Quesiton for service members who served in A-stan and Iraq

[152dbs]

how common are computers or the chance of people getting to use a Thumb Drive. i have nearly 32G of movies on mine...i could get more and copy them and send.

my wife is able to get books real cheap, in a lot of different catagories. im seeing if i can get a box or so and split them up between a few camps.

can some people that are currently over there PM me their camp addy? and ill send them to yall.

[Razor]

Computers are very common over here even out in the sticks. Most of us all have a HD that we keep around too just for sharing movies and games with one another normally when some one goes on leave they try to download as much stuff as they can so they can share with the rest of the guys when they get back.. Books are also very welcome over here for when you have to pull radio guard.

[sgthammers]

Hi All. I'm over here now, at over 7000 feet, and the best thing that my wife has sent me so far are 2 sets of YakTrax (anti-slip things for boots). It's slippery as hell when the snow gets packed down, and the thaw/freeze cycle makes new ice everyday. My company has had numerous slip and fall injuries. No, they don't issue these in RFI/CIF. They are backordered for months through the system. Go one size larger than the box says and they will last longer.

[MadMonkey]

KnightoftheRoc, no! Kindles and things broke easily in the environment.

Depends on where you are. If you're in a larger base and have some free time, they're awesome. Just don't carry it everywhere and expect it to hold up.

[152dbs]

http://veetle.com/index.php/listing#ent ... /popular/1

free streaming movies.....

[Grindstone]

Streaming isn't a good option as the connection speed is often worse than the Dial-up era and is not reliably constant.

[NamelessStain]

She has sent the first packages to her sons. My contributions to each package:
2 DVDs
2 boxes of individual measure powered drink mixes
2 dozen batteries
50 zip ties

She asked us to pick up some beef jerky from Costco when I was there. Unfortunately they only had PORK jerky. I guess Hadji won't be stealing it.

I've already started getting items from friends and making a list for her next shipment. I was thinking of putting an EDC together for them and leave room for them to add some stuff. Here's what I was going to put in them, let me know which should stay and which should go:
- Maxpedition EDC Packet Organizer (http://www.amazon.com/Maxpedition-EDC-P ... 919&sr=8-5)
- Nail clippers
- Fire steel
- Aspirin (10 count tube)
- Ibuprofen (10 count tube)
- 4 hand warmers
- 8 Purell hand wipes (she's sending them the bigger Wet Ones)
- 2 pack of wisp tooth brushes
- 2 chapstick
- Sharpie
- Mini screwdriver (http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-66-344-Bi ... 809&sr=8-2)
- Bic lighter

Also a ton of magazines will be included.

I figure that would leave enough room in the bag for them to add what they want.

[cityscout]

Like others have stated it just depends where the person is located. On the larger bases we can get almost anything. Where we were located (camp Keating) it didn't matter what people would send us, most of it never arrived. They were too busy trying to get us food, water, and ammo to worry about mail.

[Razor]

Yeah that's true as well I haven't had mail in over a month and no one else as either because of the snow fall grounding our birds and making the roads inpassable. Right now guys are damn near killing one another for dip, good thing I can live off just my smokes.

[mega-hertz]

i can tell you right now the px has been out of toothbrush and soap holders for 3 months and the cottonelle but wipes (not baby wipes). the best care packages have vacume sealed homeaid cookies and jerky, twinkies, ding dongs, mini dounuts exc.
if the marine is on a small FOB he might need fuel cans for a jetboil or a cup thats fits in a nalgene bottle.
p.s.
i love my kindle

[gabe]

Nothing I'll mention hasn't been said already, I'm just chiming in.

Coffee, wet wipes (you can never have too many), tobacco of any kind, homemade cookies, jerky (the closer to home-made, the better), magazines that appeal to the young male demographic, and good socks like smartwools. I would have given much for some smartwools in Iraq the first time I went.

[Doctorr Fabulous]

Would the posters in this thread STOP suggesting illegal shit that could get the servicemembers in trouble?

Porn and alcohol are both banned under GO #1, and the servicemember will suffer if contraband is found, not the sender.

My Battalion Commander likes to say "Don't be an asshole." Let's keep that in mind here, shall we?

For those not in the know:

http://www.bagram.afcent.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-090326-007.pdf

[NamelessStain]

Would the posters in this thread STOP suggesting illegal shit that could get the servicemembers in trouble?

Porn and alcohol are both banned under GO #1, and the servicemember will suffer if contraband is found, not the sender.

My Battalion Commander likes to say "Don't be an asshole." Let's keep that in mind here, shall we?

For those not in the know:

http://www.bagram.afcent.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-090326-007.pdf

As the OP, I have enough common sense not to send these items (some others may not). I did my 4 years a while back, but know that certain things are taboo in certain countries.

I've built a wood gas stove for her Army son who is out at a (in her words) "checkpoint FOB" where the mail is more reliable than the food trucks. I'm assuming he can scrounge up some twigs or some wood to fuel it. I'm also going to tell him to leave it for the next group of service members when he comes home.

But thanks for reiterating GO#1 for all others reading this thread. The LAST thing I would want to do is get a service member in trouble when they have enough to worry about being overseas.

[H. neanderthalensis]

Home-made beef jerky was always a big hit. So was deer jerky. It was the first time I tried deer jerky and I liked it.

Photos of family, letters, and magazines...clean magazines. Send magazines that interest your boys (sports, etc.). Books are good too if they're readers.

One Marine in my platoon had a mom the would constantly send cookies and other baked treats she would make herself. She changed it up and would send a different flavor with each package. Plus, she made enough for everyone to get a taste and they were good. Bless her, it must have cost a small fortune to do this.

Personally, I think a little taste of home will go a long way.

[Doctorr Fabulous]

Home-made beef jerky was always a big hit. So was deer jerky. It was the first time I tried deer jerky and I liked it.

Photos of family, letters, and magazines...clean magazines. Send magazines that interest your boys (sports, etc.). Books are good too if they're readers.

One Marine in my platoon had a mom the would constantly send cookies and other baked treats she would make herself. She changed it up and would send a different flavor with each package. Plus, she made enough for everyone to get a taste and they were good. Bless her, it must have cost a small fortune to do this.

Personally, I think a little taste of home will go a long way.

To leech off your idea, my favorite was some gator jerky my old man sent me.

[Woods Walker]

Porn and alcohol are both banned under GO #1, and the servicemember will suffer if contraband is found, not the sender.

I sent 3 posts to never never land from this thread because of that. Next time maybe some probation will be dished out? No porn, booze, illegal drugs or any other type of contraband. Doesn't seem that complex.

[91Eunozs]

To the OP, Doc, et. Al.,

Mea Culpa. I thought my reference to GO#1 and the fact these pkgs are coming from their mom made it clear that last line in my original post was a joke. Thanks for the clean up WW.

Regardless, here's what I always miss when I'm there for more than a few weeks:

- Laundry detergent in single-use pouches. Always in short supply...even at main bases/FOBs.

- Coffee...and did I mention coffee? Plus powdered flavored creamers--though the vanilla milkshake powder in MREs is awesome as creamer for a fru-fru drink.

- High SPF chap stick

- Anything home made...especially cookies. Vacuum packed or even double bagged in ziplocs with a slice of plain white bread usually keeps 'em fresh.

- Handwritten letters from home.

- A real, full size pillow. I'm partial to a thick/dense memory foam pillow when sleeping on a cot.

- My favorite car mags...couldn't get 'em in theater. Really, anything specific to their hobbies/interests.

- Books. Although I usually just pre-load my Kindle when I go now. I spend ~ 2-3 months in AFG every year spread out over a few trips working special projects for my boss. A nice change from past deployments. Always need a good book to read on the flights in/around theater, while waiting in pax terminals and at night in the rack... My mind always takes a long time to wind down at the end of the day and reading helps a lot--movies just keep me awake.

- Decent head lamp or book light.

- Lemonade or other powdered drink mixes. Usually fairly easy to find in theater, especially at US bases, but it always goes fast...especially if they're at a NATO or other coalition base like where I usually reside.

Best of luck and thanks for doing this.

[91Eunozs]

...my favorite was some gator jerky my old man sent me.

One of the best care pkgs we received was an entire leg/hock of smoked pork for some Norwegian SF dudes in my office. We hung it from the ceiling w/some 550 cord and carved slices off that thing for over a week!

[gabe]

Would the posters in this thread STOP suggesting illegal shit that could get the servicemembers in trouble?

Porn and alcohol are both banned under GO #1, and the servicemember will suffer if contraband is found, not the sender.

My Battalion Commander likes to say "Don't be an asshole." Let's keep that in mind here, shall we?

For those not in the know:

http://www.bagram.afcent.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-090326-007.pdf

Not sure if you're referring to my post or one that has been disappeared, but I was talking about Maxim, Stuff, FHM, heck, Popular mechanics/Pop science...we always had a stack of that stuff laying around getting dog-eared.

I read through that linked document a bit...when did that come about? Compared to that, it was like the wild west last couple times I deployed. Makes me realize how long I've been stateside!

[Doctorr Fabulous]

Would the posters in this thread STOP suggesting illegal shit that could get the servicemembers in trouble?

Porn and alcohol are both banned under GO #1, and the servicemember will suffer if contraband is found, not the sender.

My Battalion Commander likes to say "Don't be an asshole." Let's keep that in mind here, shall we?

For those not in the know:

http://www.bagram.afcent.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-090326-007.pdf

Not sure if you're referring to my post or one that has been disappeared, but I was talking about Maxim, Stuff, FHM, heck, Popular mechanics/Pop science...we always had a stack of that stuff laying around getting dog-eared.

I read through that linked document a bit...when did that come about? Compared to that, it was like the wild west last couple times I deployed. Makes me realize how long I've been stateside!

The rules have been the same since I went to Iraq in '09.

[91Eunozs]

...and the same since my last extended vacation to AFG in '08 and in Iraq back in '04/05 for that matter.

Where's the fun in that? I guess if they make their way across the bridge from Saudi into Bahrain it's all good. According to my Saudi and UAE colleagues, Allah can't see them when they're in Bahrain and man do they run with it.

[gabe]

I was there in 2005, 2006, and 2007, and they never mentioned an all-inclusive general order. Not saying it didn't exist- I'm sure there were restrictions as soon as we captured Baghdad. But they didn't filter down to us out in the boonies. Except the no booze rule.

The huge enforcement issue at the time was getting EOF right, keeping OPSEC around the IA/IP, and performing searches correctly.

</threadjack>

OT: *don't* send stuff that can spoil or get easily smooshed. Numerous times I saw guys get boxes with cakes or other pastries that had been totally destroyed. Or melted candy bars.

[duodecima]

Not sure about the technicalities (different theaters, different service branches), but the restrictions existed in '04 when a classmate deployed to Iraq (Air Force), he emailed us a copy of the relevant regs so we wouldn't get him in trouble.

[Collie of Doom]

...and the same since my last extended vacation to AFG in '08 and in Iraq back in '04/05 for that matter.

Where's the fun in that? I guess if they make their way across the bridge from Saudi into Bahrain it's all good. According to my Saudi and UAE colleagues, Allah can't see them when they're in Bahrain and man do they run with it.

I've heard this EXACT line of reasoning from various Gulf Arabs.

GO#1's been in effect since my first trip in 2005. Don't know about before. Likely the reason they put into effect was BECAUSE the first couple of years were Wild Wild West.