What to send a soldier overseas?

[mayachel]

Hello, my best friend's brother will be deployed to Afghanistan in 2 weeks. Does anyone have advice for what those of us at home can send either immediately or over the next months? At this point, she has been told/warned that despite the good news that the area he will be in is focused on rebuilding and hopefully does not have current fighting going on, it is unlikely he will have internet or cell phone access.

 

[doodle]

Firstly, absolutely no alcohol or anything that could even remotely be construed as pornographic (think about that through their filter, not your own--Sports Illustrated can be a problem over there!). Nothing that'll melt or can pop open (if it has a ketchup pack in it, for example). They go nuts over some beef jerky. Books, magazines, and dvds are usually appreciated as a lot of stations have areas with DVD players and stuff (it really just depends on where he is; in Afghanistan, it's a lot more remote, so it's totally different from sending a package to someone in Iraq). There are lists of stuff all over the web, but a lot of them include stuff that they really don't need like sunblock and baby wipes. People tend to think of food stuff first for packages, but the soldiers get more excited about stuff with which they can kill time, stuff like sudoku books, brain teasers, etc.

Note: the majority of this is copied and pasted from a friend of mine who served in both Afghanistan and Iraq. This is what he told me when I asked him what to send to another friend who was in Afghanistan. Hope it helps!

ETA Memo to me--mock my friend's repeated use of the word "stuff" haha!

 

[dcgator]

Mayachel - That's really nice of you to send stuff over. Your BF's bro (and likely his unit) will very much appreciate it!

When my DH was over there last year, I sent him beef jerkey, quakes (rice cake chip things), fruit snacks, gum, mints, individual baggies of chips and cookies, fruit roll ups and any other non-melting food. Just don't send chocolate or anything else that can't withstand heat, b/c it will be toast. Depending on where he is, they may not have access to a base, in which case I would also send individual flavor packets for water, such as Crystal Light or Gatorade, indivdual instant coffee packs, like the Starbucks ones, or if he likes tea than packages of tea. You could also send some more fun things, like Pez, Nerds, or other fun candies. I'm sure you can find those individually too, as Halloween is getting closer. Finally, I would make my DH brownies. If you go that route, you need to send them in a hard case and individual wrap each square. I used press and seal to wrap each one, then put them in a ziploc, then put them in tupperware. My DH said that when they got there (which usually taked a week +) they were just fine.

I also second the notion of some non-food stuff like magazines, books, Suduko books, sports balls (deflated but send a pump), pictures or letter from home, and anything else that he may enjoy. Also, since it's college football time, I sent my DH some stuff from our team (shirts, a mug, a little hand fan with a mister built in). Oh, and don't forget batteries for anything that may need them (like razors or music players).

Whatever you send though, do make sure that it is VERY well packed with stuffing inside and taped well.

 

[dragonfly411]

I thought books, magazines, cds, dvds, letters (I'm sure it's nice to hear from the people they care about), news clippings from their local newspaper, fresh socks... men always need socks... seriously.... I've bought more socks for SO than I think even food. Other thoughts would be sun screen, crystal light, tea, things that will entertain them, crosswords, hats, sudoku.

Many have email access so you could brighten their day with funny emails, or maybe share a photo of you and people he knows now and again.

 

[doodle]

One other thing--keep his security clearance level in mind. For the majority of the soldiers, getting a letter or photo from home is fantastic. There are some soldiers, though, whose rank makes this dangerous. In the instance with the friend to whom I was sending the package, he wasn't allowed to get anything that could possibly reveal the identity or whereabouts of his friends or family because if he were captured, it could be used against him. He had to delete his facebook account and everything. I know the odds are pretty good that this isn't the case with your friend since it's a small percentage where it's applicable, but I still wanted to put that out there just in case! If you send anything personal like a mini-photo album or anything like that, I'd make it lightweight enough to be easily portable and as waterproof (aka sweat-proof) as possible. We made a 4x6 album for one of my friends--it was only a few pictures, but there was one of his family, a group shot of the whole group of our friends, etc. He carried it with him literally everywhere he went. Good grief, I sound like I know 70% of the entire US Army, haha! The perks of living in a military town!

 

[packrat]

My brother's girlfriend is in Afghanistan and I've just been emailing and asking what she needs/wants. I suggested things like crossword puzzle books, maybe she was interested in crafts like scrapping and wanted magazines but she was working so much she had no time for anything "fun". We've sent an iron, Glade plug ins w/refills, swiffer wet pad things, beef jerky (lots of that!), cereal bars, gum, mints, tea and sports drink mixes in tubs or in boxes w/individual packets, dvd's. The things she needs aren't always available there, so she's needed bars of soap, lotion, shower gel, shampoo, toothpaste etc.

It would be hard to know what to send if we weren't able to email. Her internet access was sporadic early on but it's been pretty regular lately. She's got Skype and she and my brother do that and call their cells. I hope your bff's brother will have that kind of access too!!

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

I was going to suggest hygiene things, sometimes nothing can make you feel close to home than what you use at home, their own shampoo, conditioner, body wash, deodorant..things like this!

 

[mayachel]

Thank you so much everyone! This is a great start. With the suddenness of the news, it is great to receive such warm (though not unexpected!) support on PS. I think it also helps humanize the military's work and families by hearing from those of you also have a personal connection. May it all be focused towards rebuilding soon.

 

[Guilty Pleasure]

I know the people on land might like different stuff than the people on the ships, but my husband liked being sent "good" cereal on the aircraft carrier because it was usually gone pretty quickly. Stuff like fruit loops and cinnamon toast crunch. They also watched a lot of full seasons of tv shows like "Rescue Me" etc.

 

[House Cat]

Send healthy snacks. My best friend was over there for a year and got really sick of junk food really quick. She was requesting healthy food quite early in her deployment.

Letters were really motivating to her, more than even the gifts and snacks. She leaned on them really hard because the deployment was tough. So send as many letters as you can. She said they were better than email or facebook contact.

Find out if they will have a bbq. She did. If so, send spices, packaged pre-made polenta (for grilling,) marinades, etc so they can grill it up right!

The flat rate boxes at the post office are a God-send for sending things to Afghanistan. Their rates apply for sending to overseas military.

 

[soocool]

If no cell phone or internet access, how about a phone card so that they could call home. They should have access to a regular phone.

 

[ImpatientOne]

I've been through multiple deployments between my husband and son and am in the midst of one right now with my husband. His favorites are magazines, powdered gatorade and propel packets, canned peaches (with pop tops), any type of snack foods, toiletries, wet wipes etc.

The weather should be cooling down there in another month or so. When it is cooler, I send homemade baked goodies. Brownies are a favorite. I normally bake them, and once they are sliced I freeze them before sealing with my foodsaver. They stay good and fresh and he always enjoys them. Another favorite is cake-in-a-jar. It's simple to make - just need to be sure to package it well so the glass does not break!