Supplies needed at the front - by 8 December

[align=center]Just a reminder to those still to send a Christmas gift to friends and family on active service in Ops Telic and Herrick,
the last day for FREE posting is Friday 8 December.


For those who don’t know anyone out there and would like to show they give a damn, here’s how.[/align]

As we know 3 Cdo Bde relieved the Paras in Op Herrick. The Royal Marines Association have mounted a drive among their members, and friends of members, to send small Christmas parcels to the Bootnecks – and a damn fine thing too, good on them. However, there are Army Commandos out there, and they need remembering too.

All you do is grab a couple of shoe boxes, carefully cram in some Christmas cheer up to a weight limit of 2 kilos per box, (that’s 4.4 lbs per box in old money), address them as below, take them to your Post Office by Friday 8 December, complete a short general CN 22 label (bog standard and free at Post Offices) and they are sent FREE.

It’s Kosher, it won’t break the bank, it’s not rocket science, and it does make a difference.

Your friends to send to are:

WO2 (BSM) C. Hamlet
29 Cdo RA
Camp Bastion
Op Herrick
BFPO 792

and

24870276 Sgt. J. Tallon
Super Galley
59 Indep Cdo Sqn RE
Camp Bastion
Op Herrick
BFPO 792

Some pointers:

Parcel size is not limited to shoe boxes or the use of shoe boxes, but they fit the bill. If you don’t have any, blag a few off the shoe shops. Max box sizes and other bits of info are at the BFPO site: http://www.bfpo.mod.uk/faqs.htm
And, if you can pack and send more than two then do so, you are not limited!

When deciding what to put in, however they will be handled consider they will be handled like this:

They will be sweated on the tarmac – so no chocolate – hard sweets OK.
They will be flown unpressurised – so NO AEROSOLS – solid deodorant OK.
They will get a good kicking – so NO GLASS
They will get frozen – so nothing that will freeze and split its container.
They will be scanned several times – so nothing 'iffy' or the whole box will be destroyed.

General food parcels can’t be sent, but you can send Christmas cake or ‘minis’ which is/are individually sealed – please do not put soap and cake in the same parcel (trust me). Also easy and popular are (sweets and solid deodorant mentioned); biscuits, sachets of coffee, drinking chocolate, Cappuccino, sweetener, sugar, creamer (as found in canteens, Burger Bars etc), tea bags (a few plastic spoons). Personal hygiene: lozenges, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, moisturiser (skin and lip), disposable razors, nail clipper, wet-wipes, tights (gets ‘kin cold!). Entertainment: playing cards, puzzle books, joke books, reading material (not colouring-in books, Cdos aren’t allowed crayons), and, a seasonal greeting from YOU and, of course, the Military History Forum of ARRSE – http://www.arrse.co.uk/cpgn2/Forums/viewforum/f=44/
Ladies, what about a photo?

To re-cap, spare a thought when you’re in the Supermarket, Pound Shop etc. Just think;
can it stand sweating, freezing, hammering and will it break, pop or go off?

On packing, as you are probably more likely to run out of space rather than exceed 2 kg (per box), where possible discard packaging and pack items loose – e.g. tea bags.

The above is just a guide and no doubt many others will suggest other (practical and feasible) items.

And, why not get your friends and family to join in – even the people at work – this is not about money, it’s about making the effort.

Please, don’t just think it’s a good idea, please do it, and may your chewing-gum never lose its flavour on the bedpost over night.

No.9

 

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Dont suppose you want just a ton of toothpaste, however thats what your getting, just remember its for your mouths not **** lubricant.

 

A suggestion for packing. You can now get some really useful plastic containers with sealed locking lids. They come in various sizes including some mess-tin sized ones that will fit in webbing. larger ones have dividers. I've used one of the small ones ("A" below) as a first aid kit box for over a year and found it very strong, water/dust proof and durable. The lid has never come open or loose.



They're not heavy or desperately expensive so if you pack your goodies in one of these (or nested within one of the larger ones) then the lucky recipient will get a container that's more useful than a shoebox when he opens the wrapping paper.

Lock and Lock is the original brand but there are copies around as well. Lots of shops seem to stock them and you can get them mail order from people like Lakeland
Please note I have no connection with any of these companies.

Cheers,

Ex STAB

 

scarletto……”Dont suppose you want just a ton of toothpaste”

What?………not arf! All those cheesy gappy grins to polish, you send as much as you can squire.
Re the other suggestion, it’s ain’t easy to get Lurpak you know.


EX_STAB……”A suggestion for packing. You can now get some really useful plastic containers with sealed locking lids.”

Absolutely, keeping things dry, separated and easily assessable in your kit is a habitual problem – you can’t have too many solutions.


There is no limit on what you spend on your parcels, but part of the message is that a parcle that cost you ‘nothing’ is just as welcome. The shoe box suggestion is an illustration towards that end. For example, that Tupperware box languishing at the back of a kitchen cupboard, those paperbacks gathering dust on a shelf, that handful of complementaries you liberated from the Burger bar, the socks Granny got you that you’re never going to wear, the moisturiser or tights you got your lady she’s never going to use, theCDs/tapes/MP3s you don't play, the sports programme you don’t collect, etc. As said, it’s not about money it’s about effort, and probably the most appreciated item, (to someone savouring the meaning of ‘Same sh1t – different day’), is the message you include that says; “Someone you don’t know wishes you well”.


No.9

 

Maybe a strange question but is it ok to send alcohol? Im not talking a lot just a miniature or two.

 

http://www.bfpo.mod.uk/mail_prohibitions.htm

 

Anyone else we can send to? Or are these two going to be popular this year?

 

You can send to anyone you have a proper BFPO address for, and follow the BFPO rules.

Op Name/ Ship and BFPO Number

Op Telic 632, 635, 639, 641, 643, 645, 647, 661, 657, 684, 686, 767.
Op Herrick 715, 755, 758, 764, 772, 792.
Op Tosca 567
Op Oculus 543, 553, 555, 559.
Falkland Islands 492, 494, 655.
Ascension Island 677
Diego Garcia 485
HMS Blyth 221
HMS Dunbarton Castle 274
HMS Echo 275
HMS Enterprise 276
HMS Edinburgh 277
HMS Endurance 279
HMS Gloucester 289
HMS Lancaster 323
HMS Ramsey 368
HMS Scott 381
HMS Sutherland 398
RFA Wave Ruler 431
RFA Bayleaf 434
RFA Gold Rover 443
RFA Oakleaf 445

 

I've put together the following list for field troops on Herrick:

Plastic sealed container (as described above)
Food items - for improving Compo:
Stock cubes / oxo
mixed herbs
chilli peppers
mustard powder
black pepper
salt
curry powder
garlic powder
(above packed in bags in film canisters)

Personal:
toothbrush
wet wipes
cotton buds
lip salve
nail brush (useful for more than nails - heavy duty item)
handkerchiefs
Sticking plasters
Safety pins
Nail clippers

Make and Mend:
needles
thread
darning wool and needle
Elastic
Velcro
Buttons
strong thread for webbing repairs
pliers
stanley knife with blades
insulating tape

Miscellaneous
Playing cards
Novels
Postcards
Pencils
Chinagraphs
ziplock bags
trouser twists


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Is this sort of stuff going to be useful and well received or should we just send cake and fags? I imagine that this is the sort of stuff that you buy for yourself to deploy with (well I would) and that can't be replaced when it runs out.

Sensible comments only please.

Ex STAB

 

Bang on STAB, folk should print-out this list! And, you’ve shown well how easy it is to fill a couple of boxes with what’s probably already sitting around the home. Equally when you’re shopping, what to pick up a few extra of – or what multi-pack offers to take advantage of.

Would just add not to forget a tube or two of sweets/lozenges, and, anything you send that has a functional use must be fit for purpose. If the item alternatives you consider are either manky or too expensive, leave it out – e.g. if it looks like it might fail on first use it’s a waste of space.

Re cake and fags/tobacco (and papers), you weren’t going to leave them out were you?

No.9

 

Thanks No.9,

I'll start getting this together. I'll also add some back issues of magazines to bring them up to the weight - cheap and cheering.

Another idea for everyone doing this. Take some Christmas cards down the pub and get people to fill them out:

To 3 Commando Brigade,
Merry Christmas blah blah,

Then they can be handed out to Army and Marines alike. Stuff a load in the packages.

Get packing!

Cheers,

 

Right, on the custom form it says enter value of items, as im sending it as a gift do i have to? and if you do is their a limit, not sure if customes would raise a query?

 

Added to list after visit to stationers:

Heavy duty rubber bands.

(Can't believe the price of chinagraph pencils!)

Cheers

EX STAB

 

”on the custom form it says enter value of items, as im sending it as a gift do i have to?”

Double checking with ’the powers that be’, the official response was NO.
If the contents are a gift and meet the spec we’ve already discussed, just mark that section ‘n/a GIFT’. The blue Customs sticker is a general requirement of postal regs for any International parcel.


STAB, the Christmas cards is a great idea, and, if you have some left over unsigned, bung them in as well so the lads can use them for their sending!. Having said that, better put in a note to say they are unsigned for them to send – else some **** will think no ones’ said they love him???

No.9