I got a phone call from Iraq front lines!

[gunsmith]

Old friend of mine is an SSG in Iraq.
The connection wasn't to good and it had a quiet beep to let you know that it was being monitered.
SSG was on R&R but was in a grumpy mood.
Now that the cold weather got there the airconditioners arrived.
In Jan it will be a YEAR on the front lines.
He is INF but getting Police details which he can't stand,they kick in doors
confiscate old mausers and leave one AK-47 per household!?
Detain enemy combatants and they get released in two weeks!
I asked him his opinion on Col West and he hadn't heard of the incident,but his general attitude was the officers they should pay the same price as the enlisted men if they up. Also says if he aint an interrorgator he shouldn't try interrorgating.
Apparently he isn't to pleased with the caliber of officers and feels most of them were seeking combat ribbons and now they're stuck there.
He was told in May he would be home by July...then Sept...then Oct ...now April or May!!!
Tons of weapons there,all kinds of SKS's,RPK's
LT's are carrying confiscated MP5's while telling him to stick with the 16.
(He grumbles but is the type who obeys orders he don't like)
his humvee got an RPG in the engine block...it didn't go bang!!!

I asked him about the lube(jammed rifles) problem I had been hearing about
and he said he is not having any problems but thinks the guys in the desert might,he has not heard anything about it,where he is there is vegetation (Eurphrates river)
He want's coffee which I will send,any of you combat vets have ideas about what to send him???

 

[TheeBadOne]

Send him some reading material such as Sports Illustrated or whatever you know he'd enjoy reading. Try to avoid News Week or Time type mags with negative articles. One good choice for reader types is Readers Digest as it has multiple articles, humor, and quiz material. (Stuff with pictures is nice too).

 

[OEF_VET]

lickee - chewiees, hard candies like Life Savers, things that won't melt during shipping
Baby Wipes - always baby wipes
maybe a couple of those cheap handheld electronic games like poker, battleship, etc. You can get them at Target or Wal-mart for around $5 each
Magazines - Sports Illustrated, FHM, Stuff, Maxim, Car & Driver type, gun rags, fitness mags such as Men's Fitness (more adult related material is an official no-no, but trust me, the guys don't care)
Boardgames - chess, checkers, monopoly, etc.
Beef Jerky
Chewing tobacco, cigarettes, cigars
some of those little Star-Kist tuna kits that have the tuna, mayo, relish and crackers all in one packet
ramen noodles - especially now that it's getting cold again

One last idea, send him a U.S. flag to fly there and keep as a souvenier. Maybe you can send him an extra one and have him fly it for you. I had my dad and my future father-in-law send some to me in Afghanistan. Now, all three of us have flags that flew in front of the terminal at Kandahar Airfield. Ask him to mark the hoist with the date and location of where it was flown, i.e. 01 JAN 04 - Baghdad, Iraq - Operation Iraqi Freedom. You may want to ask him in a letter first though. If he says he can do it, you should have plenty of time to get it there before he leaves.

Frank

 

[gunsmith]

thanks

good ideas! my girlfriend is into helping me pack the
package, so,uh,adult stuff will wait till next one.

 

[hops]

Here are a few links I found to help the troops. Seems the big thing now is getting the troops heaters (Home Depo seems to have them). Socks and Gloves are a biggie too. Seems the folks are sick of candy. Canned goods, anything to help them avoid MRE's are good too.

Here are some civillian efforts.

www.adoptaplatoon.org or this one www.oasamerica.org or www.operationac.com

 

[gunsmith]

hey everyone lets send some holiday cheer

To our guys over there and include some break free
for their rifles!
Let them know gunny's support them!

 

[Vasilia Zhietzev]

what about sending some of those chemical hand warmer packets? or is that a useless item? they help me when i shoot in the winter to keep fingers warm. trying to shoot when you can't feel the trigger is a pain...

 

[Stickjockey]

A quick note on magazines; don't send anything resembling porn. Yeah, yeah, I know: Not you'd send Hustler or anything. But even FHM or Maxim have some (for the culture) pretty racy stuff. Check the websites for lists of prohibited items.