Military Neck Coolers
Just in case you wonder why the neck coolers are so popular………
I just got an e-mail from my brother Dan who is serving his second tour of duty in Iraq.
Weather report for the last few weeks included one day of 135+ temp with 80% humidity. They still fly, drive vehicles with no air conditioning, wear full body armour, are on active duty day and night………….. add in the dust that coats everything and requires that all equipment be continually cleaned and checked……………. Winter weather includes negative temperatures including wind chill factors down to minus 120 degrees on night flights which are flown with the doors off the helicoptors so that the gunners have as full of range of motion as possible on each side of the copter. The flight navigator also serves as the ground mechanic and completely services the copter after each flight before he sleeps so that the vehicle is air worthy at a moment’s notice.
And in their "off time" a lot of these soldiers serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan have adopted local schools, hospitals, orphanages, and are helping to rebuild communities.
The men and woman who are our soldiers consider it an honor and their patriotic duty to keep the world safe for us and others.
And we complain when our meeting room gets too warm………….
It is time to sew some more neck coolers, Wounded Warrior quilts and comfort quilts for the children who have lost one (sometimes their only) or both parents to the service of their country. Time to start thinking about care packages – why wait for the holidays. Prayers are needed around the clock. Please do what you can and encourage others to do what they can.
Hugs to all, Melissa
P.S. Directions for making Neck Coolers are at: http://www.west-point.org/parent/wppc-illinois/OSOT/NECK%20COOLERS.htm
The above link is is one of many. If you type in "directions for making neck coolers" in the Google search engine you will come up with a many variations of the neck cooler pattern. ~Angie