What to send to Afghanistan?

Karl_Chapman wrote: »

Send him his return ticket back to England, seen as though they're just wrapping it up out there and it is officially over in 12 months time.
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I wish, I think you are confusing Iraq with Afghanistan mate...

We'll be in the 'Stan for years....

Very first post, but hope this of use to all of us left in UK when loved ones away, I've just had news my parcel was received however a few items 'seem' to be missing! And as I posted it over a week ago I do not remember all items, and therefore have very little grounds to complain to family office etc.. This is the first time I come across this problem and hope it is not a wide spread issue,so my advice would be to write a list and include in box so your loved ones will receive all you expect them to and keep a copy. I will not be caught out like that again.

The generic lists avaliable are pretty good, just include a mix of food items, a pack of baby wipes and some entertainment material and you wil have one happy serviceman!

Don't forget, of you are sending out parcels to charities such as SOS, then they are crying out for female parcels as well.

What specifically to include if you know the person will honestly depend on where they are based. Most of the FOBs (Forward Operating bases) only have basic amentites and little fresh ration supply so the needs there will be different to someone based at Camp Bastion where there is opportunity to purchase basic items. If you are sending out a parcel to a FOB then bear in mind it takes about two weeks to get there. If the helos are in demand, then post is often left out of the supply helos to the FOBs to make way for more needed items like personell and ammunition supplies ie post is low priority so may take even longer - bear this in mind with the items that you send - you shouldn't send anything out that is perishable.

When hubby was out there he regularly requested things like smash potato packets, supernoodles, soup packets and savory rice packets, as well as tins of tuna and meat to supplement the rations, as well as beefy jerky wehich went down a storm.
As Ration packs have very little roughage, nurtigrain, muesli bars and packets of fruit and nut mix go down well, they are also good for energy on the go.
The lucozade/energy type drinks in sachet form also went down well.
Tubes of pringles and packs of mini cheddars were also frequently requested. I had send out some of the long life part baked bread rolls etc so they could just bung them in the make shift oven - at hubbys FOB there was no beread at all.
Haribo sweets are pretty much a staple - they don't melt and the small packets can be eaily put into webbing pouches for eating on to go - they are a good energy boost.
I also sent over "gucci" socks (not actually made by Gucci, but forces slang for something that is good/better quality than issue) that I got from hiking shop type places. Baby wipes are good for a wash as there was no hot running water in his FOB. Toothbrush and toothpaste was also requested on a few occasions.

I always sent loads of stuff over as they had an "orphan" box, which is were excess stuff was put, so that someone who needed it could take it - some of the marines that were stationed with hubby were form canada or south africa dn therefore their families could not get parcels to them - so they could share in gett8ing the necessities they needed too as they only way to get supplies waas from parcels sent over.

I have also sent over rolling tobacco papers and filters, and cigars too. Even if your serviceman doesn't smoke, he can give them to someone who does.
My hubby isn't a big reader so I only sent over the odd book. I had also had requests for SD cards for his camera as they take lots of pics and have nowhere to load them onto - Asda do a great 2GB SD card for about £7

It was his 30th birthday over there so I sent over a cake, balloons, hats and streamers to one of his mates out there for them to decorate his grot with - my party poppers got confiscated though as they are an explosive though lol! I have heard it is the same at Xmas - crackers are not permitted. For a present, I sent him over a cheapy MP3 player, along with a song from each year for 30 years. There was a sheet of paper with a list of the years on - all he had to do was match up the song to the year but it kept him entertained for hours.

Oh - and before I forget - most of the FOBs (whether they are allowed to or not lol!) have an adopted pet or pets of some description. Although some of them are looked after by the military, supplies for them can be in short supply. I know the two dogs where hubby was based were sent to camp bastion once a year for their jabs, but were not wormed or deflea-ed so I sent over supplies of spot on and wormer for them, and some of the bedding de-flea spray for their bedding. They also had collars, leads, their own military bandanas and tags sent out to them - talk about pampered pooches!! I did a box for them each with some rawhide treats, a cheapy fleece blanket from ikea, a dog bowl, and a toy in. The dogs were spoilt rotten lol!

Phew! i hope this has helped!!

How do you send parcels to people or can you only send them to relatives / friends?

Agree with the bit about depends where you are. Bastion has a shop with all toiletries, chocolate, crisps, magazines etc. It also has pretty good food. FOBS can vary - but from friends that were sent to these (I stayed in Bastion) food could be very monotonous.

Home baking survived very well - especially fudge and flapjack. Even cakes that were well packaged. I appreciated magazines, and even the occasional newspaper. Post took from 4 days (at it's very quickest) to 10 days - add 1 week for a FOB.

If anyone's looking for things to send to those they don't know, the hospital in Bastion is always grateful for donations of new flip-flops, shorts and t-shirts of varying sizes. This is so they can give them to soldiers that come through that have all had their clothes cut off in A&E, or ruined by whatever incident they had been involved in. Second hand dvds (including those free from newspapers) are also great for the patient library - gives the guys something to watch when they lying in bed and can't get out. The final thing the hospital were looking for were douvet covers and pillow cases (single size) for the hospital beds. They have some, but not enough when they need constant washing, and a Spiderman douvet set usually cheers the guys up too! Send to the Red Cross Welfare Office, Camp Bastion Hospital, UK JF Med Group, Op Herrick, BFPO 792