3 months ago
SACRAMENTO, CA - President Barack Obama's expected announcement Tuesday to increase troops in Afghanistan is generating mixed reviews from local military families.
"I'll leave it up to the military to make that decision," said Army mom Stephanie Johnston. "But I'm very, very proud of my son."
Her son, a military police officer in the Army, just wrote her 2 weeks ago to tell her that he's heading to Afghanistan. She said that it's sad that so many troops will be arriving there around Christmas time, but she supports them 100 percent.
On Tuesday, President Obama is expected to announce that as many as 34,000 additional U.S. troops will be sent to Afghanistan. As many as 9,000 Marines could be among the first troops to arrive on the ground there before the end of the year.
Robin Lish's son is a Marine. Lance Corporal Lish is currently home in 29 Palms, but is expecting to head to Afghanistan next year.
"I'm worried about him," said Lish. "As a mom, I don't want him to go, but then I realize that he's there for a reason, to protect us."
At the 33rd annual "Original" Toy Run that started in Rancho Cordova Sunday afternoon, nearly 2,000 motorcycle club members turned turned out to show their support for the troops and deliver toys to the Toys for Tots drive.
Toy Run Business Manager Dave Queil says the biking community is very supportive of children and the troops.
As for the move to add more troops to Afghanistan, "I hope this is a move to end the war," said Queil. "War is not a good thing, but it's a necessary thing. The troops are serving our country right now to keep our freedoms."
By Suzanne Phan, sphan@news10.net
News10/KXTV
