Photos courtesy of Susan Whetzel

Pearisburg resident and blogger Susan Whetzel set up the Operation Baking GALS blog to organize monthly shipments of baked goods to U.S. troops in combat zones.

PEARISBURG -- A soldier sits for a moment in his tent after spending all day in a dry, scorching hot desert where the sand seems to get into everything. The sun is relentless, and he has not had a full night's rest in weeks. The soldier has received a package, and when he opens it, the aroma of an encouraging, familiar smell wafts up to his nose -- homemade cookies.

This is happening to hundreds of military personnel in combat zones overseas, thanks to Operation Baking GALS (Give a Little Support), a union of about 200 bloggers baking cookies to send to troops.

The group was formed through connections Pearisburg resident and food blogger Susan Whetzel made in the blogosphere, what bloggers call their online community.

Whetzel started blogging because she "hates" the social networking site MySpace but wanted a way to keep her parents and in-laws informed when she went on a cruise with her husband. It was not long after that Whetzel decided to chronicle her journey into domesticity and started a food blog (she is a self-proclaimed "foodie") called "She's Becoming...DoughMESStic" at doughmesstic.com.

Whetzel's food blog features plenty of photos of mouth-watering treats, so it was no surprise when her cousin, Army Cpt. Jason Ballard, a JAG officer stationed in Iraq, wanted to taste the goodies he saw on her blog.

"He had been watching the blog, but I knew I didn't have time to make enough to fill a big box and send over, so I sent an e-mail out to my favorite food bloggers I had met through online foodie networks," Whetzel said. "They all said, 'God, I'd love to help, can we do my family member next?' "

The information went up on their Web sites, and everything snowballed.

"I don't know how to explain what happened -- it just kept going," Whetzel said. "I had to set up a new e-mail address because I was getting hundreds of e-mails. The bloggers are the ones who did it -- it's just amazing how you post something and people come to it."

Ballard received more than 60 packages to share with his comrades.

"I just hope these ladies know that they are doing a good thing," he wrote to Whetzel.

So many people wanted to help that Whetzel set up a new Operation Baking GALS blog at operationbakinggals. blogspot.com and is using the site to organize monthly shipments to soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. Though the group is unable to say exactly where shipments go because of security concerns, Whetzel confirmed that the packages go only to service members in combat zones, likely Iraq and Afghanistan.

Each month, bloggers who baked the previous month are eligible to become a team host. The host organizes about 25 bloggers for her team, and there are six teams participating in the August operation. The host also selects the service member, usually a loved one, who will receive the team's shipment of as many as six dozen cookies from each blogger.

"We know of about 200 bloggers who are helping this month, but they are recruiting people from their churches and other groups, so in reality, a host may have 75 people working for her team," Whetzel said.

Even the renowned French Culinary Institute in New York City is on board. A student there, Marisa Rosenfeld, is a reader of food blogs who came across Whetzel's operation. She worked with her instructors and classmates to make a class project out of the operation, and the institute sent 100 dozen cookies to troops and plans to participate again. Rosenfeld's classmates were so passionate about the baking because her best friend's brother is stationed in Baghdad.

"The chefs made time in the lesson plans so we could take on this special project because the student's really wanted to do it," said Tina Caceli, director of pastry and baking arts. "It was such a good cause, and we always have so much product we really found this as a way to send something to the troops."

Getting care packages from the United States has a lasting impact on service members, said Maj. Nathan Banks, a Pentagon spokesman with the media relations division.

"The morale is instantly lifted when opening the box of goodies," he said. "You truly feel the love and care that goes into preparing the treats. We appreciate wholeheartedly that a stranger who is 8,000 miles away is thinking of us."

Whetzel said troops appreciate anything.

"They love everything because it's something they can't get while they are there," she said. "It tastes like home."