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COURTESY HAWAII ARMY NATIONAL GUARD Soldiers of Hawaii Army National Guard's Charlie Company, 193rd Aviation, watched in December as a CH-47 Chinook cargo helicopter took off from Balad, Iraq. The Hawaii Army National Guard recently began "Operation Uplift," an effort encouraging the community to send letters, e-mails, postcards and packages to let the state's citizen soldiers know they are remembered and cared for.

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Isle Guard longs for sign
of aloha from Hawaii

Hawaii Army National Guard Sgt. Raena Madeira says "getting mail -- any type -- is like Christmas," especially in a combat zone.

Sgt. Raena Madeira

Madeira, 23, has been assigned to Logistical Support Area Anaconda, 50 miles north of Baghdad, since February with the 29th Brigade Combat Team's 29th Support Battalion.

Madeira, a 1999 Campbell High School graduate, is an enthusiastic supporter of the Hawaii Army National Guard's "Operation Uplift" to lift the morale of Hawaii's 2,200 citizen soldiers who are about halfway through their one-year combat tour in Iraq.

Recently, Hawaii National Guard officials put out a call to the community to send letters, e-mails, postcards and packages to let the state's citizen soldiers know that "they are remembered and cared for back home."

Maj. Gen. Bob Lee, head of the Hawaii Army and Air National Guard, said: "They could use a little aloha themselves to help them stay focused and boost their morale during this long deployment."

Gov. Linda Lingle added: "The purpose of the program is to reach out and communicate with members of our Guard and Reserves, telling them that our prayers are with them. Letting them know that we care."

Pentagon regulations no longer allow people to send to the combat zone in Iraq and Afghanistan without specifying the name of a certain soldier or unit. The National Guard recommends that those interested in writing to Hawaii citizen soldiers visit www.dod.state.hi.us or call (808) 733-4258.

Madeira, who has been resting at her parents' Ewa home on a 14-day leave, said: "When you are out there and when people don't write, you feel like people at home have forgotten you. I know they haven't forgotten us, but it just feels like that.

"When you get letters, it's not only rewarding, but an acknowledgment that people realize the fact you are there."

Madeira recalls how appreciative her unit was when it received boxes of small pillows from friends in the islands.

She is especially appreciative of the efforts of the Waianae chapter of Veterans of Foreign Wars which adopted the 29th Support Battalion and has been sending the soldiers care packages just like it did for the Hawaii Guard's Bravo Company, 193rd Aviation Regiment when the maintenance company was deployed to Afghanistan last year.

For the past five months, Madeira has been involved in getting spare parts ranging from bolts to truck engines for the various units assigned to the 29th Brigade Combat Team.

It's her first time away from home, except for the short spell after graduating from high school to attend basic training.

"It's a large mental adjustment," said Madeira, "just getting adjusted being away from home."

Although several of her relatives have been longtime members of the Hawaii Army National Guard, Madeira said she never expected that her unit would be activated for wartime duty.

"I think it came as a shock from many of us," she said.

At Anaconda, Madeira, who played guard for Campbell's girls varsity basketball squad for two years, has organized a team. "I was surprised that there were a lot of other girls who also love to play basketball as much as I do."

They practice every day after work and then "go to the pool," Madeira added. "It's not the beach, but it's something, especially now since the temperature starts at 105 degrees in the morning every day. It gets as high as 115 degrees and at night it is still hot."

Her goal is to re-enlist when she gets back to Iraq and then finish Leeward Community College when the 29th Brigade returns to Hawaii next year. Eventually, she hopes to become a physical therapist.

National Guard officials hope that anyone participating in "Operational Uplift" send soldiers packages containing small toys, school supplies, and candies that the Hawaii soldiers can give to Iraqi children.

Madeira also said soldiers there would appreciate dish-washing soap, small sponges and even small plastic containers which they can use to store leftover foods.