Received this very interesting and appreciative thank you note (letter) from Ben B, who is serving our Country on the USS Boxer. WOW !!
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Sorry for sending this as late as I am but I wanted to thank you and all of the volunteers who make Springfield cares work. I along with my friends enjoy tearing through the boxes and sharing all of the candies and goodies you guys send. Receiving boxes while underway is really a moral boosted and many people look forward to receiving mail in some of our underway replenishments. I just wanted to give all of you guys and girls the appreciation you deserve for doing this for us! Along with that I was just going to share a little about myself and what im doing. Back in February of 2018 I signed up to join the navy and I left for boot camp in August of 2018. I spent about 6 months in Great lakes, Il where I went to boot camp, and two A schools. In February of 2019 I finished A school and moved out to San Diego, CA to be on the LHD 4 which is also known as USS Boxer. From February until May we went on several underways for a week or two at a time and on May 1st we deployed to the 5th fleet. We are currently in Bxxxxxx on our mid voyage repair but we have managed to port at Hawaii and Thailand while also passing by the Philippines, and anchoring outside of Kxxxxx. You may have heard of our ship more recently than not when we took out a drone In the 5th fleet. Being on an LHD means that we are an amphibious ship. We carry many marines along with all of there equipment, Many of there planes, jets, and helicopters, trucks, atvs, and we also have the ability to carry LCACs which are kind of like gigantic hovering boats. Our ship is an all-around combat-ready ship. Within the ship I working the engineering department. Where I work is more specifically known as Main Propulsion, but as one of the few boiler powered ships left it is pretty cool. Not many people now a days get to do the work I do whether its messing with the boiler or the main engines. The work is very hot with our space averaging around 110 degrees while steaming and the work is tough but the people that I work with always manage to make it enjoyable. I just wanted to say thank you again for all you have done! I hope you guys have a great summer!