Posted on 09/25/2004 5:41:24 PM PDT by McLynnan
Although I rarely post (no time!), I email frequently with our contact in Kirkuk and try to stay in touch with PatriciaRuth. "C" in Kirkuk and I have been discussing the upcoming holidays, and what a tough time of year it is for our troops who are so far from home. I told him while there was nothing I could do to bridge the miles between them and their families, maybe I could provide things that would help give the desert that nice Christmas-y feeling. He gave me a very modest list, but it’s more than I can handle on my own. HELP!!! After talking with Patty, she generously loaned me her ping list so I could see if anybody is interested in contributing. Since she’s on overload with her other troop work, I offered to start this thread and try to get things organized.
Would any of you like to get involved? I know our Kirkuk troops would appreciate anything we can do. Here’s what C has asked for:
“We could use two trees with the ornaments and lights, wall decorations and more lights for around the rooms, stockings for 82 personnel and some gift wrap. Music CD's would be good, candy canes, Christmas cards and if possible a Santa suit.
I think that would be good. We are good on calling cards as I have stock-piled enough for all that need it.
Please include a list of contributors in an email to me so that I can honor them properly. Thanks for all your support!! I know that the men and women we have serving over here will greatly appreciate this generous on-taking”.
The Christmas cards need to be sent soon so they have time to address and send them back home. Ditto for the gift wrap. Would any of you with sewing skills be willing to stitch up some stockings?
We can add on another 20 or so a week, as we go on. We have til about the middle of November to get these off, right?
And what are you considering stuffing them with? My daughter and I were looking around today, but I wanted to make sure we kept them similar to what others are doing.
Thanks so much. I hope the Girl Scouts will take you up on this. I don't have any info on women in the unit. Our contact in Kirkuk is on leave for the next few weeks and I'm unable to get in touch with him right now. I'm sure there are some women in the group, and I know our contact would share any excess with others in the brigade. I sent you mailing info in FReepmail.
Here, this week has been challenging. To start the week I learned that the team replacing us would not be getting to their training site in October, but rather November. Originally, the commander promised my team that they would be back by christmas. I wish they had not done that, because it is not something you can guarantee. In order for that to happen everything would have to happen just right and that rarely does in the army. To many variables that you have no control over. So I got the job of telling my team that the Army was not going to live up to its promise of when they would be back. For most of us, it is disappointing but not that big of a deal. Last year for christmas I was in Afghanistan, so I kind of expected it. I mean we would all really rather be home for christmas. But I have two soldiers, SFC XXXXXXXX who is the mother of two small children and CPT XXXXXXXX who is the father of 5 kids. I know it upset both of them, because their families knew of the promise that they would be home by christmas. SFC XXXXXXXX excused herself and later I could tell she had been crying. That's the kind of thing they don't teach you how to handle in any of the leadership courses for the Army. What can you say. So I just laid it out for them. That we had a job to do here until we were relieved. I needed them focused on that job so that we could go home and hopefully not have to come back. To get up each morning and try to figure out what they can do to help win this war so someday soon all of us would go home and no one else would have to come here and do this job. They seemed to have recovered well and gotten back to work, but still I know it is hard on them.
Then we had a rocket impact close to some of my team members. It was a lucky shot, but still a little unnerving. I was just getting ready to go for a run when I heard the explosion and the trailer rock. I walked outside to see where it impacted and saw a large plume of smoke and could see the beginnings of a fire. From my angle I was not sure where it landed, so I decided to walk a little closer to see where it impacted and to check on my soldiers. ...... Unfortunately, there were others who weren't so lucky, one soldier was killed and 7 wounded. It was a reminder that this place is dangerous and death can come for you anywhere at any time. I don't think anything we could have done would have saved this soldiers life. It was a direct hit. So you have to live your life ready willing and able to meet your maker. Then you can live your life unafraid. My biggest challenge has been to instill that courage in my soldiers. That they cannot allow themselves to be intimidated by thugs and criminals. .............
OK, we'll go with 12 filled ones for sure, and a few more if I can get another troop involved. I was thinking the girls could get some small things like bags of hard candy (not individually wrapped), sunflower seeds, disposable razors, hand lotion, chapstick, and if I can swing a discount, some Thorlo socks which are just awesome for wearing with boots! How about I plan to make half for men and half for women? I can get some little bottles of scented shower gels for the ladies and women's razors. We'll have some fun with this, and I'm planning to send them directly to Kirkuk; McLynnan sent me the address.
Those are great ideas!!!!! I will go work on this tomorrow. I was thinking the chapstick (I buy 4 or so sticks every time I am at walmart, building me a little box now). Also have some of the individually wrapped Wet Ones.
Ladies you are awesome!!!
I am so sorry to say I can't afford to fully fill my stockings :( I may be able to pick up some things but not much. My first grader has volunteered to make pictures but I am sure our troops would love more then that.
I meant to ping you too!
See next post up.
Well, you have 45... I have 25... total of 70 between us... I bet I can at least swing some candy for that amt... will put in my box for use in your stockings. Anyone else that can help with stocking stuffers for 45 stockings?
Grrrr .. the place I ordered the Christmas tree from mailed it to my house instead of to the Troops
Well .. I'm off to the Post Office to have this mailed off to the troops
There are 3 female soldiers that I know about, one is named Nicole.
Thanks for the info on the Playstation1 replacement games you sent to Kirkuk. I put them on the master list.
Cheers!
We have a contact now at BAGHDAD!
I will be starting a new thread for this battalion, but right now, could whoever had volunteered to send a VCR get in contact with me.
This unit has DVD players, but according to the contact: "I haven't seen any VCR's and I know we don't have any Play Stations or XBoxes that belong to the unit.
Also, anyone who wanted to send a Christmas tree and didn't get to, here's your chance.
Also, anyone who wants to spring for a Playstation or has intact XBox or Nintendo, please contact me.
They are now currently purusing the lists of movies and books and CD's and computer games we sent to the other bases and will be letting me know what they want for their library (they don't have a library now, just an empty, half-built day room).
I am going to have to gently break to them the bad news that we can't send women....
LOL.
God bless you Patricia. I need to write more letters after the election. Right now I'm up to my ears in the RNC and a few other things.
God bless all our troops!
I am going to do letters for Christmas right after the election, and will ping everybody and their aunt for that thread.
I'll write letters and send some $$. I've been feeling ten times guilty I haven't written lately.
bttt
BUMP and bookmark
2. I've got one Playstation 2 left in the slush pile here. No games, but I can get some if you can find out what they'd like in Baghdad.
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