Even though I grew up in a military city (San Diego), I never felt any real connection to the military community, but this article really attracted my attention. I’ve had several servicewomen order our blinged-out iPod earbuds, and after reading this article, I realized that I really am part of the same community as they—the community of WOMEN.

In fact, women entering the military are extremely courageous in doing what they do as they face so many more challenges than the average man entering the military, including gender discrimination and stereotyping. I’m lucky enough to be in a place where I get to express myself as a woman more freely, but women serving out in Iraq, Afghanistan and so on have little opportunity to do this. Their sense of womanhood is suppressed, and they risk feeling isolated and unappreciated.

This is why we at StyleSynch started “OPERATION COURAGE IS BEAUTIFUL”. We created this project to show our appreciation for these courageous women’s contribution and sacrifice, and to give a little joy and femininity to their service lives. Our goal is to ship 1000 care packages that contain a range of donated items that are specifically geared towards women who are deployed in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

Want to help make this a reality? We invite you to join OPERATION COURAGE IS BEAUTIFUL! Email us at Courage@StyleSynch.com.

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Photos Courtesy of Heather Diaz-Keane, First Class Petty Officer Yeoman (E6) – currently serving in Iraq

Top photo: CTT1 Sheenah Campos, Springfield, GA: ITCS Suzanne Davis, Saint Charles, LA; YN1 Heather Diaz-Keane, San Diego, CA; MSgt Helen Rawles, Parsons, KS; LT Laurie Canter, Abingdon, VA; Capt Kristen Wehle, Randolph, MA

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We interviewed several women who are currently served or recently served, and they’re very excited about this project! They all agree that basic items for the rest of us actually mean so much to them. Items on their wishlist include the following (trial sizes are great!):

• deep conditioner, leave-in conditioners
• flavored chapstick/lip balm
• facial moisturizers and other skin care products
• nice smelling soaps, shampoos, conditioners & hand sanitizers
• lipgloss
• eyeliner
• mascara
• facial masks
• fashion/women’s magazines
• romance/mystery novels
• manicure/pedicure items like nail polish, polish remover, nail files
• sunblock
• feminine hygiene products
• blank postcards and nice stationery

Any other suggestions? Email us at Courage@StyleSynch.com. Donated items must be new, unused and in original packaging.