A question for Former Navy Personnel

[muckmaw]

I am in need of advice from those who served in te United States Navy.

The Marine Air Wing (MAW) has joined the Adopt-A-Sailor program. This is the program where we buy and send care packages to Naval personel who do not have family or friends to send them.

Being the official MAW procurment officer...(I have no idea how I got this job) I am responsible for putting together the packages.

Here's the problem: I was never in the military. I have n idea what these men and women need and want.

The Websight, adoptadsailor.com offers some advice, but there is so much on their list, I cannot make a determiniation.

So far, I know Beef Jerky is big.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

I've got a whole squad pressing me to get this done so the sooner I can get some help, the better.

Thanks in advance.

[Sandman]

A lot of people were into homebaked goods, fudge, cookies, etc...

Me... I just wanted one thing... salsa.


Other than that, anything that can't be found in the ship's store.

[hawk220]

porn

[muckmaw]

Originally posted by hawk220
porn

Thats one thing the websight said not to send.

It was also the first thing I thought of.

[Curval]

For Navy personel?  A extra large jar of vasaline might be appreciated.

[Hawklore]

Just make sure you tell them who you are and where you fly

[Furious]

When I was in we would have liked tapes of the latest tv shows, dvds of latest movies.  The stuff that would have come out since deployment.


F.

[GtoRA2]

I can not find the site. Is there one for the Army and Marine Corp?

[muckmaw]

I wanted to set one up for the Marines, but could not find a site.

Here's the URL for the Navy that I used:

http://www.operation-enterprise.org/home.htm

[GtoRA2]

Ok, just called the office of public relations for the Marine Corp, and they said the DoD will not be doing or allowing programs like this, they just do not have the logistical support to do it.


They are going to email me.


This is sad

[GtoRA2]

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2002/b12122002_bt632-02.html

        No. 623-02    
IMMEDIATE RELEASE       December 12, 2002      

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS
Thousands of Americans are asking what they can do to show their support for servicemembers, especially those serving overseas in this time of war. Below are Web sites for several organizations that are sponsoring programs for members of the Armed Forces overseas. While it would be inappropriate for the Department to endorse any of these specifically, servicemembers do value and appreciate such expressions of support:

Donate a calling card to help keep servicemembers in touch with their families at Operation Uplink at <http://www.operationuplink.org/>

Send a greeting via e-mail through Operation Dear Abby at <http://anyservicemember.navy.mil/> or http://www.OperationDearAbby.net <http://www.OperationDearAbby.net>

Sign a virtual thank you card at the Defend America <http://www.defendamerica.mil/> Web site at <http://www.defendamerica.mil/nmam.html>

Make a donation to one of the military relief societies <http://www.aerhq.org/links.htm>:
Army Emergency Relief at <http://www.aerhq.org/>
Navy/Marine Relief Society at <http://www.nmcrs.org/>
Air Force Aid Society at <http://www.afas.org/>
Coast Guard Mutual Assistance at <http://www.cgmahq.org/>
Donate to"Operation USO Care Package" at <http://www.usometrodc.org/care.html>
Support the American Red Cross Armed Forces Emergency Services at <http://www.redcross.org/services/afes/>
Volunteer at a VA Hospital <http://www.va.gov/vetsday/> to honor veterans who bore the lamp of freedom in past conflicts.

Support families whose loved ones are being treated at military and VA hospitals through a donation to the Fisher House at http://www.fisherhouse.org <http://www.fisherhouse.org>.

Reach out to military families in your community, especially those with a loved one overseas.
Please do not flood the military mail system with letters, cards, and gifts. Due to security concerns and transportation constraints, the Department cannot accept items to be mailed to " Any Servicemember  ." Some people have tried to avoid this prohibition by sending large numbers of packages to an individual servicemember's address, which however well intentioned, clogs the mail and causes unneccessary delays.

The support and generosity of the American people has touched the lives of many servicemembers, over 300,000 of whom are deployed overseas