Phone Cards for Military Families

May 6, 2004

The Department of Defense (DoD) announced last week that any American can now help troops call home. DoD authorized the Armed Services Exchanges to sell prepaid calling cards to any person or organization buying cards for deployed troops. The program, "Help Our Troops Call Home," is designed specifically with soldiers in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in mind.

Cards can be sent to specific military members or to "any service member" deployed or hospitalized. The Armed Services Exchanges will distribute cards donated to "any service member" through the American Red Cross, Air Force Aid Society and the Fisher House Foundation.

The Armed Services Exchanges operate telephone call centers in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, and other countries and aboard ships-anywhere service members are deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. All of these locations are busy 24 hours a day to keep up communication between deployed troops and their loved ones, according to a Defense statement.

The cards available through the "Help Our Troops Call Home" program never expire and there are no added charges or connection fees. They are billed as the only prepaid calling cards with a negotiated rate specifically designed to allow deployed troops to call home for the lowest cost.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that until now, some guard and reserve families were not able to buy these cards for their family members serving overseas, because the families at home did not have access to the stores on military bases where the cards are sold.

"These calling cards are important to our service members who are serving overseas. It allows them to keep in touch with their families at home, without their families incurring high telephone bills from collect or credit card calls coming from places like Iraq and Afghanistan," Collins said.

Those wishing to donate a prepaid calling card can do so on the following web sites: the Army and Air Force

Exchange Service at www.aafes.com, the Navy Exchange Service Command at www.navy-nex.com and the

Marine Corps Exchange at www.usmc-mccs.org. Individuals and organizations also can show their support to deployed troops and their families with gift certificates. The "Gift of Groceries" program allows anyone to purchase commissary gift certificates at www.commissaries.com.

The Armed Services Exchanges offer the "Gift From the Homefront" gift certificate for merchandise at these exchange web sites: www.aafes.com and www.navy-nex.com. Gift certificates can be purchased to be mailed to service members, family members or "any service member." Only authorized commissary and exchange patrons can use the gift certificates at military commissaries and exchanges, including those stores supporting deployed personnel overseas.