West Salem High School senior Catey Greenwood is heading up an effort to let members of Wisconsin’s 32nd Infant-ry Brigade — currently stationed in Iraq —know that they are not forgotten.

Greenwood’s efforts are part of her senior exit project.

“I’m hosting a support group for teens whose family members are currently overseas and we are also creating care packages to send over to the 32nd Brigade by Christmas,” Greenwood said.

The brigade is in Baghdad, and it’s deputy commander is her father, Col. Mark Greenwood.

“My dad always talks about ‘I wish I had this, I wish I had that.’ I’m hoping this will help him and the other soldiers who are over there,” she said.

During halftime of the Sept. 11 Panthers football game against Lancaster there will be a 9/11 remembrance ceremony and a salute to the soldiers now serving in Iraq.

“I’m planning on having a collection bin outside the entrance gates before the game to collect money and food donations for the care packages,” Greenwood said.

The 32nd Brigade was called to active duty in February and is slated to return to Wisconsin in February 2010. It’s not the first time she’s been separated from her dad. This is his second tour of duty in Iraq. The first one was when she was an eighth grader.

“I know I would have liked to have been able to talk to some of my peers and know that I was not alone,” Greenwood said in explaining why she chose to host a support group as her exit project.

She’s put up flyers around school and plans on meeting with members of the group once a month. “I’ve got a list of 10 kids right now who have relatives in Iraq,” she said.

Permission has been granted for the group to meet in the school’s small conference room and Greenwood expects the group to grow beyond the 10 names she has now. “This isn’t just for family members,” she emphasized. “It’s for anyone who wants to help.”

Greenwood has some contact with her father now. “We e-mail a lot and lately we’ve been doing the Skype thing,” she said, referring to video calls over the Internet. “That’s kind of iffy but it’s cool when we get to see him. He tries to call us every couple of weeks, but it’s hard for him to get an outside line.”

Greenwood has high hopes for the collection at the football game. “I hope the care packages will help the soldiers and that, not only high school students but the whole community will realize that they can help.”