CARE PACKAGES for our Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, 2005

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1273305/posts ^ | 2-18-05 | patriciaruth

[patriciaruth]

Donors during January and February include asgardshill, airborne, jtill, peach, arjay, SENClander, SwatTeam, jtill, Kitty Mittens, DrDeb, Texan4W, SwatTeam, Diamondhead, and kattracks.

EIGHTH WAVE
Mailed February 18, 2005, to a company in Stryker brigade at Mosul.

Box 1, postage $10.90, insured for $182.00 10 DVD movies:
Witness (Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis)
American Pie 2
Deuce Bigalow (Ron Schneider)
Gone in 60 Seconds
Last of the Mohicans (Daniel Day-Lewis, Wes Studi, Russell Means)
2 Fast, 2 Furious
Dennis Miller-the Raw Feed
S.W.A.T.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Shaft (Samuel L. Jackson)
3 Books:
Russka (Edward Rutherford)
Then Sings My Soul (hymns and their histories)
The Virginian (Owen Wister)
Toiletries:
4 packs of Mach 3 Turbo razors each with a refill shaving head
18 travel sewing kits
Misc
1 letter and 1 card from troop supporters
smiling face stickers
a freebie child's pearl necklace

Box 2, postage $11.90, insured for $213.00
5 VHS movies:
The Fast and the Furious
Chronicles of Riddick
The Day After Tomorrow (Dennis Quaid)
Harry Potter and the Socerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
12 DVD's
The Scorpion King (The Rock)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Stargate SG-1 Seasons 5 and 6 (Richard Dean Anderson)
Magazines:
Street Trucks
Army magazine Feb 05
Toiletries:
3 travel sewing kits
travel size shower gel, body lotion

******

Mailed to new MI unit at Kirkuk, February 18, 2005:

1 box, postage $10.90, insured for $200
12 DVD movies:
Shanghai Knights (Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson)
The Rookie (Dennis Quaid)
Lawrence of Arabia (Peter O'Toole)
Glory (Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, Matthew Broderick)
October Sky
Shaft (Samuel L. Jackson)
Lethal Weapon 1 (Mel Gibson, Danny Glover)
Frequency (Dennis Quaid, Jim Caviezel)
Airplane! (Leslie Nelson, Lloyd Bridges, Kareem)
Shrek 2 (Mike Myers, Carmen Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Eddie Murphy)
The Right Stuff (Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn)
Troy (Brad Pitt)
3 VHS movies:
The Fast and the Furious
2 Fast, 2 Furious
The Scorpion King (The Rock)
Magazines:
Men's Health
Truckin'
AUSA newspaper
Crossword Puzzle Book and pencil
Filler:
3 packs gum
roasted pistachios and almonds in the shell

[patriciaruth]

Ping to our new thread for 2005.

See above post for some boxes that went out to Mosul and Kirkuk today.

[Just mythoughts]

PING!

[Just Lori]

It seems there is an item badly needed by our guys in combat. Read this, please....

http://michaelyon.blogspot.com/

[Oatka]

Thanks for posting the web address. I read all of it.

Also looked into the headlight thing. Found some good data/prices at http://store.karstsports.com/petaledhe.html and wondered if something could be set up contribution-wise so that 50 units could be ordered. They'd end up costing $28 ea plus shipping.

I've sent Mike an email along this line and asked what address they'd be shipped to.

[patriciaruth]

Great News! I was just was out and ran across some DVD's on sale or previewed:
Without a Paddle
Austin Powers
DodgeBall
50 First Dates (Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore)
Harold and Kumar go to White Castle (John Cho, Kal Penn)
Back to the Future trilogy (Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd)
Blue Colar Comedy Tour The Movie (Jeff Foxworthy)
Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again (Jeff Foxworthy)
My Cousin Vinny (Joe Pesci, Maria Tomei)

So this means we are down to these 6 movies that have been requested for Stryker at Mosul:
XXX (Triple X)
Alien v. Predator
Charlie's Angels
White Chicks
Back to School (Rodney Dangerfield)
American Pie 1 (We just sent 2)

[patriciaruth]

I read the ad you found below and am willing to do a fund raiser with you two for headlamps.

We could split the order up. I'd send a batch to Stryker at Mosul and you could tell me where to ship the rest.

This ad doesn't mention if it is LED 3 or 4, nor how many lumens this head light punches out.

---

This Petzl E46P Tactikka LED Headlamp is so neat that we don't know why it took so long for someone to think it up. The Tactikka is identical to the Petzl E43P Tikka LED headlamp except it adds a unique feature with the red fold up lens. No longer do you need to carry a red filter kit around if you need both the white and the red lights.

50 for $1400

01247
color: black

FREE SHIPPING ON ORDERS OVER $100.00 in the contiguous US.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SHIPPING INFORMATION

[Just Lori]

Wow. That's great! Hannausa is the one who brought this to our attention on the Wa state board. I'll tell her what you found.

[Just Lori]

Just how do we go about doing a fundraiser?

[patriciaruth]

First we need to decide how we're going to divie up the 50.

How many do you want to get for your guys?

Next we need to verify this is a good source and that our guys would like this item.

Finally we need to ask everyone we know and ping everyone we know.

Before we start we might want to check with the Hobbit Hole if they want to join with us for this one, and take a share of the head lights.

[patriciaruth]

I've got to go out and weed for a while. I'll check back with you later this evening.

[Oatka]

This address has more info, but doesn't mention a product number. Tactikka Plus has four LEDs. In the upper left, clicking on "Light measurement", they say, in part, "Petzl believes that the minimum amount of light needed for most activities is similar to the amount of light emitted from a full moon on a clear night. Our lighting ranges and burn times are calculated using this minimum lighting value as a benchmark." Then they go into specifics, along with a formula.

(Ironically, I understand this is a French outfit.)

Maybe a PayPal account could be set up - people will donate more readily if it "painless".

[HannaUSA]

Apparently it is French, but there seems to be an American version in Utah.

[patriciaruth]

We need to know how many "lumens" are produced by this head lamp.

For instance a high tech small flash light that we sent to Stryker to check out produced 60 lumens.

Never did hear back about what they thought of it. OR if they need head lights.

So, while you all check into how many lumens this model produces, I'll fire off an email to Mosul and ask if they want head lights.

Cheers!

[Just Lori]

The article mentions that the "four light" version is the best, but it must have the red light filter. The three light version is out there, but apparently is not as good for our guys at night.

Many of us have our contacts in the field. Let's maybe sit on this a couple days till we have heard back from them?

If our guys need something that the military machine is not providing, we need to give that machine a nudge! Meanwhile, we can fill in the gaps. That machine doesn't always move as fast as it should.

[HannaUSA]

I received this e-mail from Mike. He is there, he sees the "big picture", and the big need.

But it is like I said on the WA board...I would be safer in my home if I had an armed guard patroling around the outside 24/7, but I cannot afford that, so I depend on a locked door, good ears and Betsy in the drawer beside my bed.

I am sure there are lots of different things that would make our soldiers safer or help them do what they have to do easier, but there are limits...that is just a reality. Besides, even if the US ordered enough lights to outfit everyone today, how long would it be before enough of them could be produced to do the job??

It seems to me that if we could outfit one soldier, or 10, or 50, or 100, etc. that would be far better than none. I don't know........what do the rest of you think...and at any rate, after much delay from my rambling, here is Mike's e-mail:

Hi, Hanna and Al!

Looks like a dust storm is kicking up outside. Place is getting that eery orange glow.

Have been thinking about your ideas with the lights. Firstly, your thoughtfulness toward the soldiers is commendable. Yet, translating those good thoughts into realities is obviously expensive and somewhat daunting. Sure, it's possible to send a few lights over here, but even if you could afford 10,000 (which, with a discount, might cost maybe $150,000 to $200,000, I would guess), that would be a small impact. There are hundreds of thousands of soldiers between Iraq, Afghanistan, South America...North Carolina... You get the picture. Probably would cost a few million dollars to really outfit those who need the lights. Obviously, a few million dollars is peanut husks to the US government. I think instead of trying to fix a few soldiers with lights, it's probably a better to just keep hitting people with the message..."Our soldiers need lights...our soldiers need lights...our soldiers need lights." The right person in the right place, with the wave of a hand, could fix this problem.

Okay, Hannah, of all the zingers...Petzl is a French company? Oh boy. And I've been using their lights for years and had no idea.

Where do we go from here? I think the best impact they I can make, personally, is merely observe and report so that the information is available. I am ranging all over the battlefield here, and units are in constant flux. Right now is a particularly hectic time for the troops in this AO because 1st ID is pulling out and 3rd ID (and 42nd ID) are pulling in. Not the ideal time to start contacting anyone in this AO. I think this should be brought up not even at the Army level, but at the DOD level. (Navy, Marines, AF and others will also need lights).

Do you know anyone at high level in the DOD?

Mike

[Oatka]

"It seems to me that if we could outfit one soldier, or 10, or 50, or 100, etc. that would be far better than none."

I think you are right - even if it is a drop in the bucket, "If it saves just one life" (using the liberal mantra in a good sense).

I received the same email from Mike, so I suggest a two-prong approach: 1) On our level, we scrounge up however many lamps we can and send them over on our own; 2) Badger, hector, write an email a week to our Representatives and Senators about this lack. I'll even settle for some Bush/Rumsfield-hater in Congress standing up and whining "it's all Bush's fault!" if it gets the DOD moving.

[HannaUSA]

I agree. I received 2 more mails from Mike. Here they are.

Hey, Hanna!

Yep, the 1/6 FA Battalion is pulling out in a few days. Going back to Germany. Ghost is actually a platoon in the Battalion. They sure won't need lights for a while; they are going on leave! (And seem very happy with that.)

Yes, I will soon pull out of Baquba and head back Khanaqin way. Will be nice to see the mountains and the river of oil and the Kurds...get away from all these crazy suicide bombers for a while.

I agree with you that even a few lights are better than none. Is there a way where somebody can send a "in care of any soldier package?"... wait a minute...i know just who to ask. this will take a few hours but will find out.

Talk with you later,

Mike

and #2:

Hanna,

I've got an answer to the question about distribution of lights. I spoke with 1SG Leonard Dulik who runs the mail service for this AO. 1SG Dulik told me about the "Any Soldier Program," and mentioned that you can find information about this program online.

1SG Dulik also said that you can mail lights to his postal facility in Iraq and they will distribute the lights. The packages should be addressed:

Any Soldier Program
c/o 1SG Leonard Dulik
877 AG Company
OIF3 FOB Speicher
APO AE 09393

1SG Dulik said that you are welcome to email him at:
leonard.dulik@us.army.mil

[Oatka]

Good. It appears now that all we have to do is set up an account or central clearing house of some kind for donations and start collecting.

Perhaps a word to the vendor on the project might get a better break, even if on a larger amount.

In the meantime, in addition to Congress, a word to the editor of the local paper might also help. I'm writing the Las Vegas Journal and Review today.

[HannaUSA]

Who has a clue about setting up an account or something? I certainly want to make sure that any money donated goes directly toward paying for lights and not find its way into someone's pocket.

I will write the American branch of that company and see what may be done. Since it is a holiday weekend I would not expect an answer back until Tuesday at the earliest.