HAPPY NEW YEAR
35 cents
VOL. 5/ISSUE 10
THURSDAY, JANUARY 5, 2017
OASIS draws on Paint with a Twist Patrick McCallister FOR VETERAN VOICE
pmccallister@veteranvoiceweekly.com
Learn to paint and help pack valentines for service members overseas. That’s the creative genius of Operation America Standing in Support’s — OASIS — upcoming fundraiser at Painting with a Twist. “They can party, they can paint, and they can pack,” Tess Brady Heribacka, co-founder of OASIS, said. On Sunday, Jan. 15, Painting with a Twist — 702 E. New Haven Ave., Melbourne — will host Hearts to the Troops staring at 1:30 p.m. The day starts with participants of all skill levels getting a painting lesson that ends with a piece of art. OASIS got to pick the painting participants will work on. “We selected a painting that’s a tree with the branches intertwined to form a heart,” Heribacka said. You know, for Valentine’s Day. “They get to keep their art and take it home and display it proudly,” Brady Heribacka said. Or, maybe give it to a valentine. After painting, participants can help OASIS put together Valentine’s Day themed care packages that’ll head to service members mostly in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan. “We’re encouraging people to bring donations of candy and valentines that are made by children, people and organizations,” Heribacka said. Those donations will go into the care packages. “In exchange (for the donations) they’ll be entered for a raffle for a basket with wine, chocolate and certificates for Painting with a
See OASIS page 7
Photo by Jim Garamone Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, rallies service members at Qayyarah West Airfield, Iraq, Dec. 25, 2016, reassuring them that they are making a difference in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and proving that American sacrifices in Iraq are worth it. To drive the point home, Dunford brought a USO show to the base for Christmas.
USO Magic
shows never fail to motivate, entertain troops Jim Garamone
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Rain had fallen on Qayyarah West Airfield, Iraq, and it was questionable whether the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, and the USO troupe would be able to make it. The troupe features country music star Kellie Pickler and her husband singer-songwriter Kyle Jacobs, the Roastmaster General, comedian Jeff Ross, and Chef Robert Irvine and his wife wrestler Gail Kim. There are roughly 900 U.S. service members at this base, located about 40 miles south of Mosul. It is a logistics hub supporting the Iraqi offensive against ISIS in Iraq’s second-largest city. These service members make the progress against ISIS possible.
Mud hole In the rain, the base is a mud hole, and when it’s dry, it’s a dust bowl. “Q-West” as it’s known locally, is a bare bones base for service members. They live inside concrete
bunkers inside a tent. The tents are roughly 30-feet wide and 150-feet long. There are two people to a bunker and more than 100 service members live in each “bunker tent.” The main improvement at the base was the addition of shower trailers and porta-potties, said 101st Airborne Division soldiers based here. There is a Navy clinic staffed by medical specialists from Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Va., and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington. Air Force personnel manage the field and keep track of the aircraft that transit to and from the airfield and the increasingly crowded skies over it. This base was ISIS territory until July when Iraqi forces took back the airbase here. The terror group did what they could to wreck the base and make it unusable — ISIS ripped up the runways and planted improvised explosive devices throughout the base. Air Force engineers came in August and re-
See USO page 11