Care Packages

Support Our Troops^® Care Packages enhance the morale and well-being of the deployed troops worldwide by seeking, receiving, and shipping care boxes containing items specifically requested by them. This is especially important outside the established holidays.

Troops, use the Contact form to request Care Packages.

1. $25 GIFT CARDS ARE THE MOST NEEDED ITEM. This is how they get on the satellite for personal communications to home. $25 gift cards like Visa, Mastercard and American Express. Not store cards.

2. IF YOU CAN, SEND BOXES WITH ALL THE SAME TYPE OF GOODS. Not assorted goods. Do not think in terms of preparing an individual box of assorted goods for individual soldiers. The military ends up re-sorting those at their end. It is waste effort at both ends. The present manner of distribution overseas has care goods maintained in blocks of the same types of goods, so that soldiers can get exactly how much of what they want, and nothing goes to waste.

Two Ways to Help
You can buy and ship items to us (we inspect, repackage and distribute them to the troops), or,
you can donate via our donation page to help us distribute the goods to the troops. Your donation and support helps America’s troops do their jobs effectively.

The Rules:

• Nothing less than the best for these first class people! All first class, brand new, unopened, safety-sealed goods for America's finest.
• Include your name, address, email address, and phone number in case we need to get hold of you about the shipment. Also, be sure your name, address and phone appear legibly on the outside of the box.
• Put your email address in the box so we can communicate with you electroncially! It costs a fortune to mail thousands of letters, and we can instead spend that further serving the troops!
• If you want you can include a printout of a digital picture of your group, school and class, and any notes about why you are sending the care package so the troops can know how much the folks here really love, respect, and appreciate them. We want the troops and their families to know people back here at home are thinking of them.
• Include $20 to Support Our Troops, Inc. for each box you send.  Some weeks we hit $20,000 in shipping costs!  You can include one total check of money order for the entire numbers of boxes.
  
• Cards, letters, and the like need to be unsealed and ready for inspection.
• Simple!

What the Troops Ask For

(updated September 2022 from overseas)

(We are here for 6 months and have zero access to stores or anything not brought in with us. Anything and everything would be appreciated! ~~ v/r CW3 Jennifer [___] )

Goods

• $25 VISA and M/C gift cards (gives them maximum flexibility, for WIFI, etc)
• Personal hygiene items(unscented whenever possible)
  • Wet wipes, individually wrapped
  • Disposable razors (men's and women's)
  • Chap sticks
  • Body wash, lotion, face wash, mouth wash, deodorant, Q-tips, shampoo, conditioner
  • Foot powder and the like
• Feminine products (unscented whenever possible)
  • Small packs of napkins and tampons
  • Female version of body wash, lotion, razors, face wash, mouth wash, deodorant, Q-tips, hair de-tangler, face moisturizer, shampoo, conditioner
  • Small grooming kits
• Laundry PODS packed in a sturdy plastic or metal container.
• Sunscreen
• Magazines (clean content)
• Fun posters and calendars for dressing the place up
• AA batteries
• AAA batteries
• Movies and music on thumb drives only (“USB devises are cool to send movies and current shows on in digital form!  Just please keep them virus free.”) (CDs, DVDs, and tapes are useless)
• 2 GB + USB memory sticks (thumb drives) (blank)
• Cards, letters, group photos (we want the troops to know real people did this for them)
• Tobacco (“yes a lot of us smoke, dip, chew, and vape”)

Food

• Beef jerky
• Hard candy
• Gum – all flavors
• Protein Bars (Quest/Mission 1/Combat Crunch; cookies and cream/chocolate)
• Protein Mixer Bottles/Shakers
• Cross Training Shoes - men's sizes 11, 12
• Cordless/Electric Hair Clipper
• Cordless/Electric Nose/Ear Hair Trimmer
• 3M Sticky Wall Hooks
• Hand Sanitizer
• Cookies, crackers
• Corn nuts
• Chocolate Candy
• Candy Bars
• Rice Krispy Treats
• Slim Jims
• Granola and other snack bars
• Nuts other than peanuts in re-sealable containers
• Dried fruits in re-sealable containers
• Tins and packets of flavored coffee and cappuccino
• Breath mints

No-Nos

• No pressurized product (aerosol shave cream etc.)
• No cocoa
• “Do not ever, ever, send porn, alcohol or drugs. They are illegal and can get the soldier in trouble. Rated R/NC-17/UR movies are not porn. Nudity in print is not allowed.”

What the troops say:

Care Packages Make a Huge Morale and Effectiveness Difference!

“Our base has also stopped the re-supply of candy and snacks at our dining facility, due to budget cuts and mission needs”

“Our boxes are not handled nicely and are stacked in containers about 20 deep so you can imagine what the bottom one may look like when we finally get it.”

“Books, sadly who reads anymore. Bored troops still do, but not in great numbers. Popular series and authors are best, romance novels are not that great unless someone asks for them.”

“Please do not send troops a lot of melty things like chocolate from 1 April to 1 October. Chocolate Bunnies and Peeps die in the mail in alarming numbers. We currently have 2 solid 3 pound blocks of gummy bears.”

“Any female Hygiene products would be greatly appreciated: body wash, lotion, razors, panty liners, face wash, mouth wash, deodorant, tampons, q-tips, hair detangler, face moisturizer, shampoo, conditioner, baby wipes. Any of the above would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!”

“Mint, butterscotch, and cinnamon disks are the last things to be eaten from a box of candy, or at least there’s always those 3 items that are last in the bottom of the community candy box.”

“Beef Jerky rules! Slim Jims are ok too, but not if you are on a diet.”

“Dried fruits and tree nuts are awesome! No peanuts. Think almonds, cashews, cranberries, cherries, and blueberries.”

“Easy open cans or pouches of things -- not everyone has a can opener”

“Pre-loaded visa or other such cards to pay for WIFI (about $50 a month)”

“Liquid creamers are AWESOME (little plastic cup with a foil top), but they make a terrible mess if they are busted, so need to be in a sturdy outer (plastic, metal) container.”

“Laundry PODS are awesome since I have to do my own laundry here. They make a terrible mess if they are busted, so need to be in a sturdy outer (plastic, metal) container.”

“Tobacco, yes a lot of us smoke, dip, chew, and vape. Please include these products as a regular staple in care packages. None of these are EVER from NY! Our vice selections are limited.”

“Some of our younger kids have a hard time reading your cursive writing! I cannot tell you how many times I have been asked to read something to a Soldier that was under 23 years old. Everything is text and email, typed up on computer to them. Sadly this art form is going the way of the house phone.”

"Everything you have sent has been such a blessing from the plastic utensils to the blank CDs and memory sticks. Even the simple things are hard to come by out here so every last bit helps and makes it that much easier for us to do our job. Thank you for all you do in support of us and all of our fellow soldiers out here. You are truly a blessing." SSGT Kristen -----

"I wanted to say thank you so much for sending out the care package to my airman. She received the box today and she was literally in tears and could not believe that there are people who cared enough to send her a box. She said she felt like it was Christmas or better because she has not had a Christmas since she was younger. It was great seeing her tell everyone who walked in the office about the box. Again, thank you and your team for taking the time to think of us over here and we truly do appreciate your support!"~~ SSgt Leticia -----

How to Send Care Packs to Us.

Use UPS, FedEx Ground, or Post Office parcel post.

Be sure your name, address and phone number is on the outside of each box.

Put your email address in the box so we can communicate with you electronically! It costs a fortune to mail thousands of letters, and we can instead spend that further serving the troops!

"Thank you for your thoughtfulness to the needs of our troops. The kindness you have shown makes a difference in the day-to-day lives of our service members. God Bless you, and please keep up with the things you are doing."
~~ Lt. Ronald ----, USAF Wing Chaplain