Suggestions for sending care packages to soldiers in Middle East
TV ClubHouse: archives: Suggestions for sending care packages to soldiers in Middle East
Watching2 | Friday, October 24, 2003 - 12:33 am     A good friend of my daughter's was just deployed to Afghanistan Monday night. We'd like to send him some things to help him feel remembered, as well as being something useful. I remember reading suggestions in Dear Abby or someplace, but I can't remember exactly where. The mail is slow, so nothing like cookies, etc. would make it edible. Not having anyone in the military previously, I'm not sure what supplies they have access to through their regular supplies and we'd like to send him something he might not have readily available all the time. Can anyone add suggestions to the items I've thought of below? Toothbrushes, toothpaste, socks (suggestion of types appreciated!) hard candy, lollipops, gum, writing paper, pens, etc. Thanks in advance. Any and all suggestions are appreciated! Support our troops! |
Wargod | Friday, October 24, 2003 - 01:37 am     Watching, I thought we had a thread about this earlier this year, but when I went looking, I couldn't find it. Dang, someone tell me I'm not crazy, lol. Anyways, I did a google search and found these: care packages. This one has them grouped into the type of care packages you might send, like, tolietries, fun, communication. packages. This is just a long list of stuff you can send. I think they have just about anything you could imagine. ideas. And just in case the above site doesn't have everything, this is a smaller list that may cover it. Good luck with your package. We have quite a few military family members here so I'm sure they'll be along to offer suggestions on things that will be most useful and enjoyable to your daughters friend. |
Reiki | Friday, October 24, 2003 - 06:38 am     War you aren't crazy. There was a discussion about this, possibly in the military family support area. When my brother was overseas he asked us to send him books and magazines. Guy magazines but nothing with scantily clad women - this includes things we don't normally think of as riske'. Even some of those muscle magazines have bikini clad women on the cover. My brother had a portable dvd player with him so I sent him movies and cds. They have a lot of down time so anything that to keep them occupied is good. Baby wipes and q-tips were a big request. That sand gets into everything. Eye drops are good too. If he wears glasses, some of those individually wrapped eye glass cleaning sheets are good. Have everyone in the family write a letter to include in the package. This will be the most valuable thing you can include and will mean more to him than anything else. Don't worry so much about the snacks and the goodies. They pretty much get those things covered. Everyone shares when they get stuff like that. I tend to use items like those to as padding for the other items I send. There is an area in the Members Room called Military Family Support Group. It is exactly what its called - support. |
Wargod | Friday, October 24, 2003 - 07:13 am     Thanks Reiki! I remember there had been alot of good suggestions there. |
Not1worry | Friday, October 24, 2003 - 12:11 pm     Toilet paper! |
Secretsmile | Friday, October 24, 2003 - 09:22 pm     Watcher, one thing that we always have to remember when sending things is that they don't have a lot of space and often can't carry much with them. Sending things that are useful and disposable is the key. I agree with all the above posts, plus spare sunglasses and sunscreen are great. My son liked his favorite shampoo that wasn't available where he was. |
Watching2 | Friday, October 24, 2003 - 09:55 pm     Thanks for all the suggestions! I thought there was a military support area and I figured it would be here, but I'll be sure to check it out in the Members area now. I know of the concern of not much space and that's why I wanted suggestions. He told me two things you're not allowed to send are alcohol and porn. I made a joke with him (remember he's my daughter's friend!) and said, "Darn, and I WAS going to send your porn!" LOL Now it really makes sense reading the post above concerning magazines. I didn't realize bikini clad women would be a problem, but maybe it's considering the climate of the population over there? Thanks for the links, Wargod. I'll be checking those out as well. I don't know exactly what he's taken with him, i.e. DVD player or CD player, etc., but I think he's taken as much camera equipment as he was allowed. He really enjoyed having his helmet cam when he did his jumps. It sure if pretty from up there! :-) He's been up in Alaska w/the 501st Airborne for the last year or so, after leaving Ft. Bragg. In between, he's been on training missions in CA, Kentucky & Hawaii and then back to Kentucky and probably other places he couldn't tell me! He'll either be there 6mo or a year. Those of you in military families understand how that goes! Since we haven't heard otherwise, we assume he's gone this time. They've said they were sending him before and then canceled at the last min. Called him back early from Thanksgiving leave after 9/11 telling them they'd be going over on the first Airforce jet leaving and they never did. Then he was supposed to be going to Baghad last March. He was issued all of his supplies & gear and at the last min., they said he wasn't going. Can't say that we were disappointed, but he didn't like dealing w/all his emotions being yanked all over the place. Anyone know much about the weather? Does it depend on where you're located in Afghanistan? If I remember correctly, it goes from one extreme to another. Anyway, thanks so much to all of you! I knew if I posted something, the great people here would respond!!! Many, many thanks!! |
Secretsmile | Monday, October 27, 2003 - 06:04 am     I actually remembered to ask my son this question when he called yesterday, I have a great suggestion from him. He said, pictures from home are the best, not just of the people, but places around his home. He said, places he used to hang out, his high school, church and house. Sharing stories and pictures from home is a major past time and having pictures makes it more enjoyable. Your daughter could get a few friends together and go on a "tour' of your town and take pictures of all the old places and of any new construction going on, this also keeps them up to date on changes in the neighborhood. I did this for my son by default, I ran out of things to send so I sent stuff like this and he loved it. ( Now he tells me! LOL!) |
Watching2 | Wednesday, October 29, 2003 - 11:57 am     Thanks for the suggestion Secretsmile and thank your son as well! I've been thinking of sending him short headlines of news here, etc., that I thought would be of interest to him. I haven't had a chance to get to the post office yet to check it out so maybe some of you "veterans" can tell me. What are the postage rates for sending regular letters, cards? Which is the best and fastest way to send? And is it really expensive to send packages? I found rates just to mail to Afghanistan, but I don't know if it's the same to send to our military since they have special addresses. Thanks so much for everything. I wish there was more news about what's happening in Afghanistan. The news out of Iraq is just so upsetting. I pray for our troops everyday. |
Maris | Thursday, October 30, 2003 - 05:40 am     Posted on Sun, Oct. 26, 2003 New program lets fliers, airlines help troops get home for Iraq leave BY JANUARY W. PAYNE Capital News Service WASHINGTON - (KRT) - The Army flew Spc. Josh Fansler from Iraq to Baltimore-Washington International Airport to begin two weeks of leave back home - but getting home to Colorado was Fansler's problem. Like thousands of other soldiers who have been flown to BWI since the Defense Department began granting leaves from Iraq last month, Fansler had to dig into his own pocket to buy a plane ticket the rest of the way home. He was lucky - he landed a roundtrip ticket to Colorado Springs, Colo., for $223. Not everyone has been so lucky. "When this whole leave program started out, people were paying upwards of $1,200," to get home from BWI, Fansler said, explaining stories he had heard in Kuwait before he came home for leave Oct. 10. But a program scheduled to begin Thursday could make the ride home a little smoother for some soldiers. Under "Operation Hero Miles," people will be able to turn their frequent-flier miles over to their airlines, which in turn will make them available to soldiers trying to get home for their brief leaves. Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., said he got the idea after he visited troops passing through BWI. He began pushing in earnest in mid-month, when the House rejected an amendment to the Iraq supplemental spending bill that would have paid for troops' connecting flights home. "Our men and women risking their lives serving our country in Iraq deserve our support," Ruppersberger said last week in a prepared statement. He sent a letter to 12 airlines Tuesday, asking them to support the program because it allows citizens to "contribute in their own way to the morale and welfare of those defending our country." His own staff is donating 67,000 of their frequent-flier miles to the program. Delta Air Lines is the first to sign up, contributing 10 million miles to kick off its "SkyWish SkyMiles for Heroes" program. "This is another way for us to thank the men and women who are serving our country," said Delta spokeswoman Peggy Estes. "This gives us an opportunity to make a larger impact and assist more military personnel in getting home." Delta customers cannot donate miles to specific service members, and there is a 5,000-mile minimum donation. Recipients of the donated miles will be selected by a military commander from active-duty troops in Iraq, and they can use the miles for round-trip tickets from BWI to destinations in the United States, Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico. Delta customers can donate miles to the program by e-mail, fax or mail. Details can be found on the Web at http://www.delta.com/skymiles/use/donate/index.jsp. Southwest Airlines has not officially joined the program, but a spokeswoman noted that customers can use their frequent-flier points for a free ticket or transfer to someone else for their use. "In this case, if a customer would like to donate their ticket to `Operation Hero Miles,' we certainly would allow them to do that," said Christine Turneabe Connelly, a Southwest spokeswoman. Other airlines are already offering discount programs for military personnel, some specific to troops coming home on "rest and recuperation" leave. U.S. Airways, for example, lets R&R soldiers buy discounted tickets on flights from BWI to various regions around the country. The prices range from $158 to $284. The Army plans to begin flying R&R troops into other airports within the next 30 days, said spokesman Joe Burlas. Officials hope to eventually begin bringing soldiers to airports in Atlanta, Dallas and Los Angeles. Fansler's R&R break came too early for him to take part in the free-miles program. But the specialist with the 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment based in Fort Carson, Colo., said he is glad to hear that it will be around to help other soldiers. "Even if I don't get to benefit, as long as somebody gets a benefit from it, that's great," he said. --- |
Secretsmile | Thursday, October 30, 2003 - 07:54 am     Watching2, if the address is an APO, you should pay the same mail rate as in the USA. An APO is considered within the states, it has it's own zip code. The one thing you do have to do differently is list everything in the box for customs. Some countries do not allow food (ie, beef, due to madcow disease) but the post office should be able to help you through the whole process. You can get a handful of the customs papers to keep at home and fill them out before going to the post office. |
Watching2 | Thursday, October 30, 2003 - 11:35 pm     Thanks, Secret! I found that out at the PO today! Now my daughter is all happy she can mail her letters to him right from college. The woman at the PO did give me a customs form, but didn't explain to me that I had to list everything in it. That will help when the time comes!! I forgot Dan had gotten a satellite phone - my daughter mentioned it, but I didn't realize you could send him a short email message on it. His sister sent me the website you go to and the # so if it's working there, he'll get a little message much faster than the mail takes. I've heard it can take the military weeks to get it out to the troops? Just wondering if that's in keeping with what any of you have experienced. Maris, Thanks for posting that article. Our troops sure do deserve a decent way to get home after serving our country. Even though Dan wasn't overseas until this month, he couldn't get home much at all once he went up to Alaska since it was far too expensive fly to NY state & back. Also, I sent Dan's sister an email asking if she knew if he had a CD player, etc., and what some of his favorites are. He loves the Simpsons, so I told my daughter to start taping the new season for him and we'll send it. I know he'll love that! She also liked the idea of taking photos and sending them to him. That will be a project for the next time she comes home. Thanks so much to all of you. I know some of you have been through a lot already and I appreciate you all reaching out to help me out! Now we'll just see what happens with my nephew. He just graduated from boot camp down at Ft. Benning and he's supposed to some training at Ft. Bragg. I'm sure he won't be going anywhere for a while, but who knows how long this conflict is going to go on. God Bless our troops. |
Secretsmile | Friday, October 31, 2003 - 08:08 am     Watcher2, my son did his basic training at Ft Benning also! How it worked for us was that it usually took about 2 weeks for him to get a letter, packages took longer. The mail goes on a military plane I think they try to go to each base at least once a week, but if either of you miss it by even one hour, it waits for the next pick up. Maybe that was just BS my son told me, so I'd stop nagging for letters! |
Watching2 | Friday, October 31, 2003 - 10:20 pm     Secret, I just looked at your profile - great picture of your family!! And....I'm up in a western burb of Rochester! When was your son at Benning? My nephew just went at the beginning of July. Before he went, I heard he was planning on the Green Berets, and was to go up to Bragg to do some training there. I believe he'll be doing some jump training. Dan did his basic at Bragg and was there for a few years and trained with the Airborne, although his unit was some kind of engineering unit. They would hook onto diff. units when needed. When he went up to Ft. Richardson, he joined the 501st Airborne, parachute div., or something like that. I found a nice article and pics on Richardson's site about the 501st deployment. His address does have the 37th Engineer along w/the 501st. It's confusing to me how all that works! Anyway, on the Ft. Richardson site it said they were deployed for a year. Dan said he thought 6mo and possibly a year. Although I know what happened to him last spring when they said he was forwardly deployed to Iraq, was they had only picked 12 guys from the unit to begin with and sent 6 one week and the other 6 were to follow the next week. He and the other 5 guys' deployment was canceled a few days before they were to leave. Anyway, I'm feeling a bit more informed that I was just a few days ago. I really appreciate everything everyone has had to add! Secret - is your son overseas now? Oh, and I have 3 kids as well . |
|