CARE PACKAGES for our Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, 2008

Our grassroots group of troop supporters started in the summer of 2001 by sending VHS movies and Snickers candy bars to the 101st Airborne and later the 10th Mountain at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo. We are not an organized charity as no one of us has the time or energy to do all that paperwork, and any contributions made are not tax deductible.

Our specialty in the past has been movies, books, snacks, personal care items, holiday decorations and some appliances like DVD players, microwaves, and Playstations; and we have sent many hundreds of movies to various bases. Normally we adopt a whole unit and send care packages to a contact in that unit who distributes the goodies to all in the unit. When our adopted units rotate back stateside, they leave the items which are not consumable for the use of their follow-on unit. Thus we have helped build up entertainment libraries throughout the war zones.

In 2006 we entered our 6th year of sending care packages to our troops in war zones We adopted the follow-on PSYOP company at Bagram air base in Afghanistan and a follow-on Stryker Brigade company at Mosul in Iraq. We also adopted a new company of 141st Signal battalion in the 1st Armored Division that started at Tal Afar and was soon moved to Ramadi as a tip of the spear there in 2006, just after another adopted unit (Old Sarge’s unit) at Ramadi left. Here are a couple emails from Chris that say it all for what they went through there.

“The bad news is that my team has been activated and now has a mission in downtown Ramadi, the most dangerous place in Iraq.” –June 15, 2006

[It didn't help that a reporter with a major news service helped the terrorists spot their RPG trajectories by publishing that one had fallen 20 feet short, resulting the next day in an RPG killing one of our contact's fellow soldiers.]

“Last week another soldier and I were at our communication trucks when an RPG hit a humvee right outside our compound wall about 10 feet away. It rocked the trucks. We both opened the doors to our trucks to run inside when a 2nd RPG flew over the wall, through our camouflage net, bounced off the top of our trucks and hit the ground exploding right in front of us. I was closest, about 2 feet away. The blast threw us back into the trucks. The other guy only had his glasses knocked off. He got right back up and ran inside. I don't remember the exact details but I remember the blast throwing me back inside the truck and into the signal equipment. I think I was stunned and dazed because I sat there for a few minutes before I regained situational awareness and got the hell out of there. I suffered a concussions and some hearing loss.” –August 10, 2006

A lot of prayers were said for our guys at Ramadi, which is now a relatively peaceful city under Anbar Awakening, and our contacts are safely home.

In 2006 we were also glued to a couple companies of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team out of Fort Richardson in Alaska. (Most of the Brigade bases at Ft Wainwright.) Our adopted company in an SBCT the year before had been at Fallujah 2004 and then met evil face to face and endured some horrific times at Mosul (2004-2005). They witnessed atrocities to the civilian population by the terrorists and they experienced IED attacks and the mess hall bombing at FOB Marez that left some of our company very severely injured with one KIA.

Their follow-on unit and a sister company that we also adopted were faced with pacifying the towns along the Syrian border. In 2006 they moved out from Mosul into Ft Talafar, FOB Heider, COP Rawah, and other locations and brought a return to sanity for the locals from the murderous reign of radical and vicious terrorists enforcing their idea of Sharia law.

Alpha company of 4-23 infantry regiment of SBCT was out in the sand in tents at COP Rawah in the late winter and into the blistering summer heat with few amenities, so we concentrated on sending them packages.

In May of 2006, because I believed our adopted 172nd Stryker units and our 1AD unit at Tal Afar were going to be in an upcoming major offensive, I urged our troop supporters to send a great many care packages for the Fourth of July.

The Merry Band of Patriots responded by sending over a hundred care packages to our adopted units for the Fourth of July. More detail will be in one of the first posts of this new thread.

As feared, just as their tour ended and they were getting on planes to go back to Alaska, our two adopted 172nd SBCT companies had their tours extended and were turned around and sent to Baghdad in 120 degree heat. They pretty much arrived with just the clothes on their backs, having given away to their follow-on unit or mailed home most of their “comfort” and recreational items. They had to beg back their Stryker vehicles and unpack and reassemble and resight their weapons. ‘Stryker at the special location’ (FOB Heider) went, too; and all were reunited again at FOB Stryker at Baghdad. Some 200 plus of them returned from Alaska.

We did an emergency mailing of packages to help reequip them with odds and ends, like surge protectors, flexible cold packs, pillows, sheets, soccer ball inflators, drink mix, DVD movies and boxed TV series. kattracks, bjcintennessee, daybreakcoming, DAVEY CROCKET, JaneAustin, Just A Nobody, SwatTeam, JoyjoyfromNJ, Enterprise, MJY1288, norton, JustAmy, Abigail Adams, DrDeb, Ros42, my optometrist, SENClander, patriciaruth all sent packages.

In return a few of us got T-shirts from the Apache Renegades (Juan’s Stryker unit), with their mascot [skull with Indian war bonnet] over a map of Iraq with this inscription:
OIF
Aug 05 – Dec 06
Mosul Rawah Baghdad
“STRIKE FEAR”

We adopted a new unit in the Fall of 2006, an NPTT unit (National Police Transition Team) at Baghdad, on the recommended of Juan in the 172nd SBCT, because his brother Andy was a member of the unit. (Another brother was serving in Afghanistan. What a family!)

We also sent 19 packages to Kirkuk for Operation Crayon summer 2006 with school supplies for the local kids.
We communicated with and sent some packages to a few wounded warriors at a Fisher House for transitional treatment of those just discharged from Walter Reed.
We sent some packages to Irbil where some MI soldiers were liaisoning with servicemen from Republic of Korea, and some to a military intelligence unit at Kirkuk.
I sent a few packages to a Marine from my town who was near Baghdad.

2006 had its victories.
Zarqawi was killed at Mosul in June and Saddam was executed in Baghdad in December. But the bombing of the Golden Mosque at Samarra by al Qaida early in 2006 sparked escalating sectarian violence that almost derailed everything we had accomplished. Anbar Awakening (where the Iraqis in Anbar Province decided the al Qaida types were evil and decided to band with the Americans to get rid of them) and the Surge in 2007 put Iraq back on the freedom track and our soldiers closer to seeing a victory for their heroic and costly efforts in Iraq.

2006 had its sorrows.
2006 was a difficult year for me due to personal and family health problems and the beginning of kattrack's final illness, and thus I never posted a new 2007 thread with a summary of 2006. The advantage of the delay is that I was able to include much more detail about what was going on with our adopted units in 2006.

kattracks was our Fairy Godmother Dept for our soldiers in harm's way. In the first 9 months of 2006 she sent at least 92 care packages, many of them large. 7 went to Camp Ramadi and included an large inflatable wading pool, 9 went to Stryker at Mosul. 23 went to Tal Afar for general distribution to all the units there. 11 went to A company of Stryker at COP Rawah and then 11 more went to them after they were redeployed to Baghdad; 2 went to C company of Stryker at Ft Talafar and 11 more after they redeployed to Baghdad. 9 went to Kirkuk for Operation Crayon, and 9 went to Bagram air field, Afghanistan.
kattracks was given the precious gift of the Rapture in May, 2007, and we were left to carry on without her.

A few other special projects in 2006 that caught my eye as I was counting the packages from kattracks:
18 boxes of school supplies were sent in 2006 to Operation Crayon in Kirkuk by Coop, kattracks, Jane Austen, patriciaruth, my mother, Just A Nobody, Enterprise, DrDeb)

Two framed quit claim deeds to Zarqawi’s safe house were donated by doug from upland (together with copy of the ad on eBay) and sent to MI at Kirkuk and to 1AD at Ramadi.

Christmas, 2006, packages went to
Bagram (from Nina0113, Enterprise, daybreakcoming, airborne)
Baghdad:
10th Mountain: (from patriciaruth)
NPTT (from SENClander, daybreakcoming, with 11 Petzl headlamps sent directly)
a local Marine near Baghdad (patriciaruth)
4th ID north of Baghdad. (from patriciaruth requested by Abigail Adams)
Mosul: Stryker that was redeployed to Baghdad (from jtill, a Santa suit from patriciaruth, LittleBlogSpot, Freedom is eternally right, SwatTeam)
Ramadi: (from jtill, fanfan, SwatTeam, daybreakcoming and her sister, Merlinator, Abigail Adams, Enterprise, Just A Nobody)
Wounded:
Walter Reed (from Enterprise)
Mologne House for recovering wounded (from patriciaruth)

daybreakcoming sent pre-lit Christmas trees to Ramadi and Mosul, and her tree to Stryker at Mosul ended up at FOB Stryker in Baghdad as they were redeployed there just before Christmas. SENClander sent a pre-lit Christmas tree to NPTT at Baghdad.

Many care packages went out throughout 2006 which are not listed, like all those nina0133 sent to Bagram; but I have decided to cut the effort to list everything now so I can manage to get a new thread posted.

In 2007 we sent out over 71 care packages to Afghanistan, over 105 to Stryker Brigade Combat Team units in the Surge to pacify Baghdad and environs, over 83 to NPTT units at Baghdad, and 4 to Balad for an estimate of over 263 packages sent to our adopted units in the war zones.

. The Surge meant our guys were on walk about more than they were at home base -- looking for and finding AI (al Qaida in Iraq) as well as enough caches of weapons to carpet California.

Afghanistan heated up and we ended the year 2007 sending a few care packages to a group holed up on high mountain ledge near the Pakistan border and scoring 400 plus fire fights with Taliban and al Qaida trying to infiltrate back into Afghanistan.

Last year 2007 we grieved at the loss of troop supporters kattracks, kayak, 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub, GretchenM (formerly GretchenEE), and the husbands of jtill and SENClander. We also continued to miss COB1 (AKA Texas Cowboy). God holds them all now in the palm of His infinite hand.

CREDITS:
AFGHANISTAN 2007:
BAGRAM Air Field near Kabul:
SENClander's sister sent 3 care packages in January to 315th PSYOP unit just before they left, and we [nina0133, Ros42, Abigail Adams, Just Amy, Jim Robinson, jtill, Paperdoll, PigRigger, manna, patriciaruth] sent 61 care packages (5 were large) to A Co, 13th PSYOP who took over and who have now departed early this year. These packages included 55 bags of beef jerky given to a Special Forces unit there from airborne, norton, Kitty Mittens and my mother. SW6906 sent most episodes of 3 TV series.

BATTLE Company on Pakistan-Afghan border:
Early in December 2007 we sent them 7 care packages for Christmas:
5 boxes of Hickory Farms cheeses (with 37.5 oz of cheese in each) from Enterprise and patriciaruth, a box with 17 packs with 1/2 lb of beef jerky from 4Godsoloved...Hegave, and a box with 14 Hickory Farms 14 oz beef sausages from by cshnorthcarolina.

Email to maine-iac7 from her grandson: “We ate all of that cheese and meat, it was amazing. We really pushed through all of it fast. awesome. I can’t find the box to tell who sent it - if you know, PLEASE thank them and let them know how great it was! Best food in some time! It means a lot to us that people back home know we are here. We;re so isolated that it really is awesome to know. It means a lot to all of us.”

IRAQ 2007:
In 2007 we [[nina0133, SwatTeam, manna, jtill, patriciaruth, Enterprise, Ros42, Abigail Adams, mathluv, Just Amy, Jim Robinson] sent 66 care packages to our adopted Stryker unit at FOB Stryker at Baghdad up to their departure at the end of the summer --including a microwave [Enterprise], a Nintendo Wii [my optometrist], and 210 blue ice gel packs [SwatTeam and jtill].

We sent 39 care packages [deadhead, SENClander, JustAmy, Jim Robinson, Paperdoll, Abigail Adams, patriciaruth, 4Godsoloved...Hegave], 18 Petzl headlamps [Enterprise, jtill, manna, PigRigger, Kitty Mittens, MEG33] and a Christmas tree with ornaments [mass55th] to the current Stryker unit at Baqubah in Diyala Province, after we made contact in November.

To 3 NPTT (National Police Transition Team) units in Baghdad (at Camp Liberty) we [SENclander, patriciaruth, mass55th, Yaelle] sent 56 care packages including 22 Petzl headlamps [MEG33, SwatTeam, norton, Enterprise, jtill] and a Christmas tree [MJY1288] and ornaments. To one of these units (to Juan's brother Andy) we [Enterprise, Tunehead54, patriciaruth, my mother] also sent 12 boxes of school supplies for him to distribute to local school children.

To an NPTT unit at FOB Falcon near Baghdad that left in September we [patriciaruth, iceskater, Enterprise] sent 15 care packages and SW6906 sent most or all episodes of 5 TV series.

BALAD, Iraq 2007: 4 care packages sent for Christmas to mystery-ak's husband (doing another tour of duty).

Our many generous donors of checks, cash, money orders, Paypal, shopping cards, phone cards, etc are listed in the Accounting posts toward the end of our 2006 thread (which also covers 2007) and which can be linked from the post below. Many of our members are now trusted to mail their packages directly.

Hi Patty,

I am wondering if our packages will be arriving in time for Bagram's Christmas party, I sure do hope so. We sent 3 boxes. Hopefully they will arrive in time. We did insure them this time.

Christmas Blessings to all

Colleen

I think your boxes already arrived last week when our contact was referring to several days when they got a lot of boxes each day.

Any new emails that come in will be posted as soon as I can.
The ones already posted seem like they are all pretty excited there.

Email from BAGRAM, Afghanistan, follows!

Meanwhile, I have not heard from our NPTT unit at Baghdad since November 9, and ask you all to say a Christmas prayer with me for their safety and wellbeing.

***
Hi
... just wanted to say thank you and all the Merry Band Of Patriots, Around 10 packages have been recieved and passed out to everyone here. The movies have been placed in our MWR area and are being enjoyed by all the troops. Third rock from the sun was a big hit. We wish all of you a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Also I will be moving around a bit so may not be here all the time. If you would like you can send any future packages to [delete]
God bless all of you and thanks. P.S. Im afraid our guys are going to get fat on all the candy. They wil have to do more PT.

On Christmas Eve, I received a beautiful Christmas card from our contact in Bagram, Afghanistan, what a wonderful surprise. Hoping they had a great Christmas party. Wishing you all a Happy, Healthy and Blessed New Year.

God Bless our Military

Blessings to all

~Colleen~

Email from BAGRAM, Afghanistan!

Hello and happy new year, You can send it in my name and I will give it to Chaplain ***.Looks like Im going to be here at BAF for awhile after all.
...Had been hoping to go out with one of the other teams but commander wants me to stay here. Hope all of you in the merry band had a wonderful Christmas. The golf game for the wii is here and everyone enjoyed all the goodies, third rock from the sun was a great hit with the guys also. Thanks for all you do

*****
Mailed January 2, 2009, to Bagram with donations from Kitty Mittens and myself and pledge from jtill, 1 box 12x12
Insured $276.61, postage $16.20 with delivery confirmation.
1 Nintendo Wii (all contents of box it came in)
5 Weekly Standard magazines
3 toys from raisin bran cereal box

Hi Patty
I have a box almost ready to send to Bagram with the following items:
four books by John Sanford
Rules of Prey
Shadow Prey
Eyes of Prey
Silent Prey
the following hand knitted articles
1 pair gloves
1 pair boot sox
2 helmet liners
4 watch caps
Will finish the final cap tonight.
And hope to get it out tomorrow or Monday.

Email from BAGRAM, Afghanistan!

Hi Patty...
Wanted to let you know the game [Nintendo Wii] arrived today, there are a lot of happy young soldiers here that are ready to play.

Apparently it comes with 5 differant games to play. Ill let them figure it out and relay any request they have to you. I wouldnt know the top from the bottom. Never was a game player myself. Except for chess and a couple of other board games. They tell me Im a dinosaur, but what does anyone under 50 know.

Their a good group of kids,and Im glad they have something to occupy what little free time thay have. It gets pretty montonous around here somtimes. Thank all the group for us what you do is very kind. I wish I could tell you whats going on here but Im not allowed to go into much detail.Let me say this though, we have a great army, and if leaders in washington will let us we can finish this job.

well I’ll close for now God Bless all of you.

Another email from BAGRAM, Afghanistan!

Hi Patty ...
this is the third email I have tried to send I hope this one makes it. The service here the last week has been terrible. Emails to my wife and everyone else have been dropped, are sent back to my draft file. Its this Afghan net service, not very reliable.

The wii is here and the young guys are excited about it, it came with bowling,golf,tennis and baseball, and I think one other game. Ill have to ask them.they said to thank you, they remind me of my kids always wanting to play video games.

[snip]

the cheese and sausage from figi arrived they actually sent more than you ordered I believe. Please let me know if you recieve this, because I dont want yall to feel like Im not answering your emails. Please thank everyone for the king things they do.

Your Friend in the airborne

Love reading the emails from Bagram, Patty. I mailed a few boxes to them today, hoping they get there before the Super Bowl. Here’s the list:

Box 1:
3 big bags of Tostitos
4 packages Super Bowl napkins
2 packages Super Bowl party game sheets

Box 2:
2 Super Bowl banners
1 Super Bowl centerpiece
2 hanging football decorations
2 big bags Doritos
1 big bag Frito scoops
1 big bag pretzel crisps
2 penalty flags
2 challenge flags
4 field access passes
2 D-fence head boppers

Box 3:
1 football pinata filled with Starbursts & Laughy Taffy
4 boxes Crystal Light drink mix packets
1 bag beef snack bites
1 bag turkey snack bites
4 bags beef jerky
2 bags turkey jerky

Box 4:
2 containers Pace salsa
2 boxes Gatorade drink mix
4 shakers of popcorn seasoning
8 bags of popcorn

Box 5:
2 packages large Super Bowl paper plates
2 packages small Super Bowl paper plates
2 boxes Gatorade mix
2 cans bean dip
2 cans cheddar dip
2 cans French onion dip
2 bags popcorn
4 boxes beef Slim Jims

Box 6:
7 cans Pringles
2 cans nacho cheese dip
4 bags popcorn
2 packs (16 ea) AAA batteries

We received a request from the young soldiers at Bagram for an accessory to go with the Nintendo Wii.

Their sergeant writes: “Would you believe the only accessory they would like to have is the pistol set for the wii, you would think they had enought guns around here, go figure. Anyway Godbless talk to you later”

Hoping one of our Merry Band can get this for them. Let me confirm you are chosen if you volunteer, in case we get a couple troop supporters who want to purchase it.

Options:
1. Buy from a company that can direct mail to APO
2. Have it sent to you and pack and mail it yourself.
3. Have it sent to me and I’ll pack and mail it.

***
Note: There is no word yet about our NPTT soldier contact at Baghdad, but a friend of Merry Band and I have checked casualty lists and we are not finding his name. Possibly he had to go home on emergency family leave or is out of touch on a mission. Whatever the cause, please continue prayers for Rafael.

Prayers continue for Rafael.

See post 253 for contents of the 6 boxes of Superbowl celebration goodies that SENClander sent.

Meanwhile, DON'T SEND any cookies, crackers, candy etc that contain PEANUT BUTTER as there is a recall going on now due to SALMONELLA gastroenteritis contamination.

These recalled products include Austin and Keebler brand peanut butter crackers and King Nut brand peanut butter produced since July 1. The company also sells peanut butter under the name Parnell’s Pride. The growing list of recalled items is available at
Peanutbutterrecall

I hope Rafael isn't missing because he ate some Reese's peanut butter cups we sent.

Not much to tell. One of millions who went into theater and did his duty. I was with the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. I flew on 77 combat missions all over Afghanistan as a C-130 loadmaster. Some of my more memorable flights...air dropping ammo while a firefight was raging on below us, ...

That ammo may have been dropped to my grandson's unit - in the Kunar, 2007-8 (173rd AIRBORNE)- over 800 firefights in 15 months...many times "going black." "Rock Avalanche" was one of the worst...

On another note: my dear son-in-law is leaving the Navy this week...Navy pilot/instructor: P-3's out of Jax, Brunswick and Orions out of Greenwood ("on loan" to RAF), now finishing at Corpus/instructor VT-31's/"Wise Owls". He's now in the CG - and will be flying the HC C-130's...)

You say: "Not much to tell" !!!!...Bless You for your service

Anyone who wants to send Valentine goodies to Bagram or help me finance some, please let me know. I’ve got 120 Valentine baggies that I got on sale last year to put goodies in.

We are also looking for a new unit in Iraq to adopt. If any of you know of a unit there with a soldier or Marine or airman willing to serve as our contact person, please let me know.

Here’s an Email from BAGRAM, Afghanistan that just came, most of which is thank you to SENClander for her 6 boxes of goodies for the Superbowl.

***
Thanks for the warning [about Salmonella in peanut butter treats], It hurts we really like peanut butter. O well.

The packages all arrived for the upcoming supper bowl, I gave it to the Sgt Major he is going to go all out with a get together, the football pinada is great we have it on a table for everyone to see. Wish we had some kids here to swing a bat at it. Maybe we can teach the afghan kids a new tradition. Anyway thanks a lot for going thru all the trouble

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