A way to REALLY support the troops

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I’ve got an opportunity for you. A friend of mine, Master Sergeant Delia Smith, is in Kuwait RIGHT NOW along with 13 other great American heroes, and the conditions are what we call “austere” when we don’t want to hurt the colonel’s feelings by using bad words about his base.

I got an e-mail from her, and she says that a few things would make life a lot better for the troops, and they can’t get 'em, UNLESS SOMEBODY SENDS IT OVER TO 'EM. (Y’all clever dopers can see where I’m going with this thread, can’t ya? )

Plastic or coated hangers
AA batteries
Flashlights
Shower curtains or sheets (for privacy)
Towels
Clothes pins
Clothes line
Duct tape
Extension cords
Small clip-on fans
Shower caddies with handles
Small plastic baskets (for use in wall lockers, to hold misc. personal items)

I bought two of almost everything (12-pack of AAs ), but only one shower caddy and one shower curtain w/rings), and got out of the Post Exchange for under $40. (Couldn’t find a little bitty fan, though.) Your mileage may vary (as you may not have the prices found in the BX), should you choose to send a li’l sump’n. And you need not send EVERY thing on the list, if money’s tight.

But these guys could use some support from us, wouldn’t you agree?

Also, I don’t have to pay postage, like YOU guys do. Send anything you’d like (oh, and a personal note and a snack in the box may just get you into Heaven at the end of your otherwise dissolute and decadent life, too! ) to:

694th Intelligence Group/DO
9828 Love Road
Fort Meade MD 20755

All kidding aside, Dopers - give a little back to these folks that are laying so much on the line, okay?

“You are now leaving the American Sector” - Sign at Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin

2

Verrain and I are planning on doing a little shopping tomorrow. I’m going to print out this list and see what I can do about picking some of this stuff up and sending it out. Any Philly Dopers that want to bring stuff to me when we meet next Friday, I’ll see what I can do about sending it all out out together. I know I have a couple shower curtains that haven’t even been opened yet sitting here.

Thanks for the heads up, Bluesman. A worthy idea.

3

Have sort of mundane question:

I heard somewhere earlier that the letter writing campaigns to “any serviceman” were discontinued in favor of e-mails, due to anthrax, etc. scare possibilities. Would there be any problem related to this by sending a package to the address you listed, bluesman?

4

Posting for Bluesman

No problem at all. But nothing illegal, okay? No bombs, anthrax, drugs, porno…

Yeah, I KNOW it goes without saying, but sometimes the Mommy Sergeant in me comes out.:slight_smile:

5

Bluesman? Do you mid if I post your OP over on my board?

6

I’ll be bringing all of that with me, and enough for everyone else.

I’m nothing if not prepared. :slight_smile:

7

drpepper, you’re absolutely right, but since you’re sending it stateside, to a specific unit, it’s okay. Presumably bluesman will get the right redirected address on it so it gets to Kuwait proper.

No pork, no porn, no political propoganda. American flags are okay.

8

Good idea… I’ll look into it, but I’m kind of broke right now. And I can’t exactly go shopping at the drop of a hat anyway. But I’ll see… I’ll try.

9

Okay, so I buys some stuff and I ships it to the addy which is in Maryland. And from there you ship it (free of shipping fee) to Kuwait so that I don’t have to pay the cost of shipping to Kuwait. Okay. I got it I think. And no porn.

10

I reported the post to a moderator. I explained to them what a noble and honorable effort this thread was and asked for forgiveness if I was misusing the “report…” button. I hope they’ll allow for a loose interpretation of the rule on that button and a precedent and forgive me if I was misusing it. I hope.

11

I repacked my mobility bag this afternoon. After being deployed once, I have a request for y’all for the guys:

Board Games

Yeah, they’re big and bulky (sometimes), but my little travel chess set has hosted hundreds of games. Just my $0.02.

Tripler
It’s kinda hard to whittle a Jenga set when you can’t find any trees in Kuwait.

12

Oh yeah. . . I have an adopted soldier. I’m supposed to send care packages - the contents of that I have no problem figuring out. I’m also supposed to send a weekly letter, I have no idea what to write about. Any suggestions?

13

From what I can recall, having spoken with my brother, magazines are good too. Car magazines, or other hobby mags. I’ve got a small pile that I may send out. We’ll have to see what I can come up with. I’m a broke ho, so it may take me a little bit.
No porn. I wonder if Maxim or Stuff qualify?

14

[quote]
Originally posted by Jessity

I’m also supposed to send a weekly letter, I have no idea what to write about. Any suggestions?*
Baseball, what your cat did this morning, the plot of your favorite sitcom, how much you love or hate to garden, what book you just read, March Madness, how your family celebrates birthdays, the joke your 6 year-old nephew you told you, your favorite subject in school, what Oprah said today, your hobby and why it’s not dorky, the sound of rain against your window, your most embarassing moment, why your little sister is driving you nuts, why the Eagles (or some such group) are still the best band around, and include in every letter “I’m thinking about you and hoping that you and all your buddies are safe. Come home soon.”

15

Tripler or anyone else who’d know (re: games and such):

Would the following be OK:

Playing cards (like a cribbage set, or Uno, or something like that)
Newspaper clippings (ESPN’s been running pieces about how the troops like to avail themselves of distrations such as basketball, so I figured something like box scores/articles about March Madness etc. would be nice)
candy (mess hall food is useful, I know, but sometimes you just want a candybar or something like that. I was thinking one of them funsize bags like you get around Halloween. Also bunnies such as one might get at Easter)
paper bags (small or big, and for whatever)
some sort of moisturizer (I’ve heard that, along with the sparsity of trees in Kuwait, there’s also a sparsity of Bath and Body Works retail outlets therein) or other skin care products
disposable (or non, and with extra film) cameras

Thanks!

16

I arranged a care package drive during the last Gulf War. I remember that candy was appreciated, but only hard candy, as chocolate and most candy bars would melt in the desert living conditions.

Are powdered drink mixes and Cup-o-Noodles type meals as popular for desert troops as they once were? Our drive was mainly focused on Kool-aid packets and ramen noodles. :slight_smile:

17

Y’all ROCK! I am up at Oh-Stoopid-Thirty for my daywatch, and what a GREAT way to start the day: seeing one of my families pouring love on my OTHER family!

GO, Dopers, GO! Be as good as I know you are to the best peeps in the world - my beloved Air Force.

Thanks, thanks, and a thousand times, Thank you.

18

I just got done emailing my mom. She works at an elementary school in Michigan, and she thinks some of the teachers would really like to organize the kids in a drive for some of these things. Bluesman, could you email me (it’s in the profile) and maybe we could work something out? I know it would give the kids (especially some of the kids in the special ed classes) a really good feeling to know they were helping someone overseas, especially since the war is so strange and scary to them.

19

A few suggestions:

www.operationmilitarysupport.com - adopt a soldier penpal!
www.booksforsoldiers.com - Military can log requests for books, complete with addresses.

Things to send in a care package:
Baby wipes - good for wiping sand off face and hands
Sunblock
Cards
Books
Magazines
Stamped post cards for letters home
Homemade cookies wrapped in Bubble wrap
Make a Mix CD of music - label it “rock” “Country” “rap” etc
Pictures of your coworkers or family, wearing old navy flag t-shirts

Anything will be appreciated!

20

It looks like the earlier thread on this feel by the wayside, so I hope no one minds if I repost some stuff.

You can also adopt a soldier via adoptaplatoon.org, and send paperbacks via operationpaperback.org.

If you’d like to see a wishlist that includes stuff the troops in the thick of it want, visit these guys:

http://www.angelfire.com/ga4/2ndplatoon/

There is a link for their “Wishlist” on the left.