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Happy Hump Day, everyone! It's been a long week for some of us out there, but we're going to make it. What better way to hope for a better rest of the week than to read about something good in the world? Thus, we give you a Supply Crate update.
This crate went out to Mason's unit on the USS Ronald Reagan. As Mason tells us, morale isn't always the greatest when the ship goes out to sea so regularly. Read his request below:
Hello, I am an AE2 and I have been serving for the last 6 years. For the last 3 years, I have been serving onboard CVN-76, the USS Ronald Reagan attached to VAQ-141. This duty is unique in a sense that we deploy every 6 months for 6 months at a time. And because of this type of OPTEMPO, a lot of people are prone to depression and alcoholism, and a lot of people end up divorced due to being gone for literally half of their time in Japan. I have lived in Japan for only 3 years but have only seen my wife and son for 18 months of it. It's hard on me but I know it's harder on others and I think we would really benefit from a care package from you guys. Thank you so much for your time.
Going underway every 6 months for 6 months is very exhausting. People begin to miss their families. Positive morale sometimes ends up being difficult to hold onto. If you've never been on a Navy vessel for months at a time, it's quite the experience and often stressful with how much maintenance a ship requires.
We shipped out the Supply Crate to Mason aboard the USS Ronald Reagan. He sent us two replies, the first of which is below the following picture:
Hey Dave, I actually received the care package yesterday and we are so thankful for everything! We have pictures ready but unfortunately, our port was cancelled so sending them won't be possible at this moment in time. The second I get the opportunity to send off those pictures I will
Thank you guys again, we really appreciate everything!
Once Mason was able to, he sent us a follow-up email:
Hey Dave, thank you for being patient with me. Here is a picture of myself and my coworkers. I had a better picture, but ships radar wiped my phone earlier this deployment, I had a better one.
Thank you guys so much for everything, it really helped out!
It's okay, Mason! Ship happens. We're happy to receive any photos we can get. Not only because it's something to show the folks who raised funds for the Supply Crate, but it's just so great to see people happy and gaming.
SpanishJ sponsored this Supply Crate through his Call to Arms fundraiser. Thanks, SpanishJ, for making some sailors' lives just a little more enjoyable. Be sure to check out his Twitch channel.
Another thanks go out to all the folks out there Stacking Up in some way. Whether you're running a fundraiser through DonorDrive, volunteering for our Overwatch Program, or benefitting your local area through the Stacks program, we're grateful for all of you out there doing a great job to make a difference in the world in even the smallest of ways. If you've read this Supply Crate update and wondered how to get involved further, hit the red button below, and you'll find yourself on the How to Help page.
Enjoy the rest of your week!
