Sgt Grit Marine Forums

I've been given the go ahead to send a package. The only thing hubby said he could think of to send now are disposable cameras. Now, I have pages and pages of ideas to send him, but what should I send the first time? Since he hasn't been there that long, I don't know yet what he has access to(stores) and I won't know now for at least 10 days, the next time I can talk to him. The only thing I can think is to send pictures. Ideas/suggestions...??


When he is out, on a mission or something, will his letters/packages be waiting for him when he gets back, or do they find him, or what? Thank you.

the mail should be there waiting for him when he gets back to his base if he's out on missions... when EJ was 17mths old hubby deployed the 2nd time, i dont really remember what i put in the first package but i do know i let him color a picture & i'm sure i put pictures of EJ in there too, then sent anything that i thought he would like, made cookies, etc.....

I sent sheets,a pillow case(that smelled like me) and a small pillow. His fave hot sauce,little packets of cup soups , batteries a and brownies in his first package.

In general though I sent a lot of Cool Aid singles, razor blades(he shaves his head) and creamer. Those were the things he needed the most. I also sent him new underwear and green shirts a couple of times,because it can sometimes be difficult for them to wash things. And in every package there was a hand-made card from me.(once I put in "lips confetti" for Valentine's Day and when he opened it up,it went everywhere. Everyone thought it was funny )

If I had a kid,I would def put something in there from him/her every time. Like Tanya said,drawings,pictures.....etc.

Well I've never been with Jimmy for a deployment, but I have an adopted soldier I send packages to. Obviously I don't send personal items like you would, but in the first package I sent him, I sent all sorts of snacks, packages of that ready to eat tuna, candy, gum, nuts & almonds, playing cards, tons of iced tea/ kool aid/ gatorade single serves, wash cloths & sheets, pretty normal stuff, nothing too exciting. Of course you could send all sorts of lovey stuff   I sent paper and pens and envelopes, disposable cameras. Oh and like baby wipe/ bathroom wipes, small stuff like Q-tips, lotion, aloe vera gel, sunscreen. I actually sent a TON of stuff in that package, so he could share with his squad too. And of course razors, shave gel & after shave. And other random stuff I can't think of now = )

If it was Jimmy I'd send lots of pics of course, and probably most of the stuff I sent to my soldier.

how do you get assigned a soldier to send care packages to? i would love to do that!!!

In every package that I sent to Matthew I sent him a can, or two, of salmon that we had caught and that I had then smoked and canned. It was a "homey" present that I knew he would love. I also usually sent one of the cans of powdered Gatorade, some type of gummy candie (he loves things like gummy worms), I would send sunflower seeds sometimes, snack bars ie granola bars, or protien bars (he has a heck of a time keeping weight....wish I had that problem) I also would add in a written letter and whatever else I had at the time.

I didn't live near a commissary, the closest on was a little over 3 hours away, so once a month or so I would drive up to Anch and would do a HUGE shopping trip - mainly for stuff to send him in care packages, because otherwise alot of the stuff was WAYYYYYY to expensive in AK for me to send to him all the time.

I know a big thing is foot care stuff, whether its insoles for his boots, or foot cream or powder to try and fight athletes foot. Also baby wipes, even the one's that come in the indivudual package. So that they could stick one or two into a pocket in their cammies, and maybe be able to take the time to "wash" their hands before they eat.

I would also do the pillow case with my perfume on it (send it in a plastic baggie so it still smells like you when they get it) on big occasions; ex Christmas, Valentines day, our 6 month wedding anniversary.

I know you wont get to talk with him all that often, but do you have email access with him??? If so ask him questions about things that he would like, find out if he has access to a microwave and if he does - then send him the Cambells microwavable soups so that he has alternate options for food instead of always the chow hall. I sent top-ramen, the little packages of the premixed tuna (for protien) send dried fruits.

And I know how weird this is going to sound.... but tampons! I talked with some girls at a KV course that I did, and one of the ladies husbands unit had been getting the Unisex carepackages from a church group. So each package had a small container of tampons - the guys as a joke decided to carry them with them saying things like, "You got your tampon? Just in case So and So hits his time of month on this mission???" Well it turns out that one of the guys got shot on a mission, and the Doc happened to have his tampon in his breast pocket and it was the first thing that he grabbed and was able to insert it into the wound track. Saved the Marine's life!!!

Of course when the Marine called to tell his mom what happened he asked if she knew that the tampons expanded when they absorbed blood... No one in my class had a straight face after that recall!!!!

ErLyCh83:

how do you get assigned a soldier to send care packages to? i would love to do that!!!

I don't think this will conflict with Grits since it isn't a similar website....

There is a website www.soldiersangels.com where you can "adopt" deployed soldiers who may not have anyone writing or sending care packages to them. Its a commitment to your soldier, but its awesome! I love it! Check it out and see if it's something you'd be interested in and able to do, and if so, sign up! I searched for a while for a way to write to soldiers, and this program is perfect! = )