Patrick airman wants to keep Afghan kids warm - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Patrick airman wants to keep Afghan kids warm

Air Force Master Sgt. Michael Lindley’s responsibility is to check on the morale and welfare of security forces airmen who protect Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan.

But his attention was captured by children outside the compound when he noticed they were wearing little more than thin shirts in the bitter cold.

Lindley, first sergeant of Air Force Technical Applications Center at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., is currently deployed to Afghanistan, where he is working with the 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron as that unit’s first sergeant.

“Like I told my family and friends, you can’t look at children in need and not be called to action,” Lindley said. “They have a need, and I have a means to meet that need. I can’t outfit everyone, but while I’m here, I can try.”

Lindley, who has served 22 years in the Air Force, decided he had to do something.

“Some of these children were waiting outside without any kind of jacket or closed-toed shoes,” said Lindley, 41, who is serving his second deployment in the region. “As a father myself, it is difficult to see something like that and not be called to action.”

At his request, friends and family pitched in and he received more than two dozen coats and sweaters to deliver to patients of the field hospital. And the coats kept coming.

“I was counting on my friends and family to send me what they could,” he said. “I used Facebook to get [the] message out of what I wanted to do. I know my friends and family, so I knew it wasn’t going to be just a few. They really came through, and still are.”

Lindley said some of the children travel long distances for free medical care. He said that though he does not know any of the children, handing out the warm clothing is just a way to show them that someone cares.

“We can’t win wars unless we win hearts and minds of the local population,” he said. “When we do things to show the Afghanistan people we really care, it benefits us in the long run. Less people shooting at you is always a good thing.”

Master Sgt. Tabra Valk, who’s serving as AFTAC’s interim first sergeant during Lindley’s deployment, has spearheaded the collection efforts along with her fellow first sergeants across Patrick.

“I think it’s great what Mike is doing for the Afghan kids while he’s been deployed,” Valk said. “It’s not always easy being away from home and away from family, but when you undertake a good cause like he’s doing while he’s downrange, it makes the time go by so much faster.”

Lindley’s efforts have led to the distribution of more than 150 winter jackets for children in Afghanistan, and more are on the way. Some jackets were shipped last week, and there are still more left to be sent. Almost 400 jackets were collected with the help of the 45th Space Wing First Sergeants Council.

The shipments were paid for by the council, a private organization that raises funds through various means at the base.

“It was a team effort,” Valk said. “We brought it up, and it was something we all wanted to do.”

Lindley said that as long as he keeps receiving the jackets, he will continue to distribute them.

“My job is helping people,” he said.