Soldiers' Angels has received over five hundred submissions of Heroes waiting to be adopted in the past week.

Five hundred.

And those Heroes need Angels.

The organization's name is a slight misnomer - granted, Soldiers' Sailors' Airmen's and Marines' Angels would be a bit cumbersome. There are Heroes from all branches of the military looking for Angels. I always tell people that joining SA, and adopting the heroes I've adopted, is probably the thing I've done that I'm most proud of.

If you support our Heroes, and you want to do something to show that, in a very real and meaningful way, SA is the place for you.

One of the most frequently asked questions is when you can expect to hear from your adoptee, and the SA answer is - "In a word - Never." While you are never guaranteed a reply, there is no doubt that what you do as an Angel is appreciated. We hear this from our adoptees, their families, their commanding officers, their friends. And while most Angels do hear from their adoptees at some point, there's no guarantee. But then again, them thanking us isn't really what this is about - it's about US thanking THEM. And the reward of knowing that you are helping them is immeasurable.

As I said in my earlier post today, I've had a total of five "officials" - one active Army, two Army National Guard, one Army Reserves, and one Airman I don't know much about yet.
I've also had several "unofficials" - Army, Marine, and Navy, that I was in regular contact with after sending a letter as part of the Letter Writing Team. I think now I've written to several hundred as part of the program, and have been very lucky in that I've heard from quite a few of them. I have been honored, and sometimes very humbled, to know all of them.

Adoption is a basic commitment of 1-2 letters a week, and 1-2 packages a month, ongoing throughout a troop's deployment. New Angels get a mentor (I'm one of them) to help with getting into the swing of things, and with answering questions (we help with deciphering the alphabet soup that is a military address, too!)

MaryAnn over at Soldiers' Angels Germany has a great post with information about the organization - go check it out if you'd like more information.

Or, if you're ready to sign up, fill out the adoption form here.