Posted on 02/19/2005 12:40:42 AM PST by patriciaruth
Time for a new thread!
Our Merry Band of Patriots has seen a psy-ops unit at Bagram, Afghanistan, help educate voters in Afghanistan and come home successfully, while we supported them and special forces in the field by sending over 100 movies and many packages of snacks and toiletries and Hallowe'en candy. A Christmas tree and decorations (Daybreakcoming) and stockings (Ican'tbelieveit) and cards and over 400 candy canes were sent for their follow-on unit, and a box with movies and magazines and misc is just beginning to fill for their next care package. The movies and books we sent previously went into the Special Forces library there.
We've seen Beast Battery at Kirkuk, Iraq, through till their deployment home, sending them over 100 movies and dozens of books and a microwave and DVD/VCR player (from arjay) and many big boxes of snacks. Plus a huge wave of goodies was organized by McLynnan for Christmas in Kirkuk (2 prelit trees, ornaments, Santa suit, many stockings with stuffers, many cards, and a couple thousand candy canes to share out with all the forces there).
We've supported the 411th Engineers at Baghdad in 2004 with about 70 movies and several dozen books, a Playstation 2 and a Nintendo console with a couple dozen games (from asgardshill and ican'tbelieveit), a 4 foot Christmas tree and ornaments and boxes of snacks and many cards and 600 candy canes. In the next couple months we will be bidding them Godspeed as they return to their homebase in Hawaii.
We've sent over 50 movies, a DVD/VCR player (from arjay), and a dozen and a half books to an MI unit near Kirkuk, plus some Christmas decorations and stocking stuffers, and many cards and 156 candy canes. They have mostly left for home now and we just sent a package with more movies to their follow-on unit.
Also we have sent some packages to an Aviation unit at Balad, Iraq and to an Infantry Medics unit, and a small Christmas package each to another AVN unit and an MP unit.
Stryker Infantry company formerly at Fallujah and now at Mosul since November has been the major focus of our care packages these past months. All of Stryker at Mosul has taken fire, and our adopted company has suffered a KIA and some soldiers with severe injuries.
Early on we sent food items (mostly power bars and dried fruit and nuts) then Christmas stockings stuffed with goodies and many cards and 200 candy canes, and since Christmas have begun sending movies. They recently received a DVD/VCR player (from arjay) and with the movies just mailed today their collection will total about 75 movies and a dozen books.
And all this happened because our grassroots volunteer group began forming in the early summer of 2001 to send care packages to Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo, when the 101st Airborne and then the 10th Mountain were there.
The contents of packages just mailed will be listed in post below.
I still can't believe he was here, in my house, eating my food, sitting in my chair, standing on our porch hugging me goodbye. I wish I could have bottled it up!
What a thrill! I'm so happy for you!!
Email from Kirkuk, MI unit, just arrived:
"Patricia, we have received most of the ten boxes you have sent. #7 is the only one that has not arrived as of yet.
We did receive the DVD player and the Headlamps. Thank you so very much.
I know the guys really enjoy all of the things that you do for us over here. Thank you from the **** [unit]
V/R "Tony"
BUMP!!! Prayers continue for our loved ones doing the GOOD work.
I received the Petzl in the mail. I'm attaching a picture so that you can see that I have put it to good use (I'm the ugly one on the right). I love it! I did email and send a post card to Patty. Thanks for all the support. Take care and stay safe.
God bless you all!
Vic
OOOOPS!! Forgot to ping you and thank you for hosting the pictures!!!!! Thanks!!
Glad to help. :)
Check out Post #245
SW6906 and New Perspective have posted picutes of a couple soldiers at Mosul with their new headlamps!
And a personal thank you to you three especially for pushing the headlamps idea and for finding a distributor to buy from!
None of this would have happened without your jumping on it.
97 headlamps have gone to Iraq because of your lining this up and all those who heeded your call and donated.
Thanks, brings a tear of joy.
Is "our soldier" in your picture in process of inventorying captured munitions and weapons prior to destruction?
I hope if that cannon is ours that it works better than it looks.
Just onw of the many munitions captured by the Strykers. They were eventually destroyed.
Patriciaruth...Glad to see the headlamp thing is a success. Congratulations on a job well done and thank you for all your efforts on behalf of our troops.
That is so great. Thank you and all your contacts for making this happen. Our guys deserve the best we can give them along with our daily prayers.
Have you heard anything from the replacements for the Baghdad battalion? Is there anything they want us to send to them? Just wondering.
P.S. Am I still on your ping list? I think I missed a couple. Thanks!
Just scroll up for pings you didn't see.
I have a name for Baghdad and was hoping to send them something for the Fourth of July.
Funds are a problem as we have been using up a lot of contributions to buy headlamps and send requested movies to MI in Kirkuk.
I contributed more myself last year than I can afford to continue this year.
Would you like to get in touch with Baghdad and find out if they'd like anything special for the 4th? I have been accumulating decorations from eBay and some local stores, so that is covered, but don't have any idea of any treats or other items that they might like.
Thanks for inquiring!
I did some searching and found this link with photos from the replacement Baghdad battalion:
http://www.92engineers.com/
Pretty cool!
Mo1 just mailed out the 99 boxes of Girl Scout cookies in 5 cartons yesterday to our adopted company of Stryker bridgade near Mosul.
THANK YOU, Mo, for mailing! and THANK YOU, Brad, for arranging the donation.
I'll let you all know and ping everyone when I get word about the cookies arriving.
Great job!!
2 Emails from MI at Kirkuk! And one from Mosul!
KIRKUK:
Patricia, we have received most of the ten boxes you have sent. #7 is the only one that has not arrived as of yet. We did receive the DVD player and the Headlamps.
Thank you so very much. I know the guys really enjoy all of the things that you do for us over here.
Thank you from the ***th MICO.
V/R 1SG ***
Patty, yes we did [get box 7] and thank you very much. The new DVD player works very well. Those lights are very nice. Thank you for all you do. ****
MOSUL (airborne's nephew):
Hey there DR. Things are going pretty good over here for the time being. lol You guys are amazing!!!! Still can't thank you enough for everything your doing for us over here.
99 boxes of girl scouts cookies....yummy the guys would love that I will check for when they arrive so I can relay to you.
Headlamps still tring to get a count they passed them out to the soldiers quick so I will try to get back with you on that one really fast.
Yes I recieved the packages from you with my headlamp in there. You should also see the banner that Uncle Chris had made for the Company and one for me by the boy scout troop there in PA ....it is awesome and hanging up in my room. =)=)=)
July 4th decorations should be great. I can't wait to see them
Popcorn.........WOW that's alot of popcorn...LOL Thanks it will come in very handy.
I love the JOKE OF THE DAY..........LOL =)=)=)
I find it hard to believe that all this is b/c of me and I refuse to believe it b/c it never is just me. It is the men with whom I serve with and the men that work for me who make things happen over here. Thank You so much. I will continue to check on all the stuff that comes in and give you updates when I get the information.
Send my best to all the people that are doing this for us. We are eternally grateful.
Always, SSG ****
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