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.

[Just A Nobody]

Sorry for the delay!

Shipped 5 boxes to Camp Ramadi, December 5th.

20 individual gift bags made of the following:
1 - 12 pk mini oreos
1 - 12 pk cinnamon stick grahams
2 - 10 pk M&M's; 10 plain - 10 peanut
8 - 1 oz beef steak nuggets
6 - 5 pk slim jims
6 - vac pac tuna, 3 oz
20- pks of gum
12- double crisp santas
8 - Snicker "nutcrackers"
2 - 10 pk sugar wafers
1 - 10 pk hot cocoa mix w/ marshmallows
1 - 10 pk hot spiced cider mix
1 - 10 pk lemonade singles
1 - 10 pk kool-aid punch singles
2 - 10 pk candy canes
2 - 14 oz peanut butter cups
2 - 6.7 oz Hershey kisses
20- oz bag mini tootsie roll pops
1 - 12 oz bag mint patties
20- pens
20- pocket size notebooks
20- Christmas cards

Box 1 of 5:
6 - gift bags
2 - 10 pk socks; 10 short & 10 reg
3 - 2 oz hand sanitizers
7 - Old Spice antiperspirant; 3 lg & 4 sm
3 - Christmas garlands
1 - reindeer antler headband

Box 2 of 5:
14 - Gift bags

Box 3 of 5:
2 - lg bags tortilla chips
6 - toothbrushes
5 - wet ones pks
9 - mini rolls charmin
4 - 1 oz hand sanitizers
4 - Old Spice anti-pers; 2 lg & 2 sm
1 - box Chik-n-biskit snack crackers

Box 4 of 5:
3 - 7 oz vac pac chicken
2 - 10 oz miracle whip
2 - 10 oz mayo
2 - 8 oz Cheez-It canned cheese
1 - box Ritz crackers
3 - pks razor blades; 15 Sensors & 5 Mach 3
4 - blu ice gel pks

Box 5 of 5:
6 - 4 pk fruit; mandarin orange, peach, mixed fruit
4 - cans Frito-Lay cheese dip
6 - small toothpaste
1 - blue ice freezer pak

[patriciaruth]

WOW!!

Just...WOW!!!

[patriciaruth]

Wish we had the wherewithall (money, time, energy) to do this for all the units over there...

Just hope other groups and families are picking up the ball for other units.

And maybe our groups are sharing out with some less fortunate ones. That's why I send a lot of DVD's, as they aren't eaten and gone, but can be passed around. Used to send a lot of books, but never got the feedback and wondered if anyone was reading them.

[Libloather]

Just hope other groups and families are picking up the ball for other units.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The calendar tour is almost over. So far 23 stores have been entered. Right now, I'm guessing over 350 signatures COVER that poor calendar. An Air Force unit in Tikrit will be this year's recipient. I lost contact with last year's unit but I found plenty of fresh ones at -

Any Airman.com
Any Soldier.com
Any Marine.com
Any Sailor.com
Any Coast Guard.com

And, of course, there's always the - Hooters Operation: Calendar Drop

For the third consecutive year, Hooters restaurants across the country will be shipping thousands of Hooters Calendars out to troops overseas during Hooters Operation Calendar Drop. This program gives guests the opportunity to purchase a calendar and attach a note of appreciation to an unknown serviceman or woman who is currently serving our country, away from their friends and families during the holidays.

Last year, over 20,000 calendars were shipped out, making the holidays a little brighter for thousands of military personnel. This year, an even greater turnout is expected. Earl Broyles, operations coordinator in Afghanistan, participated in the promotion last year, "Our personnel look forward to getting the calendars every year. They are a definite highlight here."

[patriciaruth]

This thread is going to be a lot more popular with the troops if you keep doing this!

All you guys, enjoy!

[SENClander]

Help, Patty. I can't find the story on Juan at that link.

[patriciaruth]

They've replaced it with a new story.

Maybe you could find it in the archives. I couldn't find the archives....

I'm sneaking a sec in a hotel internet room, and got to go to bed now.....

[patriciaruth]

It costs 3.95 to read a story in the archives of the Columbus Dispatch.

I'm going to have the Admin Moderator delete the link.

[patriciaruth]

REPOSTING contents of post I asked to have deleted:

Just A Nobody send out packages December 5 to Ramadi and belatedly posted contents. Enterprise sent some personal care items to our wounded at Walter Reed. I sent a basket to a wounded vet who just moved home from M House.

Here's some news from our A company soldier now home with a PICTURE. (The link became invalid when the website updated to another story.) I hope some of you got to see the picture of Juan's homecoming hugs from his Mom before the story was pulled.

And thank you to Juan for the really cool navy/black T-shirts he sent me and Daddy Warbucks. They have Alpha Company and a tomahawk and the battalion/infantry numbers on the front above the heart and OIF O5-06/Apaches on the back with a huge logo picture of a skull in an Indian war bonnet and under that is Mosul Rawah Baghdad/"Strike Fear"

[SENClander]

I did see the article, Patty.

Today I mailed two boxes to Camp Liberty in Baghdad.

Box 1:
3 large bags salted-in-the-shell peanuts*
3 small bags Cajun flavored peanuts
14 power snack bars

Box 2:
3 large bags salted-in-the-shell peanuts*
3 cans Slim Jims
16 protein bars

*this was a special request from the unit

[Just A Nobody]

My contact has sent 3 e-mails since 12-20. I thought you may enjoy parts of his messages.

12-20:
WOW, I am soo amazed at all the stuff you sent from gift bags, to chips to toiletries. All I can say is thank you soooo very much. The boxes just keep coming and coming.

It was such a thrill as we were opening the boxes. I sent the box that had 14 gift bags back to my section sergeant so he could distribute to other soldiers who don't get much if any mail at all.

I just can't think if enough things to say to express my deepest thanks for your support, committment and devotion to us being here.
The people who compare this war to Vietnam couldn't be further from the truth, The public support was the exact opposite back then.

Well things here are busy. November was quiet so we we're hoping December would be the same. Well, I reckon I have rambled on enough for now. Tkae care and thank you very very much for everythng!



12-26:
Things here continue. Christmas day was no different........mortars, bullets and repairs. I had to pull the engine out from our primary generator so I could replace a motor mount. Just another day here. Christmas dinner consisted of chicken again. The Army would never survive if chickens had to be extinguished due to the bird flu.

The cheese you sent was fantastic. We made chicken nachoes and it was gone quick. It sure was a treat....a break from every type of chciken they serve us, lol.

So how was your Christmas? What did you do and get?
Take care and thank you very very much for all the food and goodies you sent.



12-28:
We love the chicken nachoes. The chicken is much more fresh in the vacuum pack than any chicken they bring out here, It is very dry and is like chewing on a piece leather.



It was great to hear how quickly the packages arrived and that they were distributed to those that do not get much mail.

God Bless our troops!

[patriciaruth]

I hope the second email means that the box I ordered from Hickory Farms (all cheese) made it to Ramadi.

[patriciaruth]

Emails from RAMADI posted by Just A Nobody at #1612.

Email from our adopted unit at Baghdad that is helping with the training of the new Iraqi national police force:

Patty,
The whole team loved the Star Wars DVDs! We opened it on Christmas, I wathced SW I today, on two now. Thank-You.

No, I sent you a separate box from Juan's, it had something from my team only. Have you received it yet?* [SENClander] got hers.

Let me know.

God Bless You and Thank-You,

r/

________

*Yes, I got the framed certificate of appreciation naming me and "The Merry Band of Patriots" for their support.

The neat thing about it is that it has a group photo of the guys in the unit and they all signed it, though I can't tell who is who.
A

[Just A Nobody]

I think he was referring to the canned cheese he requested, which I sent. Hickory Farms sounds much better to me, though! LOL

[2Jedismom]

The Hobbit Hole is feeling pretty down today...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1747119/posts?page=2171#2171

[patriciaruth]

I'm so sorry to hear this news of the loss of one of the adopted soldiers of a Hobbit Hole troop supporter.

It is the hardest part of doing this work, worrying that we will lose one of our contacts. Please extend our sympathy to all at the Hobbit Hole. Prayers will be said for this young man and his wife and family.

It is always our best that step up to take the blows and lay down their lives for our safety and the survival of our country.

[patriciaruth]

Email from our new adopted STRYKER now at BAGHDAD!

Patty,

As far as the general amenities of life, we're all pretty well covered at this point. God is certainly with us here in Baghdad as our operational tempo has slowed considerably from what it was in Mosul. That makes boredom our greatest enemy by now! So really, if your donor [Daddy Warbucks] is willing, movies, games/game system(s), would be a terrific gift for these hard-working Soldiers. I honestly think a PS3 would be overkill (especially price-wise!), but if he were willing/able to send a Nintendo Wii or Xbox 360 or something like that, I can guarantee you all it would be put to great use!

Thanks a lot for the other packages that have been sent too. The Christmas decorations were put to excellent use in our tent, and went a long way to making our new home down here feel a lot more cozy. The Santa Claus suit was used by our 2nd PLT as they had one of their larger guys dress up and hand out various items he had received from some other donors to the Soldiers (he even had them sit on Santa's lap, if you can believe it!).

The food and other supplies that ya'll have sent have been distributed out to our Soldiers in my PLT and throughout the company. The letters and Christmas cards were awesome, too. I handed out one per person throughout the company and there was a visible spring in everyone's step after that. It was very thoughtful of those people to do that for us.

Yes, the hanging of Saddam has us all smiling over here. We just came off a very demanding mission that lasted a few days, having to deal with cast-offs of his old glory days, so it was nice to see historic justice metered out like that only a bare 1/2-mile from where I was sleeping (and I slept quite well last night).

I'm glad to hear your mom's doing well with you. I'm sure your schedule is brutal, yet you're still able to find time to help take care of a bunch of brutish Stryker infantrymen! Again, thanks much for your help, your care, and your prayers.

***

FROM Patriciaruth:
I'll let the Merry Band of Patriots know which game system that Daddy Warbucks gets and then we can all send some games to use on it, plus I'll get some specific movie requests from our Stryker contact. Meanwhile, everybody, have a very Happy New Year!

[Dante3]

BUMP

[SwatTeam]

I have sent 3 DVDs to Ramadi. The Great Raid and Coach Carter and Grey's Anatomy # 2. Amazon will probably ship them on Jan 2. They asked for Law and Order also but didn't specify which one and there are lots on Amazon. Maybe our contact will let me know which ones they would like.
Happy New Year