has the contact for Tal Afar changed now? I am going to go by the suggested items you gave TxSleuth and get some boxes ready to go.
Contact for Tal Afar is good for mailing another 3 weeks, as he will be staying to midMarch at least. After that I'll update you more exactly on when our contact is leaving.
I just sent off messages asking him to try to rope in a replacement from among the follow-on units that are arriving in the area.