Program beams stateside friends to troops overseas

Video greetings help soldiers stay connected to home

Friday, Nov. 13, 2009

By ZOE TILLMAN

Staff writer

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Staff photo by CHRISTOPHER ANDERSON

Joe Keller, right, of WesCorp in San Dimas, Calif., records a video message Oct. 28 at Joint Base Andrews from a group of coworkers — including, standing, Derrold Burley, left, Charlene Chamblee, Elizabeth Kelley, Glen Cooke and, seated, Techia Branch, left, Elissa Joyner and Mandy Peters — to a friend stationed in Afghanistan.

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Just minutes before the cameras were switched on, Elissa Joyner still had no idea what she wanted to say to Sgt. Michael Strange, a friend and co-worker serving six months with the U.S. Air Force in Afghanistan.

Joyner, of Woodbridge, Va., and seven of Strange's coworkers were packed into an office Oct. 28 at the Andrews Federal Credit Union on Joint Base Andrews, which had been turned into a temporary recording studio.

They and nine other groups recorded videos for loved ones abroad through Operation Best Wishes, an annual national initiative that offers friends and family of deployed service members the opportunity to record and send messages for free.

A technician pointed to Joyner, a sign he was ready to begin taping.

"I love you, and I hope that you're doing fine," she said. "There's new babies, there's babies on the way … I hope that you're in a safe place … Can't wait to see you."

Strange's friends — co-workers at the pharmacy where he works on Andrews — recorded a five-minute video of news, jokes and prayers.

"This is better than a still photograph," said co-worker Elizabeth Kelley, who lives on base.

Operation Best Wishes was started in 2004 by Western Corporate Federal Credit Union based in Southern California. They are coordinating Operation Best Wishes events, which last for one day, at 17 credit unions across the country this fall.

WesCorp provides the staff, cameras and other equipment to credit unions that serve military families. Participants can record up to 10 minutes of footage per video, which WesCorp posts online through a password-protected Internet server.

When the video is finished, the service members receive an e-mail with an access code that allows them watch their messages.

"It's the least we can do for somebody that's serving our country," said Joe Keller, a technology director with WesCorp who was also serving as the cameraman for the event at Andrews.

There are more than 300 men and women stationed at Andrews who are serving deployments abroad, according to 316th Wing spokesman Eric Sharman.

This is the first year the AFCU has hosted an Operation Best Wishes event. AFCU spokeswoman Suzanne Curren said they hope it will become annual.

"With people deployed, it is a difficult time," she said. "Around the holidays, it makes it a little bit harder."

Turnout was low at Andrews compared with previous years — they can record as many as 48 messages at each location — which Curren attributes to the fact that the Internet has made it easier for families and friends to connect with those stationed abroad.

Still, she said they hope to get more families and friends to come out next year, since the videos are high quality and can be accessed at any time.

"I love the idea," said Mandy Peters of White Plains, another of Strange's co-workers. "I was active duty and I know what it's like to be gone and be by yourself."

ztillman@gazette.net

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