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.
Yes, I figured a couple of them would be good that way they'd have one for a backup.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3163040
Go for it. I was about to suggest the back up idea myself.
Assembled in Country of Origin: Imported
Guess what that means?
Well, when we go to war with China we can throw DVD players and Christmas trees at them....
It is the ultimate Wish Book for guys. Even if they are not hunters/sportsmen - there are "guy" things in there for everyone. The men in my family get a gift cert from me either for Christmas or b'days. And I don't know....they just love to look at the catalog - not once but it's usually dog-eared by the time the next one comes out. So I figured the troops over there were not much different from my men about it. And judging from our contact there's response, yep. :o) And hey, I was "huh?" about it once myself.
How is that cold?
Please ping me if you post about your trip to Walter Reed this weekend. Awesome what you are doing.
They are going to have a ball with that karaoke machine.
What a great idea!
I've been good, thanks to your proding.
Grapefruit juicex2, cranberry juicex3, orange juice x4, water x3, chicken soup x2, poached eggs on toast, and some other odds and ends.
I'm definitely improved. Hoping to be almost well tomorrow.
Thanks for info on the catalog.
I ordered one. I'll put it in a care package after perusing it.
Maybe you should have ordered two. :o) Seriously, I thought about calling them and see if they would send me several "for the troops". What you think?
Glad you are on your way back from that cold.
Sure! Ask them for some extra catalogues. They can only say no.
Or post a nasty comment.
I'm happy to be called names while shilling for the troops.
Sticks and stones....
Yes, I'll let them know we definitely need pics! :~}
I've sent off another box to Tal Afar. Yesterday at church some ladies brought me bags of candy and cards to send. Some gave new holiday cards for the troops to use to send to their loved ones. And some wrote messages to the troops in theirs. There were also some packaged cookies, peanuts, and raisins. I bought some more car and sports magazines and my husband donated his Cabelas catalog. Those went in with the goodies. It's getting near crunch time so I hope this box will arrive in time for the holidays.
We mostly want the big boxes sent before Thanksgiving of decorations/trees/etc, so they will get there to be enjoyed for a couple weeks before Christmas.
The smaller packages of snacks, presents, etc, will arrive in Tal Afar if mailed priority by December 2. Other bases will get their packages faster.
However, getting there is one thing, while getting sorted and passed out there is another and problematic when there is a mountain of mail in their mail room.
So, the quicker now, the better.
Thanks for all the goodies you and your church ladies have sent. They are getting quite a bear hug from the U.S. with every box that shows up there.
Look around ping.
Let me know if you want on the permanent ping list.
Boxes of Christmas candy or commercially wrapped Christams cookies mailed out by Dec 2 will still make it our adopted bases in time for Christmas.
So, FReepmail me your name and address if you want an APO for where you send some goodies.
FYI ping.
Mailed this AM.
3 boxes containing
14 boxes Nestles hot choc mix (8 servings each)
2 boxes candy canes
2 boxs Pop Weaver popcorn (4 pkgs each)
1 bag Christmas mints
2 pkgs individual Ritz Crackers/peanut butter (8 pkgs each)
2 tins Christmas butter cookies
2 bags assorted Christmas candy (Snickers, Milky Way, Three Muskateers)
2 boxes Famous Amos choc chip cookies
2 boxes Pop Tarts Cinnamon Roll & Strawberry (12 & 16 each)
2 bags Tootsie Roll candy cane tootsie pops
1 box Quaker Oats grits
2 bags Hershey's Christmas kisses
1 Variety pack Nabisco cookies
1 box Nutter Butter bars (12 bars)
1 plastic container candy dish mix
2 plastic containers non-parreils
1 plastic container party candy mix
3 cans pepperoni flavored Slim Jims (25 per can)
2 lbs honey roasted peanuts
1 bag Butterfingers Christmas candy
100 Glad sandwich bags
4 Christmas CDs (All the Trimmings, Country Stars, Voices of Christmas & Christmas w/ the legends of Country
2 DVDs (A Low Down Dirty Shame - Keenen Ivory Wayans)(TV Classic Westerns - Bat Masterson - Rifleman - Death Valley Days - Wagon Train - Stories of the Century) 8 episodes, 3 hours
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
That went to Tal Afar?
My jaw dropped.
Our contact is going to be deliriously happy with all the goodies he is going to get to pass out.
I'm sure there must be Special Forces that stage missions out of this base. It stands to reason because of its location and all the clean up fighting going on in the towns along the Syrian border.
And I know if there are Special Forces at this location, that our contact will be sure they get some of the loot.
God love you!
Thank you!
I'm feverish is my only excuse.
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