I learned of the existence of www.anysoldier.us today. What it is: you can send care packages to a sergeant in the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Iraq. He will then distribute them to fellow soldiers who aren’t getting any mail. The site is run by his family.
Great idea, I thought. My mother was called up for service in Iraq. She didn’t end up going, but I was ready to send care packages. This seems like a good way to be just as supportive for someone else.
But when checking around the Operation Iraqi Freedom section of the Army’s website, I found this message:
This policy isn’t addressed on the anysoldier.us site. So. Should I respect the army’s official position – donate money, not goods – or is anysoldier.us or something similar worth doing despite the army’s position?
I don’t oppose donating money, but frankly, it’s not as personal – or as much fun – as creating my own care package. But I don’t want to feel guilty about circumventing army preferences.
Why don’t you send them something they really need-a free trip home? At www.heromiles.com you can donate your unused frequent flier miles so that, when they come back to the States they can get a flight from the three or four bases they arrive at to where they actually live. I’ve donated 5000 of my AA miles.
Interrobang!?, that quote you have is legitimate. A lot of times, any unnamed but addressed mail is sent back to the sender. On the other hand, if I got a package from someone I didn’t know, I’d be somewhat suspicious. . .
In any case, you’re better off sending a letter first, establishing a repertoire with a soldier, sailor, marine or airman, and then sending care packages.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s awesome getting mail, and it’s also awesome that people support the “folks in the field”. It just raises concerns that unfortunately have to be raised.
From what it sounds like, anysoldier.us seems okay. They’re not collecting names and addresses, and they are shipping everything to a specific soldier (just not the end recipient).
Tripler: I totally understand the security terms, and I didn’t doubt that the quote was legitimate – it was from the army website, which is the horse’s mouth in this case.
I’m thinking I’ll have to rechannel my efforts, which is not a bad thing. A care package would have been fun, though. (My original thought, when I saw the anysoldier.us site, was to send a care package to Any Soldier in honor of my mother, as a Christmas present – which isn’t as late as it sounds, because we’re celebrating Christmas with my mom in late January.)
Czarcasm: I’ve seen that, too, but I have approximately zero frequent flier miles. Otherwise I’d do it in a heartbeat.