CARE PACKAGES for our Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, 2006

patriciaruth ^ | 1-21-06 | patriciaruth

[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.

[angcat]

Hello,

My office is getting together a care package to send. Can anyone give me information on shipping and some address of troops!

[Kitty Mittens]

patriciaruth can Help you with this, and God Bless you for your Care of our Troops! (My Sister, Pinging to #1381.)

[patriciaruth]

Do you want to send a package to Iraq or to Afghanistan?

Mailing information is at posts 31, 32, and 49, in case this is a new experience for you.

Do you have any relatives or friends in the service?

[angcat]

My friend just came home from Iraq his troop 828 out of Wilkes Barre PA!

Thanks for the info!

[patriciaruth]

Do I take your post to mean that you will get an APO from your friend just back from Iraq?

Or did you want one of our APO's for your office to send a care package?

(Confusion is the new norm around here.)

[patriciaruth]

Update on Rangerwife's husband:

He arrived at Walter Reed Friday evening.
He had head injuries, air on the brain, big black blue swollen eye. Shrapnel wounds from a grenade all over, a big hole in his back, and chest wounds, collapsed lung, liver damage, etc.

He is in good spirits and seems OK and is making good progress.

Thanks again and God Bless All for their prayers.

[patriciaruth]

Update on soldier we have been praying for is in prior post.

Mailed October 7, 2006, to C company of Stryker at Baghdad
1 box, value $106.90 (insured $99.95), postage with delivery confirmation $10.90
2 TV series boxed DVD sets:
NYPD Blue, Season 1
NYPD Blue, Season 2
2 DVD movies:
Wedding Crashers (Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn)
Ghostbusters (Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd, Sigourney Weaver)
1 magazine: Reader’s Digest, October 2006
4 bags Halloween candy:
2 Brach’s 24 oz mellow crème pumpkins (~96 per bag)
1 Reese’s 14.8 oz. peanut butter cup miniatures (~55)
1 Snickers 22.55 oz. fun size (~38)


Mailed October 7, 2006, to HHC of Stryker at Baghdad
1 box, insured $52.73, postage $10.40
2 DVD movies:
Airplane! (Leslie Nielsen, Lloyd Bridges)
The Gods Must Be Crazy
6 bags Halloween candy:
1 Brach’s 24 oz.mellowcreme pumpkins (~96)
1 Reese’s 14.8 oz. peanut butter cup miniatures (~55)
1 Snickers 22.55 oz. fun size (~38)
1 strawberry Twisler’s 60 individual sticks
1 Heath bars 11.5 oz (~24)
1 Hershey’s miniatures 14.8 oz (~50)
8 magazines:
Reader’s Digest, October, 2006
Time magazine, Oct 9, Humans and chimps DNA
Economist, The Heat is On
Sports Illustrated, Lonely Yankee
Imprimis, Islam and Justice
Washington Times Weekly, Sept 25
Decision, October, 2006, special issue on evangelical missions
National Review: Bolton and the UN

[fanfan]

Prayers up.

Lord heal Rangerwife's husband, and hold his family, by your grace.

Amen.

[angcat]

I would like an APO for my office to send a care package to a deployed solider.

My friend that came back will get lots of wine and beer when we finally get to see him!

[patriciaruth]

Any preference as to Iraq or Afghanistan?

[Dinah Lord]

Wonderful packages as always patriciaruth. Sorry I've been MIA for so long. I'd like to send a little treat along to our guys too. Could you FReepmail me when you get a chance?

Thanks, Dinah

[Ros42]

Mailing out Tuesday to Bagram:

3 Flat Rate Boxes ($24.30)
Value--$36.00

23 bags of assorted Halloween Candy
3 boxes (6 pkgs. in each) Nestle's Hot Chocolate w/marshmallows
1-4pk. box of Microwave Popcorn, Extra Butter
1 Halloween Card

[angcat]

Nope no preference :0)

[patriciaruth]

Wow! That was fast!

[patriciaruth]

FReepmailing you APO for our new Stryker unit at Mosul.

:-D

[Freedom is eternally right]

Patty,
Candy for C company in Mosul:
Butterfingers, marshmallow pumpkins, Sweetarts, Tootsie Rolls, Ghoulish jelly beans, autumn candy mix (candy corn), Peanut butter kisses, and M&M's. Will send out tomorrow.

[patriciaruth]

Oh, boy!!

Thanks so much!

[SENClander]

Today I mailed four boxes to A Co. and C Co. Stryker in Baghdad. Contents below:

A Co:
Box 1 (ready post box)
1 2lb can nuts
1 bag Halloween Oreos
1 Box Little Debbie Fall marshmallow treats
1 Box Peeps Pumpkins
1 box Peeps Ghosts
2 boxes Wyler's drink-to-go
1 box Lipton's tea-to-go
1 bag Halloween KitKats (~21)
1 bag HubbaBubba scary shapes Halloween gum (~33)
1 bag mixed Skittles and Starbursts (~90)
1 bag Halloween M&M's (14 oz)
1 Halloween cat stuffed animal

Box 2 (flat rate box)
Runners World magazine
Car&Driver magazine
1 box instant apple cider
1 box sugar free apple cider
1 box Little Debbie Fall marshmallow treats
1 bag candy corn (~75)
3 boxes Lipton tea-to-go

C Co:
Box 3 (same as Box 1 above)
Box 4 (same as Box 2 above except the magazines were Smart Money and Consumer Reports)

I also put a Halloween poem with thanks for serving in each box.

Is there anywhere that needs an extra box? I have a few goodies left over I could send -- maybe a flat rate box. If not, I'll save them for Thanksgiving/Christmas.

One more thing -- when I was talking with the postal clerk about the boxes, a young lady came up and said her husband was in Afghanistan, is home now on leave, and that the troops really appreciated packages from home. She thanked me, but I said her husband deserved the thanks and to tell him we all appreciated his service.

[betsyross60]

Mailed package yesterday to contact in Mosul--C Co.

4.5 pounds of Halloween candy
36 individual packets of apple cider
24 individual packets of hot chocolate
1 bottle of Airborn
2 Word SEarches
1 pkg. shoe laces

[SwatTeam]

I just filled 2 flat boxes for Ramadi and will get them sent out in the morning. I divided the following between the 2 boxes:

400 midget tootsie rolls
80 dum dum pops
2 large sacks trail mix
24 small packages of mixed corn nuts
2 large bags sunflower seeds
24 snack size Reese's pb cups
2 packages of Halloween oreos
2 packages of peanut butter oreos
24 packages peanut butter crackers
48 slim jims

I couldn't get all of the tootsie rolls and dum dum pops in there but am saving them for future boxes. They make real good filler. Much better than ghost poo.