Things to send to the sand box

[CorpsmanMom]

I think there have been items listed in many different places. Would you guys please help me start a list of things that would be of use to my Corpsman who is FMF on his first deployment.
Here is what I have seen before
SOCKS

[Da-Chief]

Hey!!

Boy you are on alot now.. ;-)

Take a look at our newsletter on the front page.. Dustmans listed stuff for deployment. Yeah Socks are high on the list (WHITE, THICK). And anything that can help wick away moisture. .I.e Understhirts that are made to do it.

HMC

[DeeDee]

CorpsmanMom - the list is endless

do like Chief suggested and check out the article from Sean Dustman that was in the newsletter

DeeDee

[CorpsmanMom]

Have been on alot but just now talking...... maybe soon I will step up to intelligent unasked questions. LOL

[Poolzer]

depends where he is stationed. So many middle east bases have grown where things are accessible now. I was stationed at Al Taquiddum in central Iraq, which is a stones throw from Fallujah and Rhamadi back in 2004 and we had 30+ fully running internet computers, 2 small exchanges that had all the magazines, electronics, food and beverages, both military and civilian clothing, 4 mwr tents with dvd movies, big screen tvs, rec room...its just insane how much money has been put in for our moral and welfare out there. People would ask me what I wanted and it'd be hard because I really didn't need anything.

The best things to send are the personal things that he would miss, snacks he may not be able to find, letters and pictures from friends etc.

[MAWDoc]

The best things to send are the personal things that he would miss, snacks he may not be able to find, letters and pictures from friends etc.

Absolutely on the mark. Multimedia, books, mags and videogames are plentiful, and like 250 cable channels, there's usually nothing on TV, right?

Funny, but the more things change, the more they stay the same.....email and telephone calls home may be more readily available (and cheaper) now, but a simple letter (in an envelope with a stamp) or two at mail call versus email is still a highlight during deployment...packages are even better.

In winter months, chocolate is ok, but it will never survive the delivery from May through October.

Bedsheets! ...not the cheap WalMart 50/50 cotton/poly blends, but 220-300 thread count 100% cotton twin-sized sheets and pillow cases from Bed, bath & beyond, ie., with foam rubber "egg crates" underneath are a slice of heaven at the end of a 18+ hour day.... Especially on a mattress in a steel framed rack without a boxspring that has had 4 years of use...

From girlfriends/wives...something sprayed/scented with their favorite perfume/lotion or shampoo/conditioner - a shirt, a cloth - hell, a Viva papertowel - in a ziploc bag. It's nice to have something there to bring you away for a minute and remind you of her. This may be a deployed female's interest too, but I'm not qualified to say one way or another...

Pictures and snapshots of home, family, friends, etc...

It is not the expensive, state of the art electronics, but simple comfort and compassion items that make a difference. While an email can say the same thing as a handwritten letter, and may only take a few milliseconds in cyberspace to deliver to its intended receipient, knowing that someone thought enough of you to take time to mail you something "tangible" means more.

Soap, lotion, toothpaste...unnecessary!!! Tons in theater. (Unless its foo-foo pricey stuff like Bath&BodyWorks or something like that) - you can't get that stuff there.

hard to say from one deployment to the next what "one thing I wish I would have brought/had." There's always something...ask!!!

SF-
Chief