For those who really do "Support the Troops," here is a novel way to do it. Its called Operation Hero Miles. The program description from their website:
Operation Hero Miles provides a way for you to help our troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan by donating your unsed frequent flyer miles.
In September 2003, the Pentagon started giving soldiers stationed in Iraq two-week leaves in the largest R & R program since the Vietnam War. Soldiers on R & R or Emergency Leave are flown by the military to Germany or three airports in the United States, Baltimore/Washington, (BWI), Dallas/FortWorth, (DFW), or Atlanta, (ATL ) for free.
The soldiers have been responsible for flights the rest of the way in the U.S. to their destinations, until Congress provided funding for this purpose on November 3, 2003. However, this funding is not yet available and may not be sufficient for all the troops or troops on "Emergency Leave".
This seems like a novel idea to me. I've racked up 10,000 miles here and 5,000 miles there and 2,500 elsewhere, etc. I don't travel enough or participate in enough external programs for them to be enough for a flight myself. Most of the time the miles on one airline expire before I earn more. By donating them to Operation Hero Miles, they'll get combined with other donations and can actually be used for a good cause. Its win-win, my miscellaneous miles don't go to waste; and a Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine gets a needed trip home.
A nice idea, and the credit goes to Representative Dutch Ruppersberger.
Link courtesy of Yahoo! Groups – Desert Storm Vets.