Delivering more than school supplies.

CHILDREN at a tiny schoolhouse south of Baghdad got a big surprise recently, when a convoy of Soldiers trolled into the Iraqi capital bearing gifts from the citizens of America.

With the help of an organization called Operation Iraqi Children, Soldiers from various units in Iraq delivered a truckload of school supplies and toys to hundreds of Iraqi schoolchildren.

OIC, founded by actor Gary Sinise--who starred in "Forrest Gump" and "Apollo 13," and Laura Hillenbrand, author of the book "Seabiscuit: An American Legend"--is an organization that helps Americans help children in Iraq, thereby supporting the Army's overall efforts to improve the quality of life for Iraqis, said officials at the Multinational Corps, Iraq, Public Affairs Office.

On this particular supply mission, Soldiers delivered 25 cases of Beanie Babies, 245 book bags and backpacks, 13 cases of school supplies, and assorted jump ropes, Frisbees and soccer balls.

The delivery run was the third for MAJ Andy Johnson, a civil military operations officer for the 18th Military Police Brigade from Mannheim, Germany.

Johnson said Soldiers have been able to develop much more personal relationships with Iraqis in various communities because of the generous donations from American schoolchildren, church groups and other organizations.

The presentation of the gifts is a real icebreaker, said Johnson. "We walk into a school and the children are unsure about how to relate to us. We arrive in Humvees, carrying our weapons, but as soon as the children see we've got school supplies, pencils and paper, and sometimes candy, they really open up."

Through OIC's School Supply Kit Program, American schoolchildren, church groups and other organizations can conduct local drives to collect supplies and then assemble them for shipment according to OIC instructions. Contributors then send the kits to the Veterans of Foreign Wars for transport to Iraq.

SSG Butch Drake, an education and civil-affairs NCO who learned about OIC via the Internet, has been one of the key organizers for the delivery of donations.

Drake played an integral part in getting the supplies for the recent operation. "I sent out some e-mails and contacted OIC's facilitator in Iraq. That set the wheels in motion," he said.

"Before OIC, we had little to give to the kids," Drake said. "We had only small amounts of supplies from Soldiers' families back home."

As the person in charge of getting the shipments from OIC to Baghdad, Drake said receiving the supplies isn't what thrills him, it's being there when they're delivered.

"I've never seen such responses from Iraqi children," Drake said. "It's just amazing."

SFC Craig Coker, a Reservist from the 451st CA Bn. in Texas, said when he and other Soldiers in his unit deliver supplies, the local people can see that Americans aren't bad guys.

"The impact of the little things we've done here is tremendous," Coker said. "When we build relationships with the people, the mothers of these children gain confidence that we're not awful monsters."

He said it's the one-on-one interactions that are paying dividends in lives saved.

"We're doing a lot of big things, structural things, such as building bridges and electrical plants," Coker added. "But it's the one-on-one relationships, such as the ones we build when we drop off supplies, that will eventually save lives."

He relayed a case in point. "We were heading down the road a week ago and two ladies came running up to us and stopped our convoy," Coker said. "They were yelling 'Ali Baba, Ali Baba, boom, boom,' which means 'bad guys,' 'explosion.' They led us to two improvised explosive devices. We were able to cordon off the area and dispose of the devices.

"We had done something that had affected these ladies' lives--because in that area, we had been pumping in the supplies," Coker said. "Sure enough, something affected them and they took a chance on helping us. That was a big chance they took.

"Everything in Iraq is really based on relationships," Coker continued. "No matter how many tanks, trucks and planes we have, success on a day-to-day basis here is based on the way we relate to people. These relationships are not only for safety, but for the future of Iraq's children."

Once all the supplies were handed out at the schoolhouse, Coker assured the principal of the school that the Soldiers would be back in a week. Coker and the civil-affairs team obtained shelving and other items that the classrooms desperately need.

Before the Soldiers said goodbye, the ecstatic children offered their thanks and praise to America. Then they posed for a picture with a group of Soldiers, before running home proudly with their new school supplies.