I don't mean the guys on the ground, ducking Osama's gunmen. I mean the honchos who get to stay here in Canada, comfortable with their families, and make decisions that affect the lives of our young men and women. I get a lot of emails from average Canadians looking to support our troops by sending them letters, cards and packages. Although I am an active member of Soldiers Angels and Angels'n'Camouflage in the US, there are no mass programs to rival them here in Canada. Military brass views the development of such programs with ennui, as I found out from speaking to them. I figured that not enough people really cared, and this saddened me. But on Saturday, on the front page of the National Post, I saw several paragraphs of hope.

Columnist Siri Agrell writes of the tradition in the United States of personal and corporate donations to the men and women who serve their country. Project Valour-IT, which this site helped raise funds for, is mentioned as well.

From bikes to batteries and backpacks, Americans are flooding military hospitals and bases with gifts for soldiers -- tokens of appreciation or tools to help them reintegrate their lives post-Iraq.

Big name brands such as Office Depot and Wal-Mart have gotten involved, donating gifts to soldiers' children.

This week, in what could be the beginning of a similar trend here, Hyundai Canada presented a brand new Santa Fe mini-SUV to Master Corporal Paul Franklin, who lost both of his legs after a suicide attack in Kandahar. The car is outfitted with hand controls so that Master Cpl. Franklin can operate it himself.

Wonderful! Hyundai should be commended for their gift, and they can be reached at

Ph. (780)478-7669
Fx. (780)473-2437
Toll Free: 1 800 661-2050
sales@northstarhyundai.com

But what about you and I? How do we give back to those who serve and defend this country? Well, as yet, there is still nothing in place beyond a lame ass message board, and the option to send postcards (no sealed mail) to random soldiers. There is no Soldiers Angels, despite efforts of people like me, and people like 14-year-old Auriele Diotte of Pickering:

Chris Diotte, whose 14-year-old daughter, Auriele, ran a letter writing campaign from her Pickering school this year, said their family plans to continue with the program on their own.

"I don't think we even asked [for any help]," she said.

The family paid to establish a Web site for the Canadian Armed Forces Encouragement Day, when school children write letters to military personnel.

Next year, the Diottes are hoping Canada Post will set up a program similar to Santa's Mailbox, where Canadians can simply drop a letter addressed to a Canadian soldier, and it will make its way overseas.

"My husband has e-mailed them but I don't know if he heard back," she said.

For now, the family is swallowing the cost themselves and relying on the kindness and skills of their friends to keep the program alive.

As for Auriele, she is the brains of the operation, but is not involved in its financing, her mother joked. "She doesn't even get an allowance."

I really do not understand the apathy of our military brass. Nor the socialistic attitude they have.

Capt. Veronica van Diepen, public affairs officer at Canadian Forces Base Edmonton, said part of the problem with soldiers accepting gifts from the public is "where do you draw the line?"

Capt. van Diepen added that it is "wonderful" that Canadians want to demonstrate their support, but that the armed forces do not want certain soldiers to benefit to the exclusion of others.

"It's about where you make the distinctions," she said. "We have to decide whether or not it's desirable overall."

"Do you accept things for one wounded soldier and not another? How do you decide who's deserving?" Capt. van Diepen said.

Is she serious? This isn't kindergarten, where every child has to be included in the game. It's fucking war. And if the emails I get are any indication, there will be more than enough love and gratitude to go around. Twelve years of Liberal government conditioned us to sneer at those in uniform, but we could get away with it at the time; things were peaceful. Now that our security isn't so guaranteed after all, more and more average Joes are realizing that we're lucky to have brave individuals standing up for real Canadian values - not the quasi-socialist Marxist crap we've been spoon-fed for so long. Real values like freedom, democracy, liberty and safety. And gratitude. And appreciation.

I have tried via the military to create a real program of thanks, and I have gotten nowhere. Neither have the Diottes. So now it's time to start involving the politicians. Contact your MP, Rick Hillier, or the Governor General. Canadians care about thier armed forces, we're just not allowed to show it.