The Penpal Platoon

Adopt a Soldier program supports our troops

After serving in Iraq for 14 months, Army Sgt. Juan Salas didn’t forget his comrades when he returned to school at Manhattanville College in Westchester County, N.Y. He created a program, launched with the help of his school on Veterans Day, that encourages the public to adopt troops overseas. Three months later, the Manhattanville College My Soldier program has registered 270,000 people eager to participate. That includes more than 800 students at the school, about 75 percent of the student body, said spokeswoman Anne Gold. Many already have heard back from their adopted service members, she said. 

WHAT’S NEXT: The program, which is open to all service members overseas, not just troops deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, continues to grow stronger. As in a number of other support efforts, volunteers send troops letters and care packages and those who have adopted troops wear red rubber My Soldier bracelets. Their ranks include, among others, Girl Scouts, Vietnam veterans, parents of troops, police precincts, school classes, churches and even some Canadian citizens. The My Soldier program works with another support effort, Operation Military Pride, to identify who want to be adopted, but service members also are encouraged to register, directly at www.mville.edu/mysoldier/index.html. Family members can register their troops, too.