The email read:
"Hey Ric...Gen Jim Amos, Commandant here, just wanted you to know that you are motivating all of your fellow Marines back here in the Pentagon!!! Thanks for your continued fidelity to our wounded. God bless you.
If you ever get back to DC then let me know!!!"
To date Ric Ryan has raised $10,531 for Operation Mend. 'Operation Mend combines the best of the military's resources with the skills of UCLA Health System for a comprehensive and collaborative approach to healing United States military personnel wounded and disfigured in Iraq and Afghanistan.'
"I feel the more people that know about Operation Mend and the more news stations that know about what Operation Mend does, just maybe, we as a nation can help our service men and women live normal lives and get the best help there is and I feel Operation Mend is the best there is. The people that work at Operation Mend are wonderful and really do a wonders for our young men and women coming back from the wars we are now in."
'In a partnership with Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC), a leading burn and rehabilitation center in San Antonio, Texas, the V.A. Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, and UCLA Health System, Operation Mend started with facial reconstruction. The program has since expanded in order to optimize healing-body, mind, and spirit. In addition to plastic and reconstructive surgery, mental-health support (for warriors and their families), orthopaedic reconstruction for severely damaged limbs, urologic treatment, otolaryngological care, the examination and treatment of reproductive issues, repair of airways, and design of new prosthetic ears are provided.'
On October 22, 2010 General James F. Amos assumed the duties of Commandant of the Marine Corps.
'General Amos’ command tours have included: Marine Wing Support Squadron 173 from 1985-1986; Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 312 – attached to Carrier Air Wing 8 onboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) – from 1991-1993; Marine Aircraft Group 31 from 1996-1998; 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing in combat during Operations IRAQI FREEDOM I and II from 2002-2004; II Marine Expeditionary Force from 2004-2006; and Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command and Deputy Commandant, Combat Development and Integration from 2006 to 2008. Additional operational tours have included Marine Fighter Attack Squadrons 212, 235, 232, and 122. '
Sources Operation Mend.uc;a.edu and Marines.mil