Operation Baen Bulk

Operation Baen Bulk is underway for the third straight year.

Operation Baen Bulk is a different kind of support for the troops. Instead of focusing on individuals, we support entire UNITS, by finding what they need, or want, and can’t easily or quickly get while deployed. . .and get it to them. In LARGE quantities. Think of it as the Warehouse Club approach to Soldier Support: we use the power of buying and shipping in bulk, to maximize the stuff delivered to our troops, out at the pointy end of the spear, and minimize things like waste, shipping costs, etc. And in the process, generally deliver a lot more to the individual soldier than normal “CARE Packages” do.

Starting in 2009, a bunch of SF fans, all of whom read the military SF that Baen Books published, pooled our money and resources to insure that a training detachment in Afghanistan could have some Christmas Trees and good coffee. Since then, we’ve provided for the oddball requests and creature comfort needs of several deployed units. . . and now, we’re trying a bit of a crowd-sourced model for raising funds, with achievement tiers so as soon as a threshold is reached, items will be ordered and sent off to the Ammo Dogs…

HOW do we do it ??

First, we get in touch with an individual at a given unit. We talk to them, and find out the specific needs and wants of the unit. Then we find the best buys we can find to deliver those wants. We then raise the funds, and when we get enough, we order the stuff, and send it to the troops.

So, you want to help. . .what do YOU do ???

This one’s easy. You go to our campaign at OBB.TeddRoberts.com. You make a donation, using a major credit or debit card, or PayPal. We consider those pledges until we hit our tipover point of $1,000.  Once we pass the “tipover” point, we start shipping stuff to the troops.  We’ll keep collecting donations until the scheduled end of campaign, or we reach our goal of $2,000.  If we exceed our goal by 25%, we’ll close down the donations, because we want to be honest with where the money goes.  Don’t worry, if we have that much support, we’ll find another unit to support and do this all over again!

The next step… is up to you. We’ve been at this for three years. Come join us!

By the by, four authors, including the redoutable Sarah A. Hoyt, Prometheus Award Winning Authoress of Darkship Thieves (You thought I was going to say “of doom” didn’t you) are offering redshirtings as part of this. If you don’t know what a redshirting is you won’t be interested anyway.

But seriously, this is a great little operation, help out!