Having a loved one deployed to war is difficult; however, being deployed away from family and friends must be far worse. Our Soldiers are away from their children, spouses, lovers, parents and friends. The people who mean the most to them are all back home helping each other deal with the separation. The only contact our Soldiers have with their loved ones are through phone calls, emails, letters and packages. For that reason, families want to make the most out of those few contacts.
Thus comes the dilemma. What do you send your Soldier? You want that package to mean something, to give them a piece of home and to give them comfort.
To compile this list of suggestions, I took the advice of my daughter, her mother-in-law and my sister. My son-in-law is serving in Afghanistan and my daughter and his mother informed me why certain items should be included in any package. My sister’s job regularly sends packages to local Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan and they have learned through this process what items every Soldier wants.
Top Ten Things To Send Your Soldier:
1. Homemade Sweets
My daughter said that the one thing her husband loves the most is to have something homemade. They get prepackaged sweets over there, but to have something that someone actually made for him was the best gift he’s received.
It is not necessary to make brownies, muffins and cookies from scratch. You can use a box. It is the thought that counts most here.
To keep these homemade goodies fresh during transit, you can use those disposable storage containers, such as Glad Ware. They will fit easily into the shoe box size package.
2. Handwritten Letters
Email is great for keeping in contact with your Soldier, but they do not always have access to computers. While they are on missions, in transit, or just waiting around for access, they do not have your emails to hold on to. For this reason, it is a good thing to get back into the habit of writing handwritten letters.
Soldiers will read your letters over and over again. They will be able to carry your love and words with them everywhere they go. They can lay in bed and hold onto a letter. They cannot do this with an email.
Sending a letter “Priority Mail” to Afghanistan costs half as much as sending an entire package “Priority Mail.” For that reason, including letters from family and friends in the packages makes better sense. Freeing up that extra money will allow you to send packages more frequently.
3. Photographs
Most Soldiers took photographs from home with them when they initially deployed. They need to be able to see their children’s growth. They need to see that new haircut. They need to see how the birthday party went. They need to see who their cousin brought to the family picnic this year. Send them updated photographs all year round.
4. Batteries
All those hand-held games and gadgets are of no use if they do not have a regular supply of fresh batteries to use. The Military does get in shipments of batteries and other items. My daughter told me that her husband said they got in a shipment of batteries and the Military set out dozens of boxes and all the guys just ran over and grabbed what they could. She made sure she included batteries in the very next package she sent to him.
5. Hard Candy
Hard candy is highly desirable as it gives the Soldiers something to use to bond with the local people. Children all over the world understand candy. Soldiers carry candy in their pockets everywhere they go so that when they run across children, they have something to give out.
My daughter’s mother-in-law explained to me that when packages are opened, other guys are right there to grab certain items. Candy is one of the items that is just understood that it is meant for everyone. They all want candy so they can carry it with them. It is almost as if it is part of their uniform.
6. Granola Bars
Granola bars are another one of those items that it is understood that it is meant for everyone. These supplement their rations on missions and guard duty.
7. Individually Packaged Drink Mixes
Having mostly water to drink for twelve to eighteen months would be difficult for any person to deal with. Thankfully, manufacturers have created all these new individually packaged drink mixes. Kool-Aid, Country Time, Crystal Light, Propel, etc. have all come out with a variety of flavors. You simply pour the contents of one package into a bottle of water and shake. Instantly your water is now a different beverage. As these are individually packaged, they are easy to carry in backpacks and use on the go.
8. Magazines
Books are always a good thing to dull the boredom, but magazines have current culture infused in them. The advertisements that marketers use to try to shape our culture, editorials and columns all keep Soldiers in the loop.
There are so many options with magazines. You can send them magazines on something that interests them, or magazines that tell them all the crazy stuff that is going on in Hollywood. Anything to create a diversion for them while they are there is a good thing.
9. Clip-on Flashlight
My sister’s job sends a clip-on flashlight in every package they mail. She says that you can buy these at most dollar stores and they simply clip on to a hat or collar. Some Soldiers serving in Iraq asked for them once because everyone else had them. The Soldiers would use them at night to read while others were sleeping. Since that time, they have included them in all packages and they have been always well received.
10. Battery Powered Socks or Battery Powered Hand-held Fans
The one thing that my son-in-law has begged for are things to keep him warm. He just moved to an area in Afghanistan that is extremely cold. Even though the Military gives them cold weather gear, it is simply not enough. He asked for Underarmor and black gloves and hat. Nothing can have a visible logo on it because it has to blend into the environment. Those are things that his wife and mother were happy to send him.
The item that several people can send him are battery powered socks. This is an easy item for anyone to add to a package they are sending a Soldier serving in a cold area. These can be found in most outdoor gear stores or hunting stores.
If your Soldier is serving in a hot area, an option could be to send them a battery powered fan. This is something they can have by their bedside to make it a little more comfortable for them to sleep. When sending items such as this, the color of the item is important. Sand or Black are first choices. Tan or Brown would be second choices. Bright colors are not an option.
Rules on Sending Packages:
1. You must send all letters and packages “Priority Mail.”
2. The Military suggests that packages be the size of a shoe box. The post office has free shoe box sized packages that are already marked for “Priority Mail” available.
3. You must fill out a customs form as you are sending this package to another country. You will need to list each item on the form.
In the latest package I sent to my own Soldier, I included: a football magazine; several different flavors of individually packaged drink mixes; granola bars, sunflower seeds (he loves them) and I poured in a bag full of Jolly Ranchers hard candies.
My next package is going to be Christmas themed. I bought him a long sleeved T-shirt for his gift. I am working with my granddaughter to make one hundred Christmas cards for him to hand out and I am going to fill it with miniature candy canes. I will be sending him two separate packages of homemade cookies.
