army people, gimme advice

my cousins husbands in the army and hes being sent to afganistan for the 2nd time in like 3 years soon, so i wanna gather a little care package for him but dont really know whats useful in such an environment. im spending most of the money i dont have on a psp and games so lets keep on a budget. last time my cousin recommended some playboys so il prolly slip some in too. also, this is the canadian army so even if something isnt allowed on american bases it might be different for canadians.

Food items:
Cookies, chips, munchies - but think nutrition
Brownies (anything chocolate)
Powdered drink mixes - very popular
Fish, chicken, or beef products, jerky - protein
No pork
No alcohol

Non-food items:
News from home
Newspaper clippings
Magazines
Stories - funny, but clean, stories
4foot square pieces of black material for curtains
Thumbtacks
Shower Shoes (flip flops - large)
Cotton Sheets (twin-size) …cooler than the poly/cotton sheets they get
Gold Bond Medicated Powder
Bactine
Q-Tips
Kleenx - tissue - small portable packages
Windex & Pledge Wipes Packages
Moist towelettes - (many of them)
Kitchen storage bags with twist ties
Gatorade – sport drinks - in plastic bottles
Wind-up powered flash lights
Wind-up powered radios - earphones
Posters or pictures – No frames, just rolled - no porn - not even pics that resemble porn
Pre-paid worldwide phone cards
Sunscreen
Bug repellant
Travel size toiletries
and most important: messages from you

[Edited on Jul 04, 2005 by Deux]

Why not?

Not really a good idea. They're in an Arab country, and as such must abide by Islamic rules. That means absolutely no porn at all. Soldiers can get in serious trouble for this.

Maybe, but the no porn thing goes for all nations currently involved in Iraq.

We are not involved in Irag. We are in Afghanistan though.

We have so much porn it's sick. Send him porn, guys gotta live, you know? There are girls posted everywhere, EVERYWHERE!!

Oops.

Anyway, it's still a fundamentaly Islamic nation. I'd be careful about sending the porn. If you think you can get away with it, hey, by all means. I'm all for the porn. Just be careful is all I'm saying.

great, thx

If you're gonna send porn, send it in a separate package from the stuff your friend really might need. Porn is cool and all, but my friends and coworkers who've been over there have begged for things like cotton socks, Chapstick, sunscreen, good soft toilet paper, baby wipes, and toiletries (toothpaste, antiperspirant/deoderant, mouthwash, etc), Kool-Aid packets, hard candy, and things like that. They also asked for books and magazines with stories they could read that didn't deal with war or politics or anything of that nature, and books of crossword puzzles and stuff like that. A few asked for pictures of things that were going on back in their home lives (parties, work events, family stuff) that made them feel like they were still part of a functional world that they could come home to.

Nobody even mentioned wishing they could have porn.


[Edited on Jul 04, 2005 by Shalome]

you can send porn. I had so much sent to me while I was in Iraq I gave it all away at the end.

but I wouldn't worry about it. it's not like there won't be a ton of porn over there already. porn seems to be a universal. regardless of what Islamic/Christian/Atavists or whatever say.

but yeh.
letters are the #1 one thing. just getting to read a letter from home is an amazing thing.

drink powders (dried gatorade powder etc) is awesome. you get soooooo sick of the bottled water, especially in the summer. and it doesn't really rehydrate you after a while.

baby wipes. you'll probably end up sending too many, but that's ok. they get shared. sometimes they're the closest thing to a shower you'll get for a while.

magazines, books, movies...something to read or do in what little spare time there is.

cookies and brownies and stuff are cool. Toll House and Crocker and some other websites have recipies for ones with margarine and fake eggs etc. that really DO taste good and don't go bad on the way over there.

find out if he has ready access to a PX? if so, then he can probably get most of the things he needs. the stuff then to send would be the food and gatorade and stuff that make life better.

I hope everything works out and he finds his way home again safe, sound, and soon.

So, I guess everything is covered. What Shal said about porn in seperate packages is a good idea, and everything in Deux's list is spot on. Might I suggest some soup and other less snacky foods as well? I received a package with some canned foods towards the end of my stay their, and it was so nice to not have to eat an MRE for a few days. Don't worry about how he'll heat it up. Where there's a will... Also, coffee is good. Tobaco products, too. Even if they're not a smoker or dipper, they can make a lot of money, and their friends will love them. You might as well throw in some cheap but effective sungleasses, too. His are probably broken or stolen by now.

Whitewidow is in the Canadian Army. You might ask her.

if you sen cookies or brownies or any other baked goods don't forget to put a piece of bread in the ziploc bag with the cookies. it helps keep them fresh.