[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 18]
[House]
[Pages 24776-24777]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1615
   IN RECOGNITION OF ALAN KRUTCHKOFF AND THE ADOPT-A-SOLDIER PLATOON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Rothman) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the Adopt-A-Soldier 
Platoon, Incorporated, their partners, Unilever and DHL, and in 
particular Mr. Alan Krutchkoff, the president and founder of the Adopt-
A-Soldier Platoon and fellow resident of Fairlawn, New Jersey.
  Alan Krutchkoff started the Adopt-A-Soldier Platoon with one simple 
act of charity in April of 2003, when he discovered that the son of one 
of his wife's colleagues was being sent to Iraq as part of Operation 
Iraqi Freedom. Alan took the initiative to pair this young man with his 
friend and cofounder of the Adopt-A-Soldier Platoon, Mr. Holmes Brady, 
who had been a reservist with Special Forces. Alan and Holmes went 
shopping for supplies and sent a care package to the young man 
stationed in Iraq.
  News of this act of kindness spread, and it wasn't long before Alan 
discovered that many of his coworkers at Unilever had relatives or 
friends serving overseas. And, thus, the idea of the Adopt-A-Soldier 
Platoon was born.
  The people of the Adopt-A-Soldier Platoon have made many outstanding 
donations to our brave troops serving overseas. Their contributions 
include numerous care packages consisting of snack foods, soft drinks, 
books, movies and clothes, a custom-built giant video screen for a 
Super Bowl party, personal care items for female soldiers and 25,000 
blank DVDs and camcorders which enable tens of thousands of our troops 
to make personal videos to send to their families during the holidays.
  In their efforts to support our troops, the Adopt-A-Soldier Platoon 
has also gone well beyond simply sending care packages. In 2006, they 
worked with the chief information officer of the 10th Combat Support 
Hospital, which is the largest American military hospital in

[[Page 24777]]

Iraq, to provide wireless Internet access for all of our soldiers. This 
provided the servicemen and women at the 10th CHS a closer connection 
to friends and family members and helped keep their morale high. The 
adoptee units of this exceptional volunteer group also includes the 
412th Civil Affairs Battalion in Iraq, the 28th Combat Support Hospital 
in Baghdad, Logistics Support Area Anaconda where 25,000 Americans 
troops live, the 324th Integrated Theater Signal Battalion, and the 
449th and 209th Aviation Support Battalions.
  In addition to these activities, the extraordinary people of the 
Adopt-A-Soldier Platoon are supporting our soldiers in their mission to 
rebuild Iraq. They have partnered with Charlie Company, 412 Civil 
Affairs Battalion, in the al Anbar province to implement what is called 
Operation Hearts and Minds. This operation is aimed at helping Iraqi 
residents build schools and work on local infrastructure.
  Supporters of the Adopt-A-Soldier Platoon at Unilever have also 
raised money to send soccer balls to local Iraqi children and to 
provide additional security equipment to strengthen military 
checkpoints.
  I also want to draw particular attention to this group for their 
compassion. On June 6 this year, the Adopt-A-Soldier Platoon received a 
call from their contact at Charlie Company asking if they could help a 
sick Iraqi child get an operation in Jordan. Mariam, who was 1 year 
old, had a hole in her mouth and could not eat without getting sick. In 
one day, the people at the Adopt-A-Soldier Platoon raised $1,800 for 
Mariam's family to offset the costly medical and travel expenses she 
required.
  Acts like this demonstrate the inherent kindness and generosity of 
Americans and, hopefully, generate much needed goodwill in Iraq.
  Mr. Speaker, today it is my great honor to recognize the exceptional 
work of the Adopt-A-Soldier Platoon in supporting our troops; Unilever 
for their generous donations of products, money, and time; DHL for 
generously shipping care packages to Iraq; and, especially my friend 
and constituent, my fellow Fair Lawn resident, Alan Krutchkoff, for his 
tireless efforts and inspiring dedication to provide our men and women 
serving in the Middle East with a connection to their homes and 
families.
  The organizations and individuals involved in this effort have 
greatly lifted the morale of tens of thousands of our troops who are 
putting their lives in harm's way tens of thousands of miles away from 
home, away from their families and friends.
  This group of people, Mr. Speaker, is well deserved of every bit of 
recognition and praise we can impart upon them. I commend each and 
every person involved in this honorable effort, and hope that every 
Member of Congress will join me in recognizing the outstanding work of 
the Adopt-A-Soldier Platoon.

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