Star-Spangled Bee in a Bonnet

Part of the homemaker spirit is wanting others to feel comfortable and, well, "at home." And I imagine it's difficult to feel comfortable and at home when you're living out of a tent in 100-degree weather wearing full combat dress in a part of the world where you're not universally welcome and you're probably only in your early twenties to boot.

Part of being a spinster means having a little extra love and attention to spread around, so I decided I wanted to do something for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan for the holidays, especially considering they are usually ridiculously young, often part of a minority population (fighting for the majority--or, more accurately, the interests of the affluent minority--which galls me), and not infrequently come from poor families. I really should've conceived of this back in early November, to have a more reasonable timetable for sending something halfway around the world....but here we are.

I was thinking holiday cards or greetings. I did some searching around online. As you can imagine, it isn't so simple these days to send a card or package to a soldier. You need a soldier's name to accompany an address (at one time, it was all right to send generic letters addressed to "Any Soldier" or "Any Serviceman").

I eventually found a site called Any Soldier. One look at the site design and the bravado-infused copy makes it clear that "marketing" isn't top of mind for the site's creators, but no matter. They're accomplishing a pretty remarkable feat and connecting people to thousands of soldiers.

Forget the Cookies: Send Some Deodorant!
You can search a list of soldiers, click on a name, and see how many time that soldier's address has been requested, where he/she is stationed, and what his/her troop requires. The soldiers listed act as liaisons for their whole troop. Sending cards and letters is definitely an option, but once I started looking around, I figured, "It's the holidays--why not send a whole care package?" It is not as simple or romantic a gesture as it was in my nostalgic, watched-too-many-World-War-II-era-romances imaginatoin. For one thing, no homemade treats allowed (horrors to my baking sensibilities)! I guess it makes sense..... if you're sending a package to a soldier who doesn't know you..... (they're advised to throw away any un-factory-packaged food from unknown sources). For another, a customs form to fill out, and very specific rules about what to pack and what not to pack (no pork or pork products, for example, which at first seems arbitrary, until you remember almost all soldiers are stationed in Muslim countries), and how to pack it (lots of tape, but clear packing tape, not duct tape!). There's also the consideration of 110-degree temperatures (no chocolate to be sent in the summer months). And thorough and accurate contact infornation must be provided up front.

O, Nuts!
In case you're wondering what "stuff" I decided on, one package included bags of nuts, seeds, and trail mix, requested by a captain who said there were men in his troop who wanted healthy snacks. I actually saw that a few times--requests for healthy food, and no more candy. The other package was for a soldier and her female troop-mates, who wanted deodorant, hair-care products, and nice-smelling lotion (I'm surprised feminine hygeine products weren't specifically listed in this request--because, understandably, those made the top of several lists!).

I plan to ship the packages tomorrow morning--after, of course, filling out the 2976-A customs form, listing all the contents, and swearing they are intended solely as gifts and not for resale..... I hope they get to their destinations (one in Iraq, the other in Afghanistan) before the holidays. It's supposed to take a couple weeks. But if they get there at any time in undamaged condition, I'll be happy. If I end up hearing back from one of the soldiers, I'll certainly add an update to the blog.