our troops in Afghanistan have no socks

[ensho]

http://thepoliticalcarnival.blogspot.com/2009/10/spending-billion-but-our-troops-in.html


I work at a high school. On a regular basis, we get military representatives coming into the classrooms asking, begging for donations of the most basic items... exactly like these:

CU tshirts - see original post for sizes and quanitities
Waterproof winter gloves (dark colors)

Balaclavas

Socks - white and winter wool for hiking

12 pairs of shower shoes

Pillows

Towels and wash clothes

PT clothes - winter and summer

Cash donations towards the purchase of athlectic shoes for PT <...>

On another note, my great friend and troop support partner, Bob Connolly and I have been in direct contact with the unit's CSM after learning that the base was destroyed and the men lost all of their belongs except the clothes on their backs. The Army is working to replace uniforms for the men. But they need assistance with other personal items. And they NEED TO KNOW that we are thinking about them over here, too.

Please contact me IMMEDIATELY to help fill their "needs" list below.
-snip-
----------------------------


sigh

[Captain Hilts]

1. It's ever been thus. A Roosevelt relative related after attending a WH dinner

that Eleanor and Gen. George C. Marshall spent a lot of time talking about getting socks and Coca Cola to the troops.

[Captain Hilts]

2. Both Liz and Phil called Gordon Brown and gave him the red ass over Brit troops kit in Afghanistan.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/theroyalfamily/6147011/Queens-displeasure-with-Brown-over-Afghanistan.html

He said: “The Queen, Prince Philip and Prince Charles are all furious with Gordon Brown over sub-standard equipment in Helmand, principally the under-armoured armoured cars and the lack of helicopters, and have been making their views known to him in no uncertain terms.”

[ensho]

3. didn't the Russian military have the same problem? and

on the Amazing Race TV show, in one of the Russian countries the contestants had to learn how to wrap a cloth strip around their feet like the military did, instead of socks.

[TxRider]

4. When you live on your feet, you can -never- have too many socks.

[gratuitous]

5. Pardon my callousness, but bummer

Re-allocate some of the more than $1 billion the miliary receives every day from the public coffers. If a gold-plated agency can't manage itself any better than that, then tough.

[dionysus]

7. classy. not.

[gratuitous]

8. Boo hoo

I quit genuflecting at the altar of the High Church of Redemptive Violence years ago. The troops need socks? Sell a fighter jet. Schools in my area have to hold bake sales just to outfit kids with enough pens and paper for the school year. Every dollar flushed down the black hole of the military is a dollar we don't have for schools, roads, fire departments, and other actually useful things. Go pester Erik Prince of Xe for money to supply the troops.

[Name removed]

9. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[SIMPLYB1980]

11. WTF!

http://www.homesforourtroops.org/site/PageServer?gclid=CO21uJy0rp0CFQO2sgodGTZ-jA

[MidwestRick]

6. Some other useful items

chap stick (lip balm)
flea collars (sand fleas are a bugger out there)

On a side note, and I am only speaking from my experience in the air force, but clothing is only issued in boot camp. After the initial clothing issue, uniforms and other items are to be replaced by the individuals. They are give clothing allowance once a year, but I would imagine the daily grind out in the desert things like socks get worn out rather quickly.

[proteus_lives]

10. Always been a problem.

Soldiers go through socks like crazy. I remember my dad mentioning it when talking about Vietnam. They move, march and put a lot of wear and tear on them.