Pat and Rita

OP M.A.L.E letter and logo

The Logo is with this page. It can also be put on all care packages, letters or you can make Posters or Banners with it.

Here is what the ribbon stands for:

Red, White, Blue & Yellow ribbon.

Red stands for Sacrifice:
The Sacrifice that is being made by the families, loved ones and the troops.

White for Innocence:
A lot of them are Kids 18-21 and the first time away from home and are deployed to a foreign land. They are SCARED and some of them will never come home. They are our innocent ones.

Blue for Sky-Link: (the sky that covers and links us together).
As long as we have the sky over us and we can all see it, its like wishing on a star. We are connected as one big family.

Yellow: We all know what it stands for. (In case you don't... it is to bring home our children with hope that they are returned much older and wiser, ALIVE and never treated like the Viet-Nam Vets were.)

The dove : We did have Just the doves wing and have now put the whole dove. We felt now it was time for a change on our logo. The dove is the dove of peace, which we all hope for and which will make Operation M.A.L.E. unnecessary.

We have new requests for items!! The soldiers are asking for junk food, baby wipes, toilet paper (the nice soft kind is great!!), and stationary! For a more complete list please email Pat at opmale1@aol.com. For a unit to send packages to contact Rita at IRISHBORN1@aol.com. Be sure to ask for specific details on how you should identify the packages as OM!!

Pat and Rita

//Feel free to pass out/ we need all the help we can get//
(revised 15 Jan 2003) (October 5, 2002) Happy Seventh Birthday Op M.A.L.E.

In Sept 1995 my grandson, a PFC was in the Army stationed at Ft Campbell, Ky. We were talking about the up coming holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas. He was telling me how hard it was to be away from home during that time. He had been on deployments prior to this and in 1994 had not been back from Cuba very long and knew he was not going to be home for Thanksgiving. He said it was really "cool" the way some of the families at Ft Carson, where he was stationed, took the service person into their homes on the holidays.

He said "Grandma, I feel so good that I will be able to be home this year and since you are on the computer, on that on line service, can't you see about getting some of the service people away from home adopted? I want you to help others like they helped me."

He was one caring individual and was always worrying about others, besides himself. He knew I did a lot of work, of that type, here in my home town, working with people that needed help. I thought he was NUTS! Adopted! He said see if you can find families that are around the military basis on your computer and ask if they will open their homes up to service people that have nobody, or no place to go for the holidays.

I started putting out e mails to see if there were any military out there that needed support. THEY came in by swarms full. I matched all these people up with civilians and this is HOW ADOPT a service person was born on September 20, 1995.

It was going to be short termed Thanksgiving and Christmas. WRONG!!! Then there was Bosnia.

During this time I was writing to a real nice lady by the name of Rita O'Neill and had been for a long time. She asked if there was anything she could do to help, she was the very first to ask. During many phone conversations and e-mails we found that we were compatible and had the same mission in mind. I made her My co-originator. Between her and myself we made up the Logo for Operation M.A.L.E. (make a life enriched) Prior to this Mary, my adopted computer sister, was helping with the first part of the program before we started Op M.A.L.E. To date Rita nor I have met but we are stuck together like glue and paper.

Some of our families that had kids going to Bosnia wrote me and asked Can you not help the ones over there and I was given their kids names. These kids were officers and I wrote to them told them who I was and explained I could see about getting care packages, etc., to the area if they were willing to help us and tell us what it was they needed.

All the ones I wrote to said "YES, PLEASE,!!" I knew at the time I COULD NOT DESERT, the troops. Then right in the back door came KUWAIT. In the beginning (1995-1996) WE MADE SURE the troops had writing paper, pens, pencils, hand warmers, batteries, ANYTHING they needed until the Military provisions could get to them in Bosnia/Hungary. I had several officers I was in contact with via e-mail and Snail mail. The ones that had e-mail had up to minute news results, sports results, anything we could find on the web, including humor, that would help them pass the time and be able to tell the troops what was going on in the outside world.

There were so many things we were doing we were meeting our selves coming and going. (At this time it was just Rita and myself organizing everything). Rita and I were averaging 4 hours sleep a night.

I decided I did not like the name adopt a service person since all groups were using it and Rita Agreed with me. I remembered something my grandson had said while he was in Cuba after his unit had received a lot of care packages from me. He said, "You don't know how much you enriched our lives with the mail and care packages" and before he hung up the phone, the guys in the back ground were yelling "Thanks INDIANA MOM, our lives have really been enriched by you." It made you want to sit down and cry. I decided I was changing the name to "Make a Life Enriched," with mail and needs for our military, instead of Adopt a service person. Rita Agreed. It was Strictly an accident the Initials came out M.A.L.E. Rita and I then made it OM for short (operation Male) OM, The new name was started officially on October 5, 1995. We started adopt a Service Person the 20th of September, 1995.

We had a lot of female troops we were afraid would be offended by the name but once they understood what it stood for they were behind it 100%. People world wide were wanting to help send mail, care packages, etc., to the troops. Something that started out as a short term thing became a full time job. We had troops world wide that were needing help. We started working not only with Bosnia and Kuwait, but the ships out to sea, Saudi and Other places. THOUSANDS of volunteers wanted to help us. We were getting E mails from Troops wanting pen pals. US mail was coming in by the bunches from bases all over and the ships.

In 1998 Nicole just came back from Bosnia and wanted to help us. We were glad to have her as she was still in the Army, along with her husband, and she knew just how important care packages, etc., were to the troops. She came out of the army and he stayed in. (She now takes care of our web site.) To many fingers in the pot can ruin it so we have left it as 2 official people running OM. We have two girls Dawn and Linda that are the backups for Op M.A.L.E in case something should happen to Rita and/or Pat where they can step in and take over the program.

We then decided after Nicole, came aboard, care packages HAD to go at least every 6 weeks to all our troops, not only in Bosnia but every where, so we started calling our care package program. Operation Cookie Sweet Treat (for cookies) and then each holiday we gave it a name EX: OMCST (Cookie Sweet Treat) and then Ex 122500 (date for the holiday). The mail outs were just to close together and we were being worn out so now We have 4 Major Mailouts a year and these are to all areas, ships, and ground troops.

Christmas is combined with New years (any other holiday within this time)
Valentines day/combined with St. Pats Day
Easter
Halloween combined with Thanksgiving
Special Ones as needed

It was a walloping success. When Bosnia slowed and we did not have that many units there, we went full force to Kuwait never forgetting Bosnia. When our 1 AD moved out of Bosnia and the 1 ID moved in we experienced some minor problems and no longer worked with Bosnia but kept all the rest of our areas. Not to the extent we had been, but we never deserted the ones that wanted to be with us. We lost our original server and had to go to another. Things slowed down for the spring and summer, in 1997 and when we saw our troops (1 AD) were back to Bosnia we decided to see if we could start back there. We had to get clearance to go back to Bosnia and thanks to one of our first that was in BOSNIA we got approval. He got us approval from a very HIGH RANKING ARMY officer.

OM restarted officially in Bosnia on 12/4/97. With a 9 day window for Christmas we pulled it off and every service person in Bosnia Got a care package and decorations were sent for all areas including the Airforce.

During this period, I had personal problems with the ARMY, with a family member and was READY to shuck the whole Program. With Rita, and some of my Army officers I had worked with since 1995, probing me and telling me "TRUTH DOES COME OUT, IF PATIENCE PERSISTS", I finally consented to continue on with OM. My heart was not in it, but I knew I could not dump the thousands that were depending on the program and knew that Rita could not handle it alone.

We decided to call our self the OM Cobra Team. Cobras put their heads up and FIGHT and also HISS and we want people to KNOW we are there and are THERE to fight for our service person. Doing what ever we have to do. BELIEVING in what ever cause our troops are asked to fight, never once expressing any opinions.

Since I was the original Originator of OM, I was being called Indiana Mom aka Cobra since I was fighting for a cause. I was given the nick name of "Cobra Mom" by accident when the 1 AD moved back in and it is sticking and my associates are my Cobra Team. Through the years they have changed but Myself, Rita and Nicole keep staying.

We are not a non profit organization, nor a profit organization. We are just a bunch of volunteers, with the same cause in mind. We have NO funding, of any kind nor will we accept any, except for U.S. Postage stamps, so we can answer the many Appeal letter responses that come to us without postage. Since we have to print many things to send to the troops and new people asking to be penpals without e-mails, we have now decided we would accept donations of DeskJet 882c printer ink, both color and black and white. These can be sent to Pat since she does the majority of the printing and mailing of Lists that go to the troops that do not have e-mail or ways to print them.

We supply names and the people asking have to make sure all care packages go directly to the person we have given them as a Contact for the troops. NOTHING comes to us.

We have made a form that goes with the care package where the troop can either email, or us mail a thank you. We want to make sure that our troops in BOSNIA & Kuwait, Kosovo and all other areas, ground or sea are not treated the way the Viet Nam guys and gals were. We want them and all the troops (regardless of where they are) to KNOW there are people out here that CARE.

We have a pen pal list that people can put their names on and we forward these to the troops, WORLD WIDE. Since our return to Bosnia, we no longer put out the troops names and addresses because of the privacy act. We make it a pick and choose from their end.

I am the wife of a disabled Army veteran, (PurpleHeart), Son in air national guard (was 10 years active Airforce to retire with 22 years in the year 2001, his retirement was effective 1-12-03 but that does not Mean that they can’t call him back). A nephew that retired on his 20 from the Navy. I also have a daughter-in-law ex Airforce, that had 7 years active, that is disabled from the Airforce. Plus her brother retired from the Navy, Grandson was in the Army. Almost all branches are represented in my family. Rita also has a very extensive military history and would be glad to share it with you if you are interested.

On the 5th of October 2002 our 7th birthday, we decided to change our name from opmale to opmale star. We wanted to show in another way we care about our troops so we changed the name to OPMALE STAR which now stands for:
OP (operation)
M.A.L.E. (make a life enriched)
S.T.A.R (saying thanks and remembering)
We have many people working at the COBRA team and if you want to know more about them PLEASE ask.
I hope this gives you a Better understanding of what OP M.A.L.E. ( make a life enriched) S.T.A.R. (Saying thanks and remembering, ) Stands for and why we keep plugging along, never giving up. One day we hope to stop the opmale star Progam and that day will be when there are NO WARS and our troops are safely back home with their loved ones.

Without all of them and THE OM FAMILY ANGELS (all volunteers that send care packages or are pen pals, this team could not work and we could not accomplish what we are doing. Then we have VARIOUS other areas we have set up that various people take care of and this changes as the need becomes necessary.

Patricia (Pat) Dwigans AKA Cobra
Originator
5088 Old Smith Valley Road
Greenwood, In 46143 USA
317 882 2155
E mail: opmale1@aol.com

Rita O'neill
Co originator and Big sister to the troops
23 Abric Drive
Trumbull, Ct 06611
E mail: irishborn1@aol.com


I'm afraid to tell you what she does, as I may put things down that I have not told her about, that she is going to be doing.. LOL LOL LOL
Then you know me "the BOSS" I'm kidding, Pat...COBRA MOM

If you wish to contact the OM webteam feel free to do so!! More pages coming soon! If you have been here before and don't recognize the site, we're working on a whole new site! Thanks for your patience! webopmale@yahoo.com