Mississippi Guardmember hands out hope in Afghanistan

Joint Sustainment Command - Afghanistan report

Mississippi Army National Guardmember Master Sgt. Danny Plunkett passes out candy to a group of villagers during Operation Outreach, a humanitarian mission in Kabul City on Feb. 17, 2011. Operation Outreach is a team of American military volunteers at Camp Phoenix in Kabul. The group has donated blankets, fuel, school supplies, clothing and food to several refugee villages near Kabul. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Stacey Haga) (Released)
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KABUL, Afghanistan (2/25/11) – After a military career spanning about 30 years, Mississippi Army National Guardmember Master Sgt. Danny Plunkett is making a difference in the lives of Afghans at the grassroots level.

Plunkett, who is on his second overseas deployment to the Middle East, is a member of the Mississippi Army National Guard’s 184th Expeditionary Sustainment Command in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, which assumed responsibility of Joint Sustainment Command-Afghanistan in October. 

Based out of Camp Phoenix, Afghanistan, Plunkett serves as a mentor to the Afghan National Army supply and maintenance office under JSC-A.

During a recent humanitarian mission, known as Operation Outreach, Plunkett worked with his ANA mentors to deliver blankets, clothing, fuel, food and candy to a local village.

 “Every day I have to travel by convoy to the ANA base where I work,” he said. “Each day I see children digging in trash heaps for food or anything they might be able to use for clothing or burn for heat. I see a lot of poverty.

“By working with the Afghan National Army, I have learned that these people are seeking the same things in life as we do in America. They want to provide for their families and hope for a better future.”

“I got the chance to go visit one of these poor villages, just like the ones I pass each day and give a few things that will make their lives a little bit better,” Plunkett said. “It really makes you humble to think how blessed we are.

“Our trash would be a treasure to some of these people over here. I saw children, dirty, and with no shoes, some dressed in what we would call rags.”

Plunkett added that his humanitarian missions have made him more aware of the bigger mission.

“I hope that one day the children I see every day will have a country to live in that is free of bombings, killings and so much hurt,” he said. “I hope that one day, we can look back on all we have done here and say that it was worth it.”

Soldiers from Operation Outreach pass out blankets to a group of villagers during a humanitarian mission on Feb. 17, 2011. Operation Outreach is a team of American military volunteers at Camp Phoenix in Kabul. The group has donated blankets, fuel, school supplies, clothing and food to several refugee villages near Kabul. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Stacey Haga) (Released)
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