Program News

Department of Defense Approved Ways to Express Support

Due to the level of public interest in supporting the war effort and the subsequent call up of Reservists and National Guard personnel, the United States Department of Defense (DoD) has prepared a set of donation guidelines, summarized below. For Girl Scout purposes, "gifts" include donations of Girl Scout Cookies.

The DoD recommends that Americans support service members by reaching out to local military families, local military installations, and local recruiters. Americans can also honor the military by volunteering in the name of service members in their own communities. Visit a V.A. hospital or nursing home, or volunteer in the local community to help make up for service members who normally would volunteer but are now deployed or otherwise too busy with their duties. Many service members volunteer to coach children's teams, feed the homeless, and aid their communities in a variety of other ways. Interested Americans can show their support and honor their military by volunteering in their local communities.

Gifts for Deployed Personnel

DoD urges the public not to send unsolicited mail, care packages, or donations to service members unless they are family members or personal friends. Gifts for deployed personnel are discouraged since they overload the transportation and distributions systems and offer a threat of bio-terrorism to deployed personnel.

On October 30, 2002, DoD suspended "Operation Dear Abby" and "Any Servicemember" mail programs because of the above concerns. In lieu of sending mail, the public may log on to the following websites to show support, including greeting cards and virtual thank you cards.

http://www.defendamerica.mil/support_troops.html(on-line thank you card for troops)

http://www.usocares.org/home.htm (contribute to purchase of a care package of items requested by troops, such as sunscreen, disposable cameras, prepaid calling cards)

http://anyservicemember.navy.mil (email message to deployed troops of any Service from your home state)

Assistance to Families of Service Members

Individuals, organizations, and businesses may offer time and resources to help families of deployed troops. Many opportunities are listed "On the Homefront" at www.usafreedomcorps.gov.

In addition many local service organizations are providing ways for volunteers to help local military families.

Additional notes

At all times, the DoD has assured GSUSA that mail/packages being sent to an individual Service member by name will be delivered. What is not being accepted, and will not be delivered is mail/packages (including gifts of food, such as Girl Scout Cookies) addressed to "Any Servicemember."

The DoD also indicates that sending large numbers of packages (bulk shipments) to an individual service member's address, which however well intentioned, are also discouraged for the reasons identified (See "Gifts for Deployed Personnel").

DoD has also made it clear that they are aware of organizations and individuals who continue to support some form of the "Any Servicemember" program by using the names and addresses of individual servicemembers and unit addresses. The DoD knows these programs are usually supported by well-intentioned, thoughtful and patriotic groups who are simply unaware of the new risks facing deployed military forces. Some individuals and groups publicize the names and addresses of service members, ships or units on Web sites, with good intentions. The result, however, is a potential danger to the deployed personnel they wish to support and the DoD has indicated it cannot support creative and well-intentioned efforts that defeat force protection measures.

As in previous years, GSUSA and GSCNC would be delighted to hear about troops that are 1) interested in managing a council-approved community service project and 2) able to get approval and support from the base commander for such a project. Without express, written approval of the local military authority, the service project may not occur.

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