2007 - Messages from soldiers
I received the first seven packages today. Thanks for sending the valentine cards ... I went around to each of my soldiers and gave them a card for their wives or moms ... will they send them? Who knows ... but at least we tried ... When you're dealing with a bunch of 20-21 year old kids, a lot of times they don't realize how important it is for them to send out cards...they just want to receive them.
Anyway, I'm addicted to chocolate and my supply was running critically low...now thanks to you all I have a whole drawer full of chocolate ... that should last me a month or so...
... my replacement arrived yesterday ... So, I'll have to bring my replacement up to speed with your group so that he can distribute the goodies you send ... Thanks again for the packages.
-------
Just last night around 2:00am we had our first base attack (at our new Afghanistan base). When that happens, a siren goes off and then just like in MASH, over the intercom it is announced for everyone to take cover in a bunker until further notice. It lasted about 2-hours until they finally announced "all clear." Yes, just a little different than in the "Real World."
Oh, you will be loved by all once those bedding items arrive! As of now, most of my unit is sleeping on old Army cots because the unit we are replacing has not departed yet because of bad weather so everything is overcrowded.
In my platoon we have 20-Soldiers (15-male/5-female). As of now, any comfort items would be appreciated: the bedding items, snacks, general hygiene items, and shower shoes small/medium/large any color (though we have showers they are not the cleanest so we wear all rubber flipflops, which we refer to as shower shoes, and I believe since Summer is coming that Hobby Lobby should be carrying them for like 2 for $1).
Thanks again! And I hope things are going well for you and the Cadets back in the "Real World!"
-------
I have had the pleasure of being the recipient of many of your packages, and me and my platoon thank you all so much. We appreciate everything.
It brings a smile to all of our faces when we hear "Campbell, go to the CP and pick up your packages, again!" Many of the things you have sent us have helped tremendeously, especially the food, as we can't get a lot of it from our Post Exchange here on base.
So that you know that you are helping more than just soldiers, anything we don't need or can't use, gets taken to the Chaplains, who give it to the locals who live around our base and go longer without lots of things that we take for granted. Not only are you helping us, you are helping the local people, which essentially makes our job easier, especially when interacting with them.
Again, thank you very much for everything! If there is anything i can do for you at all, feel free to ask. When i return home I would love to meet all of you and thank you in person. If you ever need help fundraising or getting donations, feel free to ask. I would love to help you after all you have done for us! God bless
-------
I just returned from a wonderful 8-day trip to Forward Operating Bases (FOB) (in Afghanistan). I was able to observe Combat Soldiers and evaluate their living conditions and needs. On the FBs, which are all less than 1-mile in diameter and house approximately 40-Soldiers, are where the biggest needs are. They don't have restrooms, showers, hot meals or communications. I initially brought one box of y'alls goodies with me, but needless to say, that wasn't enough. So since my return, I packed 2-more boxes and the pilots are going to try to fly me out on a special 1-day trip to drop them off.
So yes, I have received many many many of y'alls boxes - thank you so much! The blankets, sheets and mattress pads went fast and were greatly appreciated! And some of the flip flops I donated to the Combat Support Hospital (CSH) because when wounded Soldiers come through, some times their uniforms and boots have to be cut-off and thrown-out or while they are hospitalized they only have their boots to wear.
Yes, I could use counseling type items such as stress balls, self-help literature (anger management...) and I make these "Soldier Survival Kits" with brown lunch bags, thin yellow ribbon and they are filled with "Lifesavers - to remind you of what you are; Gum - to remind you to stick with your unit; Tootie Rolls - to remind you to roll with it; Starbursts - to give you a burst of energy when you really need it; Laffy Taffy - to remind you to laugh whenever you can; Smarties - to remind you to use knowledge in order to do the right thing," so if you know anyone who would like to donate these items so we can continue to make these for Soldiers morale, that would be great!
We are also starting a "KickIt" program for nicotine addicts so if you know anyone who would like to donate gum, mints, chew sticks (ie Tea Tree Therapy Toothpicks can be purchased at Whole Foods), that would also be great!
And yes, most Soldiers have the capability to watch DVDs.
And yes, there are local children I have access to here. In fact, myself and another lady were thinking of sponsoring a girls school or orphanage.
Yes, it is starting to get a little warmer. Off the top of my head, I can't think of anything special for the warmer weather - except maybe kites. Supposedly kites are a big part of the culture here. Possibly Soldiers can use them to build better rapport with the locals.
-------
Wow! 20 more boxes - that's great! And y'all are great!!! I did receive the Mother's Day cards about 2-days ago and I have been passing them out daily and providing them to Soldiers as they visit our office. That was an excellent idea - thank you.
I also received the Hallmark card box with a variety of cards. That is so nice! Especially since many of our Soldiers are located where there are no post exchanges or post offices. I plan to always travel with the cards and offer them to Soldiers as I make visits and then carry the completed cards back with me to my base in order to mail them. Great idea!
Also, I received the box with the trail mix maker goodies in it and that will be perfect! Oh, and with the Cinco de Mayo goodies we received, we had a Cinco de Mayo celebration yesterday and invited all! It turned-out really nice and the pinatas were the hit of the celebration! Everyone from our BrigadeCommander (Colonel) to the lowest private attended and everyone was very thankful!
We have decided to support a local school first and that is going well. Mary Kay and I are in the process of just collecting as much as we can and then we will sort and deliver to the children. And yes, we have pumps to fill any type of balls - no problem.
So thank you again for all of your support! We all greatly appreciate it! We are continuing to cope with the deployment and overall everything is going well; however, we did have two more Soldiers pass due to IEDs, another pass due to a land mind, and one just recently commit suicide. We do have a long way to go especially with the additional 3-month extension, but with people like yourself and the ACT (Airborne Angle Cadets of Texas), we will be fine!
-------
We have been quite busy here in lovely Afghanistan. We have reached our 6-month mark so all of us are somewhat stressed in some form or another. Also, we have been participating in some heavy offensive and defensive missions.
The majority of behavioral health officers I served with in Iraq have opted to exit the military and are now civilians. However, myself and 2-mental health specialists are more than happy to continue to receive even more packages! In fact, my one mental health specialist .... has received about 12-boxes ... and has contacted a Doctor from our unit who monthly provides medical support to an orphanage. In September ... we are going to conduct a visit and deliver all the clothes and shoes. It should be one of those feel good moments.
DVDs would be great! We do have a DVD library for Soldiers to come and borrow movies. Now, after hours, Soldiers come in to take advantage of the television and watch all kinds of movies as well. Also, Soldiers enjoy series like, Sex in the City, M.A.S.H., Scrubs, and almost any actually.
Though we have been very busy, we did enjoy a 4th of July BBQ thanks to y'all and I have mailed you some pics. Yes, we are planning for the Luau now and spreading the word so everyone on our base will be able to take advantage of it. This time, we are also planning some fun interactive activities like the limbo, hot dog eating contest, and we're thinking of a hula hoop contest, but that would be if we could get a few hula hoops. I know they maybe difficult to mail, but if you have anyone willing to donate hula hoops.
Other than hula hoops, we could use maybe some different snack items that would be considered luau appropriate that could be mailed.
Other than luau items, we are still mostly just in need of snack items and personal hygiene items. Oh, I have completely run out of Tea Tree Therapy - Tea Tree Toothpicks. I know they're quite expensive so I was wondering if I funded them, if y'all could purchase them at Whole Foods? That's were I had bought them in bulk prior to my deployment and then I mailed them to myself. If you could, that would be great! -------
"Wow, you guys go all out when you donate! The stack of boxes just came in today. The movies, soap and shampoo was a great item. They like the popcorn too. Now everyone has writing materials so they can send letters to their families. I haven't given everything away yet, and there should even be some left over for some guys outside my unit. The guys are were really happy that I signed us up with your organization. "
"I can't begin to tell you how happy your gifts make soldiers like us. It lets them know that there are people back home that care about them. Thank you."
-------
"Yes, we finally delivered all the school supplies y'all donated to a local school outside our base (Afghanistan). We first separated the school supplies and filled over 400 little book bags. The bags were then loaded with a forklift onto a LMTV (big truck) and we convoyed into the city where we were able to visit with the children and distribute the bags. It was a great experience and I have mailed y'all pictures so you once again can see where your efforts go and how many people enjoy them!
Thank you for the Veteran's Day wishes and the care packages with the DVDs. That was so nice. And y'all are welcome! Sometimes remembering the people back in the Real World and how much they appreciate what we are doing is the only thing that keeps us going> :-)
Yes, I did receive the boxes with the kids' pictures and cold weather items. I have yet to respond to the kids, but I have all there pics and letters up for the Soldiers to enjoy.
Of course I do not mind the multitude of boxes. We are continually hand delivering care packages as we visit those less fortunate bases. And for Thanksgiving, my Brigade Commander is travelling to many of those bases in order to spread Holiday Cheer and I have been asked to ride along. I plan on bringing as many items as I can carry and fit on the Blackhawks :-)
Holiday items and cold weather items would be great right about now. Yes, I can distribute all those wonderful stockings and black is the only authorized color we may wear in hats and gloves. And any black gloves are appreciated. And I love the Insulated Black Hats that were sent - those are awesome! Hand warmers are great too.
Oh, and at the beginning of the deployment y'all sent some Carmello candy bars that were purchased as fundraisers and the pilots loved them! Since the pilots help me so much with traveling and getting care packages to Soldiers, I try to go out of my way for them as well. Anyway, if anyone happens to donate more of the Carmello candy bars, would you please send them my way and I'll make sure the pilots receive them? Thanks.
Overall, we have just entered our 9-month of being deployed and with 6-more months to go and the Holidays coming-up, we are stressed and tired, too include myself. But we are coping and with continued support form people like y'all, I'm sure we'll be fine :-)
I received the first seven packages today. Thanks for sending the valentine cards ... I went around to each of my soldiers and gave them a card for their wives or moms ... will they send them? Who knows ... but at least we tried ... When you're dealing with a bunch of 20-21 year old kids, a lot of times they don't realize how important it is for them to send out cards...they just want to receive them.
Anyway, I'm addicted to chocolate and my supply was running critically low...now thanks to you all I have a whole drawer full of chocolate ... that should last me a month or so...
... my replacement arrived yesterday ... So, I'll have to bring my replacement up to speed with your group so that he can distribute the goodies you send ... Thanks again for the packages.
-------
Just last night around 2:00am we had our first base attack (at our new Afghanistan base). When that happens, a siren goes off and then just like in MASH, over the intercom it is announced for everyone to take cover in a bunker until further notice. It lasted about 2-hours until they finally announced "all clear." Yes, just a little different than in the "Real World."
Oh, you will be loved by all once those bedding items arrive! As of now, most of my unit is sleeping on old Army cots because the unit we are replacing has not departed yet because of bad weather so everything is overcrowded.
In my platoon we have 20-Soldiers (15-male/5-female). As of now, any comfort items would be appreciated: the bedding items, snacks, general hygiene items, and shower shoes small/medium/large any color (though we have showers they are not the cleanest so we wear all rubber flipflops, which we refer to as shower shoes, and I believe since Summer is coming that Hobby Lobby should be carrying them for like 2 for $1).
Thanks again! And I hope things are going well for you and the Cadets back in the "Real World!"
-------
I have had the pleasure of being the recipient of many of your packages, and me and my platoon thank you all so much. We appreciate everything.
It brings a smile to all of our faces when we hear "Campbell, go to the CP and pick up your packages, again!" Many of the things you have sent us have helped tremendeously, especially the food, as we can't get a lot of it from our Post Exchange here on base.
So that you know that you are helping more than just soldiers, anything we don't need or can't use, gets taken to the Chaplains, who give it to the locals who live around our base and go longer without lots of things that we take for granted. Not only are you helping us, you are helping the local people, which essentially makes our job easier, especially when interacting with them.
Again, thank you very much for everything! If there is anything i can do for you at all, feel free to ask. When i return home I would love to meet all of you and thank you in person. If you ever need help fundraising or getting donations, feel free to ask. I would love to help you after all you have done for us! God bless
-------
I just returned from a wonderful 8-day trip to Forward Operating Bases (FOB) (in Afghanistan). I was able to observe Combat Soldiers and evaluate their living conditions and needs. On the FBs, which are all less than 1-mile in diameter and house approximately 40-Soldiers, are where the biggest needs are. They don't have restrooms, showers, hot meals or communications. I initially brought one box of y'alls goodies with me, but needless to say, that wasn't enough. So since my return, I packed 2-more boxes and the pilots are going to try to fly me out on a special 1-day trip to drop them off.
So yes, I have received many many many of y'alls boxes - thank you so much! The blankets, sheets and mattress pads went fast and were greatly appreciated! And some of the flip flops I donated to the Combat Support Hospital (CSH) because when wounded Soldiers come through, some times their uniforms and boots have to be cut-off and thrown-out or while they are hospitalized they only have their boots to wear.
Yes, I could use counseling type items such as stress balls, self-help literature (anger management...) and I make these "Soldier Survival Kits" with brown lunch bags, thin yellow ribbon and they are filled with "Lifesavers - to remind you of what you are; Gum - to remind you to stick with your unit; Tootie Rolls - to remind you to roll with it; Starbursts - to give you a burst of energy when you really need it; Laffy Taffy - to remind you to laugh whenever you can; Smarties - to remind you to use knowledge in order to do the right thing," so if you know anyone who would like to donate these items so we can continue to make these for Soldiers morale, that would be great!
We are also starting a "KickIt" program for nicotine addicts so if you know anyone who would like to donate gum, mints, chew sticks (ie Tea Tree Therapy Toothpicks can be purchased at Whole Foods), that would also be great!
And yes, most Soldiers have the capability to watch DVDs.
And yes, there are local children I have access to here. In fact, myself and another lady were thinking of sponsoring a girls school or orphanage.
Yes, it is starting to get a little warmer. Off the top of my head, I can't think of anything special for the warmer weather - except maybe kites. Supposedly kites are a big part of the culture here. Possibly Soldiers can use them to build better rapport with the locals.
-------
Wow! 20 more boxes - that's great! And y'all are great!!! I did receive the Mother's Day cards about 2-days ago and I have been passing them out daily and providing them to Soldiers as they visit our office. That was an excellent idea - thank you.
I also received the Hallmark card box with a variety of cards. That is so nice! Especially since many of our Soldiers are located where there are no post exchanges or post offices. I plan to always travel with the cards and offer them to Soldiers as I make visits and then carry the completed cards back with me to my base in order to mail them. Great idea!
Also, I received the box with the trail mix maker goodies in it and that will be perfect! Oh, and with the Cinco de Mayo goodies we received, we had a Cinco de Mayo celebration yesterday and invited all! It turned-out really nice and the pinatas were the hit of the celebration! Everyone from our BrigadeCommander (Colonel) to the lowest private attended and everyone was very thankful!
We have decided to support a local school first and that is going well. Mary Kay and I are in the process of just collecting as much as we can and then we will sort and deliver to the children. And yes, we have pumps to fill any type of balls - no problem.
So thank you again for all of your support! We all greatly appreciate it! We are continuing to cope with the deployment and overall everything is going well; however, we did have two more Soldiers pass due to IEDs, another pass due to a land mind, and one just recently commit suicide. We do have a long way to go especially with the additional 3-month extension, but with people like yourself and the ACT (Airborne Angle Cadets of Texas), we will be fine!
-------
We have been quite busy here in lovely Afghanistan. We have reached our 6-month mark so all of us are somewhat stressed in some form or another. Also, we have been participating in some heavy offensive and defensive missions.
The majority of behavioral health officers I served with in Iraq have opted to exit the military and are now civilians. However, myself and 2-mental health specialists are more than happy to continue to receive even more packages! In fact, my one mental health specialist .... has received about 12-boxes ... and has contacted a Doctor from our unit who monthly provides medical support to an orphanage. In September ... we are going to conduct a visit and deliver all the clothes and shoes. It should be one of those feel good moments.
DVDs would be great! We do have a DVD library for Soldiers to come and borrow movies. Now, after hours, Soldiers come in to take advantage of the television and watch all kinds of movies as well. Also, Soldiers enjoy series like, Sex in the City, M.A.S.H., Scrubs, and almost any actually.
Though we have been very busy, we did enjoy a 4th of July BBQ thanks to y'all and I have mailed you some pics. Yes, we are planning for the Luau now and spreading the word so everyone on our base will be able to take advantage of it. This time, we are also planning some fun interactive activities like the limbo, hot dog eating contest, and we're thinking of a hula hoop contest, but that would be if we could get a few hula hoops. I know they maybe difficult to mail, but if you have anyone willing to donate hula hoops.
Other than hula hoops, we could use maybe some different snack items that would be considered luau appropriate that could be mailed.
Other than luau items, we are still mostly just in need of snack items and personal hygiene items. Oh, I have completely run out of Tea Tree Therapy - Tea Tree Toothpicks. I know they're quite expensive so I was wondering if I funded them, if y'all could purchase them at Whole Foods? That's were I had bought them in bulk prior to my deployment and then I mailed them to myself. If you could, that would be great! -------
"Wow, you guys go all out when you donate! The stack of boxes just came in today. The movies, soap and shampoo was a great item. They like the popcorn too. Now everyone has writing materials so they can send letters to their families. I haven't given everything away yet, and there should even be some left over for some guys outside my unit. The guys are were really happy that I signed us up with your organization. "
"I can't begin to tell you how happy your gifts make soldiers like us. It lets them know that there are people back home that care about them. Thank you."
-------
"Yes, we finally delivered all the school supplies y'all donated to a local school outside our base (Afghanistan). We first separated the school supplies and filled over 400 little book bags. The bags were then loaded with a forklift onto a LMTV (big truck) and we convoyed into the city where we were able to visit with the children and distribute the bags. It was a great experience and I have mailed y'all pictures so you once again can see where your efforts go and how many people enjoy them!
Thank you for the Veteran's Day wishes and the care packages with the DVDs. That was so nice. And y'all are welcome! Sometimes remembering the people back in the Real World and how much they appreciate what we are doing is the only thing that keeps us going> :-)
Yes, I did receive the boxes with the kids' pictures and cold weather items. I have yet to respond to the kids, but I have all there pics and letters up for the Soldiers to enjoy.
Of course I do not mind the multitude of boxes. We are continually hand delivering care packages as we visit those less fortunate bases. And for Thanksgiving, my Brigade Commander is travelling to many of those bases in order to spread Holiday Cheer and I have been asked to ride along. I plan on bringing as many items as I can carry and fit on the Blackhawks :-)
Holiday items and cold weather items would be great right about now. Yes, I can distribute all those wonderful stockings and black is the only authorized color we may wear in hats and gloves. And any black gloves are appreciated. And I love the Insulated Black Hats that were sent - those are awesome! Hand warmers are great too.
Oh, and at the beginning of the deployment y'all sent some Carmello candy bars that were purchased as fundraisers and the pilots loved them! Since the pilots help me so much with traveling and getting care packages to Soldiers, I try to go out of my way for them as well. Anyway, if anyone happens to donate more of the Carmello candy bars, would you please send them my way and I'll make sure the pilots receive them? Thanks.
Overall, we have just entered our 9-month of being deployed and with 6-more months to go and the Holidays coming-up, we are stressed and tired, too include myself. But we are coping and with continued support form people like y'all, I'm sure we'll be fine :-)
