CARE PACKAGES for our Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, 2008

patriciaruth ^ | 3-29-08 | patriciaruth

[patriciaruth]

Oh, that’s so great! Thanks for NPTT and PSYOPS care packages!!

I have been busy recovering from a mild concussion. Pretty stupid. I got out the car a couple weeks ago to pick up some mail left in the garage and the car rolled back and the door whammed me good over my left eye, breaking my glasses and leaving me stunned.

Got a nice shiner, but was really lucky that the upper corner of the door impaled on a garage post and prevented the car from rolling more and knocking me over.

Don’t even want to think about what would have happened to my skull if I’d been knocked over onto the garage cement floor.

Was pretty dingy this last week, but I seem to be coming out of it now.

My sister is here helping with Mom, and hubby is out of town visiting his Mom for Mother’s Day.

Your packages sure have a lot of goodies in them. Our soldiers will really enjoy them. THANKS AGAIN!!

[patriciaruth]

Here is our thread for sharing information about requests from our adopted units.

We are currently trying to get another contact in a Stryker unit in Iraq at Baqubah. We have new contacts with a PSYOP unit at Bagram Air Field near Kabul, Afghanistan and a NPTT unit at Baghdad, Iraq.

Earlier in the thread I posted information about mailing care packages, and will post some specific requests and recommended items this weekend.

I had to cut back on my work here this last year as I was taking care of my failing elderly Mom until my sister moved her to her home last week. Now I’ve got more time, but no longer have enough money to adopt more than these three units. Also, tomorrow I have to go and try to pass the eyesight test to renew my driver’s license and I’m not sure I’m going to pass. Losing my driver’s license would put a big crimp in my activities here.

But I’ll be happy to help you get an APO to send your items and advise you on what to buy. Right now I’m recommending high SPF chapstick, Gold Bond body powder, Blue Ice lunchbox sized flexible gel packs (found near ice chests and fishing equipment in Walmart sport’s department for 98 cents a pack), and sunblock or sunscreen with high SPF, as well as the drink mix powders (singles are easier for them to use), for the summer heat.

[boxerblues]

Thanks for taking the time to send out some really great stuff to the troops.

If you are looking something new to send,my son has asked for fly swatters and fly strips.....they are over run with the pesky buggers

[patriciaruth]

Terrific suggestion!

[Arrowhead1952]

Thanks for the input and link to this thread, patriciaruth. I will pass this on to my people.

[Abigail Adams]

Patty, so sorry to hear about your concussion! Thank goodness it wasn’t worse. I hope you were able to pass the test and get your license renewed!

[patriciaruth]

I had to use some special eye drops for about five days to improve my vision, but I did manage to pass.

Now I have to be responsible and continue to use the drops, and only go out in the afternoons.

I’ve got the name of a new Stryker unit at Baqubah, but our contact there just got back from a patrol and hasn’t gotten us a name of a soldier willing to receive the care packages.

Soon as we have it, I’ll put out a call for 4th of July care packages.

[fanfan]

Congrats on passing the test.

Is your head better?

---

Care package for a Private at Operation Athena at Kandahar, Afghanistan:

1 Magazine : Men’s health
1 Large package beef jerky
5 Packages indiv. crystal light, and ice tea.
1 bag Tostios
1 pkg. onion dip
4 Tuna snacks with crackers
1 box peanuts
1 bag assorted hard candy
1 small M&M’s

Mailed today.

:-D

[patriciaruth]

Our new NPTT contact is now at FOB Falcon near Baghdad, and I’ll post some email excerpts below.

Anyone who can volunteer to send them enough lemonade mix and cans of potato chips or chocolate chip cookies for 14-15 men for the Fourth of July by Saturday, June 21, please let me know.

Care packages of the same for Bagram air field in Afghanistan are also needed. I am packing up now many bags of trail mix (thanks to donation from jtill) to send them, as well as the HBO DVD miniseries “John Adams” based on the book by David McCullough for their Fourth of July present. An excellent series covering the winning and keeping of our Independence!

We have not been able to establish a new contact with a Stryker unit, and our former adopted unit has left for home and is hopefully safely there now. I will write a letter to the “commander” of the new Stryker unit (I only have the unit name and APO, no name) and see if I can get another Stryker contact. Our last adopted unit saw a great deal of action in southern Baghdad and Ba’qubah, had 7 KIA in their battalion last year, and had great responsibilities during the turnover to the new unit.

Mailed June 16, 2008, to NPTT at FOB Falcon, with help of donations from jtill and manna.
1 box, insured $197.02 (value $212.02), postage $13.55
14 DVD movies:
Independence Day (Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman)
National Treasure (Nicolas Cage)
Die Hard trilogy (Bruce Willis)
Airforce One/In the Line of Fire (Harrison Ford) (Clint Eastwood)
Alien/Predator (Sigorney Weaver) (Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jesse Ventura)
Gettysburg/Gods and Generals (Jeff Daniels, Martin Sheen, Tom Berenger)
Open Range (Kevin Costner, Robert Duvall, Annette Bening)
The Jackal (Bruce Willis, Richard Gere)
Robocop (Peter Weller, Nancy Allen)
4 Books:
The Great Raid on Cabanatuan *
Winston Churchill, The Last Lion: Visions of Glory 1874-1932 (William Manchester)
The Gods Themselves (Issac Asimov)
Red Mars (Kim Stanley Robinson)
Personal Care:
9 travel size Gold Bond body powder
16 Lip Balm SPF 30
11 travel size Artificial Tears
8 cartons 4 window clear Fly Trap paper (nontoxic)
Decorations:
1 small American flag
1 American flag pinwheel
3 short sprays of red, silver, blue stars

*From SwatTeam, valued by Amazon at $24.09

THANKS to fanfan for sending care packages to the defenders of Kandahar!! (see post above)

[patriciaruth]

Email excerpts from NPTT now at FOB Falcon:

...have read 1776 and I did enjoy it immensely. But I haven’t read the book on England and Russia. I would love to read the Mars series. Frankly I am running out of reading material and need something new. I don’t have much time to read, but I always pick up a book and read at least 30 minutes before I go to sleep.

...Hi Patty,

I’m so sorry for not emailing sooner. It has been a very busy couple of weeks as we are getting to know the area of operations and all of the personalities that are key players. I’m glad to say that I think that we got a lot of things accomplished in the short time that we have been here.

We just got word that we will start moving to FOB Falcon next week. On Tuesday we will stop by the FOB and get a new mailing address. Yes, we did get your package. Thank you very much. The blue gel packs have already come in very handy. Last week was a little warmer than usual and we expect the same temperatures in the coming week. Thank you. Please relay my warmest thanks to Amy as well.

...I’ve seen the Mars books but I haven’t read them. One of the things that irritate me is when book stores (and the PXs are notoriously bad for this) don’t stock the entire series. The might have Blue Mars but they don’t have the other two. How did you like the rest of the Dune series? As you say, very deep thoughts. Right now I’m on a military history kick. I just got done reading Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire from the 1st Century AD to the 3rd (mouthful of a title) and I am now reading D-Day.

[mathluv]

Patti, I can send cans of Pringles to this group. I can also send some personal care items.

[PGalt]

BTTT

[Dante3]

bttt

[maine-iac7]

patriciaruth...

Bless you for all you do! Especially with your own trials to deal with

An update on boxes to Battle Co.: The middle school that my grandson graduated from has really gone gung-ho for him and Battle Co.

They have, in two mailings, now sent over 30 boxes - the teacher spearheading the group got a grant and he and I went on a shopping spree!

The kids packed and taped and addressed and wrote letters - and made a huge (about 4'x6') poster with photos I supplied and that they pulled off the net from the ABC and NYTimes photos of them...They designed a plaque for "AIRBORNE" and made a CD...and used them for their Science Fair project.

These kids did a fantastic job. My grandson is going to visit the school when he gets a leave in the fall.

Mail cut off was the end of May - they will get out of that hell hole at the end of summer 0 and they will be stationed in their base in Italy for the year out of the war zone.

Most of the Sky Soldiers do not have family there so there's no "Welcome Home" party to greet them, but one is being organized, spearheaded by tankerbabe...and posters and $ donations are being sent to organize a "Welcome HOme" party like other units get when returning from deployment.

One of my granddaughters is helping me with a "poster" - we are painting a sheet~ It's not only bigger, but easier to mail than a cardboard poster - Pillow cases are great to use also.

We're painting the logos - for AIRBORNE, For the 173rd BATTLE CO< and for "The ROCK" - the small Rapid Response Team that my grandson is with. ..and we are going to iron on photos -

Since they don't get to come stateside, where they would get the "Welcome HOme" when they set foot on land - we are going to send the party to them in Italy...But don't tell any of them! It's a surprise...

Again, Patricia, THANK YOU for all you do for our incredible troops and BLESS and THANK YOU for also including Battle co,....

as we speak, no only has the spring surge that the big wigs said wouldn't come this year = come, but it's worse that ever. Prayers for our troops up in those isolated valleys infested with taliban...and the Pakis allowing the tallis free reign to ooze over the border, attack and scoot back to safe arms in Paki - where the Paki military is infiltrated/simpatico to the talies...

At least, this year, Battle co. has a howitzer for better and more precise cover...and they have a new puppy ;o)...they named him AIRBORNE - for two reasons...one being that everytime a mortar goes off or comes in, he goes "airborne"

[patriciaruth]

UPDATE on 4th of July for BAGRAM air field, Afghansistan.

Enterprise sent out 15 canisters of lemonade mix to Bagram yesterday, to make up 10 gallons each of pink lemonade, regular lemonade and strawberry lemonade.

Mailed June 19, 2008, to Bagram
1 box, insured $73.43, postage $13.65
1 TV miniseries (7 episodes) “John Adams” based on book by David McCullough
9 American flag pinwheels
1 box CL On the Go singles orange
1 canister CL Raspberry Ice drink mix cups
1 bag with 5 sample packets cream, 4 sample perfume paper
1 strip stickers for all occasions

I’m still up to my hips in trail mix here, but hope to have that out on Monday.

[JustAmy]

I didn’t get my packages mailed yesterday.

I will finish them up tomorrow and get them in the mail on Monday.

Sorry I didn’t get them mailed sooner.

[fanfan]

Hi Patty!
Thanks for the ping.

Well done, Enterprise. :-)

I may have an opportunity to support a Canadian, Immediate Response Team near Kandahar, but nothing is worked out yet.

I’ll keep you posted.
Would anyone be able to help in any way with a new group?

I met the mother of a soldier moved to this team, and I got the impression she was grateful for the support.

It was Friday, we were both wearing red, and we talked about her son.

*smile*

---

How’s your Mom, Patty?

[mathluv]

I sent 14 cans of Pringles (that is all the box I had would hold).

[patriciaruth]

14 cans!!! WOW!!!

[patriciaruth]

Let me know when you get word on a new contact at Kandahar.

My husband just found some very charming British films made in WWII and I will try to get them and mail them to you to include in your packages if I hear you have an address.