Army reservist's auction raises nearly $3,000 for unit

[Rose Siding]

A teenage Army reservist raised nearly $3,000 in a sports memorabilia auction to buy equipment for his unit.
...
Half the total will go to support Mothers of Military Servicemembers, while the rest will buy a luxury item such as a laptop computer or satellite phone for Flynn's 445th Civil Affairs Battalion.

Battalion spokeswoman Maj. Barbara Kuhn said she understood that the auction initially was intended to raise money for protective gear. But she said the unit will be supplied with the latest in body armor and will have all the gear it needs, she said.

The Mountain View-based unit also won't be on the front lines.

"We're a civil affairs unit. We're not the infantry," Kuhn told the San Francisco Chronicle. "Our kids aren't going there to kick down doors to get the bad guys. That's not what we do. We work with the schools and help rebuild."

Officials with the unit called in Flynn and two fellow reservists to explain what they were doing and reminded them that they cannot solicit money as part of the military.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/01/01/state1457EST0032.DTL

[babylonsister]

1. I distrust the words, "won't be on the front lines."

Maybe not til they're needed. :eyes:

[Rose Siding]

2. "front lines" in Iraq

can be cafeteria lines or slow lanes or the Green Zone.

[babylonsister]

3. I'm a cynic. Could also be

walking the security perimeter and all that might encompass. Or wherever they're needed...:shrug:

[atreides1]

4. Just Like Vietnam

There are no front lines in Iraq.