Our soldiers "in the field" are cold and hungry..(DU adopted soldiers)

[SoCalDem]

I taked to my friend Jim last night to get an update on how "our adopted soldiers" (his son is Jimmy, the one who gave us the original names) are doing..

They are cold, wet, and hungry.. It is now winter there and the 125 degree in the shade temperatures have given way to rain and cold.. They are in the kirkuk-Tikrit area, where it rains quite a bit in the winter.. These are the guys who go on all night patrols, and their "summer gear" is not cutting it..

Mary & Jim have sent Jimmy ski masks, hand warmers, long underwear, and the moisture releasing heavy duty socks..

He did not come out and say it, but I got the impression that they do not have winter gear of any kind..

As always, the care packages are going over great.. A note to those of you who have not heard from your soldier in a while. They are going out on week long forays, where they only have what they can carry, so their boxes may be at their staging area waiting for them, or they may be out of contact with "civilization"..

In the near future they may be "out of touch" for up to 45 days at a stretch..

He did assure me that their packages would be held for them when they return to their permanent unit..

Jimmy did finally get leave, but not the 15 days..He only got 6 days, so he went to Saudi for a bit of r&r.. He was disappointed to not be able to come home, but the break was welcoome anyway..

[radfringe]

1. I've got a 2nd & 3rd box ready to go

one of my co-worker's wives did up a collection at her workplace

thanks for the tip about winter gear - will be adding some of that to the packages

[SoCalDem]

3. off topic.. My son & his wife loved the paintings..

They will mat , frame and photograph them when they decide on the color they are going to paint their wall.. They are still in the "fix-up" stages in some of their rooms.. They went ahead and painted the walls white for now, but they have paint chips hanging all over til they make up their mind.. As soon as I get some pics , I will post them :)..

[radfringe]

4. Glad they liked them!

would like to see pics of them matted when it's done!

[bleedingheart]

2. I am glad that he is okay but it burns my britches that

they don't have what they need. Why should they have to pay for essentials to keep themselves warm?

I pray for all of those guys and gals over there..

[rfranklin]

5. Can you provide more info for those of us who missed this?

How can we get in on this effort?

[SoCalDem]

7. My friend's son is there and some of his men had gotten little or no mail

so we started sending them care packages.. Solly Mack's hubby is there too, so she added some new names to our list..

There are a couple of threads in the meeting room that have lists of stuff they can use, and people just send the boxes.. If you would like to participate, check out those lists and PM me for the list of names..:) It's just that easy..

We are also sending some care packages to some poor Iraqi families.. I have an Iraqi friend who is US military, and is high up the the command of the Coalition in Baghdad. He volunteered to receive the boxes and deliver them to the poor families for us.. There is a suggested list of stuff for that project too:)(meeting room)

[Knoxville_Bob]

11. Sadly

The guys in the field rarely have everything they need. From my time in, something was always missing, something always had to be replaced. It's not an administration issue, it's an issue with "field experts" who have never been in the field.

[0007]

6. I'm in the process now of getting four boxes ready now..

'tis important to keep this post up as long as we can. So keep kicking.

Thanks again for bringing this up SoCalDem

[TacticalPeek]

8. Kick that.

:kick:

[AnnabelLee]

9. I had a feeling something was going on

I didn't hear back after the latest package I sent, & I've been trying to not let my imagination run wild because of it. I can't imagine that M wouldn't write to say thanks unless something was keeping him from doing it.:-(

I'm getting an xmas package together & will now look for some winter gear to include...this brings back memories of when I was a kid, my maternal grandmother would never give us "neat" stuff for xmas, she always gave us boring, practical stuff like underwear & socks. I guess the boring, practical stuff will seem pretty neat to those poor guys & gals over there. I shudder to think of what kind of seasonal cheer there is to be had over there, for anyone unfortunate enough to be trapped in this horrific situation.:grr:

Edited for caffeine deficit-induced typo

[in_cog_ni_to]

10. This makes me very angry!

You mean to tell me they can't spend some of that $87 Billion on our own troops? :mad: How shameful that the "supposed" greatest, most powerful country in the world isn't taking care of it's troops. :nuke:

I will make up a holiday box and send the necessities for winter. How sad is this?

They're HUNGRY?????? I swear to G-D, there is NO excuse for anyone serving in the military to be hungry! :nuke:

[nostamj]

12. when the photo ops are over, the props are forgotten

the treatment of the troops by this cabal should have people circling the WH with pitchforks...

no water in the summer, inadequate clothing in the winter, no flack jackets... :grr:

[in_cog_ni_to]

13. photo op...schmoto op........

If only the sheeple of this country knew what was really happening with our troops. Blame the complicit KKK Rove WH, ass kissing, devil media. They know and are ignoring it.

[SoCalDem]

16. Notice how "happy to see the pres" that soldier looked in the pic?

:(

[Skittles]

14. I mailed Mike B a couple of fruitcakes

SoCal, if the particular soldier is not available I'd still want them to open the package - 45 days is a long time and they share the packages anyway.

[SoCalDem]

15. Jim said that he thought they would still get supplies & mail

...probably delivered to them at a rendezvous point..They just will not be able to return to their "base camp" for rest.. Aparently now, they are doing routine stuff and get to have "off time"..

I should find out more next week..

[proud patriot]

17. Thanks for the update I'll get some winter wear

out to them .

[SoCalDem]

18. off topic.. Concord is ONE COLD PLACE

I froze to death.. of course I only brought flip-flop type shoes and short sleeves.. No coat..just a few cardigan sweaters..

It's 78 here today.. (yes we are back at home)..

[spotbird]

19. Kick. It is just so sad.

My box for Christmas will go out in the morning, I guess I'll send another with warm things.

[slinkerwink]

21. this goes to show you where our administration's priorities are....

it sure as hell isn't with our soldiers.

[DUreader]

20. kick

[Mandate My Ass]

22. Any idea of sizes

for thermal underwear? I could just send a variety of sizes and hope they fit someone in the group.

[AnnabelLee]

23. I'm going by the pictures "my" soldier sent me

Judging from these pictures,

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=235204


I think he will probably take a large top & a medium pant size for thermal underwear, etc. (He looks shorter than most of the others, but very stocky around the middle). Looking at these guys, they seem to run the gamut from medium to XLarge or even 2XX, IMO. So, in answer to your question, I believe that almost any sizes we send will be of use to someone.

[JHB]

24. Weather for Kirkuk...

...can be found at
http://weather.boston.com/?code=IRKI

or a 15-day forecast at
http://www.accuweather.com/adcbin/public/intlocal_index.asp?wxcity2=KIRKUK&wxcountry=AW;IQ

Looks like overnight temperatures will approach freezing by the end of the week, with a freezing rain to compound it. Not fun.

Sending warm stuff is good; sending waterproof warm stuff is better.

[Solly Mack]

25. They need "poly-pros" (& hubby update/address request)

or what some soldiers call "sniffle" gear.

You can find it at Army/Navy Surplus stores. It's not always issued but it is the "regulation" thermal underwear.

It comes in OD (olive drab) green and it's fairly warm.

My husband is home. He wants to thank everyone at DU for the kind words and selfless giving but he's hesitant to speak to a wide audience of his experiences so far. I'm still working on him though...gently.

SoCalDem, I need to get that address to ship my boxes of food stuff for the families in Sadr,pretty please.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

26. Need that address too!

eom

[Bunny]

27. There's an Army Navy store a half-block from where I work.

I just went in and got a set of long johns, socks, gloves, a ski-mask type thing, and a poncho. I'll be getting my next package out this week. I hope it reaches them directly before too long.

[Hubert Flottz]

28. Bush made the same mistake Hitler made in Russia!

Hitler thought the war would be over before the weather turned bad! The German soldiers froze to death by the hundreds of thousands in Russia because Hitler Misled! Bush thought Iraq would be a walk-over too! Why didn't Bush dance in the streets with the dancin' Iraqi liberty lovers? Why didn't the CIC go for a chopper ride and see the guys in the field?

[SoCalDem]

29. The unit that my friend's son & his guys are in are in the most dangerous

part of the whole place.. I worry about them all the time.. The area that they patrol is circled..


note to mods:...This is not giving away any "secret" info, since their unit , branch, etc have never been openly divulged, and there are soldiers everywhere in Iraq..

[RamboLiberal]

30. Thanks for the update SoCalDem - I hadn't heard back and

was of course worried if they were getting the packages. Sent items off to 4 different soldiers about 6 - 8 weeks ago. Will get another package ready soon.

What kind of handwarmers can you send. I know there are a couple of different kinds in sporting goods store. I know the ones that run on lighter fuel would be out because of shipping hazard, but how about the chemical pack ones and I think there's another kind that runs on some kind of solid fuel?

If any one call let me know this, it's appreciated.

BTW, for those of you who shop online or not near a surplus store - here's a couple of sites that carry military gear and I've personally shopped at:

Brigade Quartermaster:
http://www.shoprmall.com/actiongear/?source=goto

US Cavalry:
http://www.uscav.com/

Cheaper Than Dirt:
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/ctd/retail.asp

[Timefortruth]

31. Kick, one last time. nt

[SoCalDem]

32. The chemical reaction ones probably.

Anything flamable would be a no-no :)