FILE: Air Force operations on Guam. A Bay Area organization sends equipment to troops overseas. (U.S. Air Force)
When U.S. troops overseas fall short on supplies, a nonprofit in the San Francisco Bay Area is among the organizations looking to help.
Troops Direct, based in San Ramon, has been sending much-needed equipment to military personnel for about eight years, the Bay Area's FOX 2 KTVU-TV reported.
Aaron Negherbon, founder of the organization, left his real estate business to start the group when his friend was deployed to Afghanistan and informed him of supply shortages, the report said.
"Our mission is to get the service member the items they need so they can conduct their mission," Negherbon said, "But also to get them back home safe and alive."
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"Our mission is to get the service member the items they need so they can conduct their mission. But also to get them back home safe and alive."
Some of the items they deliver include helmets, boots and communication equipment, helping hundreds of thousands of service people, KTVU reported.
The organization, relying solely on donations, orders the items online and ships them at no cost to the troops.
Negherbon said his organization can get supplies to faraway places faster than the military, which often moves slowly due to bureaucracy.
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"They contact us. It shows up a few days later," he said.
Retired Marine Sgt. Jacob Jones, who now works for the nonprofit, told KTVU about his prior experience with the organization.
"As we were ramping up to go into Mozul to get rid of ISIS, we realized we didn't have what we needed. I contacted Aaron and he supplied us with rescue kits. And we ended up saving a civilian girl's life," Jones said.
Negherbon said he "loves what we do," but that it's "a shame Troops Direct has to exist."
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