For the sake of our troops

Local man launches drive to supply comfort goods for soldiers

By Jennifer Eisenbart

Staff writer

When Al Musilek’s son spent time serving his country in Iraq and Afghanistan, he got a hard lesson in just what the United State military provides a soldier – and what it doesn’t.

“If you’re a sergeant in the military, you’re making about $2,300 a month,” Musilek said. “That goes to your family.

“When you’re at a camp, you can go and buy a bar of soap … for $6,” he added. “It’s just very expensive, and these guys don’t have the money.

“I was just dismayed,” he finished. “(People) think they get everything they want.”

Perhaps even more important are the touches of home each soldier wants – and rarely gets. Musilek tells a story of a soldier who requested American soil, then planted grass so he and his compatriots could walk barefoot on it.

Other soldiers are looking for homemade cookies, or photos. Most of the time, though, simply everyday staples are needed: powder, gum, coffee, sunblock and lip balm.

So Musilek, who retired from Waterford Union High School a year ago and has been working on promoting and building a driving school, decided it was time to do something.

“I have some time, and I know there’s a need,” Musilek said. “I guess what’s all been going on over there now … and they could use a little extra support.”

All donated items will be going to the second battalion, fifth Marines, a forward combat unit in Afghanistan, which Musilek said, is  “in the middle of nowhere.”

“The only way they get food and water is through an airdrop, or sometimes they get a convoy,” he explained. “They’re really roughing it. Anything we can get them, they really need it even more than my son did two and a half years ago.”

Musilek’s son, Joseph Arthur, a sergeant in the Marines, served in Iraq and Afghanistan when Musilek did a campaign at Waterford Union High School two years ago.

Now, Musilek is organizing an even bigger drive. Here’s some of what is needed:

• Coffee, hot cocoa, tea, Kool-Aid, Gatorade, Tang (all powdered);

• Gum, Lifesavers, mints, nuts, sunflower seeds, trail mix, protein bars, individually wrapped snacks;

• AA batteries, envelopes, pens, pencils, pocket notebooks, disposable cameras, decks of cards, hand-held games, magazines, Nerf footballs;

• Laundry detergent, sunblock, cough drops, Chapstick, aspirin, pain relievers, boot insoles, foot powder, fingernail clippers, boot socks;

• Baby wipes, toothpaste, toothbrushes, dental floss, shampoo, liquid body wash, deodorant, hand sanitizer, disposable razors, Kleenex, shaving cream.

But in addition to all the donated goods, Musilek is looking for cash donations to cover the shipping costs.

“It gets put in 20-foot by 20-foot by 20-foot bins,” Musilek said. “Until it’s full, they don’t ship it.”

He estimates it will take a minimum of a few thousand dollars to ship the items. Musilek stressed that they need monetary donations in order to get the items to the soldiers.

“If we’re high (on that amount), we’ll just buy more stuff,” Musilek. “I just want to do this because I think it’s the right thing to do.

“It’s a nasty place,” he added. “You can disagree about the war, but these men and women are still over there.”

Musilek expects the project to pick up steam once people know about it, and hopes to have all the items covered. It’s the shipping costs that he is worried most about.

“It starts to go viral,” he said. “The only people who are upset about this are those who don’t get to donate.”

To donate, contact Alan Musilek at (262) 210-1960. The best time to reach him is before 2 p.m.