14 Mar 2006:
Once again I need to thank all the wonderful people who have expressed their continued support to my unit and me. We have been out and about keeping busy and carrying on the mission at hand (see attached photos). This note does find me with GREAT news, our replacements have started arriving and we will be leaving much sooner than expected. I was originally expecting to stay through October so this is really great news. In light of this new development, I would ask that everyone please stop sending letters and packages to me after 20 March as these items may not arrive before my departure depending on how the mail service is working. I would instead ask that you send any support you have to HM3 Sarah Pacquette. She is one of our new personnel and will soon have her own anysailor site. I will post one last update of me with my family when I finally get home. [Check his listing under "old contacts" to see his last update after his profile is transferred from our active list. --Support Team]
I cannot express enough the appreciation we all feel for the support that has been sent by so many wonderful people from all across this great country of ours. I have tried to keep track of where support was coming from and at last count we had received support from over 30 states and roughly 75 or so different families / individuals. As you can imagine, trying to respond to everyone would be nearly impossible and incredibly time consuming. If you did not receive a personal thank you note from me please accept this message as such and understand that I did not mean any disrespect. Every bit of support received during my time here was greatly appreciated and showed me just a little bit more of the great spirit of our country.
As always, thank you for all your support, all you do for us, and God Bless.
HM2 Jeff Johnson
16 Jan 2006
In great part thanks to you guys, all of us here had a very nice (or at least as bearable as possible) Christmas / Holiday / New Year season. The responses we have received from everyone continue to amaze me with your generosity of your time and the items you send. Your continuous support really helps get us through some tough times. I have to admit that we don’t have it half as bad as some our counterparts who are actually in the thick of it all. At the same time being away from family and friends is similar wherever you are. The past couple days have been cold, wet and soggy (believe it or not). Hopefully it won’t last too long.
I have included a couple of pictures. They were taken a few days prior when it wasn’t dreary yet. One is of a sunrise and the other is an escape attempt (just kidding) at a beach near the Persian gulf. As I am writing this update, you can tell no one rescued me.
Thank you all again for your support. We appreciate everything you do for us. God Bless and take care.
HM2 Jeff Johnson
23 Nov 2005
WOW,
It has only been a month since my first posting and the response has been great. We have received several packages with support items and lots of letters and cards with warm greetings and wishes for a happy holiday season for all the troops. I am trying to send at least a small thank you to everyone who sent something but it is hard to keep up at times. Please know that all you do for us is very much appreciated and if you have not received a letter back from me yet I hope to have one to you soon.
My unit has expanded some and I am now receiving items for more men and more women. It has continued to get colder here and all the items previously requested are still needed. I can’t express enough how much your support means to all of us. God Bless.
HM2 Jeff Johnson
P.S. I have attached a picture to dispel the myth that we are in a hot weather environment.
24 Oct 2005
Our group is comprised of Personnel from approximately 21 different military medical facilities across the U.S. and I personally came from Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune, NC. Your support is greatly appreciated and we can't express enough our gratitude to you in helping us get through our time over here. Below is a list of items that we could use but support in any fashion is always appreciated. God Bless.
Food Items - Only have Microwave to cook with. Popcorn is always appreciated and any other "easy microwave foods" such as soup, macaroni, or easy canned goods etc. Also snack foods with good shelf life such as beef jerky, pretzels, chips, sugar free gum, etc. would be wonderful.
Cold Weather Gear (Oct-Feb)- (Sweat shirts and pants, Jeans, Long sleeve t-shirts, hats (stocking or other), ear warmers. Any sizes - we have tall, short, XL to petite. It has been getting cooler and cooler every day, almost to the point of chilly or below believe it or not. Several of our members are new to area and not well prepared for this.
Hygiene items - Whatever you can spare in terms of deodorant, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, foot powder, lotions, eye drops, feminine hygiene / monthly supplies, etc.
Entertainment-Any DVD movies you don't watch anymore or could spare(I only say DVD because VCR's are extreeeemely rare anymore and especially here), small handheld type games, cards, board games, puzzles etc.
Letters/Messages - Any letters/support items from the people back home. We love hearing from you guys and it really can make someone's day to get support from a complete stranger. THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO FOR US.