sending these out for Easter.
Posted on 01/21/2006 3:06:06 PM PST by patriciaruth
Welcome to the 2006 thread of the Merry Band of Patriots!
Our grassroots, volunteer group of troop supporters has been sending care packages to servicemen and women in war zones since the summer of 2001 when we began by sending VHS movies and Snickers candy bars to the 101st Airborne and then later the 10th Mountain at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo.
This last year we sent a couple hundred care packages to troops at Baghdad, Kirkuk, Mosul and Tal Afar in Iraq, at Bagram in Afghanistan, at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo and to our wounded at Landstuhl Regional Hospital in Germany.
Our specialty in the past has been movies, books, snacks, holiday decorations and some appliances like DVD players and Playstations, and we have sent hundreds of movies to various bases.
This last year we had 6 main projects in addition to the usual care packages:
1. We sent over 80 state-of-the-art Petzl headlamps to our adopted company of Stryker Brigade Combat Team at Mosul and 35 to an MI unit at Kirkuk. This was probably the most appreciated item we've ever sent, thanks to a project that got off the ground due to the work of Spanaway Lori, HannaUSA , and Oatka and 3/4th of which was funded by my optometrist.
2. There was the Personal Care items "Emergency" Airlift to Bagram air base in June and July. (mathluv, nina0113, Coop, JustAmy, airborne, iceskater, Tunehead54, jtill participated.)
3. The 4th of July Party Decorations and Snacks blowout for all our adopted units. (pictures at posts 357, 358, 368 of our 2005 thread)
4. Operation Popcorn in August and September for the Engineers at Baghdad (iceskater, mathluv, SENClander, Coop, Abigail Adams, Ros42, Ican'tbelieve it, jtill and ebay's mshoponline sent over 600 bags of microwave popcorn, while omegatoo's were lost in the shuffle of her evacuating New Orleans prior to the Katrina flooding)
5. The End of Summer Luau for psyops at Baghdad in September and October (MJY1288 mailed off the party things we bought at eBay and Amazon with contributions from fanfan, kattracks, jtill, Just mythoughts, Ros42, Pig Rigger, MJY1288 and Kitty Mittens. Pictures at post 809 of the 2005 thread)
6. Halloween candy and movies for the Troops (kattracks, SENClander, Ican'tbelieveit, Abigail Adams mailed boxes in addition to the ones I sent with donations)
7. The Amazing Christmas and New Years Deluge, when it rained packages at all our adopted bases, especially at Tal Afar.
Special mentions go to Teams captains: mathluv (Engineers Baghdad), Ros42 (psyops Baghdad), CAluvdubya (Tal Afar), Abigail Adams (Stryker at Mosul), VeniVidiVici (MI at Kirkuk), nina0113 (Bagram, Afghanistan). Fairy Godmother Dept. (kattracks), Christmas Trees and Christmas Cards R Us (daybreakcoming), Shipping Dept (MJY1288), DVD Recording Dept (MJY1288), Webhosting and Photoshopping Dept (New Perspective), Daddy Warbucks Dept (my optometrist).
Among the many care packages sent by our troop supporters are these projects.
Boxes of school supplies for Iraqi children were sent by mathluv, Ican'tbelieveit, and my mother to Operation Crayon in Kirkuk.
Some members (CAluvdubya, angelsonmyside, 4integrity, ebay's susiemck) helped fill requests for Western Movies from an MI unit at Kirkuk (now home, movies still there) and Clint Eastwood and Adam Sandler movies from Fox Battery at Kirkuk (now home, movies still there).
bjcintennesse made many dozens of cooling neck scarves and sent them to pysops and Engineers at Baghdad.
DAVEY CROCKETT mailed boxesful of car magazines to a couple units.
A copy of the hardback book about the first year of the Revolutionary War (1776 by David McCullough) was sent to most of our units by DrDeb, iceskater, SwatTeam, and Just a Cowgirl.
Ros42 and mscht adopted a unit at Camp Ramadi for Christmas. (picture at 1195 of the 2005 thread).
CheneyChick and daybreakcoming saw to it that some care packages went to a remnant of our troops still in Kosovo.
Daybreakcoming's sister helped the staffers of the Louisiana legislature send about 8 boxes with around 32 bags of Christmas candy to Tal Afar.
Our many generous donors of checks, cash, money orders, Paypal, shopping cards, phone cards, etc are listed in the Accounting posts in our 2005 thread which can be linked from the post below.
We were surprised and emotional when we received back from our adopted units some of the items pictured below, and a big thank you to jkphoto for taking the pictures and webhosting them.
Well, ok then. Five boxes of butter lovers popcorn have been ordered and should be enroute shortly to go with the movies. Each box containes 24 popcorn bags, for a total of 120 bags.
Sorry to hear you had the flu, Patty, and I'm glad you are on the mend!
I have been sick for the last 4 weeks with two really bad colds, the worst I've ever had. I am still making my way through the backside of the second one.
I did get a nice Christmas card and then later a letter from our contact at Ramadi. I haven't felt well enough to write back to him yet.
God bless our troops!
APO for Ramadi is no longer good.
You can email him. I'll give you the email in FReepmail in case you don't have it.
We're all crawling around lately. Makes me think maybe I should send a care package of OTC cold, cough and allergy meds to Baghdad.
Get as much rest as you can.
Cheers!
Here's praying that President Bush has finally found his General Grant.
Petreaus addresses Coalition, Iraqi partners
Saturday, 10 February 2007
To the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Civilians of Multi-National Force-Iraq:
We serve in Iraq at a critical time. The war here will soon enter its fifth year. A decisive moment approaches. Shoulder-to-shoulder with our Iraqi comrades, we will conduct a pivotal campaign to improve security for the Iraqi people. The stakes could not be higher.
Our task is crucial. Security is essential for Iraq to build its future. Only with security can the Iraqi government come to grips with the tough issues it confronts and develop the capacity to serve its citizens. The hopes of the Iraqi people and the coalition countries are with us.
The enemies of Iraq will shrink at no act, however barbaric. They will do all that they can to shake the confidence of the people and to convince the world that this effort is doomed. We must not underestimate them.
Together with our Iraqi partners, we must defeat those who oppose the new Iraq. We cannot allow mass murderers to hold the initiative. We must strike them relentlessly. We and our Iraqi partners must set the terms of the struggle, not our enemies. And together we must prevail.
The way ahead will not be easy. There will be difficult times in the months to come. But hard is not hopeless, and we must remain steadfast in our effort to help improve security for the Iraqi people. I am confident that each of you will fight with skill and courage, and that you will remain loyal to your comrades-in-arms and to the values our nations hold so dear.
In the end, Iraqis will decide the outcome of this struggle. Our task is to help them gain the time they need to save their country. To do that, many of us will live and fight alongside them. Together, we will face down the terrorists, insurgents, and criminals who slaughter the innocent. Success will require discipline, fortitude, and initiative - qualities that you have in abundance.
I appreciate your sacrifices and those of your families. Now, more than ever, your commitment to service and your skill can make the difference between victory and defeat in a very tough mission.
It is an honor to soldier again with the members of the Multi-National Force - Iraq. I know that wherever you serve in this undertaking you will give your all. In turn, I pledge my commitment to our mission and every effort to achieve success as we help the Iraqis chart a course to a brighter future.
Godspeed to each of you and to our Iraqi comrades in this crucial endeavor.
DAVID H. PETRAEUS
General, United States Army
Commanding
"I received something in the mail that brings a little lump in the throat and makes the eyes blink a little. As you recall, I sent some items to Afghanistan in December. Today I received this:
OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM 06-08 AFGHANISTAN
This Certificate of Appreciation is presented to
(Enterprise)
of ____________ in recognition of his outstanding support for the soldiers deployed with the Psychological Operations Task Force - Afghanistan, Combined Joing Task Force - 76, Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan."
It was signed by the Command Sergeant Major and the Commander of the 12th PSYOP Battalion.
God bless our troops, God bless them all.
hello, so is it absolutely forbidden to send tobacco? my brother is in bagdad and i was going to ship out a care package.... i am also in the military so it will be going from military postal to military postal...
Please let me know
tobacco products can't be sent by groups. I have heard of people sending them, but I don't know if most of it or only some of it is confiscated before arriving. The only thing we sent military to military was TV series DVD sets being swapped.
Restrictions when sending by USPS priority mail from the States are listed around posts 30, 31, and 49.
Say a big hello to your brother and God bless and keep you both.
Let me know if you or your brother needs anything.
Cheers!
Patty
Due to flu, I've been delayed in posting the 2007 thread.
Our contact at Bagram, Afghanistan is on her way home now. Her husband remains for another month or two.
Enterprise and iceskater have been sending boxes to the NPTT unit at FOB Falcon in Baghdad. Iceskater sent Smallville, Seasons 1-4 that jtill financed. Enterprise sent some dark action movies, so I got some comedies. He also sent a boatload of popcorn.
General Petraeus' speech on assuming command in Iraq is at post 1724.
Mailed February 17, 2007, to NPTT at FOB Falcon in Baghdad, 2 boxes
Box 1, insured $98.35, postage $10.40
7 DVD movies:
Click (Adam Sandler)
Deep Impact (Tea Leoni, Morgan Freeman, Robert Duvall, Elijah Wood) --not a comedy
Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark (Harrison Ford)
Indiana Jones Temple of Doom (Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw)
Indiana Jones The Last Crusade (Harrison Ford, Sean Connery)
There’s Something about Mary (Carmen Diaz, Ben Stiller)
Wedding Crashers uncorked (Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn)
1 music CD: Daughtry (Chris Daughtry)
2 bags 28 oz. tropical trail mix
2 newspapers:
Washington Times weekly Feb 5
L.A. Times front page section Feb 13
3 Tic Tac
2 packs 12 Orbit spearmint sugarless gum
Box 2, insured $85.09, postage $10.40
1 TV series boxed set DVD’s:
Smallville, Season 5 (Tom Welling, Kristin Kreuk)
3 DVD movies:
Airplane! (Leslie Neilson, Lloyd Bridges)
Dodgeball (Vince Vaughn)
Shanghai Knights (Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson)
1 book: Radical Son (David Horowitz)
2 bags 28 oz tropical trail mix
6 packs 12 Orbit spearmint sugarless gum
3 magazines:
Sports Illustrated, Feb 19 (Year of Freshmen, NASCAR preview)
Weekly Standard, Feb 12 (on Barack Obama, Fall of a Writer, Rise of a Pol)
Reader’s Digest, March 2007
I sent my Radical Son to NPTT at FOB Falcon. Please send yours when you are finished to FOB Stryker at Baghdad. It took me a couple weeks to read it, so I don't expect yours to go out for a while.
We got Smallville sent to FOB Falcon, and my next assignment is to get them the Scrubs series.
Cheers!
BUMP
I have some (2 or 3 boxes) personal-type stuff I need to send. I have not been involved for awhile (for personal and health reasons), and feel the need to get back in to show our troops we are not like the dims.
.
NEVER FORGET
..BRUCE CRANDALL = Medal of Honor..
http://www.ArmchairGeneral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48215
NEVER FORGET
.
Hi Patty,
I'm sorry you've been ill. Hope you're feeling better now.
I can send 2 seasons of Scrubs. Freepmail me and let me know to whom and which 2 seasons and I will order them today.
take care
Do you know if it is permittable to send silly sting???
How about foot care products
Found a site online just by yahooing / googling
"free gifts for soldiers" which offers foot care products ( 2 for 1 ) and one that adds the option of making a donation to any silly string to save soldiers lives effort
If you have not heard about the silly string and how it is saving lives -- it explained on the site
sending these out for Easter.
I've got a new contact for Bagram - I emailed the old one & asked. I'll send it to you Tuesday.
Dear Nina,
Abigail was just asking about replacement units. I'm especially happy because I just bought a color printer and set it up and fussed around getting the pictures the right size for the proposed memorial plaque for Bagram.
They are very nice pictures and when they finally printed out, I wept. Other people will weep when they see these beautiful souls lost to this earth due to their sacrifices for our country and for Afghanistan.
The proposed plaque has been cleared by the families and now goes to the funeral home for proposed treatments and estimates on cost. Hopefully it won't be too many weeks more before it is finally rendered in metal.
Having to move Mom in here really set the timetable back, but it is finally coming together.
nina0133 has a new APO for Bagram. They can always used personal type stuff.
Oh, Great!!
Our second NPTT unit, the one at FOB Falcon is the one that I want to send the Scrubs series, too.
Please let SW6906 know when you mail the first two seasons. I will be getting seasons 3 and 4 at the end of the month. And he can then start sending the new episodes to them.
FREEPmail of the APO coming....
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