Blogger Terry L. Welch (Nitpicker) has been deployed to Afganistan. He writes in:

Seems that the children of Afghanistan want nothing more than they want a pen. It was explained to me that the villages through which I traveled (near Kandahar, where I'm based) are so poor that a pen is like a scholarship to these children. They desperately want to learn but, without a pen, they simply won't. It's a long story. I won't bore you with it. Trust me, though, when I say that it would be a big deal if even a few of you could put up the call for pens for me. Anyone interested in helping out could either send some directly to me or go to Office Depot or any other office supply site and send them, where you can find them for as cheap as $.89 a dozen.

Here's the address to send them:

Terry L. Welch
105th MPAD
Kandahar Public Affairs Office
APO AE 09355

Come home safe and sound Terry, and thanks for looking out for the children.