Track the Care Packs to Iraq!

[Doug Taylor]

HOLY CRAP!

I can't even get a package to Alburquerque in two days better yet Bahrain!

[tonyw]

Will do. I will talk to a couple of editorial types on Monday and see what I can do. I'll also send an email to someone who writes for a website and see what he can do.

[H46Bubba]

If the packages are in Bahrain, the should be up to Baghdad by Monday( fingers crosssed) DHL is the king over in the Gulf. Their base in Bahrain is right next to the Navy hanger and the AMC terminal.

[Eagle]

[ QUOTE ]
and the AMC terminal.

[/ QUOTE ]

Home of the Pacer? and the Gremlin?

[cointyro]

Hey, don't diss AMC - without it, we'd have no DeLorean.

Anyways, the AMC is sweet. Who else flies C-5s and C-17s?

[H46Bubba]

AMC=Air Mobility Command. The UPS/Delta of the U.S. military.

[pilot602]

[ QUOTE ]

Jetcareers.com Press Release

Who: Members of Jetcareers.com
What: Donations collected and care packs (totalling $2,500 and over 700lbs) sent to 12 U.S. Airforce A-10 pilots
Where: Jetcareers.com is based out of Scottsdale, Ariz. and 12 Davis Monthan Airforce Base pilots stationed in Iraq
When: Dec. 10, the packages were sent
Why: One of the pilots is a member of Jetcarrers.com

Holiday
Klimut
12/14/03

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. - Over 700 pounds of goodwill is on its way to 12 pilots in the Iraqi desert.
During the last few weeks of November 2003, 93 general aviation and commercial pilots who are members of the Scottsdale, Ariz. based Web site http://www.jetcareers.com donated over $2,725 to buy, and ship, over 700 pounds of items to 12 United States Airforce pilots, from Arizona, who were recently deployed to Iraq.
Jetcareers.com, according to the Web site, is dedicated to helping aspiring professional pilots find their way through the process of flight training and then finding work in the aviation field.
“I am an MD-88/90 first officer based at Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport. One of my hobbies is helping aspiring aviators and even the general public answer questions they have about life as a professional pilot,” Doug Taylor, founder and webmaster of Jetcareers.com, wrote on the site. “There are plenty of commercial sources of information about careers in aviation, however, I saw a need for a source of information made by professional pilots for future professional pilots and other people that are interested in a ‘behind the scenes’ perspective.”
The site is free to all members and to anyone who wishes to join. Information about professional flying, flight training and articles from various pilots describing a “day-in-the-life” can be found at the site. But, the heart of the site is its forums - a portion of the site where members can post messages to one another. The site claims to have over 1,900 members most of whom are interested in pursuing a career as a pilot and who have posted over 70,000 messages.
One of site’s members is an Airforce pilot, based out of Davis Monthan Airforce Base, and assigned to fly A-10 attack aircraft. Mike Daftatian, the A-10 pilot, along with his squadron was recently deployed to Iraq to participate in Operation: Enduring Freedom.
"Mike Daftarian is more than just an Air Force A-10 pilot, he's a forum regular and a very close friend of ours. He's expected to be in Iraq for the holiday season and possiblly 6 months after that," Taylor wrote on the site. "Kristie [Taylor’s wife] and I decided that a good way to say thanks would be to take a collection and send Mike [and the 11 other pilots] a Christmas Care Package from the Jetcareers community."
What started as a simple gesture quickly ballooned into a large donation campaign.
“Doug and I never thought we would exceed our $100 goal to the tune of over $2,700 – more than 10-times the sum we thought we would get.” Kristie Taylor wrote on the site. “We know there are starving students, Certified Flight Instructors, regional and newly hired major airline pilots on the board. We know what it's like to be on welfare wages and eating out of cans. We have been completely taken aback by your generosity and support.”
Ninety-three members of the Web site, who range from student pilots to airline captains, averaged donations of nearly $30 per person.
The Taylors used the collected funds to buy everything from toilet paper and deodarant to an X-Box and movies to send to the 12 pilots in Iraq.
“People think general aviation pilots are noisy, bad neighbors and airline pilots are overpaid bufoons,” Taylor wrote on the site. “Any positive light helps us all.”
Money wasn’the only thing collected, however.
“We know that most of our users are eating Top Ramen, paying for flight training expenses, dealing with unemployment or that robust probationary pay for new hire pilots,” Taylor wrote in a message to the site. “Donations are voluntary and it's understandable if our users decide to send an awesome handmade ‘howdy’ card [instead of] monetary donation.”
Those who did not, or could not, donate money wrote e-mails of support and holiday sentiments to the 12 pilots. All e-mails were printed on Christmas stationery and then sent along with the goodwill items to the 12 pilots.
According to Taylor a collection like this has not occurred at other pilot Web sites.
“No other Web site, group or anyone else on the Internet did anything like this, and even though the media really hasn't grabbed hold of just what you guys accomplished, you're making history,” Taylor wrote.
For more information visit Jetcareers.com or contact Doug Taylor at (Note: Doug .. please feel free to edit this post and plug in the contact info you want here)

[/ QUOTE ]

Et. all,

I sent this to the local news agencies here in town (PHX). Feel free to copy and paste this release (if it's ok with Doug of course) and e-mail it to your local news stations and newspapers. You'll want to send it to the address they list as/for the "newsroom" or for "leads/tips." Don't be afraid to send it more than once as press releases have a tendancy to be tossed (you'd be astounded at the number of these things news agencies receive on a daily basis.) Feel free to edit as it's been awhile since I've written a proper news piece. I'm a little rusty.

[Doug Taylor]

Here's one that Kristie and I made last night. Pretty close though!

[ QUOTE ]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Jetcareers.com “Operation: Care Pack to Iraq” Delivers over 750 pounds of Holiday Cheer to Soldiers in Iraq

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA December 14, 2003 – Jetcareers.com collects nearly $3,000 in donations to spread holiday cheer with care packages for troops of the 354th Fighter Squadron from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base deployed to Iraq.

“It started out as an idea from my wife to send one of our users a care package to help him get through the holidays”, says Doug Taylor, a pilot for a major U.S. airline, webmaster of Jetcareers.com and owner of Jetcareers, LLC.

Doug Taylor and his wife Kristie began taking small donations from members, providing them an opportunity to be part in the project.

“Very quickly,” says Doug, “our fund grew to almost $3,000 and the scope of the project expanded from one soldier to nearly twenty, all serving in Kirkuk during the holidays.”

Jetcareers.com “Operation: Care Pack to Iraq” collected donations from participants nationwide and as far away as Australia and Europe.

“Jetcareers.com is a close-knit community of people with common aviation interests. It’s very heartwarming to see members collaborate towards this project. Aviation is a fraternity of sorts and we try to look out for one another like family”, says Doug.

Doug and Kristie credit much of the success of this project to DHL Cargo.

“DHL was able to offer us greatly reduced shipping rates and help with the logistics of shipping nearly 800 pounds of holiday treats to our soldiers in Iraq. Without the support of DHL, this project would have been much more difficult.”

The couple hopes that their website’s success with the project will invigorate other citizens to support the military based abroad for the holidays.

For additional information, contact: Doug Taylor, Jetcareers.com, doug@jetcareers.com

Jetcareers.com was created in 1998 as a hobby and soon became a growing hub of airline industry professionals, airline pilots, student pilots and others interested in aviation. Jetcareers.com generates almost 500,000 hits per day and is considered the world’s primary source for information regarding professional aviation.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Douglas Taylor
Jetcareers.com
http://www.jetcareers.com
###


[/ QUOTE ]

[cmsuav8r]

I just got my check today, so I will send out a money order in the next few days!

[aloft]

Looks like the stuff is being trucked in from Bahrain. Since the MANPAD attack on the A300, I guess they haven't restored air cargo service to Baghdad yet?

[cointyro]

DHL A300 gets a scratch, loses a little hydraulic fluid, and now they're too pansy to fly in? Wimps.

[Doug Taylor]

Some of the first boxes are showing up as delivered!

But I wonder if they were delivered to the recipient or some requisitions officer that's going to sit on them for a week?!

[JDMcFly]

Whoever they are with, they are in Baghdad!

Signed for by Wilkins.. Hmm, who's Wilkins?

[Kristie]

yeah - but aren't they supposed to be delivered to kirkuk and not bagdad?

[Doug Taylor]

They're probably in the same hands of the people that said "Oh, the deadline for mailing stuff thru the APO system for Xmas was October!"

[Kristie]

hehe

[Josh]

Maybe these guys are holding the boxes for the 25th?

You never know, there always is a huge extra effort put forth around the holidays for our troops, as there should be. The Wilkins who signed, could just be seeing all the boxes, figure what they are, find a truck big enough to move them all at once without damage.

Maybe I'm assuming too much, be sure would be cool if this was the case. I think the ultimate would be to have these boxes all arrive to these guys on the 24 or 25 Dec, as they'll likely not have any other gifts.

Josh

[Kristie]

could be! and maybe the story has also followed which would be good reason to hold off on giving them to the guys... wouldn't that be kewl!! our story - around the globe....

[JDMcFly]

It'd be great if a truck rolled up to their base on the 25th!

Eitherway, I hope they don't open them till X-mas

Should have done what my grandmother always does 'Do not open until December 25th!'