"Yes, I would like to thank the Wiccan Interfaith Council International and all of you who do support us here. This is my third tour here. Many of our Circles here in Iraq and Afganistan are supported from volunteers like this organization...I would like to say once again, Thank You."

"I haven't received your box yet but one of the solitaries in my group received one from you and from what I saw it was awesome. He shared some of what he got and I wanted to write to say thank you. I am also writing because I am leaving this ship soon and wanted to be added to the list as a solitary."

"We received the package you sent 3 days ago. I brought it to the Pagan/Wiccan services. Everyone was thrilled to see what you sent us and wanted to say thank you very much. It makes me proud to be out here knowing that people back home care and are supporting us.

May Odin grant you wisdom and knowledge of your path,

May Thor grant you strength and courage on your way,

And May Loki give you laughter as you go.

May Freya and Freyr shine through you and blessings go with you."

Female Soldier - Iraq, August 2007:

"Hello again, Thank you for the e-mail. I have not received a package yet, I will keep looking for it though. Things are getting pretty antsy here. We are due to leave in the next few months...eeeeeee I can't wait to get home!

But the Army in all its great wisdom has decided that if a person does not have 24 months (2 years......yes 2 years) left on their contract then that are not allowed to move onto their next assignment. Which is REALLLLLLy bad news for the people in my unit...who were not even stationed here to begin with! So this means that the people who left their families and all their belongings at their last duty station (with the understanding that they would be returned there when this was over) will have to stay in their base.

The base is not a happy, or even acceptable place to be, so bad that some of the soldiers who work here have decided to stay in Iraq. What makes my situation a bit more ...pressing is the fact that I reenlisted to go to another base. I would not have stayed in the Army if it wasn't in my contract. (this sort of contract is supposed to mean that you will stay at the contracted place for at least 12 months) I was only there for about 5 months.

I am trying to fight it since I do have a contract but, fight Uncle Sam on what he promises verses what he delivers is a tough battle. Please send some energy and keep us in your thoughts. I will try my best to be optomistic throug this rough time.

Thanks again for the suppport and I can't wait for the package!!"

"Thank you very much for the package! I got it today and everything was 100% intact. I thank you for everything. As soon as I opened it I could smell the sage and I felt like I was at home. Thank you again for thinking of us over here and for your support."

"I am rather excited to be in touch with a pagan group that actually writes and supports soldiers.

Being a women…it's just like being a woman in any other male-dominated work force, only the Army doesn’t really handle complaints of harassment(The girl will always just be a trouble maker, whinier, or she's just out to slam someone, they like to wait until it becomes full blown assault.) Every day life as a woman in the army is challenging but not always in a bad way.

The Army does recognize Paganism (in almost all forms) as a religion but it is not exactly accepted most of the time. I have learned to simply not to explain anything or go into to detail when people see my paper work and ask the inevitable question, “What’s Wicca?”

My response is usually a very broad and general statement of “It’s an Earth base religion” and I leave it at that. That’s about the time strange looks and whispers begin. Usually there is someone around who knows just enough about pagan religions to be callously judgmental.

Its not all bad, some people are simply curious. Some people are accepting and look only to the person not just one aspect of their personality. So there no horrible persecution or anything like that just discomfort and non-acceptance. Like the rest of the world I guess. Some people are not so great, but I know where I stand and that's good enough for me. Regardless of the throngs of christians that continuously try to convert me (save my soul) and send me to church and just can't accept anyone who has different beliefs than theirs (even other christians).

The Chaplains……….they mean well but their discomfort/disdain/fear/hatred (whatever it is) always comes shining through eventually. Usually with in the first five minutes of them finding out that I am Pagan! I have had Chaplains simply walk away, and my current chaplain - he really does try very hard, but myself and the two other pagans in my unit all get the same vibe from him. He just can’t seem to have a normal conversation with any of us. It’s really comical but we try to keep the jesting to a minimum.

So the support isn’t exactly bountifully for pagan soldiers, that's why I especially appreciate groups like yours, who don’t just say they support us, or offer a military discount but don't ship to APO’s. Thank you so much for the support and actually writing me.

Its tough being in Iraq...but it’s a generally safe post. We do get mortared every now and then but its not as dangerous as some places over here. The toughest part is being away from my family and friends for so long.

Just to clarify, I do not agree with this war or our presence in the middle east, but if soldiers didn't do what they were told, America wouldn’t be a free country (despite all of its flaws). I am proud to serve my countrywomen and men, but will be moving on to bigger and better things as soon as my current contract is up.

It's really hot here - even at night it can be above 90, but on clear evenings it seems like you can see every start that out there! Thank you so much!"

"Hello! I am a Wiccan station in Kuwait, But I spend most of my time in Iraq. I meet a few Pagans and Wiccans. There is a circle in Kuwait. I go to it when ever I get a chance. I just wanted to say thank you! THANK YOU!!! Thanks for what you are doing."

"We have several different faiths and beliefs that attend our weekly meetings. We have 3 different sects of Wiccans, a Druid, occasionally we have our Buddhist show up, a Atheist, and I myself follow the Shamanistic path.

It presents a unique opportunity for several people that we have that are new to the faith, as they are able to see several different views of what is out there, and take what works best for them. We have meetings every Monday, movie nights on Wed, and then we hold at least quarterly ceremonies.

We also have several people that are starting out in the craft, and this provides them with so many different opportunities, of course reading materials would be great, and one thing that we do is the first Monday of every month we do a guided meditation. We had been looking at trying to acquire some CD's or tapes that had a meditation on them so we could all participate in the meditation instead of one of the 4-5 of us reading one out.

We of course can always use supplies for studying, as well as some easy and more advanced materials for crafting. My self personally I do a lot of gazing, dousing, and candle magick. I also do a lot of work with herbs, but for me that comes naturally. I have harvested some of the native plants around here that I have no idea what they are, but being in the desert they have a tendency to speak to me and let me know what they do on there own.

Some of our newer members are still working on building there altars, so some materials for that would of course be helpful in that aspect. Blessed Be!"

"How does this day find you? It finds me adjusting to the heat of another summer over hear in Iraq. Oh, by the by Blessed Solstice. I find myself trying to get another group gathered after being switched bases. Right now there are four of us that gather when our schedules allow. Different shifts, being on patrol or an out station being the reasons. So we have networked as a group of friends. I happen to have been the only one to bring a library and battle box of supplies(foot locker). One of the group is new. But he has impressed me with his knowledge of Reiki? Did I spell it correctly?"

"Hi, thank you so much for taking interest. I'll tell you a bit of myself. I have a dog and a cat who I miss terribly and are back at my home in the states. Many days, I get back to my room and email is the last thing on my mind. Its been quiet here, good thing. My days are long, usually start around 7 and end about 7 and are about the same each day. Luckily, I am in a support position, and work in an air conditioned office. I am a computer tech, hard/software. I spend most of my days in an office but there are days I do go on convoys. Mostly to move equipment or to be the extra personal that’s needed. Granted, convoys can be a bit scary but most routes are safe. It’s nice to get away from the camp and see different places."