ALERT!$40,000 required to fly our troops home_Oregon National Guard Soldiers Stranded for Christmas

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 4, 2009 Info:Greg Warnock greg@owva.org 503.689.4145 http://www.owva.org/OWVA_Needs_Your_Help_to_Save_Christmas Oregon National Guard Soldiers Stranded for Christmas Salem, Ore. - Brigadier General Mike Caldwell, the deputy director of the Oregon Military Department/Oregon National Guard (ORNG) asked the Oregon War Veterans Association (OWVA) to help provide transportation for 94 members of the ORNG, from Dallas, Oregon who will be stranded in Wisconsin for the holidays. “OWVA has proven to be a valuable resource to the Oregon National Guard, providing goods and services to help to eliminate stress to our soldiers and their families by always offering a helping hand wherever and whenever possible," said BG Caldwell during a media conference today. “I asked for their help because the public knows them and supports their efforts to help our troops.” With gigantic budget cuts affecting ORNG they simply do not have the funds to bring these veterans home for the holidays. The unit is currently at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin for explosive disarming and disposal training. They deploy to Afghanistan right after Christmas for more than a year of the dangerous duty of defusing explosive devices.Fort McCoy will be shutting down operations from December 22-27, leaving Oregon troops stranded during the holidays. Now that the troops have the opportunity they wish to return home one last time before their deployment.