brookfield, WI 53005.

Suggested donations include free hotel stays, bottle of wine, merchant coupons, movie tickets, cigars, chocolates, cookies, candy, cheese, gift bags or baskets or monetary donations.

CONCORD, N.C. – Concord-based CT Communications recently sent 300 phone cards to local troops stationed in the Persian Gulf so that they could contact their families during the holidays.

Members of the N. C. National Guard’s 1454th N. C. Transportation Division in Concord, which has been mobilized in the Middle East since February, received the long-distance calling cards.

Each card, good for 30 minutes of calling time in the U.S., will provide about five minutes of talking time from the Persian Gulf.

«These troops, who are our friends and neighbors, have been gone for almost a year,» CTC Chairman and CEO Mike Coltrane said.

«For them and their families at home, just hearing each other’s voices for a few minutes is a blessing, especially during the holiday season.»

The cards went back to the Persian Gulf with a member of the 1454th who was able to make a short visit home. They are now in the hands of the troops.

Stars and Stripes

For the second time in two months, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service has dropped its long-distance telephone rates for U.S. troops in Iraq.

The new rate schedule is a sweet but brief holiday gift from the folks at AAFES and AT&T. Satellite phone and calling center rates will revert to their pre-holiday prices on Jan. 5.

The cost of calling home from Iraq is „a hot [issue] on the table“ for many of the troops, said Jeanne McDonald, an AAFES spokeswoman.

McDonald said the new rates, already in effect, apply only to calls made using the 550-unit prepaid card, which costs $35. As recently as a month ago, that same card cost $39.

„As the infrastructure [in Iraq] gets better,“ she said, „the rates get better as well.“

In conjunction with AT&T, McDonald said AAFES wanted to give customers a holiday bonus by further cutting prices, dropping the per-minute fees assessed against the prepaid cards.

Troops calling family and friends from a designated phone center in Iraq will pay 25 cents a minute during the holidays instead of 32 cents.

Likewise, the per-minute fee for satellite calls has changed, dropping from 76 to 63 cents.

„Calls to home during this time of the year are critical to the morale of America’s servicemembers,“ Mike Westphal, a senior vice president in Dallas, was quoted as saying in an AAFES news release.

„By offering a lower price, AAFES and AT&T hope that servicemembers will find it much easier and more convenient to contact all of their friends and family this holiday season.“

The WTAQ talk show host will do his show with soldiers from this area

By Ray Barrington
News-Chronicle

Bill LuMaye has been in a lot of political fights as a talk show host at WTAQ-AM 1360.

Later this month, he’ll be in the middle of a bigger fight — the one in Iraq. LuMaye is taking his show to that country for four days, bringing gifts and support from Brown County listeners.

«We were looking at doing something for the troops, and we kind of took the next step and said ’let’s take the show to Iraq,’» he said. «We’ll hook the soldiers up with family members and let the listeners give them attaboys and wish them happy holidays.»

Among items sought for donations: AT&T phone cards, baby wipes and body wipes, AA batteries, dental floss, mouthwash, disposable razors, waterless hand sanitizer, toothbrushes/toothpaste, eye drops, saline nose spray, deodorant, disposable cameras, lip balm, any current newspaper, puzzle books, magazines, books/novels, beef jerky, hard candy, blow pops/suckers, sweetened powdered drink mixes (Kool-Aid or Gatorade style), sugar-free gum, protein bars/granola bars, postage, stationery. Cash to purchase more items is also welcome.

Plans are for LuMaye to leave town on Dec. 13, do the show from various locations with troops Dec. 15–18, then head for home on the 19th.

«That’s our hope — but we’re dealing with the military and anything can happen,» he added.

LuMaye has been collecting items for packages for the troops, hoping to have enough for at least each member of the Green Bay-based 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion. The gifts aren’t fancy, just the little creature comforts that aren’t available over there — things like disposable razors, deodorant, powdered soft drinks, phone cards for calls home and disposable cameras.

«We hope to have enough donations to pack a nice box for each of them,» he said. «And we’ll take some personal gifts from the families; at least that’s our plan.»

The families are understandably excited.

«They’ve really been helpful in putting things together,» LuMaye said. «One of the majors’ wives wanted to go along. I suggested she might come along as a producer. A couple of days later, I’m talking to a major over there and he said all the troops had heard we were bringing all the spouses over.»

LuMaye will do his show via satellite telephone back to Green Bay.

«Timewise, it’s nine hours ahead, so what’s evening to us will be our regular slot (9:30–11 a.m.) back home,» he said.

«We’re trying to fix it with not just a phone but with microphones and a little mixing board so that we can connect up to the station, they’ll be able to hear us in Green Bay and talk back here.»

FYI:
Bill LuMaye will collect items to take to Iraq and record greetings to the 432nd from loved ones during remote broadcasts from 9:30–11 a.m. at the following places and times:

- Tuesday, Howard Chiropractic Clinic, 721 Cardinal Lane

- Dec. 11, Saturn of Green Bay, 2800 Ramada Way

- Dec. 12, Prevea Clinic, 3860 Monroe Road.

Boxes are also out at Cub Foods stores and the Army Reserve Center, 2929 Holmgren Way.