Not being a serviceman - and never having served - there is a lot of guilt involved in my chosen hobby of airsoft. It's all very well running about playing at solders when the worst we can expect is the occasional stinging BB hit or a twisted ankle, but one is always aware that for those in our armed forces the stakes are a lot, lot higher. Daily our news documents the casualties of the war in Afghanistan and so at this special time of year, above all, it's time to give some support to the real soldiers...

One of the main problems is that there are so many charities and support groups these days, which - while being a very nice sign of the public sympathy for our service personnel - can make choosing who to give to a little confusing. So I thought I would list a few worthy causes and I hope you might join me in making a small donation - particularly if you are an airsofter. I have chosen organizations which directly assist wounded service and ex-service personnel rather than general service charities.

I call it my 'guilt tax' (though it should be my 'pride tax' or something more positive sounding) - the money I pay to play at being a soldier when there are those who are doing the thing for real. I make a £10 donation every time I go airsofting (and a monthly donation while I have been 'out of action') - and I will be making an additional donation as we get into the festive season.

If you do play airsoft, and if you are reading my blog I must assume you do, PLEASE consider making a donation - it doesn't have to be big. But honestly, you will be doing the right thing and it will set you in the right frame of mind for what is - after all - the season of good will.

(Also, I know my blog is read by several people outside the UK - for that reason I do list a couple of foreign support groups here.)

Thank you,

Steve (aka Milgeek, aka Ranger)

Please note: The Ministry of Defence is urging people not to send unsolicited good will parcels this year. While I have supported this gift giving donation in the past the MoD point out that this practise is now greatly oversubscribed now, and while this is nice it does place an undue burden on the over-stretched military postal system. They suggest a direct monetary donation to a support charity is the best way to help service personnel this year.

UNITED KINGDOM SERVICE SUPPORT GROUPS & CHARITIES
(These are links directly to the 'donation' pages.)

> Help for Heroes: Direct support for our wounded and their recovery
- http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/donations.html

> BLESMA: Helping limbless ex-service men & women
- http://www.blesma.org/donations.html

> St. Dunstan's: Helping blind ex-serviceman & women
- http://www.st-dunstans.org.uk/support_us/index.html

OVERSEAS SERVICE PERSONNEL SUPPORT GROUPS & CHARITIES

> Olive Branch International: Humanitarian support no matter what the uniform
- http://olivebranchinternationalonline.com/index.html

> USA - Wounded Warrior Project: Helping severely injured service member
- http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/

> Canada - Canadian Hero Fund: Supporting service personell and their families
- http://www.herofund.ca/

- If you can think of any foreign charities that I should list here please drop me a note and I will be sure to add them.