Suggestions on Care Packages to Female Soldiers

[Chance]

My sister is in Kuwait, going into her third month of a nine month tour. This is her first deployment (she's 36, and Army active reserves) and while she actually has things pretty good (relatively speaking), she's on her second case of the Kuwaiti crud, is shacked up with an obnoxious roommate, and missing home something fierce. My SO and are putting together a care package, and I'm looking for some suggestions.

I've sent quite a few care packages in the past, but they were all to grunts. Buying things for grunts is easy: cram a huge amount of junk food into a box, and include media of women wearing as little as possible acting as trashy as possible. Voila. Happy(-ish) campers.

I'm at a total loss as to what to send to my middle aged sister. My mother and my aunt are taking care of any hygiene-oriented things, but I'm tasked with healthy food and anything that might boost morale.

I know there are a lot of veterans round abouts, and I'm open to all suggestions. We're putting together some bags of homemade jerky, and dehydrated fruit, as well as some nuts. What else should I include?

My sister has no SO or children in the States, but misses her weimaraner terribly (he's been more loyal than the men she's dated). I'm happy to send her a sample of her favorite foods, but I'm hoping for this to be something practical, as well as morale lifting.

Thoughts?

[Kyle Reese]

Her favorite snack foods, and I've found that stuff like Thera-Flu comes in handy in the winter or during the flu/ crud season. Just getting mail from home is a huge morale booster, and you're a good brother for thinking of this.


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[RJ]

Here's what we sent to our USMC son (NCO) when he was deployed to Romania; might be some ideas here?

Deck cards
Several entertaining DVDs
Car Magazines
Jolly Ranchers
Bag miniature Snickers, Mars, Kisses, Hershey Bars
A Frisbee
A Rubiks Cube

...and some more things, can't recall.

ETA: Just asked my wife her thoughts:

Nice Hand lotion.
Nail / Manicure kit, cuticle pushers, file, etc.


Please tell your sister I appreciate her service.

[BehindBlueI's]

Unless she's restricted to base, Kuwait has pretty much anything you can get here. Even then, the PX on a well established base is also going to have the junk food and whatnot covered, and if she has access to the local economy they have most of the brands for candy and snack food we have here. The only food item I had trouble finding in Qatar was cornbread mix and green tomatoes. Photos and letters from home, even in the days of email, are nice. Is she a reader? A Kindle or the like if she doesn't have one. Video of her dog playing? Have you asked her if there's anything she needs or wants she can't find locally?

[Drang]

All the links we had to various "build a care package" sites are either dead or soliciting donations so you can pay someone else to build a care package.

Here are a couple of links, though:
Here's one ready-made: Military Personal Care - Female: Care Package - for all your travel size needs (http://www.minimus.biz/Military-Personal-Care-Package-Female-K01-0109907-9200.aspx)
Adopt A Platoon: How to Assemble and Ship Care Packages For Our Troops (http://r.duckduckgo.com/l/?kh=-1&uddg=http%3A%2F%2Fadoptaplatoon.org%2Fsite%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F02%2FHow-To-Send-A-Care-Package.pdf)
Adopt A Platoon: Suggested Food & Miscellaneous Items.[/URL
These are both .pdfs.
[url=https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070808035754AA9N122]Does anyone know what to send a female soldier in Iraq (care package) what do you put in there? | Yahoo Answers (http://www.adoptaplatoon.org/new/pdf/care.pdf)
Army Strong Stories - Care Package Guide for Deployed Soldiers (http://armystrongstories.com/army-stories/care-package-guide-for-deployed-soldiers-1#.VhbxtaonzpY)

[ReverendMeat]

When I was in Iraq the best thing I got sent to me was a box full of books from my parents, because there was stuff in there that I wouldn't have read otherwise but turned out to be awesome.

Everything else I could get at the PX, chow hall, or Amazon. I imagine Kuwait is at least as nice as Iraq so chances are your sister has access to everything she needs. Homemade jerky sounds awesome though (homemade anything, really), focus on more stuff like that.

[imp1295]

I second anything home made. In Kuwait, she'll be able to get anything. Always stay away from chocolate and other things that melt easily. Best care Package I ever received was from my Grandmother who sent me two loaves of home made bannana bread that had been shrink wrapped for freshness.

I actually told most people to stop sending care packages after about 2004. By then, unless way out on some VSP or something you could get most anything you wanted or needed. '03 was a different story.

[breakingtime91]

Books were great for me. I also really enjoyed getting a gameboy and pokemon. Not kidding.

[Chance]

I'll focus on home made stuff. Give my SO an excuse to bake things.

[Drang]

I've read some cautions about sending home made food in care packages. Not sure if it's because people were baking prohibited stuff into (say) banana nut bread, or due to concerns about it taking so long to get to the Sandbox that it was being tossed as soon as it (eventually) arrived.
Since I haven't received a care package from home since the Clinton administration, I'll defer on that topic to those with more recent experience, but I saw similar statements posted in enough different places i thought I should mention it, and potentially save you some trouble. (Or not. "Honey, those were for your sister!" "Oh, I learned that we can't send her your Soopr Secret Recipe Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies, so I may as well eat them...")

[RoyGBiv]

My sister ..... (she's 36................. middle aged
Ouch! (from a 50 something) :p

Books sounds like a good idea.. And they can be shared, so, a boost for others too.

[Chance]

Ouch! (from a 50 something) :p

I was just trying to emphasize she's not a teenager.


Books sounds like a good idea.. And they can be shared, so, a boost for others too.

I was leaning toward getting her a lot of Kindle books, but the fact that you can share paperbacks is an excellent point.

[ranger]

I was in Iraq at an Infantry Brigade Headquarters and we had a substantial number of female warriors. You got all the straightforward answers - here is the one thing I saw that the female warriors REALLY wanted - hair dye. I was at HQ one day when a care package came in with hair dye and there was a mob scene.

[Andy in NH]

High-quality toilet paper is a boon to both genders.

The stuff handed out by the supply chain leaves a lot to be desired.

Those responsible for restocking the head aren't always timely.

It pays well to have your own stash.

[Malamute]

High-quality toilet paper is a boon to both genders.

The stuff handed out by the supply chain leaves a lot to be desired.

Those responsible for restocking the head aren't always timely.

It pays well to have your own stash.


Good idea.

I dont know how much an issue the bulk is if using community bathrooms, but when saving TP for camping, I save the last 1/3 of a roll as its more compact and easy to have handy/with you.

[Drang]

High-quality toilet paper is a boon to both genders.

The stuff handed out by the supply chain leaves a lot to be desired.

Those responsible for restocking the head aren't always timely.

It pays well to have your own stash.

A standard bog roll will fit into a one quart ziplock bag. You'll probably need to crush the core, which is no loss.
Which will fit in one of the external pockets of a large ALICE pack.

[Chance]

You got all the straightforward answers - here is the one thing I saw that the female warriors REALLY wanted - hair dye. I was at HQ one day when a care package came in with hair dye and there was a mob scene.

That's funny. Cool idea though. I'm sure she can get that stuff herself if she wanted, but if she's bored enough, and it's just lying around....

[Chance]

So, while I have an experienced bunch of veterans here: gag gifts. Yes or no? She is my big sister, and constitutes a captive audience, and I'd be remiss if I didn't torture her a little.

[OnionsAndDragons]

So, while I have an experienced bunch of veterans here: gag gifts. Yes or no? She is my big sister, and constitutes a captive audience, and I'd be remiss if I didn't torture her a little.

If it's something she could pass along after, like a virus; do it!


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[SamAdams]

Maybe a card 'from her dog'? - you see those in greeting card shops. Yeah, they sound real corny to non dog folks, but are appreciated by those who see their pets as family members. I bet your sis would get a kick out of it. Ive seen some folks put food coloring on the animal's paw and 'sign' the card that way, and say how much they are missed, etc