The COMMON GOOD MEETS... LIVE a LIFE THAT MATTERS!!!! LIVE A LIFE THAT MATTERS Letting my heart tell my hands what to do!!

December’s focus Matt O’ Hern He was just like YOU A seventh

WHY should we care? As a class... let’s create FIVE solid reasons... why we should even care about Matt and the other soldiers.

Do you think he LOVED homework??

Matt O’Hern Love of family Community Service Maybe not homework, but he did love community service and his family.

A letter home.... PFC Matthew O’Hern of West Caldwell Sends a Letter from AFGHANISTAN I would love to share a little about what I do! It is motivating to be reminded that people at home care, and motivation is key around here! I am a military police soldier (31b) deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan with the 508th Military Police Company out of Teaneck, NJ. Unfortunately, due to security reasons, I can’t put out my exact location.

We are on a 9 month “boots on ground” deployment. This means that once we hit Afghanistan soil on September 4, 2012 at 14:52 we started our 9 month tour. Overall, the deployment is going well so far. Some days are better than others. I work a 12 hour shift, seven days a week, with no days off. I usually work the night shift, however sometimes I will rotate to the day. It is often hard to stay in touch with home due to the 8.5 hour time difference and limited Wi-Fi. I work with a squad including nine other soldiers and three K-9’s - two of which are explosive dogs and one narcotic. We use the K-9’s daily to do sweeps of routs we will use for a mission, inspect high risk areas and for regular daily patrols outside the wire.

When my squad is not out on a mission, we work at an Entry Control Point. This is where we do a full body search and background check of any individual trying to get through our area of operation. This would compare to a “seatbelt check” back in Caldwell. I am also enrolled in full-time online college courses while over here. I didn’t want the deployment to interrupt my education. It is a lot of work and often leaves me with limited sleep but I know it will all pay off. I have hopes of finding a local law enforcement job when I return to the states. I also look forward to returning as a member of West Caldwell Fire Department and West Essex First Aid Squad. As hard as it is to be away from family and friends back home, I really do enjoy what I am doing over here. It is a great experience and it feels great to say I am defending the best country out there! I miss my younger brother Patrick. He's 16 yrs. old and I look forward to returning back home with him. I consider him more than my brother, but my best friend. Again, thank you for your support! Matthew O’Hern PFC O’Hern

WHY ARE WE IN AFGHANISTAN? Preventing and Responding to Crisis and Conflict : It is more important than ever to address the problems of fragile states. People, money, and ideas can move around the world so quickly that conflict, even in distant countries, has become a far greater threat to the United States. Weak governments and failing states create safe havens for terrorists, insurgencies, and criminal syndicates. Conflict near major economies and supply routes can shock distant markets. Tensions that may escalate to mass atrocities under- mine America’s deepest values, especially democracy and human rights. We have already begun to address these trends; today more than a quarter of State and USAID’s personnel serve in the 30 countries that are at the highest risk for conflict. More than 2,000 civilian personnel are deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq alone. Quadrennial diplomacy and development review ◆ Leading Through Civilian Power

Map of Afghanistan

How can we help the Common good and MATT? Send him things from HOME that make his life... while defending the Natural Rights of Afghanistan citizens...much easier! Send his fellow soldiers things from home that will help them survive the heat and harsh conditions that exist in Afghanistan! Make their holiday season a special time even though they are far away from home!

What is your PLAN? Collect? Send? Create? Organize? Contact?

Hey...Think about this... As a group develop and state three reasons how this “LALTM” project relates to our study of CIVICS