From Middlebury to the Front Lines

Author: Claire Bourne

It seemed like business as usual yesterday in the Career Services Office as staff members gathered around the common room table for a morning meeting. For Associate Director for Career Development and Counseling Krista Siringo, however, yesterday was anything but normal.
Just hours before the workday began, her brother, Captain Frank Scott Siringo, an optometrist with the Army's Fourth Infantry Division, left U.S. soil for Kuwait.
Siringo's personal connection to the military campaign has prompted her to take action, not in protest but in an effort to raise money to support both coalition troops and humanitarian aid initiatives in the region. The project, thus far unnamed, aims to solicit monetary donations from Middlebury College community members who "want to do something but don't know where to start," she said.
Contributions will then be split evenly between humanitarian relief organizations like the Red Cross, Oxfam and the International Rescue Committee and military support projects such as the United Service Organization's (USO) Care Package Program, said College Chaplain Laurie Jordan, whose office is collaborating with Siringo on the fundraiser.
"By supporting both aid organizations and the troops, we are hoping to send the message that the two are not mutually exclusive," Siringo stated.
During past overseas conflicts, U.S. residents were permitted to send care packages to "any soldier" stationed in or near the war zone. Because of new security measures, however, this practice has been banned. In its place, USO is now using donations to create its own parcels for military personnel in the region. For every 25 dollars raised, a care package will be sent to a member of the U.S. armed forces, Siringo said.
Both Siringo and Jordan said they hoped the community would not consider the fundraising effort a tacit endorsement of U.S. military action. "If someone is smart enough to get into Middlebury, he or she will still care about the material needs and safety of American troops even if they are against the war," said Jordan.
As coalition forces clear Iraqi ports of mines, humanitarian resources have been trickling into small towns near the Kuwaiti border. Once the seaport of Umm Qasr is reopened, aid groups will be able to launch large-scale shipments of food and relief supplies to the country's interior, one reason, said Siringo, why the Middlebury-based donation drive needs to get off the ground in the next two weeks.
Although her brother is in the service, Siringo has been "active on several anti-war fronts" in recent weeks. She protested with the Vermont-born Patriots for Peace organization in Burlington and has participated in various initiatives coordinated by Moveon.org, an international network of online activists.
"Now that we are officially 'at war,' and I have a brother who is serving in the Army, I am choosing to concentrate my efforts on supporting him as well as those who are providing humanitarian aid," she explained.
In return for an Army scholarship which enabled him to attend optometry school in New York City, Scott Siringo is now serving his term of active duty with the U.S. military. Based in Fort Hood, Tex., his division received deployment orders a month and a half ago.
The mental preparation time has not made things easier for his sister. "I'm sorry if I get a bit emotional," she apologized when asked about her personal views on the war. She took a moment to collect herself before she affirmed, "Both of us feel strongly that this [war] isn't the answer. I have had to find a way to support [Scott] and still stay true to my convictions."
Jordan said she expected to begin a full-fledged fundraising campaign by the beginning of next week and has contacted student groups, such as the Volunteer Services Organization, to assist in the effort.
While most members of the College community turn on CNN, tune into National Public Radio and log onto various online news sources to access up-to-the-minute coverage of the Iraqi conflict for their personal information, news out of the Middle East hits closer to home for Siringo and others with family and close friends stationed near the Persian Gulf. "There is not one right way to react," she said. "For me, I just want to do something."