Bonnie Quinn, left, and Debbie Denes prepare biscotti batter for the oven at the National Guard Armory on East Valencia Road. Quinn is the coordinator for "Operation Biscotti Drop," a pledge to make 30,000 biscotti by Dec. 1. Quinn and her helpers have been baking a variety of flavors 12 hours a day.

Photos by jeffry scott / Arizona Daily Star

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Army Sgt. Terrance Mobley is trained to be a tough guy. But he turns sentimental in a second when asked what it's like to be at war during the holidays.

"When you're over there away from everyone you love and everyone who loves you, you kind of feel all alone," said Mobley, 34, a supply sergeant at Fort Huachuca, southeast of Tucson.

Mobley, who has been overseas three times in recent years, remembers sitting on his bunk in Iraq and marveling at the Christmas cookies, cards and heartfelt letters he received from people back home whom he didn't even know.

"It meant a lot," he said. "It made me feel like I wasn't forgotten."

Across Southern Arizona, legions of volunteers are working this year to ensure other deployed personnel aren't forgotten either.

Christmas may be a month off, but with overseas mailing deadlines looming, the holiday season is in full swing for those supporting the troops.

An array of efforts have been under way this month, from baking marathons and donation drives to letter-writing campaigns at some local schools and libraries.

Tucson businesses have been pitching in too, donating thousands of eggs, hundreds of pounds of flour and sugar — and countless decks of playing cards courtesy of a local casino.

In one of the most ambitious projects, an Oro Valley woman has pledged to make 30,000 homemade biscotti by Dec. 1 and send some to each of the 3,300 or so troops from Southern Arizona now serving overseas.

"All I've heard lately is people grumbling about the war. I just want to make sure people don't forget about the men and women who are over there," said Bonnie Quinn, 45, a mother of two who has dubbed the project Operation Biscotti Drop.

Quinn and helpers have been baking 12 hours a day, several days a week, whipping up giant batches of cranberry, chocolate, amaretto and blueberry flavored treats.

They've been working with local Army and Air Force officials and with National Guard units to make sure the goodies get to their intended recipients.

Military wife Carmen Whirley was teary-eyed as she oversaw Quinn's efforts in the kitchen of the Army National Guard armory on Valencia Road on Tuesday.

"You don't know how much it means to see something like this," said Whirley, 46, a family readiness coordinator at the armory.

Her husband, Spc. Kenneth Whirley, 40, was deployed for the holidays last year with the National Guard and is due to leave again in January for Afghanistan.

A soldier's family suffers, too, when there's an empty chair around the table at special times of year, Carmen Whirley said. "Sometimes we feel pretty alone. It helps when people in the community show they care."