Thousands of Americans are again asking what they can do to show their support for service members, especially those serving overseas in this time of war. Below are Web sites for several organizations that are sponsoring programs for members of the Armed Forces overseas. While it would be inappropriate for the Department to endorse any specifically, service members do value and appreciate such expressions of support:

Donate a calling card to help keep service members in touch with their families at Operation Uplink at http://www.operationuplink.org/

Operation Uplink Phone Cards
Operation Uplink is one of the most appreciated assistance programs offered by any veterans organization. The VFW's Operation Uplink phone card program provides our service men and women with precious minutes of time to talk to loved ones back home. Despite the appreciation that our service personnel and hospitalized veterans have for this program, we need the support of generous people like you to keep the phones ringing. Your donations make it possible for service men and women and hospitalized veterans to make free phone calls to friends and family. http://www.operationuplink.org/

Send a greeting via e-mail through Operation Dear Abby at http://anyservicemember.navy.mil/ or www.OperationDearAbby.net

Sign a virtual thank you card at the Defend America Web site at http://www.defendamerica.mil/nmam.html

Make a donation to one of the military relief societies:

Army Emergency Relief at http://www.aerhq.org/

Navy/Marine Relief Society at http://www.nmcrs.org/

Air Force Aid Society at http://www.afas.org/

Coast Guard Mutual Assistance at http://www.cgmahq.org/

Donate to "Operation USO Care Package" at http://www.usometrodc.org/care.html

Support the American Red Cross Armed Forces Emergency Services at http://www.redcross.org/services/afes/

Volunteer at a VA Hospital to honor veterans who bore the lamp of freedom in past conflicts.

Support families whose loved ones are being treated at military and VA hospitals through a donation to the Fisher House at www.fisherhouse.org.

Reach out to military families in your community, especially those with a loved one overseas.

Please do not flood the military mail system with letters, cards, and gifts. Due to security concerns and transportation constraints, the Department cannot accept items to be mailed to " Any Servicemember ." Some people have tried to avoid this prohibition by sending large numbers of packages to an individual servicemember's address, which however well intentioned, clogs the mail and causes unneccessary delays.

The support and generosity of the American people has touched the lives of many servicemembers, over 300,000 of whom are deployed overseas.