What should a soldier bring to Afghanistan??? My BF's ex-stepson is headed

[fed-up]

for Afghanistan in the middle of January, what should he take (we send) with him? He is a ranger with the 3rd Infantry. He is home at his mom's for another three weeks before he ships out.

After reading the posts from the last few days about the shellshocked soldiers coming back from there and the escallating situation along the border with Pakistan I am worried sick about what will happen to him when he is there. We've known for awhile that he might go, but now the reality is just beginning to sink in. I think somehow we were in denial and had hoped that the war would be over before he got sent out.

His mom is a Limpball fan and believes every lie that comes out of *'s mouth. My boyfriend and I are devastated by the thought that he is willingly (if one can count personal decisions based on lies and propaganda from our government) heading to the hell hole in Afghanistan. He is a nice (but gullible) kid.

He told his half-brother that Iraqi's are stinky, dirty rag-heads (apparently some of the Iraqis brought to the states to train them have different habits) which means that the military has succeeded in brainwashing some of the soldiers into dehumanizing their enemy (so much easier to kill them that way).

I so hate our leaders for allowing this war to have been started and to have continued for so long. Why the hell do we bother electing them if they are no longer loyal to those that voted them into office?

I remember how hard it was to wait to hear from my brother during the first Gulf War when he was in Iraq, but that was of such a much shorter duration.

Any suggestions for things to keep him warm or entertained are welcome. We don't want to overload him with stuff that will be useless. My boyfriend suggested battery warmed socks, but I wondered if there would be a way to recharge batteries.

Also any specific brands of warm clothing that would keep him warm, but that are easy to wash/dry would be welcomed. We have no idea if he will be at a base camp or far from a base. We have no idea what kind of armour he will have even though he said "they are taking care of the troops now".

thanks in advance and sorry for the rambling (I am in tears and it is so hard for me to push the post message button, because in doing so it will really, really mean that the war has hit home)

[SoyCat]

1. My suggestion would be to read what they are asking for over at anysoldier.com. I think you'll get

a good idea of what is really needed.

[fed-up]

7. anysoldier is a great site, but so much to choose from-any idea what this

means? What are "nonauthorized political materials"?????

http://anysoldier.com/HowToSend.cfm

What can't you send?
Basically:

Any matter depicting nude or semi nude persons, pornographic or sexual items,
or nonauthorized political materials.

[sam sarrha]

10. maybe they mean a subscription of the 'Nation'..?

[SoyCat]

18. That's a new one to me. I certainly don't remember reading that back when I was sending care

packages. I really can't explain that one but I'd really be interested in just *what* they are referring to as "nonauthorized"!

[DU9598]

2. Tough call

Ranger Joe's website has a lot of useful stuff for soldiers ... but you may be shocked at what soldiers need to buy for themselves. If you were wealthy I would suggest an I-POD onto which you can download a bunch of music and also podcasts from Democracy Now, The Daily Show, and other enlightened podcasters.

[fed-up]

4. My BF is a small farmer and is not wealthy, but his mom may be able to afford

something like that. Thanks for the suggestion.

[wakeme2008]

3. the sad part is this boy does not have a shopping list of things

There must be tons of troops in his unit that has been there before and should have passed on things that they need to bring with them.

[shadowknows69]

5. He should take a bus ticket to Canada

while you're still able to go over in a vehicle without a passport. Better yet tell him to take a taxi over and he probably won't even get IDed at the border.

Edited to add: I apologize for the thread hijack. It wasn't constructive. I won't delete it becaue I stand by it but I am sorry. I hope for his safety whatever he does of course. Just feeling particularly pissed and passionate today.

[bagrman]

6. Extra underwear!

[malta blue]

8. Long johns...

tons of socks and underwear

wet ones antibacterial wipes (they come in single packages too, easy to keep in the pocket)

fleece type hat, scarf, etc (whatever you can get). It dries quickly.

Entertainment stuff (ipod, etc.)

I will tell Little MB to add this young man to her list of soldiers that she thinks of daily.

Peace...

[sam sarrha]

9. make sure..!!! he has a gel helmet liner.. LINK>> and body armor, have a bake sale outside walmart

http://www.oregonaero.com/p81_2001.html

http://www.oregonaero.com/Prlist14.htm

http://www.afmo.com/Body_Armor_and_Concealable_Vests_s/19.htm/

http://www.afmo.com

this stuff is expensive.. so have bake sales, have a photo of him in uniform.. and a wish list..

make sure he has a helmet liner!! Brain injury is the GulfWarII disease.. and the vets admin isn't acknowledging it as a disability.

have him tell you what they are short when he gets there, have you church or start a cumminity action group the help them out too.. they all need liners. bake sales are a very visibale way to get the work out they need help..

he may also need a video game player and some games.. it gets boring. there were some pilots just kicking our ass's on the Crimson Skies multiplayer..

[fed-up]

13. thanks-I know that there are at least 150K injured/sick/disabled so far

in this war.

I have done fund raisers for other things so that is a great idea. I just moved and now have a great location/yard to hold rummage sales.

From the site you sent me to it looks like I need to find out what kind of helmet he will be wearing.

When I was looking for a house in town to down-size to the tenant in the first house I looked at was the mother of the first Chico soldier killed in this war. He was on a road clearing mission for a Rumsfeld visit. The house was full of photos of her son and it broke my heart to see her pain 3 years after he was taken from her.

[fed-up]

14. I need more help picking out body armour please-so much to choose from..

thnx

[chknltl]

11. Click on my sig line...send him over with a DVD.

...sorry that might qualify as a "no no" to those who make such decisions. All snark aside, I feel your pain, we are watching the flower of American youth heading off to do the bidding of a sick few who are looking to profit from this. Like many who came back from Nam, let us hope all he comes back with are a few delusions burst and nothing more. (Does anyone here still think we needed to "win" in Viet Nam in order to stop the spread of Communisim?)... Your desire to support this soldier is quite commendable. Proof positive that liberals actually do care for and support our troops in spite of what the bushbots say.

[ThomWV]

12. A Healthy Respect For The Afghani People

I'm not saying that to be flip about it; a healthy respect for the people of that war-torn country would probably go a long way toward keeping him safe.

[silverlib]

15. The things our adopted troop requested

Wet Wipes - but remember, they should be alcohol-free; good health bars (as these guys work out a lot); latest best-selling novels, and we had one request for boots (the army issue low bid ones are terrible on some feet), phone cards, We also sent playing cards and poker chips. But most, and above all, letters and handwritten cards.

Our P&J group selected an eight-member outfit stationed in Afganistan through anysoldier.com. We were told not to expect return correspondence. But, for the entire year, we received letters and pictures and one of them visited us in Austin while on leave. The women asked for Pearls, as the army issue tampons were low-bid also.

Once he is there, ask and he hopefully will tell you what he needs.

Peace - and hopefully we will have our troops home.

[roody]

16. GI rights hotline phone number

GI rights hotline.
http://girights.objector.org /
Another good resource: http://www.citizen-soldier.org/

[fed-up]

17. believe me, my BF tried to talk him out of enlisting, but he is young and

hasn't lived with BF for at least 10 years....

The good news is that his half-brother who is 14 and my son (18) have no intentions of voluntarily signing up.

[Target_For_Exterm]

19. This is something cool if he's going to spend time in the

boondocks:

http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2006/05/sunlinq_rollup_solar_panel.html

If he likes various electronic entertainment toys, he won't have to worry about batteries or recharging because a small, roll-up solar panel can take care of it, and still be lightweight enough to carry around in a military overstuffed backpack.

They sell these that are big enough to charge a laptop, portable TV, just about any small electronics item, etc.

(And yep, I bought a couple for myself just for around the house.)

[Bullwinkle925]

20. Honest-to-God - my first thought was .....

Force them to do something that their father is asking others' to do!!