Ping to our new thread for 2006.
Photos have been posted above.
Contents of recent care packages sent also posted above. Care packages sent earlier this month by kattracks and myself will be reposted below.
Our latest project is sending bags of bite size or fun size candy bars for Valentines Day to our adopted units at Mosul, Kirkuk, Baghdad and Tal Afar and Bagram. Let me know if you want to send a box out before the end of this month.
There is turnover in a couple units which will be reported further when the current unit gets home.
We will have a new project soon involving a company which will be at an outpost on the Syrian border with few amenities and no PX. They will be contacting us with requests in a week or two or so.
Suggest everyone bookmark this thread in case you lose track of it, or you can remember to go to my profile page and check in Links to find the thread.
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off the ping list.
I was awed by what we all did this last year. The first post on this thread gives link to our 2005 thread and has the post numbers for the list of care packages sent directly to our adopted units in November and December and the Accounting posts for the year.
Thanks again to all past, present and future troop supporters!
Posting again to complete the 2006 record.
Kattracks mailed 1/4 and 1/5/06 2 boxes to Tal Afar:
Box 1
2 decks playing cards
4 books:
Home and Away (baseball)
Wired (about John Belushi)
Live from New York (about Saturday Nite Live)
People (The Century Collection)
Snacks:
2 pkg Oreo cookies
5 pkgs Bumble Bee Chicken Salad with crackers
10 pkgs Bumble Bee Tuna
5 boxes Nestle’s Hot Chocolate mix envelops
2 pkgs Mary Jane taffy
10 pkgs Junior Mints
6 pkgs gum
2 pkgs Tootsie Roll bites
1 box 12 Fudge Brownies
Box 2
4 DVD movies:
Ghost (Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopie Goldberg)
The Firm (Tom Cruise)
Footloose (Kevin Bacon)
Fatal Attraction (Michael Douglas, Glenn Close)
4 books:
Prince of Ayodhya
Leadership (Rudy Giuliani)
On Top of the World (about 9/11 and Cantor Fitzgerald)
Miracle of St. Anna (a WW11 Novel)
Snacks:
4 boxes Nestle's Hot chocolate mix
1 pkg. 12 Fudge Brownies
2 pkgs. Double Bubbble bubble gum
2 pkgs. Tootsie Pops
1 bag assorted candy
5 air fresheners
kattracks sent 1/10/06 2 boxes to Mosul
Box 1
2 boxes Little Debbie Swiss Cake rolls (10 per box)
2 boxes Little Debbie Marshmallow pies (6 per box)
2 boxes Little Debbie Peanut Butter wafers (12 per box)
1 box Little Debbie Banana Marshmallow pies (6 per box)
1 pkg. Little Debbie Choc. Sugar wafers
2 pkgs. Chips Ahoy cookies
2 pkgs Oreo cookies
2 bags Beef Jerky
1 bag Dubble Bubble gum
4 pkgs. gum (5 packs per pkg.)
2 decls playing cards.
Box 2
6 boxes Swiss Miss Hot Choc mix (10 per box)
2 boxes Creme filled cookies, choc. strawberry, banana (10 pkgs. per box)
2 pkgs. Tootsie Roll snack bars (10 per pkg.)
2 pkgs 100 Grand bars (10 per pkg.)
2 Pringles chips (Original, Cheesums)
1 pkg. Chips Ahoy cookies,
1 plastic tub Caramal Corn
1 pkg. Mary Jane taffy (approx, 30 pieces)
1 bag assorted candy
1 box sandwich bags.
1/21/06, kattracks sent 2 boxes to Tal Afar containing
2 boxes Little Debbie Star Crunch Bars (8 per box)
2 boxes Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies (9 per box)
1 box LD Raisin Creme Pies (8 per box)
1 box LD Choc. Chip Creme pies (8 per box)
1 pkg. LD Strawberry Sugar Wafers
1 box LD Swiss cake rolls (10 per box)
1 pkg. LD peanut Butter Wafers
2 pkgs 100 Grand bars (10 per pkg.)
2 boxes Nabisco Fig Newtons
5 boxes Slim Jims (5 per box)
3 pkgs Keebler Snack Crackers (6 per pkg. - toast & peanut butter, cheddar)
2 pkgs Creme Cookies (10 per pkg. - choc. vanilla, strawberry, banana)
1 pkg Keebler Fudge Stripes
1 pkg Tootsie Pops
2 pkgs Chips Ahoy
1 pkg. Oreo Double Stuff cookies
4 boxes Post Raisin Bran cereal bars (5 bars per box)
3 Pringles chips (Cheezums, original, Bar B Q)
2 tins Creme Wafer Rolls (vanilla, cappuccino)
2 bags Tootsie Rolls,
3 pkgs gum (5 per pkg.)
5 boxes Nestle's Hot choc. mix (8 per box)
2 boxes Celestial Seasonings Tea (peppermint, strawberry)
4 Renuzit air fresheners
3 DVD movies:
D-Day
Gaudalcanal
Windtalkers (Nicolas Cage)
2 pkgs plastic sandwich bags.
patriciaruth mailed 5 boxes January 5, 2006, to our adopted company of Stryker Brigade at Mosul.
Box 1, value $6.32, postage $7.70
6 boxes 10 envelopes of Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate mix
LA Times (Jan 3 Sports, Bowl Games special, California; Jan 4 Sports, Calendar)
Box 2, value $6.32, postage $7.70
6 boxes 10 envelopes of Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate mix
LA Times (Jan 3 Front Page, Business, California)
Box 3, value $5.35, postage $7.70
5 boxes 10 envelopes of Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate mix
LA Times (Jan 3 Calendar, Jan 4 Front Page, Business, Rose Bowl special)
Box 4, value $43.23, postage $7.70
Canister Archer Farms macadamia nut caramel crunch popcorn, 20 oz.
Bag 9.7 oz Dove 35 bite size chocolates (milk choc, dark choc, choc caramel)
3 pkgs 2 ½ oz Swizzler strawberry Twists
16 boxes Crystal Lite On the Go 10 envelops of lemonade mix for 1 bottle water
Box 5, insured 71.64, postage $9.90
10 boxes Crystal Lite On the Go 10 envelops lemonade mix
1 lb ground Dean & Deluca Arabian Mocha and Indonesian Java coffee
box of 60 Hedley Ceylon tea bags (English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Orange Spice, Peach Apricot, Green Tea, Lemon)
2 bottles 100 caplets 500mg acetaminophen
DVD movies:
The Wrangler (Jeff Fahey)
The Saint (Val Kilmer)
2 DVD recordings by MJY1288:
White House Christmas Tour with Laura and George
Speech by President Bush, December 7
LA Times, Dec 30 Business (about Medicare)
One Hooter's calendar, with over 350 signatures, will be sent off to Tikrit on Monday. I may have to pull a few suggestions from your list to include in the package...
Thanks for the ping and thanks to JK for hosting the photos.
Our nephew and his Co. deployed right after Thanksgiving. On a website set up for family and friends, one of the items mentioned in the news section was what can and cannot be sent in CARE pkgs.
Senders were cautioned that sending magazines with photos of women in shorts, swim suits etc would be considered contraband in the ME culture. Several folks were a bit upset because every magazine has advertising using models in stages of dress or undress whatever the viewers opinion might be. Hot Rod magazines, Golf Digest, you name it, is going to have photos in either articles or advertising.
Soldiers are instructed on what to do with said "contraband".
We have adopted our nephew and one soldier in the unit for the duration of their deployment. We use the flat-rate boxes available at the USPS for shipments. Customs form must also be filled out. Flat-rate is $8.30 postage + whatever insurance etc we choose. Boxes measure 8 1/2 X 11 x 6 inches. A bargain rate to provide a taste of home for our troops.
Here's the box of Valentine goodies that went to Tal Afar today:
Magazines: Motor Trend, ACC Basketball Handbook 2006, Sporting News Fantasy Baseball, Sporting News Fantasy Football, Race for the Cup, Dell Crossword Special
Valentine Candy: 2 boxes LifeSavers Pops 'n Cards (22 each), 10 pkgs (6 boxes each) Necco Sweethearts, 1 bag Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, 1 bag Hershey's Miniatures, 1 bag M&M's in individual packs, 1 bag Nestles Assortment (Butterfinger, Crunch, Baby Ruth),1 bag Snickers fun size, 1 bag Hershey's Kisses, 2 bags Dove dark chocolate
And, a Valentine card to all.
I got a box of Valentine's candy off to Bagram today - 60+ little treat bags with M&M's, Hershey's kisses, Nestle's Crunch hearts and individual bags of those little conversation hearts. I don't care for them myself, but they're TRADITION! Also a card, a velour rose & some candy dishes for the extra candy - those bags never come out even.
12 lbs. 3 oz.