My brother is in Iraq and I'd love to send him some baked goods but not sure what will hold up and stay fresh for the week it takes to get there. I sent him chocolate chip cookies to CA and they held up fine but I'm not sure what else I could send .... if anyone had ideas please let me know.
Also if anyone would like his address to send stuff I'd be more then happy to give it to you in a PM. He works as a avianics electrician and works with about 15 other guys so I'm sure they'd appreciate it.
MJ 
When my brother was in VietNam I used to send him all kind's of cookie's and brownie's . He got them in good shape and not stale or anything. Just make sure you wrap them real good in plastic wrap , and pack something around them so that they will be well cusioned , and of course put big fat fragil all over the box. The guy's love to get home made cookie's and brownie's and even fudge! Their are alot of them who have no one to send them any. Iused to send him a box and one addressed to any soldier, or someone who was not getting mail or anything in his unit. Sorry this was so long but our service member's hold a special place in my ex-army wife heart.
Thanks a lot Ditter. I didnt' think of fudge. That would probably do good getting over there. I wanted to try cake balls but not sure how they'd do getting over there.
I love sending things over ... this is his second time over and last time I sent lots of care packages and send him 2 at a time and tell him to give one to someone. Their most requested item ... CHAP STICK. lol
I have had a lot of success shiping russian tea cakes/mexican wedding cookies (they are called different things depending on where you're from), and those would be really fun for the troops to get for the holidays because they look like little snowballs!
Things that hold up well: any type of shortbread, biscotti, chewy coconut macaroons, mini loaves of banana/zucchini/pumpkin/ginger bread, peanut brittle, pralines, caramel and chocolate dipped pretzel rods (pack these in pringles cans)....I could go on 
Please pm me the address and if you could give me an idea of how much it costs to ship so I know how many packages I can afford to send out!
Amber
No bake cookies, oatmeal raising, chocolate chip...basically any type of cookie like that. I used to send them to my bil in empty cleaned out pringles cans to keep them from getting crushed. You can also cut brownies with a round cutter to make them fit too.
Don't send anything in bags )like chips) because they can pop/explode. You can send ramen noodles if you pop the corner of the bag open a little first.
Non baked goods..skin so soft, lip balm, panty hose (to keep the sand fleas from biting them), deodorant, prepaid phone cards, hand cream, baby wipes.
Thats another thing I forgot about ... last time he was over he said not to ship chocolate or things that can melt because of the heat. I'm not sure what season they are in right now. I wrote to him and now just need to wait until he writes back.
Jen .... babywipes were another hottttt item. Their showers broke and they couldn't take a shower for over 3 weeks and then when they got them fix they only had cold water.
Sweetamber ... you can go to the post office and get a "flat rate" box. They come in two different sizes, one is a square and one is a skinny rectangle. They give you the boxes for free, you fill it up as much as you'd like and then take it back to them to ship. I think its about $7-8 to ship it.
Thanks for the ideas!
Don't send anything that will melt. My husband's over there right now and he said that it's still over 80 to 90 degrees. That's cooler than it was when he got there, but still it's hot.
These are great suggestions - because I have a soldier I want to send some stuff to.
I did get a great hint for shipping filler tho - popped popcorn! It will hold up and be food safe. It's apparently quite cushioning. Just don't use butter or microwave popped. Do it the old fashioned way.
I don't have anyone serving in the armed forces right now, but I think that it is an awesome idea what you ladies and gents are doing. Anything that we can do here from home to help "ease" our soldiers over there is so great.
Anyone know how to get an address to send stuff? I guess to anyone anywhere would work for me.
Thanks 
No bake cookies, oatmeal raising, chocolate chip...basically any type of cookie like that. I used to send them to my bil in empty cleaned out pringles cans to keep them from getting crushed. You can also cut brownies with a round cutter to make them fit too.
Don't send anything in bags )like chips) because they can pop/explode. You can send ramen noodles if you pop the corner of the bag open a little first.
Non baked goods..skin so soft, lip balm, panty hose (to keep the sand fleas from biting them), deodorant, prepaid phone cards, hand cream, baby wipes.
The pringles container is such a great idea! I would send chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies, any kind of cookie basically, some brownies, anything that will hold up, not like cheesecake or something. I think the cake balls would be great !
I love the pringles can idea! I wonder if you can get these from a container store? Oh boy..you got me thinking!
I just sent 2 boxes over there. I made apple cakes and apple energy bars and cookies. You can send all you can pack in one of the flat rate boxes for $8.10 because it goes to APO address. I was told if you put white bread on top of your baked goods it will keep them fresh. I also sent beef jerky, nuts, boxes of caramel popcorn, pretzels, and gum. Also some wipes. Make sure they are unscented. Walmart has some that are good quality and cheap. Here's a phone number 800-275-8777 they will send you boxes and lables and the forms youhave to fill out to ship there.
ok everyone ....
My brother called home today and he said it was ok to post his address. If you want to send things you can send it to him and write a little note for him to share. He has about 30 guys that work in his shop but there is also a common area where they hang out when they are off where he could put it. He said it's ok to send chocolate (one of the guys in his shop just got some chocolate tastycakes and they were fine) but if you are nervouse about it to wait a week or two and it should be cooler.
His address is ....
Cpl. Sturgill, Jonathan J.
HMH - 465/Avionics
Unit 41096
FPO AP 96426-1096
My name is Mary Jo if you wanted to include that.
PS ... they also love getting stuff from kids so if you have any let them draw pictures. He had a elementary school send him stuff last time he was over and he loved it.
Just wanted to say THANK YOU to anyone who decided to send something.
I wanted to say this last page brought me to tears lol.... the part about the kids sending pictures is what did it. I copied the phone number provided on the last post on page 1 and plan to do something as soon as possible.
I was thinking about the Secret Santa thing that was started earlier this month.... THIS would've been a great idea to add in to something like that. Maybe we could do that after the new year... get addresses and names of people over there defending us that we can ship goodies to... I know I'd love to show my support more then just those ribbons on my bumper. Mary Jo if you could PM me a little info... I'd like to know how long your brother is going to be at the posted address as I can't do anything right this second but would like to send him a little something maybe just after the holidays as a little after holiday surprise for them all also do you know of a place we could get the info from for sending to random military men and women? I know they have to screen things for such things as terrisim and such but there has to be an orginization somewhere that can give us a base address for a Head Administrator or someone that can screen the packages and make sure they aren't bombs or something ya know.... Anyway I'll take note of his name and address and will be sending something from my family and my daughter very soon
I went on deployment to Iraq two years ago and anything that somebody sent us usually took a month. That was to a ship though, I'm not sure how long it takes to ground troops. Anyway, anytime one of us got chocolate or candy....it was melted 
It's hot in the desert 
Not sure what to tell you to send but....I did receive some Little Debbie's and they held up well. Maybe you could make brownies individually wrapped? Regardless, if it doesn't fare well.....your brother will be over the moon that you tried.
Some of our fav's and things that held up well were: Little Debbie's, sunflower seeds, gummy worms, beef jerky, popcorn, licorice, trail mix, gum, and magazines
Good Luck!!!
My DH came home from his 6 mo tour to the gulf this past March (on a carrier) and he was also telling me that if somebody got a package and they didn't recognize the sender they had to report it and have it screen, again, before they could open it and if they were baked goods or food in general (home cooked), sometimes they would not let them consume it. So if somebody wants to send something to Mary Jo's brother and friends, my advice is to send things like wipes, gum, magazines, candy, gummies, jerky (like Luxe42 said) and stuff you buy at a grocery store, name brands.
This is how it worked on CVN 71, with the Navy, might be different on other branches. HTH
It's been taking about 10-14 days to get packages to him. I get the flat rate boxes and pack them as full as I can get them. Right now its ok to send chocolate and stuff. I've sent a few boxes and everything has held up well. It's cold over there right now and will be until late January.
As far as having packages screened from people he doesn't know ... I'm not sure how that works but I know I've seen on the news about people collecting things and sending it. I will have to ask him about that.
can anyone keep this thread on the home page so that the thread doesn't get lost and we all have a chance to see it?
Thanks..
My husband was in Iraq last year. I sent him some instant grits and they went nuts. (Luckily they had a micro.)( They also ate a lot of pop tarts. I also sent summer sausage and crackers.
I did send some cookies because he was getting his pacakges within 2 weeks but the time I sent the cookies it took over 3 1/2 weeks and they weren't any good.
As far as chocolate, you can buy individual candy and unwrap them in the disposable bowls and send a spoon. That way if they melt they can still eat it. I never tried this because my husband isn't much on candy but some of our friends were and their wives said it worked.
I have freshness suggestion for those who wish to send items. Try to use shrink wrap. 1, it is not a bag that will pop under pressure 2, it keeps the bugs and air (and sand) out. 3, it makes it easier to share with people and them be able to save for a little later.
My BIL is going in July and it is nice to know that there are still people that care about those they don't even know.
Best wishes to your brother and his friends.
My BIL and family are now in Germany. In the base paper there was a military member who wrote in a lettter to "people" that had been pilfering (not the checkers-actualing stealing PS2's and stuff) mail in Iraq. He said that they could go ahead and steal the cookies his mom made him, but next time they were to take the letter in which she wrote that she made those cookies with so much love and how much she thought of him as she was making them. Just awful how people can be!
Julia
Thats terrible Julia. I haven't heard of anything like that happening but I'm sure it does. I send lots of DVD's over and he always gets them but anything electronic he wouldn't want to be sent anyway. He said the get full of sand and ruined anyway so its not worth sending them. They have a tv, and a PS2 that they packed and took over and use the PS2 to watch movies. I'd be really upset if someone stole something that I sent him.
Thats a great idea CUPCAKE ... thanks a lot. I will have to try it.
I would recommend not sending chocolate because it could melt. Also, probably nothing with icing/frosting on it because it could get messy. Basically something that would still be fresh for a couple of weeks. I've sent some peanut butter no bake cookies over to the Middle East before and they were sent fine.
If anyone else is planning on sending stuff to soldiers overseas, I would definately recommend checking out to see what the soldiers could really use. They could definately use toilettrees, games to play during their downtime, powdered drink mix, and even silly string (they use the silly string to see if there are any trap wires when they go into buildings).
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