• The classics are always a safe bet: baked goods, snack foods, drink mixes, or anything that can keep well without refrigeration. This includes Lunchables, tuna salad kits… basically any alternative to Army food. Try to get bulk sizes (Sam’s Club!) if possible so he/she can share and trade with others.
• Coffee, sugar, and creamer are always in short supply. Find out if they have a coffee maker, and if not send instant. Even if your soldier doesn’t like coffee much, a) he’ll probably learn to! and b) he’ll make great friends with the other coffee drinkers in his platoon!
• Toiletries aren’t too hard to come by anymore, but if there is a particular brand he uses that’s not available over there, send that his way.
• Phone cards, envelopes, and postage stamps are a great way to help your soldier keep in touch. Find out first what type of phones are available; some use regular phone cards while others have to use a certain provider’s card.
• Most base camps now have electricity, and so many soldiers have portable DVD players (or a laptop with a DVD player), CD/MP3 players (ipods), GameBoys, and the like. So send new DVDs, CDs, games, etc. that your soldier may like to help break the monotony. AA batteries also help a lot for these small personal devices.
• Magazines are always good; send ones you know he likes (or has similar interests to) or just general magazines that people his age enjoy. They’ll all get passed around to everyone else anyway. If there’s a website he visits regularly (such as news, sports, etc.) then print out some articles and include those too.
• Whatever your soldier likes at home, he will like while deployed. If he really likes your homemade cookies, send plenty of those. And if he doesn’t do crossword puzzles while at home, he won’t like them while deployed either!
• Anything that helps him stay connected to home is great. If he misses a big family reunion or a bunch of his friends get together for a night on the town, be sure to send lots of pictures of those. If he has children, young relatives, or pets that he misses, send new pictures of those too. If it’s a coworker, get everyone together for a group photo holding a sign that says “we miss you!” These will help to ease the feeling that he’s “missing out on life” while he’s gone.
• If he’s been there for a while, instead of trying to guess what he likes/needs, just ask! Don’t worry about “ruining the surprise”; only he can tell you what he’d like that he can’t get nearby.
• Don’t fret too much about what to send; just send something. Just as important as what’s in the package is that you thought enough to send one, and that connection to home is priceless. If he lives in a remote camp that only gets mail a few times a month, there is nothing worse than mail day coming and going without receiving anything. If it’s a choice between one big package once, and several small packages often, go for often. Get together with a group of family or friends and take turns each week sending a package.

UPDATE: I have found a website, AnySoldier.com, which helps people send care packages to “any soldier” (hopefully those that don’t ordinarily get much mail) for those who would like to help out but who don’t personally know anyone to send stuff to.

87% say they’re satisfied with their job in the military, and only 25% say they’d leave if given the choice. These numbers are essentially unchanged since last year. However, 66% said they felt the military was stretched too thin to be effective. This is down from 77% last year.

In talking with this reporter, I found out about another mortar attack on Camp Kalsu in which Spc. Daniel Unger was killed. I read the Times story about his grieving family back home, and I was very moved by their steadfast support for their principles even when struck with such a tragic loss. From the Times story:

No matter how deep their grief, both parents said their support for the campaign in Iraq, like that of their son, is unflagging. “He loved what he did and was very proud of serving,” said Lynda Unger. “I want everyone to know that. No misquotes! He believes in what he was doing. He was glad to be there.”

Marc Unger picked up a Bush-Cheney campaign poster from a nearby table.

“We support our president. We support our military,” he said, waving the poster. “I’m terribly sorry that it was my son who lost his life as a hero in the service of his country. But someone’s life is going to be lost and my son was not going to let someone else die in his place. My son honestly felt before God that God wanted him to join the military.”

It is simply amazing to me that two grieving parents who have just lost their son are able to make such a statement. Many people have asked me since my return whether my support for the President and this war are the same as when I left. I always am baffled by this question — what type of person would I be if I let personal inconvenience get in the way of my principles? A rather hypocritical one, to be sure.

Spc. Unger’s sentiment embodies this ideal beautifully. Not only did he believe that our cause was just, he was willing to step up to the plate when his country called on him to support that cause. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Unger family. Your son was a real American hero by any measure.

I still plan on putting up the pictures of our homecoming when I get the chance to catalog them. Surprisingly enough, I am getting more hits than ever to this site, from people googling “Camp Kalsu” (usually relatives of those being sent over there) and now from an LA Times article which has a link to my photo album (apparently a California guard unit is getting ready to head over to that vicinity).

The LA Times article had a link to this blurb about Camp Kalsu and Iskandariyah, the surrounding town. (Funny, I don’t remember ever hearing that name while I was there!)

I have a bunch more pictures, including ones of the big homecoming, that I’ll be adding to the photo gallery in a couple weeks.

Thanks to everyone who has helped out over the past year with packages, letters, emails, and all the rest of your support!

We’re chugging right along, cleaning our equipment and packing up for the flight home. Won’t be much longer now!

I have been collecting lots more photos from some of the other guys in my platoon with digital cameras. Hopefully I’ll be adding them to the Photo Gallery sometime in the near future.

It probably isn’t as bad here as you may have been hearing. All tents now have wooden floors and 220-volt electricity (which is pretty reliable), with lots of tents having 110-volt converters as well (although if you have your own converter, definitely bring it). So bring any sort of electrical appliance you want; I’d only caution against having too many space heaters (we’ve melted several adapters by trying to use too many, although it will be getting warmer soon). For when it does get warmer, most tents also have A/C.

I would recommend bringing building materials/tools if possible, since you’ll probably want to make changes or repairs to what’s here, or build tables and other furniture.

You will have to walk through mud and/or gravel to get to the showers, so get a good pair of shower shoes. The showers are heated, but require pretty frequent attention. However, there should be a new shower unit up and running soon.

A piece of scrap carpet is good to have for your area, as well as one of those cloth folding chairs you can get at Wal-Mart or the PX for seven bucks or so. You’ll also want as large a cooler as possible to keep drinks cold.

Lastly, I would bring a decent amount of cash, smaller bills if possible, to buy stuff like sodas, cigarettes/cigars, food, DVDs, etc. from the locals.

Hope this helps, and I’ll be seeing you soon!

These Iraqis are so crazy. You probably all have heard about their tendency to fire weapons to celebrate. Well, we were out patrolling on foot last night (Sunday), looking for roadside bombs, when a gunshot rang out above our heads. It came from the direction of a nearby house, so we started walking towards there to check it out. Their dog started barking, and soon I heard a voice calling out from inside the house.

I shouted, “we’re Americans!”, wondering if he thought we were burglars. He yelled back something in Arabic, and the door outside creaked open. I was hoping he wouldn’t come around the corner carrying a rifle (almost every Iraqi household has an AK-47), and luckily he wasn’t. I tried asking him if he heard a gunshot, but I don’t think he understood me. He was pretty excited about Saddam’s capture though — he would yell “Americans, Saddam!” and grab his forearm, mimicking handcuffs being but on, smiling the whole time and shaking our hands.

I tried again to ask him about the gunshot (we didn’t have an interpreter with us at the time) but all I could get out of him was “Americans, friends! My friend!” He didn’t seem too concerned about the fact that we were walking over his property in the middle of the night. He even invited us inside for tea and something to eat; we graciously declined and went on our way.

Most of the people up here are poor farmers, and are pretty good people. I’d say most of them are glad that we’re here; on the days we do have interpreters with us, they’ll often tell us that they’re grateful to us for providing security. More often than not, they invite us to have tea or food, even if we just got through searching their house unannounced. It’s pretty amazing how gracious they are, especially for being so poor.

It’s rather evident that women play a secondary role in this culture. If we show up at a house while the men are home, the women will stay off to the side, rarely even making eye contact. It’s totally different, though, when the men aren’t home; then, they tend to swarm us and all talk at once. It’s like they’re eager to talk to outsiders, and they know Americans won’t treat them differently. If there’s a woman out working in the field when we drive by, she’ll often give us a tiny, concealed wave “hello” so that no one else can see.

Well, thanks to everyone who has been sending packages lately. Everyone up here has been getting lots of Christmas goodies, so hopefully just because we’re on the other side of the world doesn’t mean we won’t put on those customary holidays pounds!