by Hank Brockett
3/26/03
Their water tasted like a tin can.
As the U.S. armed forces set up camp in Kuwait, their jobs and daily lives molded into a whole new reality. In tents wide open both for soldiers and their sand flea neighbors, they drank water transported by tanks and sipped in a canteen.
In those February and March days, small granules of help arrived, none too soon. After a few minutes their metallic water transformed into something a bit easier to stomach.
With deadlines and word of “weapons of mass destruction” filling the consciousness, these soldiers savored some Kool-Aid.
Those well-received packets arrived courtesy of Operation Outreach, one of many donation organizations nationwide to form since troops were sent to the Middle East. But this Braceville-based organization - led by Patty Domagala - sends each item with very personal thoughts in mind.
Each item sent by Operation Outreach to the 250-member 94th Engineers attached to the 3rd Infantry has the chance of passing through the hands of Domagala’s son, Craig Bresley, PV2. That possibility serves as the inspiration for Domagala, who is coordinating donations through churches both in Braceville and Braidwood.
“The community around here just fell in wonderfully,” said Domagala. “It’s kind of blowing my mind.”
The whirlwind pace of Operation Outreach only can attempt to match the circumstances that sent the 32-year-old Bresley to Kuwait.
In August 2001, Bresley decided to enter the military. After an extended stay in Germany, he arrived home for Christmas this past season. Just days later, he received a telephone call saying he needed to “get here as of yesterday,” Domagala recalls.
The following months brought word that the engineers made due without the comforts of home so many took for granted. As the desert climate made the relatively lush greenery of Illinois a distant memory, soldiers yearned for lip balm, pens or even something to read.
Domagala compiled those wants and needs into a list that still grows item by item. When enough donations are gathered, she sends off the packages (with $1.08/pound postage) and begins the gathering process all over again.
“Sleep? There is no sleep,” she laughs.
The small, personal stories from the donations help in staving off more overwhelming feelings. In talking with her daughter-in-law, she learned that the military personnel continually must contend with sand fleas. Eventually, they discovered that shaving their body head-to-toe (disposable razors, shaving cream) can take care of the problem ... even though it creates new needs (sunscreen).
“I don’t watch TV,” she said. “As long as I’m busy with this, I don’t have time to worry.”