It is difficult for the families of military personnel to have their loved one deployed overseas for extended periods of time, and it is especially trying on the youngest members of the family who may not completely understand the situation.

Operation Military Kids, a national program administered through the 4-H club, aims to help kids deal with these specific challenges. Friday, the organization is hosting a Summer Fun Day at Oak Mountain State Park for the children of military families from Jefferson and Walker counties.

The program provides educational programs to help kids understand the challenges of having their parent, older sibling, aunt or uncle serving far away. By bringing the kids together for the day, they will be introduced to 4-H activities available in the area, and get a chance to connect with other military families. Kids will go on a wildlife and nature hike, hula hoop, play badminton, volleyball and build sandcastles.

The camp runs from 9:30 a.m. till 4:30 p.m.

Sheila Benson didn’t waste time getting holiday packages ready for troops serving in Afghanistan, because she knows there isn’t time to waste.

Benson, chief executive officer of Employment Screening Services, which provides companies with information about prospective employees, last week had employees stuff Christmas stockings for 80 soldiers serving alongside her son, U.S. Army 1st Lt. Loring Shaffer Jones IV.

The stockings contain candy, soap, beef jerky, lip balm and letters of support from fourth-graders in teacher Dana Pate’s class at Oak Mountain Intermediate School.

Benson said she originally planned to send care packages to the few soldiers her son said likely would have no presents at Christmas.

“The more I talked to him and found out how many were unsure they’d get anything, we decided to adopt the whole battalion,” Benson said.

Benson said she hopes the public knows there is scant time to get mail packages for troops in time for the holidays.

Although Christmas is still 48 days away, the U.S. Postal Service recommends holiday care packages for soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan be mailed by Friday. They should be shipped no later than Dec. 4 in order to arrive by Christmas.

“Time is running out,” Benson said.

When shipping holiday packages to soldiers serving anywhere overseas, the rule of thumb is the earlier the better, postal officials said.

“You never know what may happen in terms of winter storms or transportation issues,” said spokesman Dave Lewin. “And, the earlier you mail, the service you receive will be more economical.”

Here are some great websites to help get you started. Please help support our troops!

http://www.adoptaussoldier.org
http://www.soldiersangels.org
http://www.USO.org
http://www.booksforsoldiers.com
http://www.redcross.org/services/afes/0,1082,0_321_,00.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_5609689_use-mail-program-soldiers-troops.html

Family and friends withstood the rain Wednesday to welcome home members of the 135th Expeditionary Sustainment Command unit from a year-long deployment in Afghanistan.

A shout arose from the damp crowd as four tour buses carrying members of the 135th turned the corner and drove through the gates at the Fort John C. Persons Armory on West Oxmoor Road at about 11:45. Fifteen minutes later, more than 250 re­unions occurred simulta­neously.

The soldiers marched out of the armory in formation, smiling and waving to those lining either side much like a football team’s spirit line. This was a time for relaxing the rules.

While in Afghanistan, the citizen soldiers helped move supplies, food, mail and troops through the war-torn country.

Gov. Bob Riley in a ceremony at the Capitol today thanked relatives of Alabamians killed in the war on terror and recalled the sacrifices made by the 122 service members.

”When this country needed someone to step forward, they of their own volition took an oath to step forward and defend what is great about this country,” Riley said.

”To a large extent, what they did was sacrifice all of their hopes and all of their aspirations and all of their dreams so we can have ours,” he said. ”Let us vow this morning that, for as long as God gives life to this nation and to each one of us, their heroism, their courage and their noble sacrifice will never be forgotten.”

Soldiers and retired soldiers read the names and hometowns of the 122 Alabamians who died in Iraq, Afghanistan or other theaters of operation between Sept. 11, 2001, and Sept. 30. Seven were killed this year: Army Sgt. Lakeshia M. Bailey of Ft. Mitchell, Marine Lance Cpl. Thomas E. Rivers Jr. of Hoover, Army Capt. Kyle A. Comfort of Jacksonville, Army Spc. Brendan P. Neenan of Enterprise, Air Force Sgt. David C. Smith of Eight Mile, Army Spc. Andrew L. Hand of Enterprise and Air Force Senior Airman Mark A. Forester of Haleyville.

Photos of the service members cover a memorial, 8 feet high and 10 feet long, that stands on the first floor of the Capitol, not far from the late Gov. Lurleen Wallace’s statue. The American and Alabama flags flank the ”Alabama’s Fallen Heroes” memorial. When the memorial was dedicated in November 2007, 92 Alabamians had died in the war on terror.

A local soldier wounded in an attack in Iraq last month has received the Purple Heart.

Pfc. Michael Campbell, 27, of Ragland was awarded the Purple Heart Oct 5 from his hospital bed at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.

“It makes you feel that you are appreciated for what did happen,†Campbell said Saturday from his hospital room in Texas. “I am very grateful to receive this. It is such an honor. Secretary of the Army Joseph Westphal presented it to me and some of my family was with me.â€

Campbell recalled the incident, which happened Sept. 7 in Tuz, Iraq, between 3 and 5 p.m. Iraqi time.

“An Iraqi soldier climbed a wall used for security and started shooting where we were asleep,†Campbell said. “All total, 11 U.S. soldiers were shot, two of which died. The gunman was later killed by American soldiers.â€

Of the nine soldiers who were wounded, Campbell is the seventh to receive the Purple Heart.

One of the nine soldiers injured is in Texas with Campbell.

“Kyle Perry is from Phoenix, Ariz., and he is one of my buddies,†Campbell said. “We stick together and try to keep each other straight. We go eat breakfast together every morning. I’m in room 127 and he is in room 126.â€

Campbell’s wife, Tanya, has been by his side for the past several weeks.

“I am so proud of him,†Tanya Campbell said. “I know it is an honor to him and all the other soldiers who are Purple Heart recipients.â€

Campbell’s mother, Sue Campbell, said her son has had so many challenges since he was injured in Iraq.

“But God’s blessings in his recovery has been abundant,†Sue Campbell said. “I am so proud of Michael for taking the oath as a soldier to lay down his life to protect our country, its values, and a way of life against all who seek to destroy us. Also for their mission to give the Iraqi people a real chance to realize a free democratic life for the very first time in many of their lives. So to Michael I say, ‘Thank you for serving our country and protecting our most precious gift — Freedom. You make me proud to be your mom and I love you so much.’â€

The Campbells have a 4-year-old son, Jax, as well as a 15-year-old stepson, Dakota Gardner.

Tanya Campbell said her husband is scheduled to have another surgery Nov. 2 during which doctors will do a bone graft and insert a plate and pins in his left hip.

“The surgeon said in about four to six weeks we should be able to come home to Ragland for 30 days before returning back out here to Texas,†she said. “We should be home around the middle of December, so we’ll be home for Christmas.â€

Campbell joined the Army Sept. 1, 2009. Basic training was held at Ft. Benning, Ga. He was then stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

He deployed from Hawaii July 2, and arrived in Iraq a few days later as a member of the 2nd Platoon, 1-27th Infantry where he is a radio telecommunications operator.

American Legion Post 137 in Fairfield has just 155 members and runs public bingo twice a week.

The paper cards cost a dollar apiece, and the small jackpots each night total about $1,750.

But large deeds can grow from small gifts.

Next week the post will donate $50,000 to Operation Lakeshore for naming rights to a duplex being built on the campus of Lakeshore Foundation in Homewood.

The duplex is one of 10 new homes called The Cottages of Lakeshore. After opening next month they will offer free lodging for injured veterans and their families who come for a Lima Foxtrot program at Lakeshore that teaches active and independent living — despite paralysis, blindness, amputation or other service injury.

“We figured we couldn’t afford not to do it,” said Roy Gallups, commander of the Fairfield post. “When it was brought to the floor, it was a unanimous decision to do that for veterans.”

Members of the American Legion post were swayed by a video that featured Noah Galloway, a double-amputee 101st Airborne veteran from Alabaster, and by a story about the cottages in The Birmingham News.

Gallups said the gift fits one of the main missions of the American Legion — veterans rehabilitation. Other missions of the nonprofit organization for veterans who have served in the military during times of war are Americanism, such as the civics learned in Legion-sponsored Boys State and Girls State; child welfare, including youth baseball; and national security.

“Our commander wanted to do something that would be a lasting reflection of everyone who has gone before us in the post,” said post adjutant James Mosier. “It’s the largest gift we’ve ever attempted to accomplish.”

The cottages are a $2.3 million charitable effort organized by Birmingham’s Capstone Companies and supported by more than 90 companies and groups that have donated labor, materials and money. They fill a need for veterans and families who come to a Lima Foxtrot program — the chance to stay together as veterans learn how much they can accomplish physically.

Up to now, the 800 military service members who came to a Lima Foxtrot program stayed in dorms, while their families stayed elsewhere off campus.

This gift from the Fairfield American Legion pushes fundraising for the cottages past $2 million, with just $260,000 to go.

Operation Lakeshore is still offering several naming rights at the cottages, from benches to the naming of the entire community.

The gift from American Legion Post 137, founded in April 1932, is the second from a west Jefferson County veterans group. Last month the Veterans of Foreign Wars Bailey-Rogers Post in Bessemer gave $50,000.

The two posts have decided to share one duplex, and plaques on each front door will mark the donations.

Mosier said the American Legion gift fits the pledge that post members recite at the close of each monthly meeting: “Let service to the community, state and nation be ever a main objective of the American Legion and its members . . . (and) nothing shall swerve us from the path of justice, freedom and democracy.”

The University of Alabama launched a program Thursday that will help student veterans adjust to life on campus after serving in the military. The Veterans Education and Transition Support initiative will provide academic and personal support for veterans entering or re-entering college, including help with unresolved problems related to combat.

“This is really going to be revolutionary for veterans on campus,” said Ashkan Bayatpour, the founder of the Campus Veterans Association. “Now, the University of Alabama is making an active effort to reach out to veterans.”

To celebrate the new program, UA held a luncheon for campus veterans Thursday that featured an address by national veterans expert Floyd Meshad. Meshad touched on many of the issues facing veterans today and recalled his experience upon returning home to Alabama after Vietnam.

“Quite frankly, after Vietnam, I spent three or four months in and out of the VA. I needed to get the war out of my head,” Meshad said.

After moving to Los Angeles, Meshad started the Vietnam Veterans Re-Socialization Unit that focused on the readjustment problems of Vietnam veterans. He was also one of the first to study post-traumatic stress disorder and would go on to found the National Veterans Foundation.