About The Bay: Bay Area Man Fights For Comforts For Troops

DANVILLE (KCBS) - The men and women fighting America's wars face a variety of dangers - daily.  So, a Danville man reasoned that a little comfort can go a long way - especially when an untold number of troops don't have many battlefield comforts at all.

Some soldiers who served in Afghanistan, for instance, said they went weeks - if not months - without even showering.

"Every time I talked to somebody, they were amazed, too," Aaron Negherbon explained why he started Troops Direct roughly a year ago. "They go 'I didn't realize that.' They go 'I thought they had that stuff.' "

Troops Direct collects funds to buy the "little stuff" like soap and toothpaste, plus "bigger stuff," too.

"We've had to send stretchers over to the front lines. Because they weren't available or the ones that they had were useless, stethoscopes, gauze, certain other medical items," he said.

KCBS' Mike Sugerman Reports:

Initially, Negherbon was sending care packages to one friend in Afghanistan. Troops Direct has exploded since then.

"This is marking chalk and this is what the front line troops will use to mark where roadside bombs and other you know, improvised explosive devices are so that, you know, their fellow soldiers don't step on them," he described another item sent via Troops Direct.

He described logistics as easy because he is able to avoid many standard military "channels." Shipments are made every week.

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