Friday, November 23, 2007

Text-message thanks available for troops

Until midnight, Pacific time, Thursday, Americans can text a message of thanks to troops serving overseas and at home.
Text messages can be sent to 89279. All the major mobile wireless providers, including AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile, provide access to the program, which started at 6 a.m. Saturday.
The program is part of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel serving at home and abroad.
“This is a simple way to connect our citizens to our Soldiers using modern technology,” Allison Barber, deputy assistant secretary of defense for internal communications and public liaison, said of the text-messaging program.
“We are counting on families to take a moment during their holiday celebration to think of those families and their family members who are serving and say, ‘Thanks.’ The reassurance that others are thinking about them will mean a lot to our troops.”
Those who send a message during the program will be directed to the America Supports You Web site, http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, where they can see a sampling of messages from the public and a running tally of how many messages have been received and be able to read return messages from the troops.
Some servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan already have sent messages thanking the public for the support. Angie, an airman serving in Iraq, wrote: “Your support means so much, especially during the holidays. God Bless.”
Troops of Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan also wrote to express their appreciation for the continued support they receive: “To all the great Americans who go out of their way to support all the Soldiers of the Combined Security Transition Command in Afghanistan—Thank You.”
As of Monday evening, the program received more than 42,000 text messages of thanks.