REDMOND – Like the other wives of soldiers called to serve in the Middle East, newlywed Jamie Stone will have to say goodbye to her husband when he leaves for active duty with Redmond’s National Guard G Troop in July. But she has found a way to raise the spirits of the families left behind as well as contribute to the troop’s efforts from this side of the ocean.

When Stone was in Hawaii last March for her wedding and honeymoon, she noticed yellow ribbons with the phrase ”Support Our Troops” stuck on the bumpers and sides of cars all over the island. Upon closer inspection, Stone saw that the ribbons were actually magnets about the size of her hand.

”They were just so neat,” said Stone, 25, sitting in her Redmond living room one recent evening with her husband, Todd Stone, and his 12-year-old son, Zach.

Jamie Stone, who is treasurer of the local National Guard Family Readiness Program, thought the magnets might make a good fund-raiser, and asked a woman outside the Oahu Post Exchange where to get them.

The National Guard’s Family Readiness Programs were created to offer support and promote camaraderie among Guard families and provide families with a direct connection to soldiers serving overseas.

When Jamie Stone returned to Redmond, she ordered 10 ribbon magnets and gave them to her mother to sell at her job at The Blue Teal Clothing Company in downtown Bend for $5 each.

The magnets didn’t last long.

”Everyone just fell in love with them,” said Stone, a petite, 5-foot-tall woman with wavy blonde hair. Jamie Stone ordered 100 more magnets, and brought them to a gathering of troop families at the Redmond Armory.

”She went through them real fast,” interjected Stone’s husband, a former Marine who also served in Iraq in 1996. Other wives at the meeting volunteered to sell the magnets, too.

After that, sales began to take off, said Jamie Stone. And it wasn’t just soldiers and their families who were buying.

Robin Stone’s co-workers at The Blue Teal wanted magnets, as did Bend and Redmond residents who didn’t even have connections to the military.

”People actually came in specifically for them,” said Robin Stone. ”People just feel a patriotism, I guess. They feel they want to support the soldiers.”

In March, the 82nd Cavalry G Troop of the Oregon Army National Guard was put on alert for a possible mobilization to Iraq. Earlier this month, the 150-person unit was told that they will be sent to Fort Bliss, Texas on July 1. From Texas, the unit will likely go to Iraq, according to Kay Fristad, deputy public affairs officer of the Oregon National Guard.

Both Jamie Stone and her husband come from long lines of military service. Todd Stone’s great-grandfather was on the cover of Time Magazine during the Korean War, he said. And Jamie Stone’s father was the Command Sergeant Major of the G Troop of the Redmond National Guard before retiring.

So far, Jamie Stone and other military wives have sold 250 magnets since late May. On Thursday, Jamie Stone ordered another 500 magnets which will be on sale at the Redmond Armory and The Blue Teal Clothing Company. She will also set up a table where people can buy the magnets at the upcoming activation ceremony on July 29.

Jamie Stone said she is not sure exactly how much money she and other Guard wives have raised for the Family Program so far because she’s constantly receiving more orders, and she is also using some of the money to buy additional ribbon magnets. Proceeds from the magnet sales will go toward care packages of things like beef jerky and sunflower seeds for the troops, as well as organizing picnics and other gatherings for the families while the soldiers are away. And Jamie Stone says she also has a surprise planned, which she declined to talk about.

But most importantly, she said selling the magnets, and seeing them on cars around town, helps her and the other family members cope with watching their loved ones leave for a mission in the desert

”He’s my love. He’s my best friend,” Jamie Stone said, looking over at her husband as he sat playing on the computer with his son. ”It’s something that you can do to give you some kind of control. It makes you feel good.”

Alisa Weinstein can be reached at 541-504-2336 or at aweinstein@bendbulletin.com.