Back in 2002 when I first thought of sending blues CDs to our troops serving in the Gulf conflict as a special project of the PBPS, I had no idea how difficult it could be.  Phone calls to multiple branches of our military, from Pearl Harbor to the Pentagon, produced one referral after another -- eventually adding a hefty jump in my phone bill and virtually no concrete strategy or overseas addresses.  

I finally ended up sending a few through the Red Cross and a couple of other charitable organizations.  By February of this year it became evident I might be pouring our holding library's treasured inventory into a bottomless pit with never a thank you or guarantee that they eventually got to our military.

The 17th Annual Carolina "Lite" Blues Festival brochure I included in each case (with a brief note explaining where they came from) didn't get one feedback or acknowledgement. Further, I was getting private asides from several of the military personnel I had contacted for the best distribution resource, to the effect that it was pretty much common knowledge that quite a bit of the fruits of a generous citizenry just disappeared along the way to their original destination.  

Not only that, articles in military newspapers began appearing, warning a gullible public that much of what was being sent by eagerly supportive friends and relatives was not needed, or even welcome -- in good part due to the lengthy and sometimes hazardous chore of screening each and every item sent to the military coalition people in that part of the world.  Baked goods and other foodstuffs languished on remote shelves, spoiled long before they could be consumed.  It seems there are always some items in inconspicuous wrapping meant to harm or even cause the death of the recipient.  

So what I originally set out to do as an act of generosity in yet another way of continuing to fulfill the reasons for the existence of the PBPS ended up being a serious challenge with multiple barriers before completion.

The nice thing about music on CD today is its universality, compact size, ease of duplication and durability.  I rather quickly stopped dipping into our archival holdings and began sending copies of originals, enabling a far greater repertoire and volume.  The Board and membership of the PBPS has been generous with financial support of my project in a time when our very existence has been in doubt due to the unfortunate weather circumstances of recent annual festivals -- our major source of revenue.

So I persevered, believing our Society's mission called for letting our service people know the pleasure and support blues music can provide in times of stress -- hoping my poor, over-worked Memorex re-writer would hold up on the 24/7 schedule I had been feeding it. While providing our troops with blues greats like B B King and Etta James, I have tended to focus on the many excellent Piedmont area artists we nurture and support and of whom we are rightfully proud.

A big breakthrough in the search for the most productive outlet for our musical gifts came from a phone call from a very savvy and honest female Colonel in the Pentagon, suggesting the very best way to ensure that our music did get to our service people would be to locate one's local recruiting officer in whatever branch of service, and ask if they have a personal contact in Qatar (the gateway for military processing in the Middle East) that they could trust to get the blues to those most deserving and appreciative.  

So I visited each of the four main recruiting branch offices in Greensboro and settled on a Tech Sgt. in the Air Force, who assured me she regularly corresponded with a personal friend, a full bird Colonel stationed in Qatar who was in a position to honestly distribute our CDs throughout the entire military theatre.  This was a lucky find, and while it only lasted a couple of months (he got reassigned back home), it resulted in the first verifiable completion of my mission to get the blues overseas.

Back to the drawing board in the search for a workable distribution resource and once again a call to that lady Colonel in the Pentagon, who had in the meantime done some research of her own and had what turned out to be the best method of distribution I have found to date.  She gave me the name of the person who coordinates military refueling of all air operations flights in the Gulf region -- and who has been permanently stationed for some time and was not likely to be moving anytime soon.  This person regularly sends mail with and to personnel she knows personally, and she has access to all the knowledge required to get PBPS blues CDs to our target audience.

Conversing with this lady and dealing with her as our musical conduit to the Middle East has been a pleasure and an education.  She, in turn, has expressed the military's positive response and appreciation for our contribution to our GI's, and we continue to correspond as I continue to send our blues.

So what should YOU do if you want to send some blues overseas?  My best advice is to deal only with people you know, get their feedback / suggestions on how best to accomplish your goal (getting the music to those who will listen and share), and be proud you made a significant contribution to the well-being and support of those who put their lives on the line for a democratic ideal.