Anyone here in the armed services and just back from Iraq or Afghanistan?

[rudder]

My wife's elementary school class is making some Christmas cards and letters for a soldier today. I thought it might be nice to send some other things this person might want/need that are not easy to come by. I lived on a military base and know about AAFES... lol, but where I was all the good stuff was always sucked up by the Filipino spouses and sold on the black market off-base. And it was an established base not in a war zone so the selection was probably better to begin with.

Did a little googling and found this list.. let me know if something on there would be most useful.

Deodorant
Shower to Shower body powder
Jelly beans
Disposable camera
Rice Krispie treats
Altoids/mints
Beef jerky
Snack mixes
Sunflower seeds
Chewing gum
Nuts
Long-distance phone cards
Little Debbie's snacks
Ziploc bags
Coffee
Gatorade
Jaw breakers
Poker game
Playing cards
Dice
Footbag/hacky-sack
Toothbrushes & toothpaste
Inflatable pillow
Cookies in individual packages (Big bags often fill with dust if not eaten right away.)
Dominoes
Pasta and sauce
Canned food items
Spices, salt, pepper
Smoked oysters and sardines
Squeeze butter
Pringles chips
Individually-wrapped licorice
Microwave popcorn
Ramen noodles
Macaroni & cheese
Disposable shower towels
Olives, pickles, peppers (Be sure to add lots of bubble wrap around these items.)
Cereal bars/granola bars
Microwave pasta that doesn't need refrigeration
Hot cocoa mix
Soup mix
M&M's (plain or peanut)
DVD's
Koozies to keep water bottles and cans cool
Newspapers
Magazines
AA batteries
D batteries
Air fresheners (...like stick-ups, F'breeze.)
Canned air to blow dust out of electronics
Stress relief squeeze balls
Sewing kit
Lysol wipes/hand & face wipes
Poker chips
Board games
Shoe laces for gym shoes and boots
Brown t-shirts
Boot socks
Underwear
Hand warmers
Inflatable seat cushions
Razors
Ink pens
Word Puzzle books
Icy/hot patches
Air activated heat wraps for sore muscles
Foot massager
Microwaveable plates, bowls, paper plates
Foot powder
Vitamins
Paperback books

 

[Train]

I copied your list. If I removed an item, forget it. added some comments/modified a few other items. But then again this is from my personal exp, others may be diff.


Rice Krispie treats
Beef jerky
Snack mixes
Sunflower seeds
Nuts
Little Debbie's snacks
Ziploc bags
Coffee
Gatorade
Dominoes
Pasta and sauce
Canned food items
Spices, salt, pepper (spices yes, but salt & pepper are the least needed)
Smoked oysters and sardines
Pringles chips
Individually-wrapped licorice
Microwave popcorn
Ramen noodles
Macaroni & cheese
Olives, pickles, peppers (send the plastic jars, glass is too risky)
Cereal bars/granola bars
Microwave pasta that doesn't need refrigeration
Hot cocoa mix
Soup mix
M&M's (peanut)
DVD's (dont be an ass and send war movies. Send comedies, preferably NEW releases that no one has seen)
Newspapers (meh, not so much)
Magazines
AA batteries
D batteries (I doubt d bats are used much anymore, everyone uses surefires, which batteries are illegal to export)
Air fresheners (...like stick-ups, F'breeze.) (again, meh)
Canned air to blow dust out of electronics
Sewing kit
Lysol wipes/hand & face wipes
Poker chips
Shoe laces for gym shoes and boots
Brown t-shirts (or green for the devil dogs/docs)
Boot socks
Underwear
Hand warmers
Word Puzzle books (yes! sudoku books are big too)
Icy/hot patches
Air activated heat wraps for sore muscles
Microwaveable plates, bowls, paper plates
Foot powder
Vitamins
Paperback books

 

[alfa147x]

Great list ill give a copy to my mom (she's a teacher )

 

[rudder]

Originally posted by: Train
But then again this is from my personal exp, others may be diff.

Thanks for the input. Any personal experience helps. Like I said, I got this list from searching on google so I wasn't sure. I figured the mess halls should at least have salt and pepper!

and alfa147x, if her class does do something... mail it within the next couple of days!