A buddy of mine will be deploying to a pretty hot area of Afghanistan in the very near future. I know we did this on the old board but since there's no way to access anything from it, I could use some suggestions as to what to send him so I can organize people to send some care packages to send him. I know we have some vets on the board as well as many people who have friends who are currently over seas. Which leads me to the focus... Focus: What would you suggest putting in a care package to send to people who are deployed overseas? Specifically Afghanistan but any area with combat in general?
I've sent a few care packages to friends. Here are a few of the items they always requested: Lip balm / chap stick Baby wipes Beef jerky Body powder (ie Gold Bond) DVDs CDs Magazines Sunscreen Outside of the dvds, cds and magazines, why the military doesn't supply items which to me would seem like absolute necessities in places like Afganistan is beyond me. No lip balm, sunscreen or body powder? It's the desert and they are wearing a shit ton of gear. Give these guys a break.
Beef jerky and good toilet paper has always been the two things I've sent every buddy, when I asked what they wanted in a care package. Outside of that, soap and deodorants, and the rest has been time killer stuff, i.e. magazines, DVDs and CDs as mentioned.
Gatorade powder packet things Red Bull some kind of candy that keeps you chewing on it for long periods of time ie: starburst, jawbreakers, etc. books for the down time good soap And I'll second these: beef jerky Magazines chapstick sunscreens DVD's
My brother in law is a Marine Gunnery Sgt. who has done multiple tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. In his opinion the most valuable things we send are: baby wipes (the pocket sized packages of super moist) chew (Copenhagen snuff specifically) Sunscreen Chap-stick The reason for the wipes, sunscreen, and chap-stick are obvious but the Cope from home can be used for trading for things he wants or needs from other soldiers. (just in his personal experience) Also remember to include small things that are personal to him and remind him of home.
Those ice packs that get cold when you crack/bend them. Porn of the classy variety. Germoline- best anteseptic in the world. Beef Jerky, but everyone will say that Postcards with pictures of the desert. Ha! Polarized Sunglasses One of those mini battery powered fans A stocked-up Mp3 player The book "Gravity's Rainbow" it's long and awesome. Ball-in-a-cup Gel soles for the boots. I would highly recommend that. JIffy-pop. It won't be hard to find a fire over there.
I've had several friends serve in Afghanistan and Iraq and in addition to things already mentioned, they always asked for chew, cigarettes and good cigars. A couple of friends and I would pitch in and send several several logs of copenhagen to a few friends of ours. A friend of mine also requested and swore by Bag Balm (originally made to go on cows udders but works wonders on dry skin and chafing).
Before you send over a bunch of beef jerky, make sure he actually wants some. When I was overseas it seemed like that was all anyone would ever send over. It was much appreciated, but by the end of the tour we were so fucking sick of jerky we couldn't even look at it. It's been almost five years and I still won't eat the shit. I'll second the cigarettes and chew. The stuff you can buy over there (if it's available) tends to get a bit stale by the time it hits the shelves. Good toilet paper is a wonderful thing too. Usually all they have over there is that cheap John Wayne* paper. If he has a laptop but no decent internet access, send him a thumb drive full of good porn. *Rough, tough, and doesn't take shit from nobody.
Gear suggestions are, of course, all very personal, but a buddy of mine was absolutely in love with coolmax socks when he was over there. Might be a good idea to ask him ahead of time, but if he'd like them, buy him a bunch of pairs.
1. Porn, in any form you can supply. 2. Thumb drives are cool if they can 1) contain at least a movie or two, (a 256 mb one is worthless) and the majority of them have laptops. If this is the case, you can find CHEAP ass thumb drives on Ebay (I paid $16 for a 16 gig). Fill it with Pdf's of books, comic books, movies, games, music, pornography, etc. Check out dealnews for portable hard drives for like $50 and you can fill those with enough entertainment for 18 months of pure boredom, easily. 3. Holiday candy...give it like 3 days after Halloween, Valentine's Day, Easter, Christmas, etc. and go to a drug store. Buy the shit for pennies and ship it over. If it's not the guy's favorite, it's someone else's. It's a pretty nice day when you get that sort of thing. Also, ask for his favorite junk food. 4. Girl Scout Cookies. 5. Books and magazines. Specifically, any sort of scout magazine, season preview or recruiting report magazine. We passed around a college football preseason mag for weeks, it just generated topics of discussion. 6. Baby wipes. 7. Rechargeable batteries and charger (worth asking, anyway.) 8. A bottle of A1, barbecue sauce, creole seasoning or hot sauce. It can make even the shittiest meal taste better. 9. Replacement headphones for ipods, laptops, etc. Again, ask first, but it's those parts that break and are damned near impossible to find suitable replacements.
I always sent my brother these items: -Lemonade packets -Tuna (The package kind, not in the cans) -SPAM -CD's and DVD's
I used to volunteer here every Saturday: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.give2thetroops.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.give2thetroops.org/</a> I have spent hundreds of hours of my life packing boxes for troops. It was one of the most awesome places I've ever volunteered. I highly encourage sending this link to any deployed troops that might be family/friends: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.give2thetroops.org/troops_signup/troop2.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.give2thetroops.org/troops_signup/troop2.htm</a>? Along with the stuff already suggested, we always got requests for: - hard candy - socks/underwear - toothbrushes/toothpaste - powdered drink mix of any kind - lotion - we had a huge number of cheap-ass golf clubs and beat-up golf balls that we'd send. We got rave reviews about that. The biggest thing, though, was we sent a packet of homemade cards with every box/package. Kids would come in and make cards, volunteers would make cards, parents would drop cards off... we just grabbed a bundle and put some in the box. The troops all sent emails/letters saying how much they loved the cards. Don't underestimate handmade items, especially if you're a spouse/significant other of a troop.
With 2 tours in Iraq. I would NOT send any candy or food near Thanksgiving and Christmas. We had so much shit we just started giving it to the guy that cleaned out shitter. Sending shit in between the big patriotic holidays will be much more appreciated. Also don't send mouthwash, higher is onto that game and will check anything that might have booze in it. Movies (as of 1 Mar you can only bring 1 pirated back) a thumb drive w/ a bunch is awesome. Newer is better, when the PX gets anything remotely new the Fobbits will pick them up fast. Video games, unless he is on a COP. New is better. A flag of his favorite football/baseball/basketball team. It makes for a cool pic. Powdered soup, steak spices (if he is near a big FOB they sell meat), rice, crackers, peanut butter (good shit, bad peanut butter can be rat fucked from MREs), jelly. Anything else that you can think of that is shelf stable and can have as a meal if he gets back from mission between chow hours (or doesn't have a chowhall). You might also ask if he has a water boiler (like those shitty ones from college). I would also just ask him, on both tours there were some random things that my FOB had jack shit of, and another had tons of, as well as vice versa. To add: Good coffee, pre-ground. More is better, as much as you think his unit will drink it will be a shit ton more. If he is at a place w/ decent amenities, try getting people to pitch in on an espresso machine and grinder w/ a shit ton of beans (we couldn't get beans delivered to Iraq, so I assume Afgan is the same) as a birthday or Christmas gift.
Powdered drink mix was like fucking gold when I was in Afghanistan last summer. The bottled water sits on pallets outside and bakes in the sun all day, so naturally it tastes like fucking melted plastic. Also, a burnt CD with pop-radio hits (pretty much shitty songs that are played over and over on your radio station... LadyGaga, etc.) is a pretty good idea.
You can never send too much coffee...different roasts are fine, however unless specifically asked for, don't send the frufru hazelnut/pumpkin/whatever flavored shit. agree with the over-sending of candy around the holidays...the same can be said for chapstick...I have yet to deploy anywhere and not find dozens of sticks never opened all over the place. Everything is appreciated, but bottom line, always ask for things they could use, but don't have...every location is different, plus what they like/dislike.
Depends on the location. Some guys are lucky enough to have free phones, but that usually isn't the case. Kind of an "ask first" item.