How Bill Gates Can Help Support Our Troops

With the help of the Microsoft Xbox 360 my boyfriend has acquired a wide array of new friends from all around the world. He spends hours talking and playing Xbox Live with his these "friends". These mystery friends are like the house guests that won't go home. They know everything that goes on in our house from when we eat to dinner to when we go to bed. I'm not a computer genius, but it is quite obvious to me that Bill Gates is a genius and he has definitely bridged a communalization gap. I don't think you can become a multi-billionaire without the brains to back it up. I know that Bill Gates has created the Gates Foundation where he provides grants to help others who are less fortunate. The Gates Foundation seems to focus on global health and development for a wide range of people. However, there was a group of people that I didn't see mentioned...our troops.

Being a member of the military, I know that the troops face many obstacles and difficulties. Some that stick out in my mind are boredom, loneliness, and separation from friends and family. So I was thinking that if Bill Gates can bridge relationships via the XBOX for total strangers and entertain grow men for hours, why not do this for our troops? I think that a partnership with the military would be beneficial for Bill Gates as well as the military.

Communication has long been a difficulty for military members, especially those on long deployments. I can remember the days when the main form of communication was the postal system. It could take weeks to get mail back and forth and in the mean time troop morale would be suffering. It is great that modern technology has helped to bridge this gap, but why not continue to improve it?

I believe that if Bill Gates was to donate, or even greatly discount, some of this wonderful product to the military he would be doing a great service. There are men and women all over the world right now who wish they could talk to their loved ones more often. There are also troops who have to be very creative to combat boredom, stress, and loneliness. This means that they are more likely to get involved in less favorable activities such as drinking and drugs. I think that having something to take their mind off of day to day stresses may improve troop morale. I also know that morale would improve greatly if troops were able to communicate more with family and friends. Now that Microsoft has developed a camera for this wonderful machine, it would be nice to get to see loved ones too. Parents would no longer have to miss seeing their children grow up while they are off defending the country.

Like I said, I am not a computer genius, but I do like to believe I have a good amount of common sense. I just think if there is a way for the richest man in the world to help build troop morale it's worth a shot. I figure if troops have to go through multiple deployments, it's the least that can be done for them. If we are worried about global development I think taking care of our troops is an excellent place to start.