folks,
my wife and i would like to get the address(es) of area soldiers who are deployed in 'stan or iraq and need/want contact and stuff from home.  we've been to sites like www.anysoldier.com/ and www.adoptasniper.com/ but it is difficult to tell who's getting too much and who's getting nothing (contact or supplies); moreover, there is no way to ID the hometown state.  

anyway, info/links/ideas/names/addresses etc welcomed.

if you know of someone personally who would like a package you can IM me or send me an email at ar-jedi at losdos dot dyndns dot org and we'll go to work on it.

ps:
i looked for an ar15.com forum for this kind of stuff, but it would appear that "the site that has everything" actually doesn't have a "help a soldier" forum.   maybe i missed something though.

thanks,
ar-jedi

My Daughter's middle school just ran a big gift drive.
I'd be up for some local guys to send stuff to...

FMjunkie,
thanks -- yes i did miss that thread.  i'll in on the next one.

BUT i'm still in search of names of other NJ/NY/PA area soldiers.  
------> please, help me help them!!!

regards,
jim / ar-jedi

The 42nd ID is deployed to both places, this is a NY/NJ National Guard Division, Should be able to contact the TAG/Div Mil Affairs in either state and get some information.  I know the HQ is in Troy, but I don't know who's still there.

bump -- anyone else have more info?

thanks
ar-jedi

From "The Post" Ft Dix installation Newspaper (www.dix.army.mil)

42nd ID gears up for Tikrit transfer
TIKRIT, Iraq, Army News Service, Dec. 9, 2004 – In an effort to ensure that their upcoming transfer of authority occurs without a hitch, the 1st Infantry and 42nd Infantry divisions held a day-long Relief In Place       rehearsal in Tikrit Dec. 5.

The 42ID, which is an arm of the New York Army National Guard, is scheduled to take control of North Central Iraq by the end of February for a yearlong tour of duty. The 1ID has been in-country since February of this year.

The “Rainbow Division” is the first National Guard contingent to be in charge of an entire area of operation in the Middle East.

The Division Support Command and aviation elements mobilized at Fort Dix, and many of its Soldiers remain on post pending deployment in the new year.

About 200 leaders, including both commanding generals from the divisions, filled Forward Operation Base Danger’s theater for the rehearsal in Iraq.

In the days leading to the dry run, each 42nd ID brigade and battalion commander shadowed his 1ID counterpart, and both drafted a plan.

The commanders presented their plans during the rehearsal, and the generals approved them or made suggestions for improvements.

The plans presented to Maj. Gen. John Batiste of the 1ID and the 42nd ID’s Maj. Gen. Joseph Taluto included troops’ rest plan, movement from Kuwait to Iraq and the format of the1ID Soldier and equipment withdrawal from Iraq.

Prior to the plan presentations, 1ID officials gave the 42ID a brief overview of the area of operations, which includes five provinces. The Big Red One also briefed the Rainbow Soldiers on the various tribes in each province, their economical status, population, the supply routes and the like.

Also discussed were the capabilities of the enemy, tendencies, trends, and lessons learned.

The 1ID Soldiers told their 42ID counterpart about challenges the Big Red One faced and lessons it learned the past year.

“(The rehearsal) is all about sharing good ideas,” Batiste told the throng of Rainbow and Big Red One Soldiers. He urged the 42ID to use force against the enemy whenever necessary, but the goal should be to end the violence because the vast majority of Iraqis want peace.

The Rainbow Division headquarters mobilized in early June and came to Tikrit to do a reconnaissance, get acquainted with the area and learn from the 1ID, Taluto said.

Taluto and his staff returned in August for a third reconnaissance and continued to work closely with the 1ID commanders and staffs.

“Our reconnaissance has been constant and consistent, and I think it has been worth every effort,” Taluto said in July. “We owe a real debt of gratitude to the 1st Infantry Division for the way it’s received us. It’s been wonderful and professional in every sense of the word.”

The 42nd ID stretches across nine states, but 67 percent of its Soldiers are located in New York and New Jersey.

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hey folks,

with your assistance i found a couple of guys in the 42nd ID who could use my help.  incidentally the 42nd ID is the same unit that my father was in a couple of years back when the US had to deal with germany in a not so nice way.  

ps: the USPS has a "fixed price" shipping scheme set up for military endpoints; no matter how much the box weighs you pay the same amount -- $7.70 -- and the cardboard box itself is free.  the other day i was fitting a Larue gas block that i just bought, and i was thinking "WTF am i doing? -- i'm spending money on a gas block when i should be sending stuff to my overseas brothers who are in a lot crappier place than i am..."

ar-jedi