Army Wives

I guess it depends on what part he'll be in and what kind of PX he'll have access to to buy things. My husband is currently at a smaller, more remote base, so he doesn't have access to much in the way of basic supplies. I send him shampoo/body wash, deoderant. Razors are really hard to come by, so ask what kind of those he usually uses. Snack foods are always a hit--bags of chips, protein bars, hard candy, beef jerky. So ask what his favorite snacks are and fill up a box with those. My husband likes those pouches of tuna--makes for a decent meal if he can't leave his room for whatever reason. Sometimes he's on lock down and can't cross base to get to the chow hall. Amazon gift cards are nice--many things from Amazon will ship to APO addresses, so he could buy what he wanted and have it shipped directly to him. Any magazines that he normally reads. My husband has subscriptions that come to our house, so I just mail them on to him when they get here each month. Oh, baby wipes--those are a must for the days they can't get to a shower. That's all I can think of right now. Just ask him what his favorite things are and keep a list. So nice of you to send him things from "home." They really look forward to getting packages in the mail. Makes the day a lot brighter!

My hubs did two tours in Afghanistan (last one in 2010/2011) and I sent him a box or two every 2 weeks. Standard package included:

- toilet paper/kleenex
- visine
- shampoo bar (like soap), soap, deoderant
- kraft dinner microwave cups (they occassionally had access to microwaves)
- store bought cookies & crackers
- pringles (they survive the journey better than bagged chips)
- wasabi peas
- nuts
- canned tuna
- beef jerky
- granola bars
- jelly beans & Mike n' Ikes
- gum
- gatorade powder crystals
- hot chocolate (powder)
- coffee (ground)
- books (whatever series he wanted to read, I'd send as many in the series at a time as I could and he'd leave them behind for the next guy/gal to read)
- Tim Horton's gift cards
- some sort of silly dollar store toy (bag of green army men, dinosaurs, water pistols & water balloons, etc.)
- letters & photos from random places/people at home

Since a lot of guys didn't get packages from home, I usually made up at least one additional small (shoe box size) package he could give away. These packages contained mostly food & personal items. Hubs tended to share a lot of the items he received with his crew. We had a pretty large group of friends and family sending him packages so he often received 2-3 a week and just handed out the contents to whoever wanted them or brought them to work and left them out for others to scrounge through.

Closer to holidays I'd go out and get decoractions and silly items (posters, hats, beads, etc.) and blank cards (so he could mail them home to friends & family) to include in the package so they could celebrate the holiday when it arrived.

I don't know about the US system, but in Canada, our packages are sent via regular post to a base, and then loaded on to a plane. Packages to troops are non-essential items so it can take weeks for them to arrive if the space is needed on the plane for equipment, etc. Due to this, I didn't tend to send any fresh baking, etc. as it would likely be ruined long before it left the country.

[[/quote]

He can't tell me where he is going. :ohwell:
[/quote]

then Assume he'll need the all the basics in mass Quantities.

my hubby hasn't been deployed in yr beause he is retired now, but when he was the first thing he always asked for was Charmin toilet paper!!!

I'm here (AFG) now and have been for 10 months. I'd say - good coffee! That's what my wife sends me, and it has made all the difference!

Anyone know if I can send a letter to a base? I want to surprise my friend with a letter before he leaves.

You can send a letter to a base if you know the Unit number and APO address. He should have that if he knows which base he is headed to. They should hold the mail for him until he arrives.