question for military personelle

[insertnamehere]

i've got a friend thats getting deployed to the iraq. it's not supposed to be for another few months but im an obsessive worrier so i'm gonna be thinking about it a lot between now and then. he's infantry so im kinda :(

anyways, what are some good things to send as gifts? i'm under the impression that soldiers love getting packages full of goodies. well, everyone loves that, but im pretty sure you love it more when you're stuck in a desert for 15 months.

[insertnamehere]

personelle?

i blame french class for that

[Loppfessor]

speaking from experience I say that it's not so much the care packages but just getting mail that helps when you're deployed. Like I don't really like junk food and such and wound up giving away most of the candy and such that people sent. The best thing to do is ask your friend for things he specifically misses and can't get there. Most of all send cards and letters. E-mail, myspace and other stuff like that is nice but when you are in that situation a real, tangible letter that you can hold, touch and re-read over and over again is the best.

[jabumbo]

scent your letters with jj's avocado spread.....


maybe a local specialty would be good, since he really wont be able to to get that over there

[ericlee]

pr0n for one thing. The military is about to pass a no pornographic magazine law on bases over there.

Regular listerine, very carefully uncap it not to tamper with the plastic seal, dump it out and refill it with whiskey.

[Loppfessor]

pr0n for one thing. The military is about to pass a no pornographic magazine law on bases over there.

Regular listerine, very carefully uncap it not to tamper with the plastic seal, dump it out and refill it with whiskey.

they already have a no porn thing...any time you go into a Muslim country they have an amnesty box at the airport or recieving station where you can drop that stuff off. That includes things like Maxim or certain fitness magazines. The irony is that you can still buy those mags at the BX/PX. As far as real porn goes I just took a lil thumb drive with me and loaded it up with some of my favs....maybe that would be a good thing to send. Does this dude have a laptop?

[ericlee]

they already have a no porn thing...any time you go into a Muslim country they have an amnesty box at the airport or recieving station where you can drop that stuff off. That includes things like Maxim or certain fitness magazines. The irony is that you can still buy those mags at the BX/PX. As far as real porn goes I just took a lil thumb drive with me and loaded it up with some of my favs....maybe that would be a good thing to send. Does this dude have a laptop?

Dude, I know. I lived there for 3 years. The first thing you see is a sign at the airport- 'no porn, alcohol and pork products'. They should simplify it and have it say 'no Americans'.

I'm talking that I've read that they're taking porn from the pxs and stuff. From what I understand, they're pushing on not even selling Maxim and FHM.

[Loppfessor]

^ I dunno man that would suck...but at this point wouldn't surprise me

[insertnamehere]

why no porn? that's lame.

jeez. im gonna have to ask him what kind of porn he likes. i cant fathom why they would do that to them.

whisky trick duely noted.

what about shit like... toothbrushes and things liek that? you can buy that there yes?

[Lyman Zerga]

Dude, I know. I lived there for 3 years. The first thing you see is a sign at the airport- 'no porn, alcohol and pork products'. They should simplify it and have it say 'no Americans'.



haha (y)

[ericlee]

why no porn? that's lame.

jeez. im gonna have to ask him what kind of porn he likes. i cant fathom why they would do that to them.

whisky trick duely noted.

what about shit like... toothbrushes and things liek that? you can buy that there yes?


It has something to do with trying to cut down on sexual offenses I suppose. If you ask me, it will increase them. Guys have no fap material and they'll get frustrated without any release, especially being in a stressful combat environment.

Sending him porn and the whiskey is on your own discretion though because they do random searches of the packages but chances of them getting caught are pretty slim and the consequences aren't too severe.

They do have toothbrushes and stuff over there but extras always help.

Candy is always a pleasure, especially gum. As lopp said, letters are the best thing.

I'll ask my coworkers who were over there for more advice. I wasn't in the army while I was there. I was a spoiled civilian who had easy access to whatever I wanted.

[insertnamehere]

yeah, the first thing i thought was that this will dramatically increase the instances of rape or sexual assault. but they have internet, so couldnt they just look at porn on the internet like every other person?

[Loppfessor]

The biggest reason you can't have that stuff is cus these are Muslim countries and unlike the US there is no separation between church and state. The church laws ARE the civic laws so no porn. This applies to US military personnel because the US doesn't have Status of Forces Agreement or SOFA with many of these countries which means if an American breaks the local laws they are subject to the same punishments and the native people....meanwhile a few other suggestions to send are things like lip balm (i never seemed to have enough) and maybe like clippings from the local newspaper, something familiar and that you could only get from home ya know?