Area businessman asks for support of military families
Staff reports

CAVE CREEK – Bill Vale is on a military mission.

The Cave Creek resident isn’t going to take point on patrol in Baghdad, and he isn’t about to join the fight in Afghanistan against the Taliban.

Instead, Vale wants the town and business community to sign up to support the families of activated Arizona National Guard units and Reserve units.            

He asked Cave Creek Town council on Dec. 4 to “adopt” a unit and encourage the community to support such a move.

“The adoption is not a pro or con on the war in Iraq–it’s about supporting the troops,” Vale told the council.

Vale, who owns Harold’s Corral, an area bar and grill, said he hopes area merchants will pitch in to collect toys and money to help families of deployed servicemen.

The Arizona National Guard did not provide details concerning unit activations, nor did they provide casualty counts as requested in an inquiry by The Desert Advocate.

An estimated 140,000 U.S. troops are currently deployed in Iraq, which is in the throes of a civil war.

As of Dec. 6, a total of 2,920 Americans have been killed in Iraq and 21,921 servicemen have been wounded in action, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. Of the total killed in action, 71 were Arizona servicemen.