Whether or not you agree with the current administration's actions or not, whether you protest for peace, or believe the war with Iraq is necessary for national security, there is one thing that should unite all Americans. . . our support for the young men and women out there in the field, deployed in a variety of locations around the world.

The decision to go to war will not be made by individual soldiers. Some are veterans of other wars, some are fresh-faced 18 year olds facing armed conflict for the first time in their lives. And all are far away from home. The other day I saw a report on one of the news stations about a program to "adopt" a soldier - the program is called Hugs to Kuwait Adopt a Soldier. Their emphasis is on supporting the troops deployed in Kuwait and other nearby regions, through letters, cards, and care packages. Due to the 9/11 terrorist action, the Dear Abby letters to Any Soldier program has been cancelled. But you can still support a service person if you are willing to sign up and register with a number of programs that are now operating. The Hugs to Kuwait program email server was so overloaded when I went there that I decided to visit another link at that site called Operation Military Pride where you can sign up to be assigned a soldier to support. Within 24 hours I was assigned names of two soldiers. (I also found a link to a program where you can Adopt a Platoon, but that felt a bit overwhelming to me!)

Writing letters to both of them yesterday gave me a good feeling. Many of us here in the U.S. don't know what the best answer is in the current crisis. Some people feel passionately that we shouldn't go to war, or only go to war under certain conditions, while others feel just as strongly that we must effect disarmament and regime change in Iraq as soon as possible using force. And some of us don't know what to think at this point. One thing is certain, however, and that is that nobody wants our young men and women to come in harm's way - yet that is the nature of the work they signed up to do. . . to put themselves in harm's way to protect the rest of us. I admire their courage and bravery. It is one thing to sign up for military service when the world is relatively peaceful. It is quite another thing to do so when the potential for war and conflict blooms in numerous locales.

So I plan to send what support I can to my adopted soldiers, hoping that it will make their lives a bit easier, or at least let them know that people back here in the States do care about them and think about them and pray for them.