‘Songs for the Troops' postponed

Chester — As Chester Middle School Principal Ernest Jackson was rescheduling the “Songs for the Troops” event that was originally planned for Tuesday, it was clear that the men and women in Iraq are living with a precarious situation where tragedy can strike at any time. Four soldiers in the regiment that is to be the audience for Jackson’s project were killed a few days ago, the result of a roadside bomb. That actually was not the reason for the postponement. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was in Baghdad on Tuesday. Apparently when a VIP is in country, according to Jackson, security increases and more resources are geared toward that person. “It was a connectivity problem,” said Jackson. “Condoleezza Rice was there. There was something about bandwidth issues for the connection. When a VIP is in country, security increases. We’ll try it again on Thursday.” That was the plan at press time. The concert was rescheduled for Thursday, Dec. 20, at 11:30 a.m. Jackson, who spent 20 years in the U.S. Army, spent many of those years away from his family during the holidays. He decided to put together a program this year where local schools could perform some holiday songs in real time for the 7th Regiment Cotton Balers, Jackson’s old unit, which just landed in Iraq for its fourth tour of duty. Six schools have committed to perform including Chester Middle School, Warwick Middle School, C.J. Hooker Middle School in Goshen, Minisink Middle School, Monticello Middle School, and Anna S. Kuhl Elementary School in Port Jervis. Also, local Veteran of Foreign Wars and American Legion posts were scheduled to participate. Having lost four soldiers recently—one a 24-year-old that Jackson was sponsoring—does the concert lose its impact? “To the contrary,” said Jackson. “It makes it all the more meaningful. Anytime you can connect back home, you cherish it. Anytime the soldiers hear from home, it is special to them.” If there were communication issues Thursday, Jackson said the worst case scenario was that they would tape the concert and send it to the troops. In addition, The Warwick Advertiser will stream the concert on its Web site, www.warwickadvertiser.com, beginning this weekend.