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Our Warriors Need Your Help |
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<== Click on a link to the left to proceed to the various pages. Emails from troops appear under their 'armed forces' designation on the left hand side of this page...i.e. Navy, USMC, USAF, ArmyMarch is Brain Injury Awareness Month and the Brain Injury Association of America's current campaign is, "A concussion is a brain injury. Get the facts."See the emails below for our warriors heartfelt requests for our help, more important than ever with the 'surge' now taking place in Afghanistan. We redact name and unit for OpSec (and to prevent back-blast from the Pentagon to the sender), everything else is unchanged except the occasional deletion of expletives.Troops: If you've asked for a helmet pad upgrade in the past and were told 'sorry, we're broke', please contact us again...we'll do what we can, thanks to our generous donors.
Help us send helmet pad upgrades to our warriors by clicking on this link:
See our
Donors page
for major donations by more Americans
supporting our troops. We do not release donor's names without their permission.
David Spade donated enough to outfit 3,000 troops: That lasted several
months...and requests are starting to pour in as our troops 'pour in' to
Afghanistan. Another great troop supporter are Jim and Monica Sexton of
Z-Line Designs - they not only have put their money up but also put OpHelmet
logos on Denny Hamlin's #20 NASCAR (click here) Here's an approximate translation of web pages in
Espanol
Mailing address:
Operation Helmet
Email:
ophelm at
operation-helmet.org
We are a
100% volunteer,
non-partisan, charitable organization headquartered in
Montgomery, Texas (near Houston) with volunteer operations around the country. 99.96% of all contributions are used to send upgrade
kits to our troops! [*] We have less than one-half of one percent overhead
which is used to for very limited expenses related to sending thanks to donors
or forwarding upgrade kits that didn't reach the addressee. This is a labor of love.
We have no salaries or payroll. Doc Bob covers all office expenses.
PS: We now pay $34 for each kit, shipping included
from the factory direct to the service member, thanks to a large discount
from our main vendor.
Do you make a difference
with your donation? "Just received the pads about two days ago. Have them in my ACH
now and took them out on about an eleven hour patrol yesterday. I can quite
possibly say that it was one of the best patrols I've had out here due to the
pads. I usually take a Tylenol about halfway through our missions due to the
headache I would get from the standard issue pads, not anymore though. These
pads are hands down the best quality and most comfortable I have ever worn. I
wouldn't even begin to compare these to the standard issue pads we get. Hands
down the Oregon Aero surpass GI pads in comfort, sweat absorption, and heat
ventilation. They not only felt more comfortable on my head, but noticeably
cooler. Everyone here is very grateful
to have generous civilians like yourself get them out to us. Thank you again" Uncomfortable helmets simply aren't worn as much or
strapped down as required as those you can
'forget about'. Hard to concentrate on a dangerous job when you are distracted
by pain. And IED's, RPG's and ambushes pop up anytime, anywhere. Removing or
loosening helmets to deal with severe distracting headache = needless injury or
death. Believe it: The life you save
may save another! Blast-wave
induced flexure ('ripple" of the seemingly rigid skull causes brain injury,
made worse by simultaneous flexure of the Kevlar helmet shell's flexure
being transmitted to the skull by too-firm helmet pads...SEE
DOC BOB'S BLOG FOR IMPORTANT NEW INFORMATION ON HELMET PAD PROBLEMS,
including a current email (2/13/2010), meetings in with the Marines in Quantico and with the Army's PEO Soldier and House Armed Services Committee staff
in Washington DC.
If and when the Army releases the information, three independent civilian labs
have re-done the flawed tests done earlier and we'll report the actual
results...not some pre-digested blather. So far, our Freedom of
Information request has been denied twice as the data from non-secure labs is
cited as secret.????
Click Here for the summary of our
meeting with PEO Soldier and House Armed Services Committee Staff.
Please remember our troops EVERY DAY
Join with your fellow Americans and Make a Donation
AND NOW
EXCERPTS OF EMAILS FROM THE FRONT LINES (Not from 'desk warriors' in their
air-conditioned foxholes !) See also Service sections (on left: US Army, USMC,
etc) and Doc
Bob's BLOG 2/1/2010:
Thank you, I appreciate it so much,
was recently out on a patrol and had to wear my ACH with the standard issue pads
and i constantly would get a pounding sensation at the top of my forward,
causing me to want to move the ACH to the right or left. Doing so kept me from
being able to scan my sector, which was definantly not safe considering the use
of NVG's. 1/28/2010: I'm on my
second deployment with the same pads, my pads gone they are just pieces of cloth
and Velcro with the broken supply system we have I can't get replacement pads. 1/19/2010: Thank you so much
for the helmet pads. They are 200% nicer than the ones originally issued to us.
Everyone in my platoon is very, very thankful. The pads, are a lot softer and
have a more ability to shape to the wearers head. I wore them on our last
mission and for once I didn't get a headache. I can not thank you enough for
this gift of comfort. 1/3/2010: I currently have some
sort of grey pad, not vary specific I know but there is no name on them. The
current pads are very hard and most of them have no backing and do not actually
stick to the Velcro in the helmet. Therefore on mission I am forced to, in the
turret of my RG, take off my helmet to fix the pads that have moved around. I
really wish the pads were softer and were a lot more durable. Thanks, you guys
are doing a great thing. (Army Sapper-route clearance, Afghanistan) 1/2/10: We no longer dread
about wearing our helmets during long missions. They are now very
comfortable and our helmets don't fall infront of our eyes while shooting.
Thank you for the support we really appreciate it. 12/22/09:
Other Marines in my unit told me how much better these pads were and how much
more they were willing to wear their helmets with these pads in. 11/13/09:
The pads I have now are
horrible especially for someone who get's headaches easily like I do. And you
when you are trying to shoot your helmet falls in your eyes unless you have it
really tight and then the pads kill the top of your head. I was wondering how I
could get some of the pads you offer to soldiers. 10/12/09:
The current GI pads are very hard and cause pain. I was
issued the new pad kit and spent a lot of time and energy trying to get them to
fit with some level of comfort. Even after only placing 4 pads in the helmet it
fits too tight. I tried on the next helmet size but the shell is too large and
takes away from my vision. The old strap system was more comfortable. I
especially do not like the pads when I have the added weight of NVGs on my
helmet 10/01/09:
The helmet gives me an incredible headache and makes my head go numb after one
hour of wear. I have tried moving the pads and changing the straps or angle of
wear but have found no solution. I simply cannot wear the helmet for more than
one hour which doesn't get me very far. I've asked others for ideas and recently
started searching for suggestions/solutions online. COL, USAF. 9/16/09:
I originally received an Oregon Aero kit back in 2006
while I was in Fallujah and let me tell you that it saved my head on the 2
occasions that my vehicle was hit by an IED. They are a god send and I know
that many lives have been saved by the kits that are being supplied to the
Marines and the FMF Corpsman. I would like to thank Capt. Bob Meaders (Ret.)
for what he has done and also my wife for the work that she did in the past to
outfit my PSD unit and what she is doing now to outfit the unit I am currently
with. USMC. 9/10/09:
About the pads you sent: they are 10 times better especially when in vehicles
and we bump our Kevlars (helmet) on the roof; lot better shock absorbent. The
issued ones are the same outer material as the Oregon Aero ones but the inner
material is shards of plastic that don't conform to the operators head and don't
provide any (shock) absorbency. 8/11/09:
They just hurt. I've moved them all over the
place to try to make them comfortable and my head aches after every mission. (We
sent 30 for his platoon at his request) 6/26/09: Using issued
MSA pads and currently getting tension headaches 45min-1hr after wearing helmet.
The corners of the "Pad Rect" (rectangular pads on temples) focus
pressure on one location and do not form to the head. The only relief is
finishing the mission and taking the helmet off. 6/1/09:
Hey Bob, its LCPL xxxx. Sorry its been awhile, but we have been busy. We are
getting out of here (Afghanistan) in a few days and I am real excited to say it.
Let me just say that the pads you sent were a godsend. Everyone in the platoon
loved them and not only do they feel better, but they don't leave a bald spot on
your head like the old ones. Quite frankly many of my platoon members who didn't
have them ended up with no kidding balding areas on the top of their heads... I
think organizations like this are the unsung heroes for our American forces and
the one's people do not know about...
We all thank you for
everything you have done and I'll send you a few pictures of my platoon and I
when I get a chance. Thanks again 5/13/09:
The (GI
pad) things are like rocks shrink-wrapped
in Velcro. Incredibly uncomfortable and in no way do they shape or form to the
head. SGT, USMC. 5/8/09:
I am the Command Sergeant Major of Task Force XXXX which is currently conducting
Route Clearance missions in Afghanistan looking for IED's. We find a good number
of them. Well we find them all, but some are because they blow up on us. I
have a good number of Soldier's that end up with concussions so anything that
helps absorb that impact and blast wave is a good thing for my Warriors ... I have a set from
my civilian Police helmet that I brought with me and they make all the
difference in the world on long missions. My head never hurts even after
spending more than 24 hours straight in the helmet. 4/30/09:
I just receive a brand-new USMC-LW
helmet (still in plastic bag when I got it) in early March and wore it steady
for a two week training exercise in Mississippi; consequently, the center pad is
already flaking up. Also, for those two weeks I had to keep removing my helmet
to relieve the tension headache that it was causing me! My HM's and I are
going OCONUS in the mid fall of 2009 and I would like to have all my gear ready
prior to avoid any delays at the last minute. Many thanks to you folks,
and GOD BLESS YOU. LCDR, USN, Medical Corps See
Doc Bob's Blog for more information and reports
on how we're trying to get the military to 'do the right thing' and provide the
best, not the cheapest helmet pads to our troops in harm's way. Hard to do your
dangerous job when distracted by a blinding headache. Article on the
New Marine Helmet of the Future and interview with Gen Conway. Jan 28, 2008. Operation Helmet's version three
survey results,
We hear that DOD (And some vendors) is (are)
convinced we're some sort of agent for Oregon Aero because we don't point
out that their pads are more expensive than the competition. I have NO idea
what OA charges the military nor do I care. That's not my business. All we
want is for our troops to have the best, not the cheapest, equipment that
makes their jobs safer and more effectively performed. If an item costs, for
example, 3/4 as much as another but lasts only 1/2 as long, where is the
savings? I also don't know how
much a UAV costs, or even the M4 carbine. Attention
DOD: Don't shoot the messenger, fix the problem! Amanda Gracie
- song about a young woman/soldier who suffered a TBI in Iraq -
can't remember her two-year child, Amanda Gracie
We have heard from troops in the field that some
pad systems are really hard, hot, and/or uncomfortable
(but not the ones we send).
Fill out an anonymous survey here.
Version three
survey results, Operation Helmet, Inc. is a
501-c-3 charity; our EIN is 20-1756585. Donations are tax-deductible. Your
cancelled check is sufficient unless you gave $250 or more, then we send a
letter/email for proof of donation. Once all troops are provided appropriate blast/impact protecting helmet
upgrades, we will utilize residual funds to help other charities providing for
rehabilitation and support of our wounded troops and their families. We are
researching several charities and will support those we find to be well
managed, little or AT LEAST MINIMAL administrative fees and have a proven track record of
helping our wounded warriors cope with their injuries and return to either
civilian or military life.
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Send mail to ophelm at
operationhelmet.org with questions or comments about Operation Helmet.
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