Troops, Nike Deliver New Shoes to Children

Defend America News ^ | Jan 31, 2006 | Staff Sgt. Britt Smith

[SandRat]

U.S. Army Spc. Sam Rogers, with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 48th Brigade Combat Team, receives a hug from a young Iraqi girl who is overjoyed with her new shoes. Rogers helped deliver donated shoes to the Abu Tubar School near An Nasiriyah in southern Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Britt Smith
Troops, Nike Deliver New Shoes to Children
“Shoes truly do make a difference”
By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Britt Smith 48th Brigade Combat Team CAMP ADDER, Iraq, Jan. 31, 2006 — It all comes down to a little leather, vinyl and rubber, by themselves not very much but together they make a pair of shoes and shoes in Iraq are the gateway to an education and a better way of life. School children cannot attend school unless they are dressed properly and that means shoes on their feet. "Helping the schools is one of our jobs, we enjoy helping the kids to have the tools to learn." Maj. Joe Rohrer, 48th Brigade Combat Team Shoes represent the difference between a child in a classroom, learning and a child outside watching as other children study their daily lessons. In a country where a little bit of money goes a long way, some parents simply do not have a spare dinar to put shoes on their children’s feet, opting instead to feed them. An education comes in second or third on the priority list of parents who must have their children work the fields and tend the herds of sheep that is often their sole source of income. The 48th Brigade Combat Team Civil Affairs Team has been actively involved with school supplies and desk donations since they arrived in the southern region of Iraq in November 2005. Shoes were a different matter entirely until the soldiers of the 48th teamed up with an Air Force Major who has a rather unique connection to an abundant supply of kid’s shoes. Maj. Steve Kassebaum who is employed with the Defense Contract Management Agency and his job is to provide oversight on contracts dealing with the military. U.S. Army Spc. Daniel Larson, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 148th Forward Support Battalion, 48th Brigade Combat Team checks for a good fit as a young Iraqi boy tries on his new shoes, courtesy of Nike. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Britt Smith The small world category certainly fits this 15 year Air Force veteran who hails form Oregon, and happened to attend the same university as a certain athletic shoe company founder, the legendary Phil Knight of Nike fame. Both are graduates of the University of Oregon and are from the same area near the Beaverton, Oregon, corporate headquarters of Nike. The connection goes a step further; Kassebaum’s sister happens to be a Nike Employee and can buy shoes with her employee discount. The one component missing was a way to get the shoes to the feet and that problem was answered with a chance meeting with Maj. Joe Rohrer one of the members of the 48th BCT’s Civil Affairs Section. Rohrer has been working with the local citizens and has coordinated several school supplies donations to local schools. Maj. Kassebaum explained his problem; he had the goods but	A group of Iraqi children wait their turn for a pair of shoes, donated by Nike, the 48th Brigade Combat Team and the U.S. Air Force. U.S. Army Spc. Daniel Larson and U.S. Air Force Maj. Steve Kassbaum look on. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Britt Smith no way to distribute them and the 48th BCT Civil Affairs section had the necessary means to deliver the 30 cartons of shoes that Kassebaum was in possession of. “Helping the schools is one of our jobs, we enjoy helping the kids to have the tools to learn” said the Black Creek, Georgia native Rohrer. With the partnering of the 48th BCT and Maj. Kassebaum, the ability to help further the education of Iraqi school children was in motion. A convoy of soldiers delivered school supplies to the Abu Tubar School which had been built by American soldiers during an earlier rotation. Once the school supplies were distributed, it was time to help the children outside the school, the ones watching without any shoes on. Lines formed as the cartons were opened and children from 6 to 16 crowded around the soldiers as they made every effort to fit the children feet, with the correct size shoe. The scene was reminiscent of parents stateside, preparing their own children for the first day of school. The soldiers were enjoying giving the shoes away, as the children were enjoying receiving them. Spc. Daniel Larson, with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 148th Forward Support Battalion explained his reasons. “It was unique I’ll never get an opportunity to help people like this again.” Larson, from Jesup, Georgia feels that what Coalition Forces do now will pay off down the road. “We are making friends for life and that’s great for us here and for Americans back home.” Thirty cartons of shoes did not last long as children crowded the soldiers, often bringing up a younger brother or sister, many too small to keep up with the crowd as they stood barefoot in the dirt waiting their turn. As the last pair of shoes was fitted on the last child, Maj. Kassebaum reflected on the real significance of the day’s event. “I feel like I have done something good here, just the fact that they have so little, and that we can help.” This mission, nothing really difficult for these soldiers and airmen, just another day to try and make a difference in the lives of young people. Young people who will one day become the future of Iraq and its desire to live in a democratic state. Maj. Kassebaum summed up the day. “I put some shoes on some kid’s feet and that’s worth all the time I have spent over here.”

[SandRat]

Mat 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done [it] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done [it] unto me.

[msnimje]

American Soldiers Terrorizing Iraqi Children Alert!!

[SandRat]

GIs and Children a Natural combination for Love; True Agape.

[dead]

I'll bet Nike's Filipino slave children are thrilled that the Iraqi kids got some new shoes!

Just kidding! That was liberal speak in the face of nice news.

[ExcursionGuy84]

AMEN & Ha-le-Lu-JAH !

[Swanks]

Yeah, I saw this story on ABC MSNBC CNN C-BS. (NOT)

[ferri]

i better check and see if this is on CNN yet!!! it must be!!!

SandRat, thank you very much for the things you post. it is great to have someone showing us how it REALLY is! :)

[GOP_Party_Animal]

Inasmuch as ye have done [it]unto one of the least of these my brethren...

Just do it.

[MadCharity]

Of course, this won't get any traction on the main media outlets...

[wtc911]

In the realm of the ironic.....three or four times a year my wife and I run a clothing drive for the families of the troops of the 10th Mtn Div. They're stationed in artic upstate NY and since most of them come from other, warmer states they are woefully ill-prepared for winter. We only collect good quality new and hardly used clothes and boots. Last run we delivered twenty super large hefties worth. Everything was gone within two days.

[bygolly]

"This is not acceptable what's going on there and it's a terrible situation." - Christiane Amanpour

[ExcursionGuy84]

Great is your reward in Heaven, wtc911.

[MadeInAmerica]

Amen brother.

I guess it would be too much to ask Nike to actually DONATE the shoes instead of an employee having to BUY them at a discount.

[SandRat]

Well thank you and congratulation on your successful ballot overthrow of the liberal government that you had. Have you also checked out Free Dominion? FreeRepublic's Canadian Conservative Cousin Forum?

[Echo Talon]

i hope they are giving them like 1 size bigger than what they need. :)

[Bon mots]

This will be a big story in the New York Times.

...well, maybe not.

[wallcrawlr]

Great Bible verse and appropriate for us to remember why America needs to help people.

[ferri]

i am very happy with the results, but living in liberal land i have to plug my ears a lot. lol
no i haven't checked that site out! i should! thank you again! :)

[SandRat]

Believe it or not we do essentially the same here in Southeastern Arizona. Our Drive is honchoed by the Optimist Club called "Coats for Kids." Hats, Gloves, Scarves, Coats, Sweaters for Kindergarten through 12th Grade are collected and passed out through the school nurses in the county or the Chaplain's office on Post. This past year was the first year in 5 that the Chaplain's office didn't need any.

Being at 5,000 feet in the high-Sonoran Desert it gets in the mid teens in the winter at night with winds up to 15 mph so it will be cold when kids are going to/at/coming home from school.