Gift Cards and Pre-paid Calling Cards

The Department of Defense Military Exchanges have been authorized to sell pre-paid calling cards to the general public who wish to give them to troops serving overseas in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). These can be used at AT&T phone centers located throughout the area of operations, including the USO at Balad Air Base. You do not need exchange priveleges to buy these.

The face value of the cards are for US domestic phone calls, so understand they are worth fewer minutes calling from Iraq to the US. A "550" minute card is worth 143 minutes (15 cents/minute), and a "300" minute card is worth 80 minutes (22.5 cents/minute).

They can be shipped to you, or you can have them shipped directly overseas. If you send them for 'any soldier', remember to ship to Nate Gies, Attn: Any Soldier (see this post for the complete address), and he will distribute them.

For more info, see https://thor.aafes.com/scs/default.aspx.

Similarly, anybody can order gift cards and gift certificates. You can purchase these for any recipient with exchange priveleges, even those stationed in the US, so these could be a great gift for your friend or loved one stationed state-side. Gift cards are redeemable at the store (PX, BX, NX, etc.) worldwide. Gift certificates are redeemable for exchange service catalog orders. These, too, can be shipped to you or directly to the recipient. There is no shipping charge! For more info, see https://thor.aafes.com/gcs/default.aspx.

'Any Soldier' Mail and Packages

Our church, Lutheran Church of the Living Christ, is collecting items to send to 'any soldier' in Nate's battalion. You can drop off items there.

If you can't drop off, but want to participate by mailing your own letter, post card, or package, please read these tips for sending mail to Balad Airbase in Iraq (or service members overseas in general). Mail cannot be addressed to 'Any Soldier', but must be addressed to an individual by name or title. Nate is responsible for distributing 'Any Soldier' mail in his battalion, so address the mail to

Gies, Nathaniel
Attn: Any Soldier
51st ESB, HHC
APO, AE 09391

There are females in his unit, so if you are sending items intended specifically for a female, send it 'Attn: Any Female Soldier'.

Nate passed along requests for the following especially desired items:

Suggested “Any Soldier” items:

Toiletries such as:

• Toothbrushes
• toothpaste
• floss
• soap
• shampoo and conditioner
• unscented deodorant/antiperspirant

Food items:

• Canned nuts
• trail mix
• sunflower seeds
• microwave popcorn
• instant oatmeal (plain and flavored; single serv. packets)
• chewing gum (esp. big red)
• gatorade/tang/crystal lite/propell powdered drink packets
• other instant drinks: apple cider, hot cocoa, coffee (both ground and instant), tea (esp. green tea) (single serve packets)

Magazines:

• cars
• computers
• beauty/fashion
• outdoors
• cooking
• music
• gardening
• sports
• popular science
• etc.

Other items:

• nerf balls
• darts sets
• baseball gloves
• movies (DVD)
• greeting cards (to send home to loved ones for birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, other special occasions)
• stationary/writing tablets and envelopes

A card or note would also be great.

Thanks for your help!

War Without Internet

It turns out the loss of wi-fi access at the BX is permanent. He has access at his office, but that is a gubmint computer that is authorized for official use only, so access to personal email, Facebook, etc. is blocked. His new quarters don’t have access. That leaves the USO as the only access point, and that requires signing up for a 30-minute appointment, which is now in much higher demand since the BX went dark.

Oddly, he has found he has better access when they fly out to smaller, more forward-deployed operations bases. With the much smaller population they have a better supply/demand ratio, I guess. One such base he visited lately was so small he could stand in the middle and view all four walls.

Enough of that. If internet access is one of his major issues, then we are grateful that so much more of his situation and condition is satisfactory.

So why the new hooch? Nate has a new squad leader, a new buck sergeant. She was worried about maintaining accountability over her charge, so she had all of her squad members who were living someplace other than her housing area relocate to be near her. Her predecessor must have had amazing tracking skills.

Nate's had an interesting time adjusting. He didn't expect things at a forward operating base in war zone half way around the world to be so "normal" and familiar. He expected some major culture shock, and having to deal with living under some sense of imminent danger. But no, it's like any other American military base. Plus sand. Plus contractors who don't speak english. Or spanish. It's strange how the familiar can be disconcerting when you expect the unfamiliar.

He'll get a chance or two to get away from it. He had requested 2 weeks of R&R to come back to the states in March, but a classic Army foul-up has made it April now. He is also told to expect a 4-day pass or two to Qatar. That sounds like a good time on a world-class beach.