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CARE PACKAGES for our Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, 2006
patriciaruth ^ | 1-21-06 | patriciaruth

Posted on 01/21/2006 3:06:06 PM PST by 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.


TOPICS: Announcements; Foreign Affairs; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: afghanistan; care; carepackages; iraq; package; packages; pkg; soldiers; supportourtroops; troops; troopsupporters
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To: Ros42

bttt


61 posted on 01/24/2006 4:36:05 PM PST by Dante3
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To: patriciaruth

Oh, you heard from the new contact for the Stryker group? That's great!


62 posted on 01/24/2006 5:15:09 PM PST by Abigail Adams
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To: Ros42

Birds of a feather get redacted together. ;-)


63 posted on 01/24/2006 8:10:03 PM PST by patriciaruth (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1562436/posts)
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To: patriciaruth

LOL!! We bad! :~)


64 posted on 01/24/2006 8:38:28 PM PST by Ros42
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To: Coop
The post office attempted to deliver the package, but we weren't home. I picked it up and delivered it safely to its destination. Thanks so much!

Crossthreading here.

Coop, thanks for taking our care package to the residence that houses the families of our wounded at Walter Reed.

I assume it is one of the Fisher (Fischer?) Houses chain across the country. Is that right?

65 posted on 01/25/2006 2:24:17 PM PST by patriciaruth (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1562436/posts)
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To: patriciaruth

No. It's called the Mologne House. But there are two Fischer Houses on the Walter Reed base, and there's another (the original, as I understand it) within the District of Columbia. The Walter Reed Red Cross supports all three, plus the Mologne House.


66 posted on 01/25/2006 4:43:23 PM PST by Coop (FR = a lotta talk, but little action)
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To: patriciaruth
Hi, Patty~

Here are some new photos of troops handing out candy and other goodies to kids near Kabul, Afghanistan.

Once again, thank you for all you do. You and the Merry Band of Patriots ROCK.

67 posted on 01/25/2006 5:44:05 PM PST by shezza (16 days)
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To: patriciaruth
Dear Patty,

This is the best I can format the list ... Excel spreadsheet, tab-delimited, saved to text, copied and pasted, with < Pre > formatting. Are you taking notes? ;-)

Boxes (Destination/Locations) 1, 3, & 4 are off to Tal Afar, Mosul and Bagram respectively.

The #2 boxes (3 total) are set aside for a new APO for the border area? All is set up, I just need an APO. I thought the #2 batch was the best for the guys & gals in a tough location.

Let me know if there is a better way to format these titles to fit your Master List of Books.

All the boxes had an extra space where books wouldn't fit so we filled them with individually wrapped peppermints, butterscotch, Dum-Dums, Tootsie Pops, Etc.

180 books total - if you need weights and postage costs let me know. I'm just sending them uninsured, and checked as "abandoned" in case of non-delivery. Someone will get them! ;-)

TH54

Author			Title					

Location # 1 --------------------------------------------------------								
Bradbury, Ray			A Medicine For Melancholy	
Case, John			Genesis Code, The	
Chandler, Raymond		Killer In The Rain	
Clavell, James			Gai-Jin				
De Camp, L. Sprague		The Best of L. Sprague De Camp					
Del Ray, Lester			Gods & Golems
Farmer, Phillip Jose		Magic Labyrinth, The
Follett, Ken			The Key To Rebecca		
Francis, Dick			For Kicks			
Francis, Dick			Smokescreen			
Francis, Dick			Whip Hand			
Griffin, WEB			Close Combat			
Grisham, John			Testament, The			
Kidder, Tracy			Soul of a new machine, The	
King, Stephen			Cujo			
King, Stephen			Skeleton Crew			
King, Stephen			Talisman, The			
Koontz, Dean			Icebound			
Koontz, Dean			One Door Away From Heaven	
Koontz, Dean			Phantoms			
Koontz, Dean			Servants Of Twilight, The	
LeGuin, Ursula			Rocannon's World		
LeGuin, Ursula			Tombs of Atuan, The		
Ludlum, Robert			Bourne Supremacy, The		
Ludlum, Robert			Chancellor Manuscript, The	
Ludlum, Robert			Cry of The Halidon, The		
Ludlum, Robert			Scorpio Illusion, The		
McCullough, Colleen		Ladies Of Missalonghi		
Michener, James A.		Carribbean			
Michener, James A.	        Drifters, The			
Niven, Larry			Protector			
Paretsky, Sara			Killing Orders			
Pournelle, Jerry		Birth Of Fire			
Pournelle, Jerry		Mercenary, The			
Saint, H. F.			Memoirs Of An Invisible Man	
Sanders, Lawrence		Seduction Of Peter S., The	
Sanders, Lawrence		Sullivan's Sting		
Shem, Samuel M.D.		House Of God, The		
Sjowall, Maj & Wahloo, Per	Cop Killer			
Sjowall, Maj & Wahloo, Per	Locked Room, The		
Smith, Martin Cruz		Gorky Park			
Tey, Josephine			Daughter of Time		
Van Lustbader, Eric		Ninja, The			
Van Lustbader, Eric		Zero			
Wilford John Noble	        We Reach The Moon		
Wolfe, Tom			Right Stuff, The		
								
Location # 2  --------------------------------------------------------								
Chandler, Raymond		Playbook		
Crichton, Michael		Disclosure			
DeMille, Nelson			Charm School, The		
Follett, Ken			Pillars Of The Earth		
Francis, Dick			Forfeit
Francis, Dick			Rat Race			
French, Marilyn			Women's Room, The		
Gibson, William			Neuromancer			
Grafton. Sue			"I" Is For Outlaw		
Grisham, John			Partner, The		
Herbert, Frank			Dune Messiah			
Herbert, Frank			Jesus Incident, The		
Herbert, Frank			Lazurus Effect, The		
Herbert, Frank			Soul Catcher			
Hiaasen, Carl			Basket Case			
Huston, James W.		Fallout			
James, P.D.			An Unsuitable Job For A Woman
James, P.D.			Black Tower, The		
Kennedy, Douglas		Job, The		
King, Stephen			Dark Half, The			
King, Stephen			Green Mile, The			
King, Stephen			Stand, The			
Koontz, Dean			Face Of Fear, The		
Koontz, Dean			Mask, The			
Koontz, Dean			Night Chills			
Koontz, Dean			TickTock			
Koontz, Dean			Winter Moon			
Kootnz, Dean			False Memory			
LeGuin, Ursula			Orsinian Tales			
Ludlum, Robert			Bourne Identity, The		
Ludlum, Robert			Matlock Paper, The		
Ludlum, Robert			Trevayne			
MacLean, Allister		Santorini	
Michener, James A.		Alaska			
Niven, Larry			A Gift From Earth		
Paretsky, Sara			Deadlock			
Pohl, Frederik			Syzygy			
Rand, Ayn			We The Living		
Sanders, Lawrence		Fourth Dealy Sin, The		
Sanders, Lawrence		McNalley's Dilemma		
Sanders, Lawrence		McNally's Trial			
Sandford, John			Silent Prey			
Shea, Robert			Shike: Last Of The Zinja	
Shea, Robert			Shike: Time Of The Dragons	
Sjowall, Maj & Wahloo, Per	Laughing Policeman, The		
Smith, Martin Cruz		Red Square			
Turow, Scott			Presumed Innocent		
Van Lustbader, Eric	        Shan				
Waumbaugh, Joseph		Finnegan's Week					
								
Location # 3  --------------------------------------------------------								
Anthony, Piers			Blue Adept			
Bond, Larry			Cauldron			
Brown, Sandra			Exclusive		
Chandler, Raymond		Lady In The Lake, The		
Chandler, Raymond		Little Sister, The		
Clarke, Arthur C.		Rama II			
Editor			        Best of Poul Anderson, The	
Editor - IIA			Science Fiction Hall Of Fame, The		
Follett, Ken			Eye Of The Needle		
Francis, Dick			Trial Run			
Francis, Dick			Twice Shy			
Grafton. Sue			"L" Is For Lawless		
Grisham, John			Client			
Grisham, John			Street Lawyer, The		
Hawken, Paul			Magic Of Findhorn, The		
Hiaasen, Carl			Skinny Dip			
Hillerman, Tony			Finding Moon			
Huston, James W.		Flash Point			
King, Stephen			Dead Zone, The		
King, Stephen			Misery			
Koontz, Dean			Darkfall			
Koontz, Dean			Door To December, The		
Koontz, Dean			Hideaway			
Koontz, Dean			Key To Midnight, The		
Koontz, Dean			Phantoms			
Koontz, Dean			Strangers			
Koontz, Dean			Whispers			
Ludlum, Robert			Cassandra Compact		
Ludlum, Robert			Holcroft Covenant, The		
Ludlum, Robert			Rhinemann Exchange, The		
Ludlum, Robert			Road To Gandolfo		
McCullough, Colleen		Thorn Birds, The		
Meyer, Nicholas			Seven Percent Solution, The	
Michener, James A.		Covenant, The			
Michener, James A.		Space				
Robbins, Tom			Another Roadside Attraction	
Sagan, Carl			Contact			
Sanders, Lawrence		McNalley's Caper		
Sanders, Lawrence		McNalley's Puzzle		
Sandford, John			Mind Prey		
Sjowall, Maj & Wahloo, Per	Murder At The Savoy		
Stout, Rex			Doorbell Rang, The		
Thurlo, Aimee & David		Enemy Way			
Trevanian			Shibumi			
Van Lustbader			Miko, The			
Wolfe, Nero			Death On Deadline		

Location # 4  --------------------------------------------------------								
Anthony, Piers			Juxtaposition		
Bond, Larry			Red Phoenix			
Bugliois, Vincent		Helter Skelter		
Grafton. Sue			"J" Is For Judgment		
Grisham, John			Pelican Brief, The		
Hiaasen, Carl			Strip Tease			
Hillerman, Tony			Skinwalkers			
Koontz, Dean			Funhouse, The			
Koontz, Dean			Strange Highways		
Ludlum, Robert			Parsifal Mosaic, The		
Sanford, John			Night Prey
Sanford, John			Winter Prey
Sayers, Dorothy			Strong Poison
Anthony, Piers			Split Infinity
Francis, Dick			Nerve
Grafton. Sue			"K" Is For Killer
Herbert, Frank			Book Of Frank Herbert, The
Hillerman, Tony			Dance Hall Of the Dead
Keyes, Daniel			Flowers For Algernon (Charly)
Koontz, Dean			Shadow Fires
Koontz, Dean			Twilight Eyes
Ludlum, Robert			Matarese Circle, The
Ludlum, Robert			Scarlatti Inheritance, The
Robbins, Tom			Even Cowgirls Get The Blues
Sanford, John			Sudden Prey
Steinbeck, John			Grapes Of Wrath, The
Anderson, Poul			Gods Laughed, The
Baldacci, David			Absolute Power
Crichton, Michael		Five Patients
Frey, Stephen			Legacy, The
Hiaasen, Carl			Stormy Weather
James, P.D.			Shroud For A Nightengale
King, Stephen			Bag Of Bones
LeGuin, Ursula			Lathe Of Heaven, The
Ludlum, Robert			Aquitane Progression, The
Maugham, Somerset W.		Narrow Corner, The
Paretsky, Sara			Tunnel Vision
Wambaugh, Joseph		Floaters
Wambaugh, Joseph		Fugitive Nights


68 posted on 01/25/2006 6:01:37 PM PST by Tunehead54 (Nothing funny here ;-)
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To: kattracks

The Girl Scouts in my neighborhood are collecting donation orders of cookies to send to the troops. I thought this was a great idea but not all the GS organizations are doing this.

Your boxes sound like a real treat.


69 posted on 01/25/2006 6:06:45 PM PST by Angelwood (FReepers are Everywhere! We Support Our Troops! (Hillary's Vast Rt Wg Conspiracy))
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To: Tunehead54
WOW! Our troops are going to have a library stocked with more books than some towns here have.

Great work!

70 posted on 01/25/2006 8:43:55 PM PST by kattracks
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To: Angelwood

What a teriffic idea. I'm sure the troops are going to really enjoy them.
Everyone loves Girl Scout cookies!


71 posted on 01/25/2006 8:50:33 PM PST by kattracks
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To: kattracks

It was a little bit of a chore but not an entirely selfless one.

We needed to move a bookcase to put in a desk for our son and even though we'd given away a lot of books these were for the most part just collecting dust.

We got to move the bookcase leaving room for more books, create a study area, pass along a lot of good books and get a nice warm feeling in our hearts - not bad for a couple day's work.

I hope some troops will get a chance to read some stuff they might not normally run across. Dick Francis, Ursula Le Guin, Ayn Rand, etc.

This is really just an extended BUMP! and a hint that maybe others might want to clear off a bookshelf or two.

$8.00 a box of about 15 books each - easy way to truly say
"We're with you". I'll miss some books but like I told my daughter - we can just go to the library or Target if we want something to read - they can't.

PS: I know you're one of those Angels on Earth like Patty but don't worry - I won't tell a soul. TH54 ;-)


72 posted on 01/25/2006 9:21:07 PM PST by Tunehead54 (Nothing funny here ;-)
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To: patriciaruth

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.


73 posted on 01/26/2006 9:57:41 AM PST by SENClander
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To: SENClander

Great box! Wish I could find a place in town that sells such great magazines.

The candy sounds just like what the soldiers and Marines wanted.

You're a peach!


74 posted on 01/26/2006 2:38:47 PM PST by patriciaruth (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1562436/posts)
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To: shezza

Do you have a contact at Kabul that would be willing to pass out some sweaters, socks, to needy teenagers?


75 posted on 01/26/2006 2:44:22 PM PST by patriciaruth (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1562436/posts)
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To: Tunehead54

Absolutely incredible!

What a lot of work! Thank you so much. These books will be very welcome.

I'll get the new APO to you as soon as I hear.

I noticed the Herbert, Piers Anthony, LeGuin, Larry Nevin among others. There's definitely some sci-fi fandom there.

I'll add these to our masterlists, and that will help me send them other titles and other genres in future care packages.

Bless your heart for all this effort!


76 posted on 01/26/2006 2:52:19 PM PST by patriciaruth (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1562436/posts)
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To: Tunehead54
All the boxes had an extra space where books wouldn't fit so we filled them with individually wrapped peppermints, butterscotch, Dum-Dums, Tootsie Pops, Etc.

This is the fun part I just noticed.

For the future, I'll get you redirect addresses, so that instead of abandoning the boxes of books they can be redirected to another base or another soldier on the bases.

If any haven't gone out yet, I'll give you redirect addresses now.

Probably not important as the Army will make sure these books get to the bases.

77 posted on 01/26/2006 3:08:35 PM PST by patriciaruth (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1562436/posts)
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To: patriciaruth
Thank you for letting us help! When you do the master list please make the Sue Grafton novel: "O" is for Outlaw - not "I". I "fixed" it several times but I guess not in the final version. In my defense I will note that the "i" is right next to the "o" on the QWERTY keyboard. ;-)
Thanks again - you're still an angel that puts it all together.
78 posted on 01/26/2006 3:19:34 PM PST by Tunehead54 (Nothing funny here ;-)
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To: patriciaruth
DH is coming home soon (check tagline)...but he's going to get me hooked up with a new contact person. I'll let you know when I get that info.

So very many people send candy and toys for the soldiers to pass out to needy children, which is wonderful, but the greater need right now (single-digit temperatures, and did you notice above the "housing" situation???) is warmth: sweaters, gloves, hats, shoes. I'll post some shoe pictures from dh.

79 posted on 01/26/2006 3:41:47 PM PST by shezza (14 and a wake-up)
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To: patriciaruth
Kabul, Afghanistan "housing" pictures:

Makes you glad for your nice warm bed, eh what?

80 posted on 01/26/2006 3:47:19 PM PST by shezza (14 and a wake-up)
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