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Kind-hearted Brits are being urged not to send gifts to troops in Afghanistan because it's too difficult to deliver them - find out how to show your support
Generous members of the public who show their support for Armed Forces personnel by sending welfare parcels to Afghanistan are being urged to stop and think - and consider alternative and better ways they can back the troops.
Whilst the kindness and generosity of people who send boxes of treats out to the troops are greatly appreciated, the sheer volume of mail now being received, and the unintentional inclusion of inappropriate items, is causing serious difficulties for those charged with running the distribution service of supplies.
The three main problems are:
- Personal mail sent to deployed personnel by their loved ones can become significantly delayed, amidst all the other items from members of the public - and personal gifts and letters are very important for morale.
- The onward delivery of goodwill parcels to forward operating bases necessitates additional re-supply flights and convoys which places Service personnel at additional risk in what is already a difficult and dangerous operating environment. Every time an additional convoy is laid on, more troops are put at risk of enemy attack.
- The type of items included in many welfare parcels are either already readily available or are simply not appropriate for the Afghan environment, and therefore can go to waste.
Show your support
The best way to support troops is by donating money to recommended service charities which assist deployed personnel and their families back at home.
Some of these funds send welfare parcels to Afghanistan - but they do so, in consultation and partnership with the Armed Forces, in a co-ordinated way which does not put undue pressure on resources. This list of charities can be found by clicking on the link above.
They include: the SSAFA Operational Welfare Fund, and uk4u-Thanks!which delivers a Christmas box to every soldier, sailor and airman deployed overseas - in Afghanistan and elsewhere - in time for 25th December. Its parcels are delivered via the supply chain, meaning there is no impact on the mail network.
Lieutenant Colonel George Waters, Staff Officer with responsibility for Operational Welfare at the Ministry of Defence, added:
"I have served in Afghanistan myself and I have been the recipient of several goodwill parcels from members of the public. There is no denying that the knowledge that complete strangers are thinking of you provides a boost to morale. But what the troops on the ground want above all else is to receive their personal mail and the sheer number of welfare parcels in the system causes serious delays to those all-important personal items.
"Everybody in the Armed Forces in enormously grateful for the generosity of people who want to support us. But the timely delivery of letters and parcels from loved ones must always take precedence over the delivery of packages from strangers.
"My message is unequivocal - if you wish to show your support for the troops, the far and away most effective way of doing so is to support an official registered service charity, such as SSAFA."
