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.
I've Been busy packing for our move, and still trying to mail all of the things I've accumulated, but I definitely will be sending Halloween candy to A & C Cos.
You're the undisputed champion!
I never heard word one back when I sent my pinups of Tom Welling (Smallville hunk) to the gals at Kirkuk.
Good luck. Glad I don't have to pack a house. Only boxes of stuff in Mom's apartment, not the furniture or appliances.
I'll take over coordinating Hallowe'en then, as I am going to lean on you again in November to get the Christmas ball rolling or find another sub if you are too tied up then.
I have a couple items for Christmas here that I bought last year on sale after Christmas.
Disposable tree skirts
1 Santa Claus costume
Cheers!
kattracks is moving so I am taking over coordinating who is sending what Halloween candy to which units.
If you have bought candy or will buy candy and mail out around the 15th of October, please let me know where you plan to send it or request an APO so we can spread the goodies out and I can fill in any gaps.
Sorry for the reposted email from Ramadi. One just in from A company of Stryker at Baghdad is posted next.
I have now the information and pictures we need for the memorial plaque for 2 soldiers killed in the psyops units at Bagram, and will be checking out how to order such an item and the cost. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.
Mailed October 2, 2006, to A company of Stryker at Baghdad
1 box, insured $85.39, postage $10.40
1 TV series: Smallville, Season 5 (Tom Welling, Kristin Kruek)
3 DVD movies (donated by my brother):
Groundhog Day (Bill Murray, Andie McDowell)
Mars Attack! (Jack Nicholson, Michael J. Fox)
Naked Gun (Leslie Neilson)
1 large jar Skippy smooth peanut butter
1 box 1 lb. Nabisco saltine crackers
1 bag 17 oz ground coffee, Folger’s Gourmet Morning Cafe
2 packs 15 Wet Ones (donated by my optometrist)
3 packs 12 Trident wintergreen chicklets
3 TicTacs
1 paper airplane
1 American flag decal
EMAIL from A company of Stryker at Baghdad:
Pat,
I hope all is well with your mother and the move. I have had a run in with TSA and I have lost a few articles, so I know what you are going thru. please give our regards to your family and let them know they are in our prayers as well.
As four the rest of Smallville the guys are hooked. Most of them had not seen the series, but they are hooked now. Just something else to take there mind off of the everyday thing over here. We can not thank you enough for all that you guys have done for us.
If there is anything that you want or need from this end please let me know.
***
I will mail some candy around the 15th to our contact in Mosul. How much should we send??
How much Halloween candy to send to Mosul?
As much as you can reasonably manage and afford, remembering that Christmas boxes are going to be starting in a month, so save some energy and funds for that.
Please keep me informed about how much you'll probably be doing, and when you mail it.
Yippee! Candy for our new Stryker unit at Mosul!
Could you coordinate with nina0133 and send Halloween candy to Bagram? I'm going to send a couple Halloween costumes (Star Wars, Episode I) there as my sole contribution.
Prayer request for Rangerwife's husband from North Carolina critically injured in Iraq today with "wounds to chest, liver, etc."
AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!
THANKS.
Oh dear. Prayers up from here for his recovery from these grevious wounds and for his family's strength and courage during this awful time for them.
Update on Rangerwife's husband. He has stabilized enough for flight to Germany to Landstuhl Medical Center at our base there.
This is hopeful. Prayers needed to lift his "name" to the Almighty for merciful intervention for a full recovery.
I forgot to mention he survived the surgery in Iraq to repair his wounds before the flight to Germany began.
Oh, our Dear Lord Help him and Strengthen him! I just Saw this as I was Climbing into Bed. My Sister, I will Immediately Begin Praying Right Now with All my Heart in my Bedtime Petitions to our King!
Thank you, dearest.
I've been so busy getting things arranged for Mother and am glad to hear from you.
In a couple days I may have more than a second to chat with you. I miss our correspondence.
Say hello to your husband!
:-)
I'm sending a couple of boxes each to A and C cos (Stryker). If candy is needed somewhere else let me know.
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