I had a visit this morning from SGM Charles Szostecki, Operations Sergeant Major with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nashville District. He didn’t come to the office to see me; he had a meeting with the Director of Schools. But while he was here, one of the other secretaries told him there was something he needed to see while he was here, and led him back to my office.
He asked how many kids I have in the military, and I told him “None.” He said “Then, who are all these people?” So I explained the AnySoldier website, and told him how many troops we’ve adopted and supported during their deployments. I happened to have one of my “Chicken Up on You” cards that I haven’t got mailed out yet, which I showed him. He thought it was pretty neat; said people don’t realize how much a card or a note impacts our deployed troops. He’s been deployed four times, and is going again this year, and he said letters sometimes make the difference between a Soldier keeping their head in the game or not.
We had a nice chat for several minutes; he left me his business card and he also gave me a challenge coin. I gave him a Guardian Angel card so when he goes back over, he’ll have an angel to watch over him. It was pretty awesome to meet SGM Szostecki, especially just out of the blue like that, and the coin will be another treasured possession. I will take a picture of it this evening and post it so y’all can see if you want.
January 14th, 2010 - 4:16 pm
Well, I for one would love to see what the challenge coin looks like. Personally, I carry a brass PGR coin, retiring my Desert Storm coin. Coin history dictates that now you must ALWAYS have in your possession in the event you are challenged! Another good job, Tracy.