THE TROOPS ALSO NEED.....

I have been told by a military person, that the troops also need some very basic items of comfort, which are easy to mail. Here they are: CHAPSTICK, SUN SCREEN, KLEENX WIPES OR BABY WIPES, SMALL TUBES OF HAND CREAM, VASELINE, MRS. DASH OR OTHER SPICES, CLIFF BARS OR POWER BARS. Hard to believe, but very often, the infantry guys don't get to shower for weeks on end - in one case, over a month! The living conditions are beyond tough, as are they! So......
Evidently the weather, particularly in Afghanistan, chaps the lips terribly. In fact, I was told that the very high altitudes and the cold weather combine to dry out the skin. In that they often are traveling, setting up tents here and there, smaller containers of these items are better. A soldier (currently on leave at home; his wife is a new warrior with us) told me that VASELINE is critical, because they walk so much, they put it between their toes to help prevent blisters.
TARGET is a good source for these TRAVEL SIZE items. Another good source is the 99 CENT STORE. TARGET has bins with these things in them, especially made for traveling. My daughter and I picked up some when we went to Ireland. They are located near the pharmacy in every store. Even though the travel size is less cost effective, these infantry troops move from place to place and therefore, packing up big sizes of things is too much of a challenge.
Lastly, this soldier said that the READY MADE FOOD they eat all begins to 'taste the same'. The idea of MRS. DASH or small bottles of other seasonings, came up in conversation. The military does provide salt, pepper and Tabasco in these ready made food provisions.
So, if you are mailing off a few balaclavas or neck socks or watch caps, it might be a good idea to include some of these items as surprises. OH, BUT BE SURE TO PUT THEM IN ZIP LOCK BAGS SO IF THERE IS ANY LEAKAGE, THE BOX OF OTHER ITEMS WOULD BE PROTECTED. This soldier told me that this is a bigger problem when dealing with items sent to Iraq because sometimes, it is so very hot there, things melt. But in AFghanistan, this does not appear to be a big problem - most particularly in the winter months. It's freezing there!
WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS: A special shout-out to our growing numbers of members. Welcome to those in Santa Clarita; Elk Grove, California; Ojai and Oxnard, California; as well as, the Santa Ynez Valley. We especially want to thank those new members who do NOT knit, but who want to be part of HELPING OUR TROOPS by participating in sending other needed items. We go where the need is!
KUDOS TO THOSE WHO ARE HELPING IN OUR QUICK SOLVE OF A BIG PROBLEM: As you may or may not know, we heard from a group of 40 paratroopers who are somewhere in the mountains of Afghanistan. They responded to a Christmas Card. They are cold and were very appreciative of any number of NECK SOCKS or BALACLAVAS we might be able to send. Well, how can you just send a few when all 40 are freezing? So, in this case, we decided to send what we had completed (many had already been sent out to others, so we were down in our supply) AND BUY THE REST FROM THE SIERRA TRADING POST. Thanks so much to this company for taking $1.00 off each balaclava. Thanks also to them for packing them up and mailing them off to the APO address for us. So, instead of 11.95 each, we got them for 10.95 each. We sent off the 31 they had left in stock. Two other members made up the difference in hand-knitted neck socks. So all 40 of these guys - our new 'family' of paratroopers - will be warm. Nobody will be left out. THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO CHIPPED IN FOR THIS ER SOLUTION OF A BIG PROBLEM. Feels good.
Additionally, I received a 'snail-mail' two page very heart-warming letter from a Marine Captain. He was responding to a simple Christmas card we sent out too! You would have thought we handed him a zillion dollars! These CARDS AND LETTERS evidently, mean a great deal to all of them. Anyway, and of course, this is not mentioned in the media (see a pattern here?) he had two requests in response to my query: warm caps and gloves for the children they meet on a daily basis in Kabul; if possible, something knitted for his wife, who is pregnant with their first child. He said that 'it is really not necessary to send anything, as the card meant so much...." but this gave me another GREAT IDEA: WE COULD ALSO OFFER KNITTED ITEMS TO SOLDIERS WHO HAVE WIVES WHO ARE EXPECTING. This hit me hard because I have 23 sweater outfits for babies just ready to go. Of course, the MILITARY COMES FIRST; but in my case most particularly, if I hear from a guy who is about to become a father, I would be so pleased to send off a baby outfit to his wife. One is going out on Wednesday!
So, "Wool Warriors", we have expanded in what we can and probably should do in addition to our needed knitting and crocheting: ITEMS OF PERSONAL NEED IN SMALL TRAVEL SIZES, SPICES FOR FOOD, CARDS AND LETTERS, KNITTED OR CROCHETED ITEMS FOR AFGHANI CHILDREN; BABY OUTFITS FOR NEWBORNS STATE-SIDE. If nothing else, those cards and letters are critical - most particularly after Christmas, when people tend to forget.... It can be dreary for them.
EARTHQUAKE!!! Get your tissues out people! Our dear Lady Stephanie lives in Ferndale, where the 6.5 earthquake hit two minutes after I got off the phone with her. She had been sitting in her dressing room, near her huge armoir. She got up to go down to the computer because I told her she had received the latest news from some of our troop followers. She got downstairs to her husband, who was sitting at the computer. The earthquake hit big time! They heard a HUGE noise!! The armoir upstairs fell over - glass and wood breaking everywhere. Had Stephanie still been up there, she would have been crushed! However, because of our involvement with our paratroopers (the 40 of them have come to mean a great deal to us) her life was saved! I wrote this to their commanding officer; it pleased him no-end. He wrote back to Stephanie, which just gave HER the spirit to not only continue knitting, but to get back to the huge job of cleaning her home from the damage the earthquake brought. So, good begets good, people. Good begets good...
Thanks for listening and blessings for all that you do! Blessings and super support to our military followers who may be reading this. We're here for you, to the best of our abilities. Together, we can do anything. If you are deployed, we are deployed FOR YOU here at home: we are WOOL WARRIORS!

Adria
aka General Mama or "Mama-Schu"