Hey-- Help out Sgt. Roberts in Iraq

[TexasLawyer]

Show these guys some love DU style. The other day the NYTimes did a front page story on the cushy lifestyle of the soldiers in Iraq. But some guys do not have it quite so easy.

I sent a box of treats to these particular servicemen today. It is very easy to do, and very inexpensive. Mailing letters or boxes to APOs or FPOs is just regular domestic postage. The post office has "flat rate" boxes that are pretty big, and no matter how heavy they are they cost just $7.70 to mail.

Or else just write them a letter to say you are thinking about them and hope they can come back soon. There are other soldiers who post their wish-lists on the web-site "AnySoldier.com" if you want to browse around for platoons from your state or for a different branch of the military.

It's a great way to make friends and help out people in need. I get some very interesting e-mails from time to time.


SGT John E. Roberts
Attn: Any Soldier
A Co 1-167th INF
TF 108 / 48th BCT / 3rd ID
APO AE 09372 (Use address exactly as shown.)


Serving in Yusifiyah, Iraq
Unit is from Alabama
Males: 39 in unit, Females: 0


13 Aug 2005:

I am representing my platoon, These guys are all 11B, Infantry troops and have been in a place for months that has no laundry. It has only two homemade outhouses with burn barrels in them. Only two wooden shower stalls with a barrel on top we must fill with water for a few showers at a time.

There is no TV or radio so no current news or entertainment. they have little down time. Laundry soap, newspapers, Magazines, baby wipes, Sweet snacks, Real smelly shampoo and bath soap, Bath towels.

All electric in the old building we are in is 220v so something to convert to 110 would be great. Coffee pot, Hair clippers, Q-tips. There is no microwave,

Canned meats like hash, spam , sardines, roast beef would be a great change of pace. We spend many days away from anyone and only eat what we bring. MREs get a little old so anything we can carry in a can is great.

We are a National Guard unit from Alabama and are on the front lines away from all the pleasures of places like Camp Victory or Taji. On a daily basis we run patrols and raids as well as OPs.

So any help would be great. Thank you JR.

[Maru Kitteh]

1. There is a post that made me cry.............. SHIT!

HOW IS YOUR GOD DAMNED VACATION GOING GEORGE?????

[I concur]

51. Don't forget to give...

...a donation of blood too. Many military installations sponsor blood drives and the donor's blood goes straight to either Walter Reed or Bethesda to be used there or in Iraq... Incidentally, a lot of the surplus blood is donated to the Green Cresent (Red Cross) of Iraqis needing blood.

[AuntPatsy]

2. Kick

[Tigress DEM]

Make sure this RED state KNOWS that it's the true BLUE DU

that is supporting them, so that they don't come home and spit on us because of how difficult the war is and all the brainwashing they get. Let them know WE DO CARE - Unlike SOME People who will remain nameless as they harrass mother's of soldiers who died in this stinking war.

[AuntPatsy]

52. I try, I am surrounded by those that see Cindy as being obstructive..

This week, my husband and I almost got into much more than a heated discussion which is the usual, I honestly wanted to hit him..

[Maru Kitteh]

3. Have the info, got it down and will kick

as often as I can over a couple of days.

Shamelessly

[Maru Kitteh]

4. Have the info, got it down and will kick

as often as I can over a couple of days.

Shamelessly

[NMDemDist2]

5. kicked and nominated n/t

[phusion]

6. Kickety kick and nominated...n/t

:kick:

[Booster]

7. My Marine nephew and his wife & I will most certainly send this

young man and his group some supplies. Sounds like he has a rough time over there.

[TexasLawyer]

14. Thank you--

So many of these young men and women are just kids, often estranged from their families. I've noticed that many of the officers who post wish lists on AnySoldier.com say that they are doing so primarily to get cards and care packages for their soldiers who never get anything in the mail (except for the occasional bill or "Dear John" letter).

So even when you send a letter or care package to men and women staying at the more built-up bases, you're still doing someone a lot of good.

[Booster]

29. My nephew came back a couple of months ago and has to go

back in January, and his wife is from Alabama, so I know they will want to send this young man anything he wants. When my nephew was over there, it was fun to send him some really stupid stuff along with the things he really needed. I know it made him smile and he shared everything with the guys. He said all the guys shared whatever they received. Thanks for posting this.

[TexasLawyer]

33. I have sent a couple dozen boxes now,

all to soldiers I found on AnySoldier and through another group I belong to, the Soldier Angels.

I always throw in something whimsical like water guns, water balloons, mini-garden gnome statues, glow in the dark stars, garage sale comic books, glitter glue, stickers, a big plastic fly (for a medic complaining about flies), a "hula pig" dancing dashboard statue (for some airforce guys from Hawaii-- a possible violation of the anti-pork rule)-- that kind of thing.

[Extend a Hand]

8. Kicked

and nominated. I'll send a package-- Thanks for the info.

[FreedomAngel82]

9. How horrible

And this is "Supporting" the troops?! Disgust me. From this to cutting VA benefits. I'm so sick and tired of how we treat our military men/women!

[EC]

10. Thanks... n/t

[Lars39]

11. He didn't have toilet paper on the list, but I bet they need that,too.

:cry:

[kestrel91316]

12. They always need baby wipes, too.

[JHB]

44. Wipes: get travel packs

If you get wipes, try to get a boxful of travel packs instead of one big jug or box. The travel packs are easier to carry around, and much more convenient when it comes to splitting things up to make trades and such.

[jillan]

13. We need this kicked - on the front page, as a reminder

This is something we all should be doing.

[Spike from MN]

15. Another kick.

I'm thinking we need a special DU group for supporting the troops. Sons/daughters/spouses/relatives of DUers or just posts like this in general. The website http://www.booksforsoldiers.com is another place to help out the troops but if we can start a DU group, I think that would be awesome. In the meantime, I'll take note of the address in this post and put together a care package of stuff they need and stuff I suspect they need. If people can post if they're sending a care package and, more importantly, what they're sending, it will give others a better idea of what has already been sent so the soldiers won't end up with, say, 50 bars of soap and no coffee pot.

[TexasLawyer]

21. What a great idea

But I wouldn't want to proselytize or say or do anything that would lower morale (I mean, of course, any lower than it already is!)

But getting things you need in the mail and receiving sincere good wishes from people back in the USA will always be welcome, I'm sure.

[progressoid]

24. excellent - my wife has a ton of paperbacks we could send

Will definitely look into this!

[TexasLawyer]

32. Remember media mail

For paperbacks, media mail rates may be an even cheaper postage option than the USPS flat rate boxes.

[Spike from MN]

42. Just to clarify, the Books for Soldiers site

is about more than just sending books. I think it probably started out that way and you are certainly welcome to send books but the site has morphed into place where soldiers or their buddies post requests for various items they need. Simple things like soap, various toiletries, and food. Gee, with the country's huge defense budget, you'd think the soldiers would be provided with these things but NO! A lot of the requests are just for letters for the soldiers that don't have any family and/or don't get much mail. Those are really sad. It's a bummer to think of some poor soldier over there seeing all his buddies getting mail and there's nothing for him. At least their buddies are watching out for them and posting requests for letters and postcards on their behalf.

[seabeyond]

16. i asked a family if their son needed a care package and his people

just this weekend. i was told, he is in luxury, air, tv, computer, all is fine all needs met. so this is the people i want. thank you.

[roguevalley]

17. Go here if you can't figure out what to pack:

http://www.treatanysoldier.com/CarePackages.cfm

[me b zola]

18. kicked & nominated

:kick:

[BQueen]

19. Are there any restrictions on mags, pics etc?

I remember hearing that pin-ups were off the list when they were in Kuwait -- anything similar here? Not that I'm gonna send something outrageous, just thought maybe some car mags, and "sometimes" they have women draped over the cars....

I'll be hitting the post office for those boxes by the end of the week. Thanks for this link...

[TexasLawyer]

25. Restrictions

The main ones are no porn, no pork, no alcohol. No liquids or paints. (lotions and shampoo are OK, but put them in baggies just in case.) Don't send chocolate until winter, because it melts in the 140 degree Iraqi sunshine.

Also, the post office has general rules against batteries, lighters, fireworks, aerosol cans, and other things that ignite or go boom.

AnySoldier has very detailed info on what to send and postal restrictions.

[SeattleGirl]

34. As an aside

I have also sent a package via anysoldier. When I went to the post office to mail it, I was talking to the postal worker, explaining what I was sending. She thought it was such a great thing and asked if I had any info on it. It happened that I had printed out the mailing instructions page to bring with me, so I would have the correct address for where to send the package. The postal worker asked if she could have the page, and said she would check to see if she could put it up on the wall at the post office. It's a small PO, and they have lots of different things posted on the walls, so I'm sure the woman got to put it up. I have not been back lately, so am not sure if it is posted, but it was pretty cool how the postal worker reacted. She said she was going to send stuff, and also let the people in her church know about the site.

[Wizard777]

20. To think that Halliburton gets everything they need, want, and bonuses.

It hurts my heart. To think they are being paid billions to feed these guys. Food requests anger me beyond belief. I'm still sending it. But I'm wondering how much more they will be able to put in their pockets because of our gifts? MRE's? They are supposed to be eating steak, chicken, pot roast, and plastic turkey's! Something is rotten at Halliburton.

[Tigress DEM]

22. How do you spell traitor? ......... H a l l i b u r t o n.

Halliburton is too busy training Iran to use WMD so we can have another war they can profit from by not doing what they say they will with our tax dollars!!

[TexasLawyer]

31. In Halliburton's defense...

ooh did I just say that? I've never said those words before!... but it should be kept in mind that in the outposts, and smaller more distant bases it is not feasible to run a food service operation. The MREs are not deadly, they're half-way decent I am told, but they just get old after a while. Plus, they aren't quite as handy as a good ole can of hash when you're on the road.

[Wizard777]

35. Point well taken.

I know that's kind of spooky. I've spoken in defense of Bush before. After seeing what the FOP has done to our local police department and the communities that must now serve them or die trying. I agree with Bush on homeland security employees not being allowed to unionize. I hate to think about them on TV threatening to search less bagage and do more cavity searches if they don't get their raise. Basically how our local FOP asks for raises. There is always a veiled threat attached to it.


I have just one question. If Halliburton can't get a couple of can of hash for each soldier to them out their BILLION dollar budget. How is the Post Office going to do it for $7.70?

Your right the MRE's aren't what they used to be. They now contain things that actually resemble food and even tastes like it. Some even come with cute lil bottles of tobasco sauce. A personal serving size miniture of the bottle that is probably in their fridge at home. I thought it was a nice touch and a really cool collectable. Hmmm... maybe it's more of a really hot collectable. either way I like it.

[LunaSea]

23. Thanks for the info..

[chknltl]

26. kicked and nominated

:patriot:

[sonias]

27. big kick for the troops

Sonia

[burrowowl]

28. Kick

and KICK!

[vickitulsa]

30. You guys are great!

(Oops, how did I do that? Previewed it with one stroke I didn't even know I hit ... oh well, I'll get this DUing thing down soon! ;))

Obviously Sgt Roberts and his unit will receive goodies from several of you soon, so I won't duplicate those efforts and overstock them; but I WILL be sure to re-visit the Websites like AnySoldier.com and SupportOurTroops and the like to send love to those serving "over there" and find out what they need. My favorite site for all things troop-related is Operation Truth.

http://www.operationtruth.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

And it's easy to find plenty of ways to communicate with or send troops stuff they need, just type in "support our troops" in a search engine. Be aware there are some shady types out there who may try to scam or take advantage, but don't shy away from looking for the right sorts of sites, please!

You can even find blogs of individual soldiers who are in Iraq right now, and some of them are posting frequently, real down-to-earth, daily war entries. I never cease to be amazed at the caliber of individuals we have serving in the U.S. military. I'm sure there must be some soldiers who are just plain jerks because in any group of people that large, there are bound to be some. But I sure haven't come across any yet!

I attended a memorial service today for my niece's ex who died unexpectedly this past Sunday. Just sitting in the service reminded me of what so many military families are going through way too frequently these days. And I'm determined to keep mentioning the casualties other than fatalities, too, because it's the walking wounded and badly injured who are so often neglected when their service is ended. This includes the psychologically injured, those with PTSD and other emotional problems resulting from their tours of duty.

Those who really would like to do something for our troops could find the VA Medical Center or VA Hospital nearest them and go visit the returned troops who were wounded! So many of them have no one to come see them and break up the monotony of life in a hospital setting. Some have families and loved ones who just cannot afford to travel to where their trooper is receiving medical care. So visit those near you ... they will appreciate it!

[Eloriel]

47. That's a wonderful idea -- visit a VA hospital or med center.

I don't know if I could handle it, but it's a fabulous idea. (Or, as I like to put it: I'm not a nurse for a very good reason.)

[meganmonkey]

36. Kick!

:kick:

[malmapus]

37. Kicking, nominating and bookmarking

Will find and pack what I can when I get home from work today.

[TexasLawyer]

38. Some fine print for people sending care packages

A - Securities, Currency or Precious Metals Securities, currency, or precious metals in their raw, unmanufactured state are prohibited. Official shipments are exempt from this restriction.

A1 - "Any Service Member" Mail addressed to "Any Servicemember", or similar wording such as "Any Soldier", "Sailor", "Airman", or "Marine"; "Military Mail"; etc., (that does not ALSO provide a name) is prohibited.

Mail must be addressed to an individual or job title such as "Commander", "Commanding Officer", etc.

B - Form 2976-A Form 2976-A is required for all mail weighing 16 ounces or more, with exceptions noted below. In addition, mailers must properly complete required customs documentation when mailing any potentially dutiable mail addressed to an APO or FPO regardless of weight.


B1 - Form 2976 or 2976-A is required. Articles are liable for customs duty and/or purchase tax unless they are bona fide gifts intended for use by military personnel or their dependents. When the contents of a parcel meet these requirements, the mailer must endorse the customs form, “Certified to be a bona fide gift, personal effects, or items for personal use of military personnel and dependents,” under the heading, Description of Contents. Exceptions: All other exceptions listed in restriction B above are applicable to this restriction.

C1 - Obscene Articles & Comics Obscene articles, prints, paintings, cards, films, videotapes, etc., and horror comics and matrices are prohibited.

E2 - Objectional Material Any matter depicting nude or seminude persons, pornographic or sexual items, or nonauthorized politi-cal materials is prohibited. Although religious materials contrary to the Islamic faith are prohibited in bulk quantities, items for the personal use of the addressee are permissible.

F - Firearms Firearms of any type are prohibited in all classes of mail. See definitions of firearms in DMM C024.1.1C. This restriction does not apply to firearms mailed to or by official U.S. government agencies.

H1 - Pork Prohibited Pork or pork by-products are prohibited. Note-- Slim Jims contain pork.

M - Fruits and Vegetables Fruits, animals, and living plants are prohibited.

R - Alcoholic Beverages All alcoholic beverages, including those mailable under DMM C021, are prohibited.

R1 - Alcoholic Beverages Materials used in the production of alcoholic beverages (i.e., distilling material, hops, malts, yeast, etc.) are prohibited.

[Eloriel]

48. EXCELLENT INFO -- Thanks n/t

[tuckessee]

39. How awful!

It's a crime to be deprived such staples as Q-Tips, microwaves, sweet snacks, and "really smelly shampoo" while trying to kill enough Iraqis to make 'em free.

[TexasLawyer]

40. I'm sure these guys would rather not be fighting at all

don't take objections to the war out on the soldiers.

[tuckessee]

43. I just find the irony to be rich.

Here we have a bunch of paid volunteer professional soldiers whining about the lack of creature comforts while the locals (whom they are supposedly saving but instead are killing at an alarming rate) are critically short of all the basics such as medicine, health care, clean water, electricity, gasoline, educational facilities and so on.

[JHB]

45. And whose fault is that? Not these guys'.

Aim your scorn where it belongs: *, Rummy, Cheney, and their corrupt corporate cronies.

[vickitulsa]

53. I think we can see your point and register the irony.

BUT, it's worth remembering that an awfully high percentage of these troops fighting for their lives and the lives of the friends who serve beside them joined the National Guard intending to be there for their countrymen and women during emergencies and (heaven forbid) catastrophes within the borders of these United States. Even the Reservists never could have dreamed before the U.S. invaded Iraq just how much and how long they would be called upon to serve as active-duty combat soldiers, though of course they knew it could happen.

Most have done their job when called upon, too; and MOST, by far -- a percentage in the very high 90's -- do NOT complain. They don't whine about what they have to do without, and they don't write home about it unless they are specifically ASKED what they could use. It's not like our troops are all over there throwing hissy fits about how hard they have it! Far from it ... most of them just grit their teeth and observe that everyone around them is enduring the same conditions they are, also without much complaint except in the traditional ironic style of soldiers everywhere. You'd have to be one of them to understand, or at least be a close friend or family member. Soldiers on the field of combat experience things most of us will never even have to think about, could never comprehend unless it happened to us, and we know it will NOT ever happen to us because there are these others who are willing to serve in our behalf. They sign up to do this to PROTECT US. Even if their motives are misguided, they still do what they committed to virtually every time they're called upon.

Only in the most extreme circumstances do soldiers refuse to follow orders -- and this war is proving to be one where a lot of troops are now having to think about that choice, that decision to "disobey an unlawful order" to participate in what we've learned is in fact an illegal war. It's the most difficult quandary we can put our service people in, and my heart breaks for them because they never should have had to make such a decision.

But as for the Guardsmen and -women, at least those who joined in their respective states before there was any serious, public talk of invading Iraq, these people surely did not expect to end up where they are being sent today -- and sent repeatedly.

Most of us remember the National Guard as we've always known them in the past. They are the "weekend warriors" who meet at the local armory periodically to refresh their defense and survival skills and stay in shape as best they can while holding down full time jobs in their communities and taking care of their families. They go away for a lot of weekends and part of their summers over many years for training and exercises, coming home dirty and dog tired but feeling good for what they've accomplished.

Most importantly, they participate often in training, exercises, and drills for dealing with floods, fires, hurricanes, earthquakes, and tornados, and in addition they prepare to assist other authorities when requested in the case of urban riots or other threats to our communities. You saw them after September 11th providing security in airports and elsewhere, when their very presence was reassuring to a shaken nation.

But it was to help out their neighbors, fellow citizens and others who live in the U.S. during the "normal" emergencies of American life that most National Guardsmen and -women signed up in the first place.

Yes, they knew they could be called up to serve in a foreign country in wartime, but it's certainly not what most of them expected. Yet they have kept their commitment up till now and done their best to serve their country -- which means protecting the rest of us. It's not their fault if they are misused, but it is upon them and their families that the burdens fall when they are put in killing zones, in harm's way, when they are sacrificed by cynical, arrogant "leaders" who treat them like cattle, like toy soldiers for the rich and powerful to play with at their whim or to serve their greed.

And it is these troops who will have to live with the aftermath of their service, if they survive, for the rest of their lives... they and their families and friends. Who hasn't already heard someone say that a loved one came home from Iraq a totally changed person? Not often do they mean something good in saying this.

A heavy price is being paid by those who became professional soldiers in order to protect all the rest of us. I think the least we can do is help them out by finding out what little things they need, what little ways we can make their job easier.

[GreenPartyVoter]

41. I haven't sent a care package since last fall. I need to get back on track

[trof]

46. Done. And sent to all on my e-mail list with this comment:

"If you really want to support our troops, this beats sticking a magnetic ribbon on your car by MILES!"

Great find, TL.
:thumbsup:

[BlackVelvetElvis]

49. Kick. Thanks for the link!

[SillyGoose]

50. I've sent boxes of supplies to troops registered on Anysoldier.com

Its a great organization. Thanks for reminding me that its time to pack up another box to send over.

Thanks for posting this! :kick: