[Vision2020] anysoldier.com

[Joan Opyr]

Wow, Debbie.  While I'm sure you're worried about your nephew, it's 
good that you're in touch with him, and it must be amazing to have 
found him after all those years in Baghdad, of all places.  About 
sweating in a tank -- I've found some high-tech T-shirts, socks and 
underwear in the Brigade Quartermasters catalog that are made of some 
special anti-microbial fabric.  They're expensive, but if they can help 
make someone trapped in a tank more comfortable, they're a gift worth 
giving.  You can find the Brigade catalog online at www.actiongear.com. 
  You're absolutely right about the phone cards.  I made the mistake of 
buying some through the USPO in December and sending them overseas.  A 
returning service member told me about the AT&T deal and how he'd had 
phone cards galore and was unable to use them.

BTW, I met a Navy wife this past weekend (who was a former Navy service 
member herself).  A very interesting woman.  Her husband was due to 
retire after twenty years at the end of this month.  Instead, because 
of the military's stop-loss order, he's being sent to Iraq.  This 
woman, who has two kids, was the very picture of strength in adversity. 
  I talked to her about anysoldier.com, and she also highly recommended 
it.  She's got a tough row to hoe, so I'll be looking into something 
along the lines of "any spouse" soon.  I know there are many, many 
groups dedicated to helping families with parents or spouses serving 
overseas.  Perhaps someone out there would like to recommend a group?

Joan

On Jun 20, 2006, at 12:27 AM, Debbie Gray wrote:

> I'd like to put in a word of encouragement for using this website. 
> Through
> it I found my 21 year old nephew and have been in contact with him (he 
> is
> in and around Baghdad now on his 2nd tour).
>
> Here are a few suggestionsL
>
> If you mail things over there, use the 'Flat Rate Mail Box' that will 
> ship
> anywhere for the low price of $8.10. You can get the boxes at the USPS 
> and
> cram them full of stuff and it only costs $8.10 no matter how heavy it 
> is.
>
> Some things my nephew really liked were the little debbie snack cakes,
> powdered gatorade or similar items, books, DVDs, gum, handy-wipes, tuna
> pouches, toothpaste/toothbrush, spice packets, chicken noodle soup
> packets, and things like that. Also, I sent playing cards, soduku
> booklets, dice, yahtzee pads, etc. Be careful of things that melt (e.g.
> chocolate) or crumble (e.g. homemade cookies) and don't pack
> things like laundry soap or the like with food no matter how well you
> think they're wrapped.
>
> He is out in a tank for weeks at a time, eating/sleeping/sweating with 
> all
> the other people in that little enclosed space and then comes in to 
> camp
> for some 'civilized time' where they can watch movies on dvds, play 
> games
> on playstation, shower, etc.
>
> He also was thrilled to get pictures from home, pictures of normal 
> life,
> pictures of Idaho scenery (he is from Idaho), pictures my kids drew, 
> that
> kind of thing.
>
> He also said calling cards were iffy because the gov has a contract 
> with
> AT&T and only AT&T to provide phone services and sometimes it was hard 
> to
> even use the AT&T cards.
>
> Also, don't expect a letter back. The soldiers are thrilled to get word
> from stateside but aren't always able to respond... I did get to talk 
> to
> my nephew one morning at 5am our time, it was AWESOME since I hadn't
> talked to him since he was 6!
>
> Good luck! You can narrow your search for people from Idaho or people 
> in
> the pacific northwest or to groups with women soldiers, etc, or just 
> pick
> them at random. Some soldiers post pictures and updates, also.
>
> Debbie
>
> On Tue, 20 Jun 2006, Joan Opyr wrote:
>
>> Instead, I'd like to direct Visionaries' attention to the following
>> website:  http://www.anysoldier.com.  At Any Soldier, you can donate
>> care packages to service members in Iraq.  Perhaps some of you know a
>> service member; you can address your package to him or her.
>>