Spirit of America is a non-profit company which assists Americans serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and Africa help the local people of those areas. The organization was founded by Jim Hake in 2003. For example, in 2004 it was supplying material to be distributed by Marines in Iraq to locals:

The Marines identify local equipment needs, and ... Spirit of America, after raising the money, acquires the stuff, typically for schools and medical clinics. It flies directly out of Camp Pendleton in California. Jim Hake and the Marines are a coalition of the can-do, bypassing the slow U.S. procurement bureaucracy.

SoA has solicited money for Special Forces troops operating in Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

 and for the 1st Marine Division in Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

. Items provided include "school and medical supplies, sewing machines, hand tools, watches, water barrels, clothing, soccer gear and toys".
They also "contributed equipment to Iraqi-owned television stations to establish a better alternative to Al Jazeera [and] helped Iraqi men whose arms were amputated by Saddam Hussein get a new start on life."

In 2010, Mr. Hake tried to formalize the ties between commanders in Afghanistan and his organization as a "Commander Support Program" (CSP) with support from senior Marine officers "who had developed a good working relationship with the group in Iraq".
This resulted in scrutiny from Pentagon lawyers, who ruled that sending goods to commanders violated ethics rules. With help from John Bellinger

John B. Bellinger III

John B. Bellinger, III was the Legal Adviser to the United States Secretary of State. He was sworn in on April 8, 2005. He was the principal adviser on all domestic and international law matters to the Department of State, the Foreign Service, and the diplomatic and consular posts abroad...

, Jeh Johnson

Jeh Johnson

Jeh Charles Johnson is an American civil and criminal trial lawyer, currently serving as General Counsel of the Department of Defense. Johnson is a graduate of Morehouse College and Columbia Law School, and is grandson of noted sociologist and Fisk University president Dr. Charles S...

, General Joe Dunford

Joseph F. Dunford, Jr.

Joseph F. Dunford, Jr. is a four-star general in the United States Marine Corps and the 32nd and current Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. He previously commanded several units, and is noted for leading the 5th Marine Regiment during the 2003 invasion of Iraq...

 and General Jim Mattis

James Mattis

James N. Mattis is a United States Marine Corps general and the current commander of United States Central Command. Having replaced David Petraeus on August 11, 2010, he previously commanded United States Joint Forces Command from November 9, 2007 to August 2010 and served concurrently as NATO's...

, the rules were changed to allow the CSP to operate.

External links

• Spirit of America