Army Captain Jeff Hammer, N9NIC, who represents the Army Military Affiliate Radio System (Army MARS) in Iraq, has appealed to the families of troops deployed overseas that have been affected by the recent tropical storms and hurricanes to let their loved ones know all is well at home.

"There are a lot of soldiers from the Gulf States here in Iraq," Hammer said, "and their families may be impacted by the hurricanes and not have a way to communicate with their soldier to let them know their status in the coming week(s). If you are unable to deliver hurricane-related Health and Welfare messages from a family member to a service member in Iraq due to lack of communication assets or insufficient address information, send them directly through an Amateur Radio operator or Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) operator. MARS operators currently deployed in Iraq will do their best to get all messages delivered immediately."

Hammer said that Army MARS also can handle messages to service members in Afghanistan, but delivery may be delayed.

Direct entry of MARSgrams is available via the MARSgram Web site. The site provides full instructions and a message form that will be transmitted automatically via the Army MARS system.