Soldier’s Best Friend
By Sergeant V. Michelle Woods, 1st Sustainment Brigade, US Army
"I was deployed to Kuwait in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn in 2010-2011. The days were extremely long, the weather was suffocatingly hot… it was very easy to become depressed and homesick over there. I'll never forget the day I walked into our command tent and saw an American Red Cross volunteer holding a Red Cross dog. The dog's sole purpose was to boost our morale. As an animal lover, I could not stop petting and hugging this sweet, friendly dog. It was so comforting seeing a pet there, after going so long without seeing anything other than camels! I remember thinking, ‘I can't believe this woman left our great country to just volunteer her time to support the troops in this hell hole. She must be a saint.’ I wondered if she and the dog knew how much I appreciated their visits because no words could truly describe how grateful I was. Thank you American Red Cross for all of your efforts, both great and small. You are truly appreciated.”