Bill Paxton Posted December 9, 2003 Posted December 9, 2003 Mike, be assured that Nancy & I will keep Kevin in our prayers. As far as what to send him...can a guy ever have too much duct tape? Quote
Johannah Posted December 10, 2003 Posted December 10, 2003 A friend at church said she sent her brother baby wipes and baby oil. What's with that? Also lots of snacks, summer sausage etc. Duct tape certainly sounds good. Maybe some different colours. I seem to remember impromptu decoration fashioned by some guys using the inevitable duct tape. Oyster, I didn't mean any put-down. I remember where your heart is and how much time you put into looking after those in need of a hand. Keep it up, never quit. In our church, we have a very wide array of political opinion, but everyone prays for the folks in the service, at home and abroad, and we pitch in to support families in need of encouragement. Nothing to do with politics but rather with humanity. This is the season of Advent and we need to prepare. Quote
Tom Holder Posted December 10, 2003 Posted December 10, 2003 Baby wipes are a good idea! They are perfect for a quick "bath" to get the dust off of you. I imagine in the heat they would be very useful especially if heat rash is an issue. I had horrible heat rash in Saudi Arabia. Baby oil? I have no idea - sooth a sun- or windburn? How about a personal GPS? Good pair of sunglasses and a unbreakable case? Earplugs for sleeping? Sleep mask? Here's a real good one I think - solar powered battery charger. Most popular guy in the unit I think. http://www.nitro-pak.com/product_info.php/cPath/46_49/products_id/750?osCsid=c97f980b25b967251afd30205c437dfb Quote
tdrown Posted December 10, 2003 Posted December 10, 2003 Best of luck to your son, I hope everything goes smoothly. The main Allentown paper (and maybe it was an AP story) ran a story of what to send to troops in Iraq a long while ago. From what I remember the bugs and airborne sand are a problem there. I wish I could find the story but I remember wet wipes were on there. Playing cards (if the miltary doesn't issue him an Iraq's most wanted deck), books, learning a few words in the local venacular or about the culture certainly isn't a bad idea, maybe a frisbee, a few photos from home, a notebook, sunblock maybe, things related to avioding sand and bug burns and bites. Hope this is useful! Quote
Jan Williamson Posted December 10, 2003 Posted December 10, 2003 My son called me last night from somewhere in Iraq. (he does not know where) He had landed in Baghdad Monday, flew for about an hour in a Chinook, and is now traveling by convoy. He said they are camping out in the open air on cots. I am thankful that he called me. But I don't know if I feel better. He said some of the guys have phones but he does not know yet where they got them. My husband takes "huggies" brand baby wipes hunting with him because they make a non scented one. Wouldn't that be great. One thing about the previous posts. I am thankful my new friends here care enough about others to take the time to make suggestions, offer comfort and support, and link up with other sources. It doesn't surprise me though, since this forum has been that way from the start. Whether the post is talking about war, home remodeling, family or deer heads it is all about a gathering place for people with common interests. Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted December 10, 2003 Posted December 10, 2003 Orignally the cell phones were sold in Kuwaitt. They are a special type, with no tracker on them. I have placed a call to the marine affairs officer, and awaiting his return call, to see if by now they are avaliable in the states. Some of my sons unit were using the sattilite phone system, off their computers, when they were not in an active zone. He never was up in Bagdad, but in the southern part, and coastal ports. He also enjoyed a nice digital camera, with a new memory stick that stored his pictures on a laptop computer, which many of the forces have nowdays. If not, get a couple of memory sticks, and a good mailer carton envolope, to return it in for them Powder drinks for the ground forces were great, that came in the flat packs in bulk boxes. Straight water got pretty old. Throwaway cameras were a big hit. They would mail them home in tact. Federal Express and DHL cargo was shipping overnight, believe it or not. free for the troops. The wipes were great during the times of the sandstorms and summer months. Hand written letters, big time, not printed out on the computer, or a card every week, if you don't have the time to write a long letter. The front page of the local paper, along with big truck magazines. No girl magazines are allowed. As far as clothing, extra teeshirts, because showers at the time were few and far between. They could at least change them. The old ones were sometimes used for a soft rag to wipe their faces and hands clean. I should here back on the phone this afternoon. Oyster Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted December 10, 2003 Posted December 10, 2003 Oyster, My son Shaun just mentioned last night that he would like a couple of extra memory chips for his camera. I am going to check with Fed-express to see if they are still doing the overnight shipping. Quote
Guest Posted December 10, 2003 Posted December 10, 2003 Jan, overnight shipping was not avaliable into the hot regions of Irag, But the shipping was in and out of from Kuwaitt for under forty dollars from the states, three days being the cheapest. Depending on the unit, they are sending it foward the next day. Things are evolving so quickly in changes. With the APO addresses it was and seeems to be taking two weeks. Tell him to swink the pixels to 450x 600 or so, and he will have triple the amount of space on the card. We have been using the mail , going out, with the express mail and the APO addresses. This is very economical, but you will have no real gurantee for time, because of depending on military transport. But this way two weeks plus or minus a few days. Christmas time it may take a little longer. Have you spoken to the liason of his unit? I will send you an offline mail on several other issues on this matter of contacts. Still waiting to hear on the phone deal. Quote
Guest taybri Posted December 10, 2003 Posted December 10, 2003 I served with 1st Marine Division during the invasion phase of Enduring Freedom. I was in the Infantry. Here are the things we needed and used most that were in short supply. AA batteries Baby wipes Reading material Laundry soap tablets I left there in May. Things change and supply conditions have certainly improved. Some Marines had tiny MP3 players with a few hundred songs onboard. Those were an real treat. If you send periodic packages, fresh socks and skivvies are great. And some Marines swore by their Underarmor brand of performance undershirts. Said it kept them much cooler. And it can be washed in a MRE bag and completely dried in a few muniutes. If you think riding around without body armor is bad, try being in the only infantry assault battallion mounted in open flatbed trucks instead of armored vehicles. It made for interesting times during the height of invasion hostilities. I did have a flak vest with Sapi insert though. Best of luck to your son. Quote
Jan Williamson Posted December 10, 2003 Posted December 10, 2003 Oyster, When our son was stationed in Korea, we sent him a box if Christmas gifts in the first week of Dec. 02, using the APO address, Shaun didn't get the package till middle of Feb 03. But it DID get to him. I'll look forward to your email. I do not know of any contacts. Taybri, Do you know where I could buys some of those undershirts you are talking about? The MP-3 is very do-able. Also thank you for your bravery and hard work in Enduring Freedom, I heard of many hardships for our guys during that time. You made it home, and that is encouraging for a worried mother. Quote
Johannah Posted December 11, 2003 Posted December 11, 2003 Jan, here's one technical sports underwear site for the fancy undershirts. I have bought them for my kids with compression shorts for sports. http://www.sportsunlimitedinc.com/underarmour.html Quote
Guest Posted December 11, 2003 Posted December 11, 2003 Mike and Jan, I have sent you mail through the private mail feature here jan and Mike by regular e-mail system. Taybri, thank you for your service. I have a few links for you, concerning the Marine units from teh past missions. You can keep abreast of the updates by reading the same newspaper. Since we were joined by Tybri, I will add several links that are from one of the local papers at Camp Legeune. http://www.jdnews.com/ 26th MEU 24th MEU 22nd MEU This section is an older section from the early days Tybri. http://www.jdnews.com/dispatches/ http://www.jdnews.com/dispatches/Details.cfm?StoryID=11777 We have also many members of the Cherry Point squadron of the AV-8 223,[bulldogs]Harriers in our community. Quote
Jan Williamson Posted December 11, 2003 Posted December 11, 2003 Thanks Jo I am ordering two teeshirts. I'll bet they are comfortable. Quote
Konrad in Lincoln Posted December 12, 2003 Posted December 12, 2003 Send ball gloves, some baseballs, and a bat. Quote
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