We all know that soldiers in the United States military are asked to put their lives on the line to defend our way of life. Everyday, young American men and women in Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of the world face danger and hardship on our behalf.
Showing them appreciation and support, no matter what the form, goes a long way. In the January/February issue of the Texas Mini News, we suggested that TMSA members—storage facility owners and managers—get involved in an effort to support our troops.

Slaughter Creek Storage, located in southwest Austin and owned by Ricky Jenkins, has done just that. For the past year, they have donated a 10' x 20' climate- controlled unit to Nina Gayheart to help her work with Operation Interdependence, a “civilian-to-military delivery system® that serves as a program for Americans to demonstrate their support for our deployed military.”

Gayheart, whose son, Lance Cpl. James Gayheart, a plane captain of a light-attack helicopter squadron, is stationed in Al Qa’im, Iraq, decided she wanted to get involved in helping support our troops.

Nina Gayheart (left) and Rebecca Forest
check the list before stuffing care packages for US military.

“After my son was deployed, I really wanted to find a way to act,” she said. Gayheart saw a website listing items that the troops wanted and needed. “I couldn’t believe they had to buy this stuff themselves,” she said.

That’s when she stepped into action. She needed a climate-controlled unit, and thought that surely someone would be willing to help. And Slaughter Creek Storage was. When Gayheart approached manager Bruce Hirsch, he readily agreed to donate a climate-controlled unit.

“Bruce has just been fantastic,” said Gayheart. “He even let us use an additional unit when we needed it.”

“It was a pretty easy decision,” said Hirsch. “Of course I wanted to support our troops, but I knew it would help us too. I’ve given them open-ended use of the unit. It gives us lots of exposure. There have been several TV stations out here interviewing Nina. In fact in the year since we’ve donated the unit, we’ve gone from 61% occupancy to 99%. It’s been a win-win situation.”

Twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, Gayheart and three or four volunteers meet at the unit, one of 13 shipping centers across the country, and pack boxes with donated items using special Ziploc bags (filled with everything from cookies to dental and shaving items) that will fit in battle fatigue pockets. For security reasons, all the volunteers who help Gayheart must register with Operation Interdependence at www.oidelivers.org. The volunteers also help coordinate the donations through a variety of means, including church groups, Boy Scouts—basically whatever ideas they come up with. There they assemble the Ziploc bags and stuff the boxes—five boxes will supply a platoon of 250 men and women. Gayheart figures they ship five boxes three times a month.

“I really enjoy the hands-on aspect, actually being able to put something together that I know will benefit the troops,” said volunteer Rebecca Forest. “It just makes me feel good to do this.”

Gayheart opened a binder filled with numerous letters from soldiers in Iraq, showing their gratitude. She pointed out one from a captain, who had taken the time to tell her how much his troops appreciated the care packages.

“Last month, 16 of his men died in a bomb attack,” she said, a grim reminder of the harsh realities of war.