Support Our Troops

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Both of my sons, Walter and Jesse both served our United States of America in the Middle East. Boat Doctors proudly support all of our men and women serving in the US Military. For those serving overseas, we pray their quick and safe return.

We always appreciate our U.S. Veterans and offer you a discount on our services.

There are several organizations that contribute to the well being of our 

soldiers included on this page.  The USO and Adopt A Platoon are both 

great support groups and help our soldiers in their time of need.  

To make a donation, simply click on either of the links below and you will be directed to the corresponding website.

The USO is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to support
the troops by providing morale, welfare and recreation-type services to our men and women in uniform. The original intent of Congress — and enduring style of USO delivery — is to represent the American people by extending a touch of home to the military. The USO currently operates more than 130 centers worldwide, including ten mobile canteens located in the continental United States and overseas. Overseas centers are located in Germany, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Qatar, Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, Guam, and Kuwait. Service members and their families visit USO centers more than 5.3 million times each year. The USO is the way the American public supports the troops.

Enter The USO website

'Adopt a Platoon' Still Thrives After 10 Years

By Jamie Find later
Special to American Forces Press Service 

WASHINGTON,  April 28, 2008 – Ida Hagg knows all about care packages; in fact, after  10 years of sending them out, she's pretty much an expert.  "The  troops appreciate beef jerky, sunflower seeds, movies, DVDs,” she said.  “In the outlying areas, they appreciate receiving baby wipes and socks  and hygiene products -- and all this is topped off with tons of  cookies."
 

Hagg first realized the importance of care packages when her  own son was deployed to the Balkans, she explained during an “ASY Live”  BlogTalkRadio interview. The online radio program is an extension of  the Defense Department’s America Supports You program, which connects  citizens and companies with service members and their families serving  at home or abroad.
 

"In every letter he would send, he would talk about how nine  out of 10 of his buddies did not receive regular mail," Hagg said.
 

Since 1998, her organization, “Adopt a Platoon,” has been  sending out thousands of care packages to let U.S. troops know they  care. In fact, she said, the group sends out about 30,000 pieces of mail  and care packages a month.
 

 "It is my experience," Hagg said, "that Americans want to  support the troops, but unless they have a deployed service member -- a  spouse or a son or daughter in the military -- … they don’t know how. …  For this reason, we rely greatly on our ‘platoon moms and dads.’"
 

The group also works closely with combat hospitals and gets  word from chaplains who tell them what items the troops need the most.
 

One of Adopt a Platoon’s current projects, "Operation Don't  Bug Me," stemmed from one of these requests. The group sends mosquito  repellent during the summer months. Other operations range from  supplying soldiers with sunglasses, to seasonal moral boosters such as  "Operation Holiday Stocking" and even a special campaign called  "Operation Underwear."
 

"Only American mothers truly care and understand the most  important needs that you wouldn't normally think about," she said.
 

The group’s “Operation Crayon” started in 1999 in the  Balkans to help out with humanitarian missions in Bosnia and in Kosovo.  Today, it serves areas in Iraq and Afghanistan. "Now, while our troops  help with reconstruction efforts, we can provide the writing tablets and  supplies for the schools," Hagg said.
 

 A teacher by trade, Hagg said she understands that it is important to get everyone in the community involved.
 

 "We rally fellow Americans, our neighbors and our community  to stand behind our troops,” she said. “We encourage people to submit an  application, and we follow through with personal phone calls. We work  to involve teachers and their students, families, business, civic  groups."

Everyone can get involved as much or as little as they like, she said.
 

 "A classroom in a senior high school wants to write letters,  but can't afford the care packages,” she said, “so we form a  partnership with them."
 

 Though trying to determine what items will truly give troops  that extra push is a full-time job, Hagg said, it’s worth the effort.  She said troops appreciate cards and letters the most. “They just need  to know that we're thinking about them all the time,” she explained.
 

The success of the organization over the past decade is proof that America values its service members, Hagg said.
 

"I had no idea in 1998 that we would be as big as we are  today,” she said. “It just goes to show that our American people want  our support our deployed sons and daughters."
 

(Jamie  Find later, host of “ASY Live” on BlogTalkRadio.com, works in the New  Media branch of American Forces Information Service.) 

The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. 

–Douglas MacArthur