What would be some good stuff to send to the troops?

[dionysus]

My best friend is serving in Iraq, and I'm sending him and his unit a care package. What are good items to send? So far I've got;

Food Items (no pork products allowed by the military, and nothing that can melt);

beef jerky
canned tuna
canned stew
hard candy

Non Food Items;

AA batteries
insect repellant
socks (dark colored)
magazines (of the clean variety :) )
books

Anyone think of anything else?

[dionysus]

1. kick

[radwriter0555]

27. Plane tickets, lawyer referrals, a pre-paid health insurance plan

and a resume writer.

[TheMightyFavog]

2. sunglasses?

:shrug:

I've heard that some units are asking for small stuffed animals like Beanie Babies to give to Iraqi children.

[dionysus]

6. thanx

[The empressof all]

3. Tang, Kool Aid-water flavorings

These are popular. I try to send Tang rather than Kool Aid only because it does have some vitamin content.

[dionysus]

5. thankyou, good idea

[DelawareValleyDem]

4. Kerry campaign literature

They deserver a CIC who knows what they are going through

[billybob537]

7. Baby wipes are indespensible

The lack of water/showers makes personal hygene tough>

[likesmountains 52]

8. good stuff

The tuna in the bag weighs less than the canned stuff and is not half water. You can check on www.booksforsoldiers.com for some good ideas too. The soldiers seem to request lots of spice packets to jazz up the MREs.

[AngryAmish]

9. Porn

Just trust me on this.

[dionysus]

10. I would,

but they screen the packages and take out all the porn and anythig containing pork. That's it! I can hollow out a book and hide some skin mags in there!

[AngryAmish]

12. Get you buddy on the screening detail

Then he would be on a mountain of porn.

If no porn or pork (me no get pork me die) then send a bottle of gin.

[4morewars]

11. Gold Bond Medicated Powder

It's good for what happens in the pants of a man working in hot sweaty places.

[dionysus]

13. good one!

I didn't think of that.

[mstrsplinter326]

14. a portable dvd player w/ Outfoxed and F9/11 n/t

[Aristus]

15. Plane tickets home!

n/t

[dionysus]

16. kick

[Courtesy Flush]

17. Pre-paid long distance cards (that's what I sent)

[JVS]

18. Moist towelettes, dirty books, cheetos, smokes, chew, whiskey, baby powder

[dionysus]

22. they'll screen the packages for porn and booze, but hells yeah on

the smokes and chew.

[JVS]

23. I don't mean porn, I mean literature of a prurient interest

Roald Dahl's book "Switch Bitch" for instance

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0140041796/qid=1091728967/sr=8-1/ref=pd_ka_1/102-1192848-3403314?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

[AngryAmish]

19. Send them an awesome haiku

Middle east war-time
Soldiers want to leave pronto
Send me home sergeant

[bif]

20. Here's a list from someone here at work

Magazines, paperbacks
Eye drops/ eye wash
Non-perishable small meal packets (microwave meals, soups, etc.)
Non-perishable snack items (Ritz crackers & cheese sandwiches, etc.)
Hard candy
Sun glasses
Pencils/pens/paper
Crossword puzzles/word find games
Packages of salsa
Small packets of ketchup
Sun block
Beef jerky
Juice boxes
Raisons
Deodorant
Non-aerosol bug repellent
Flat packs of wipes (baby wipes, wet-naps)
Tooth brushes and toothpaste

[dionysus]

21. thankyou very much

[dionysus]

24. Thanks everyone for your suggestions!

I've got more than enough items on my list. I sent out a company-wide email to see if anyone would like to contribute. Let's see how many people pony up and support the trops for real.

[CO Liberal]

25. DVDs of "Fahrenheit 9/11" When It Comes Out

:-)

[shadu]

26. The Holy Qur'an

[Ganja Ninja]

28. Absentee Ballots - pre-marked for Kerry of course.