Soldiers crave scenes sent from home.

Byline: Andrea Damewood The Register-Guard

For the nearly 1,000 Oregon National Guard soldiers serving in Afghanistan, it's beginning to look nothing like Christmas.

At least the Christmas to which they are accustomed. Instead of picturesque evergreens and the powder-dusted Cascade Range, this season the troops will spend their holiday in several feet of snow and severe mountainous terrain.

To help soldiers in an unfamiliar land feel a bit more at home, the state National Guard is asking residents to mail them anything with pictures of Oregon scenery: letters, cards, calendars or packages.

"I took my calendars apart and hung them on my wall," said 1st Sgt. Bruce Cutshall, who spent a little more than a year in Iraq. "I'm an ocean guy, and so I could look at that picture. I could hear it and I could smell it."

The Oregon troops are part of the 41st Brigade Combat Team and have completed about half of their yearlong deployment in Afghanistan, Oregon National Guard spokeswoman Kay Fristad said.

Packages can be sent in military-specific flat-rate boxes available at post offices that cost about $8, she said.

"I know there's a lot of people who want to show their support for the troops around the holidays," Fristad said. "And this is a really simple way to do it."

Scenic photographs are among the most-requested items because they remind soldiers of home and allow them to share their state with others, she said.

Cutshall recalled sharing his pictures with an Iraqi citizen his unit was hiding from insurgents, who asked him, "Do places like this really exist on Earth?"

"What you live for is the ordinary," he said. "Knowing that piece of paradise is intact keeps you going."

In an age of nearly instant electronic communication, those in the military usually prefer snail mail, he said.

"You can keep the letters, and if you've got a special one, you can keep it in your pocket," Cutshall said.

Mail is delivered daily in the military, whereas soldiers often wait as long as 35 to 40 days before they get Internet access, Fristad said.

For those interested in sending more than photos or cards, troops serving overseas also miss Pacific Northwest delicacies such as smoked salmon, beef jerky, hazelnuts and powdered drink mix - because the water is not as sweet and clean as Oregon's, Fristad said.

"They're just looking to have a piece of home in Afghanistan," she said. "Everything is pretty desolate compared to Oregon."

OREGON NATIONAL GUARD

For a list of representatives

at the Forward Operating Bases who will distribute mail to soldiers, visit www.oregon.gov/ OMD/DeployedUnits.shtml.