Need gift ideas from Iraq/Afgan vets for deployed nephew

[omgtkk]

I have a nephew that was redeployed last month to Afghanistan. I believe this is his 4th tour in the sandbox. I've decided that I want to get a box of goodies off to him this year and could use some ideas as to what to fill it with. His wife suggested snack food and gun/hunting magazines. Got that covered. Now I'm looking for some more creative ideas. I know we have a lot of men on here that served over there and was looking for some ideas. What kinds of things did you really enjoy receiving when you were deployed? Any items of apparel or accessories that you would have liked.
I want to try to get the box filled and in the mail by the weekend. Thanks for your help.


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[short]

DVDs, iTunes gift cards, Command sticky hooks, nice noise canceling headphones (i.e. Bose).

 

[coryhenry]

Any specialty food I couldn't get in country, just remember any stuff you send has to be brought back. My mom did a pretty cool thing. Every holiday or event she sent a picture with a dollar amount on it. When I got home I got to go on a shopping spree with the total from all the events.

 

[Delta4-3]

Where I was at, getting something that requires electricity would do me zero good, so I preferred baby wipes, so I actually had a way to clean myself with showers being a month apart, Copenhagen, because it changes your life for the better, and ritz with easy cheese, because it doesn't taste like dog crap after a two month voyage to get to me.

 

[Wintermute]

The items I'm usually asked to send out in care packages are as follows:

Favorite snack foods (chips, twinkies, whatever)
Tactical bacon (basically pre-cooked bacon in a can...soak the label off of the can and replace it with a label soaked off of another can such as corn or soup)
Good auto opening knife (I've found alot of guys like the Gerber Pro 06 Auto Tanto)
Fischer space pens and rite-in-the-rain pads
Drink mixes (like gatorade packets, Emergen-C, Koolaid, etc...)
Small candy bars
Good watch if they don't have one (a Citizen Nighthawk with a Nato watch strap installed (The NATO Strap Co.) seems to be a good choice most of the guys like)
TADGear jackets
Handheld game system (Nintendo Wii-U, PS Vita) and a bunch of games
Batteries for handheld games, etc...
Good clip on flashlight (if you can afford it, the First Light Tomahawk light seems to be a well liked one but pricey)
Tablet computer (ipad, surface, android, etc... with games installed here before being sent out)
Something interesting to watch (I'll let you figure out what that means. It has to be repackaged in a normal dvd case and the label on the disc has to be covered up to make it seem like something else. If sending a tablet computer that takes SD cards preloading a bunch of SD cards tends to be a common request to send with the tablet (encrypting these in advance is a good idea and then providing the unlock code via phone))
For the folks commonly in combat (especially the USASOC guys) they usually ask for a combat hatchet (I prefer Omivore Bladeworks or RMJ Tactical)
Medics I've found ask for tampons (apparently very good for steming the bleeding from gunshot wounds)

--Wintermute

 

[omgtkk]

Thanks for the replies. Keep them coming. I'm going to begin shopping some of the ideas on all these lists. Will he have a way to watch dvd's? Not sure where he's stationed, but his apo address is SOTF-East. Camp Montrand.

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[Wintermute]

I'd recommend sending him a portable dvd player if you intend to send him movies (either regular or otherwise). Portable DVD players are cheap...about $40 for a good one).

--Wintermute

 

[OptedOut]

What I took, carried, wanted and had sent was;
good,strong instant coffee in the small packs, nescafe, starbucks, etc.
venison jerky...any good homemade jerky
good boot socks, I'd give mine away as the "cushioning" went down
hard lemon drop candy...just liked it!

 

[Switchblade]

My friends would kill for American Marlboro and Camel smokes, logs of Cope, and anything that had 'questionable content' that came from a bottle but was put in something else( I will not give all the details as they defy any CO or 1SG's eyes to see if they are 'contraband').
Since it's cold, anything chocolate is always welcome or can be passed around, laundered socks(prewashed so all we had to do was open and wear), prewashed and laundered NEW skiv's(Some like briefs, others boxers, others boxer briefs), as deployments tend to wear them out faster. Since the cold is bone chilling and there is time off with nothing to do buy chill, a good sweater, hoody, sweatpants etc is always welcomed(I woulda killed for a set of comfy sweats)

The basic espresso ground coffees etc are always great(espresso grind allows more mileage), coffee stuff like syrups, sugars, creamers are welcomed too(chicks and younger GI's love it)
If I was there, all I would ask for would be bourbon/whiskey and a few cigars, and maybe a bit of good bread

 

[Andy Warhog]

just remember that these dudes might not have the down time for movies and shit like that, and everything is going to get sand blasted so buy a cheap player if you do. baby wipes should always be at the top of any care package list. also remember when sending food that it can take a couple few weeks of heat to get your package in their hands giggity so don't send anything that will get gross en route, and don't put any kind of soaps or deoderants or anything with a fragrance in with food items as the food will suck all of that up and taste like shit. overseas tobacco has lots of formaldehyde in it (we called it formaldehagen) so fresh US tobacca is always good, even if they don't smoke or chew themselves, they know somebody that does. good razors are always nice and the real thin dress socks that come up high. under armor under britches are good too. same with magazines. remember storage space and down time are very limited so don't go overboard. canned cheese is a good one btw



Edit: if one were to buy a bottle of listerine and an exacto knife, one could cut the seal just below the cap and wash the bottle out very well and fill it back up with jim beam. the color is pretty much an exact match and if somebody cut that seal perfect and kept the sleeve on the cap intact it could possibly look like an unmolested bottle of mouthwash for someone. just through in a teeth brush and a tube of toothpaste. just throwing that out there

 

[Switchblade]

Boy, good thing you didn't edit that out warthog...I wonder how many CO's or upper level NCO's lurk here to learn those secrets...PM sent

 

[gonefirefighting]

the things I always requested when I was deployed was Copenhagen, Marlboro's, cigars, real jerky, gum (lots of it) good headlamp, bright led flashlights (small ones) a slew of those cheap 5 dollar games like poker and such, go pro cameras, medaglia d'oro instant espresso, hot choc packets, smart wool socks, suunto vector watches, blue locktite, good headphones (beats, bose etc)

these things I would always divvy up with my squad and meant a huge deal because these simple objects were hard to get but made a huge difference when needed, the gopro cameras made the evenings awesome when we could watch our missions and check out the close calls, the suunto watches made my men better soldiers in new environments, the locktite kept our hardware together when rattling around in vehicles, the cheap games kept us occupied and didnt care about losing them or breaking them, headphones dont last long at all in those environments so to get a nice set made nights alot easier to escape the noise and get some rack. the gum kept your mouth from getting dry and cotton mouth, the tobacco is a huge bartering tool, especially the cigars and for celebrating.

I am sure I forgot a couple things but I will post up if I remember something

 

[omgtkk]

Outstanding. With the help you all provided I believe I can send a pretty impressive package to him. Some for him..Some to share with his squad. I would have never thought of the Locktite, but it makes perfect sense. I'm off work tomorrow, so I'll start rounding some of these items up. May even pop for a Go-pro for him.

Thanks to all who contributed.

 

[ZLBubba]

My friends would kill for American Marlboro and Camel smokes, logs of Cope, and anything that had 'questionable content' that came from a bottle but was put in something else( I will not give all the details as they defy any CO or 1SG's eyes to see if they are 'contraband').
Since it's cold, anything chocolate is always welcome or can be passed around, laundered socks(prewashed so all we had to do was open and wear), prewashed and laundered NEW skiv's(Some like briefs, others boxers, others boxer briefs), as deployments tend to wear them out faster. Since the cold is bone chilling and there is time off with nothing to do buy chill, a good sweater, hoody, sweatpants etc is always welcomed(I woulda killed for a set of comfy sweats)

The basic espresso ground coffees etc are always great(espresso grind allows more mileage), coffee stuff like syrups, sugars, creamers are welcomed too(chicks and younger GI's love it)
If I was there, all I would ask for would be bourbon/whiskey and a few cigars, and maybe a bit of good bread

^This. Cigars was my number one request. Nothing better than burning a good stick at the end of a long day.

 

[Jake and Anna]

+1 for bose noise canceling headphones. Got a pair on my 1st deployment and used the heck out of them since, including many plane rides, another deployment, and will continue for years to come. Used so much, I had to replace the foam ear pieces.

Other than that, deer jerky is a great option IMHO.

Pictures or home/family are great, too. (Sometimes pictures on the computer just aren't enough)

... ROUGH MEN STAND READY ...

 

[pizzamanny]

Jerky and quality whey protien.