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Airmen reach out to Iraqi students

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Darrell Habisch
  • 407th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
ALI BASE, Iraq --  Operation Iraqi Child is an outreach program conducted by the 407th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron that distributes school supplies to local Iraqi children. The erasers, pencils, notebook paper and other items are solicited from school, church, fraternal and civic organizations back home by Airmen at Ali Base.

The call to action goes out to Airmen at the beginning of every rotation, according to Master Sgt. George Sherman III, 407th Expeditionary Logistics Squadron First Sergeant. Although LRS operates the program, Operation Iraqi Child is an Ali Base project designed to replenish school supplies for hundreds of local students, he emphasized.

Supplies needed are pretty much the same as any American grade-school kid would march off to class with: blunt-end scissors, colored pencils, erasers, folders and more.

Lost in the sands of Ali Base time is the origin of Operation Iraqi Child. What is known, according to Master Sgt. Sherman, is that an ELRS First Sergeant launched the program probably in 2007 and modeled it after Operation Iraqi Children, a charitable organization founded by actor Gary Sinese and author Laura Hillenbrand.

Since then, Operation Iraqi Child has delivered to local students thousands of pounds of school supplies, he said.
Stateside organizations mail supplies to LRS, which prepares them to be sorted and packaged for delivery here. Airmen volunteers package the items, including soccer balls, and ready them for delivery.

The people of southern Iraq are mostly farmers and many live in poverty. What Americans take for granted is extremely appreciated by local families, Master Sgt. Sherman said.

Operation Iraqi Child demonstrates the kindness of the American people and the Airmen that live in their midst.
For more information about Operation Iraqi Child and to learn how you and your organization can become involved, call Master Sgt. Sherman at 445-2538.