How to send a Care Package (vanity)

me | 6/17/2002 | myself

[Britton J Wingfield]

While I was packing for a recent exercise, I was thinking about what kind of things would be best to send in a care package. 99% of the packages my buddies and I have gotten over the years consist of cookies, brownies, and more cookies. Here are a few hints on what will really make life more bearable for your loved one overseas.

• Socks: Kids hate getting socks for presents, but I love getting these when I'm deployed. Ditto for underwear and t-shirts.
• Food: Everyone gets cookies and brownies, which is great, but real food is better:
  • gift sampler packages, like Pepperidge Farms type stuff
  • bricks of ramen noodles
  • beef jerky, summer sausage, etc.
  • energy bars. Cliff Bars are best, imho.
  • cracker, tricuits, etc
  • tobasco sauce, garlic salt, etc to put on your government issue food.
  • Peanut butter or cheese spread.
• Playing Cards: or board games like chess, risk, or battleship. Getting a nice crisp pack of cards to replace the frayed, floppy ones you've been using is wonderful.
• Tobacco: I don't use tobacco, but I always take some cans of copenhagen with me. These are worth their weight in gold when the addicts run out, heh.
• Crossword Puzzles: these are great while standing by to stand by
• Books: anything to read will be appreciated by your GI and his buddies
• Pens, Paper, Envelopes: Pens all get lost and stolen, and all of this can be hard to come by
• Drugs: I take plenty of motrin, allergy pills, immodium, gas pills, etc because just getting an aspirin can be a royal pain in the butt. Add antacid to that, as well. It all gets mooched or eaten eventually.
• Disposable Cameras are great, and you get to see the results when Johnny comes marching home.

Most of all, just ask what they would like to get.

[Britton J Wingfield]

Any additions to the list?

[Britton J Wingfield]

PING

[Non-Sequitur]

Just that if the game you send takes batteries then send lots of batteries with it.

[2banana]

Ummm - Any kind of magazine with naked female units in it?

[Cyber Liberty]

"Any additions to the list?"

Sure. For soldiers deployed in a desert, throw in a whole slew of doggie flea collars. They work well during Desert Storm at keeping sand fleas off when worn around the ankles.

[Mrs.Liberty]

Ping!

[strela]

Phone cards are a nice gift as well. They save having to reverse the charges on those calls from BFE.

[JRandomFreeper]

AA and AAA batteries.

/john

[strela]

Oh, and if you've got more than a couple of nickels to rub together, sending one of those personal DVD players and a few recent movies will make you a new best friend.

[another cricket]

Kool-aid, unsweetened usually. It will make the water bearable.

a.cricket

[Salgak]

Assuming they allow anonymous CARE packages this year: they didn't allow them last Christmas. . . which was a bummer: I've been sending them since DESERT STORM. . .

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

For packages to the troops... DO NOT SEND HOMEMADE FOOD!!! It will all be destroyed.

The troops have asked us for

Hard candy, hot sauce ,playing cards, video tapes, CDs, lotion, soap, shampoo, chapstick, pens, paper, batteries, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deoderant, Kool-Aid, socks, underwear, hats and gloves in the winter, books, magazines, and games that they can play onboard.

We just recently sent over 100s of foam ' Splat Balls'. You soak them in water and throw them at each other. They are like everlasting waterballoons. The troops on the USS Kennedy loved them.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

Thanks for the ping.

[JRandomFreeper]

You need to see this.

/john

[Snow Bunny]

Hi Britton, great idea for a thread. Thank you for doing this. I am going to bookmark it.

We sent videos of action movies,and comedies.Paperbacks, magzines for motorcyclists, back road stuff we thought others might like. Lotion has been a biggie too.

You listed many of the things we send.

We sent small mirrors with plastic backs less breakable.Bags of licorice.Instant cappuccino packages they just have to add hot water.

Also we asked some local Sunday school classes of young children to color pictures for the troops and letters if they knew how write. We put an intro letter with them in the packages.

Thanks again so much for the thread.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

I'll be adding a link to this thread here

[SolitaryMan]

During my second deployment to the Mediterranean Sea in a submarine, my (then still new) wife, sent me a care package containing some winter clothes, a new razor, a 12 pack of Pepsi and a very large tin of flavored popcorn. We received the mail during a small boat transfer from a Frigate in the middle of the Adriatic Sea. The box was too big to get through the hatch, we had to open it and send the contents down into the submarine individually. Great fun.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

Active duty FReeper Britton J Wingfield posted this thread
to answer questions on what items to send to our military.

Some snail mail addresses for active duty military are located here:

[MeekOneGOP]

bump!

[Britton J Wingfield]

Actually, I'm a reservist now.