Donate some games for troops in Iraq!

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**Ahtman**

There is a tobacco shop that I frequent in town. This isn't a discount cigarette, in and out type store, it's a cigar store with a friendly community that often sit around for an hour or two after work and watch news and discuss daily events (there is a private lounge with sofa's and TV's). One of the member's ha a son over there and we have a box that people donate cigars, magazines, DVD's or whatever they want and when it gets filled up we are sending it over to him and his unit.

As far as gaming in the service, several times I've sold figs on ebay and had to send them over to military bases, though admittedly not a conflict area.

**santanero**

Posted By ancientsociety on 04/19/2007 10:07 AM
Mods,

Please lock this thread, apparently people cannot keep politics out of a charity request.

First of all, a charity request is neither news nor rumours....

An on the other hand....well, i undestand charity as helping the ones inneed, those no such fortunate as us....

Setting uncle sam G.I.s as charity objects just don´t fit in any logic reasoning...

**ancientsociety**

Posted By santanero on 04/22/2007 8:49 AM

Posted By ancientsociety on 04/19/2007 10:07 AM
Mods,

Please lock this thread, apparently people cannot keep politics out of a charity request.

First of all, a charity request is neither news nor rumours....

An on the other hand....well, i undestand charity as helping the ones inneed, those no such fortunate as us....

Setting uncle sam G.I.s as charity objects just don´t fit in any logic reasoning...

Wow, I guess if you have nothing intelligent to add....

Anyway, I've got some like new Rifts and GURPs books ready to send tomorrow, I hope they enjoy 'em!

**Ahtman**

I think the fact that people are sending gaming supplies to soldiers in a conflict zone counts as news. Toilet paper and toothpaste wouldn't, in a dog bites man kind of way, but gaming supplies? Surely the charity and good will of gamers giving in such a way, and soldiers playing, constitutes news of some sort.

**santanero**

Ancientsociety,

I don't understand why you think you are in the rigth to decide if another poster opinion is inteligent or not... As a matter of fact I have my own opinion about you "inteligent" decision of posting this issue in dakka... but i will kept it for myself

I politely request you to refrain fron any other personal atack...

**Hellfury**

Posted By GreenMtVince on 04/20/2007 5:21 AM

Anyway, this is one Con I'd definitely love to attend, just to say I did. I'm not so sure about the LARP at the 4,000 year old ruins of Abraham's birthplace though. You have to go outside the gate to get there.

Even though there is a social stigma for LARPing, you have to admit, it would be helluh cool to have a live action game in such an environment.

Heh. I can just imagine what the locals would think. I imagine they would think the westerners to be a crazy lot all hopped up on some stygian black lotus or something.

**Hellfury**

Posted By Ahtman on 04/22/2007 12:25 PM
I think the fact that people are sending gaming supplies to soldiers in a conflict zone counts as news. Toilet paper and toothpaste wouldn't, in a dog bites man kind of way, but gaming supplies? Surely the charity and good will of gamers giving in such a way, and soldiers playing, constitutes news of some sort.

Possibly. But I have been sending gaming supplies as well as R/C supplies (nitro gas mixes, parts, etc) to that area,. Anywhere from near a DMZ to conflict zones. You just ave to know how to send it legally. But really, you can send nearly anything you want. (they allow nitro gase mixtures for heavens sake.)

**ancientsociety**

Posted By santanero on 04/22/2007 12:48 PM
Ancientsociety,

I don't understand why you think you are in the rigth to decide if another poster opinion is inteligent or not... As a matter of fact I have my own opinion about you "inteligent" decision of posting this issue in dakka... but i will kept it for myself

I politely request you to refrain fron any other personal atack...

And I politely asked that others refrain from bringing their personal "politics" and prejudices into the discussion, but that sure didn't stop you, huh?

BTW, I would consider someone who has to dodge bullets and shrapnel on a regular basis to be "less fortunate" then you and me. I would add the fact that they're risking their lives for an unpopular war which puts them in a "less fortunate" position. They also don't have access to gaming materials.

A donation of gaming material is charity. Also, if the mods decided this wasn't news or rumors, they are more than able to move this thread to discussion. They haven't done that. Hence, it does belong in news and rumors.

**beef**

Calm down Children.

Those who want to send gaming stuff by all meens those who dont then thats fine to. those who agree with the war thats your right and those who dont thats your right to.

Now if anyone wants to send the insurgents/ freedom fighters some 40K games I am sure we could call that charitable work to.

**santanero**

Posted By ancientsociety on 04/22/2007 3:20 PM

Posted By santanero on 04/22/2007 12:48 PM
Ancientsociety,

I don't understand why you think you are in the rigth to decide if another poster opinion is inteligent or not... As a matter of fact I have my own opinion about you "inteligent" decision of posting this issue in dakka... but i will kept it for myself

I politely request you to refrain fron any other personal atack...

And I politely asked that others refrain from bringing their personal "politics" and prejudices into the discussion, but that sure didn't stop you, huh?

BTW, I would consider someone who has to dodge bullets and shrapnel on a regular basis to be "less fortunate" then you and me. I would add the fact that they're risking their lives for an unpopular war which puts them in a "less fortunate" position. They also don't have access to gaming materials.

A donation of gaming material is charity. Also, if the mods decided this wasn't news or rumors, they are more than able to move this thread to discussion. They haven't done that. Hence, it does belong in news and rumors.

there were not a simple word in my original post regarding politics... If I intended to talk about politics and iraq i would have choseen another forum, and not a gaming one...

my original post was just a comment about your use of the word charity....

so you really think that some of the most highly trained and well paid and feed profesionals in the world are in need of charity to cover such a basic need as it is gaming... wow.... that impresive reasoning....

come on man... your "donation" maybe rigth or wrong... i am not discussing that... but calling it charity is to laugth on the face of the homeless or of those starving to death....

**G.I.Journalist**

Posted By santanero on 04/23/2007 1:34 AM

my original post was just a comment about your use of the word charity....

so you really think that some of the most highly trained and well paid and feed profesionals in the world are in need of charity to cover such a basic need as it is gaming... wow.... that impresive reasoning....

I love argument by definition! Let me grab my Webster’s New World College dictionary, which is the journalistic standard. This should let us determine whether this news item is a request for charity or not.

charity n. 1 the love of God for humanity, or a love of one’s fellow beings 2 an act of goodwill or affection 3 the feeling of goodwill; benevolence 4 kindness or leniency in judging others 5 a) voluntary giving of money or other help to those in need b) money or help so given c) an institution or other recipient of such help 6 a welfare institution, organization or fund

While I make enough money as a United States soldier to cover my personal gaming supplies, I'm not ready to concede that a group of soldiers in Iraq have the financial wherewithal to host a gaming convention without the benefit of a sponsor. Moreover, even if the soldiers could afford all the supplies and prizes they need for an official Morale Welfare Recreation event, which could theoretically have a turnout in the hundreds (deployed soldiers separated from their loved ones are often on the lookout for an event to keep their minds occupied), then the donations still fit definition number two, "an expression of goodwill or kindness".

While I do not require charity for myself, I can certainly appreciate it as a gesture of good will. I'm deployed, but I'm not in any danger. The same can not be said of my fellow soldiers in Iraq. I would ask that people show some "kindness or leniency in judging" them and their request for support.

Thank you.

**Mannahnin**

Well summarized, GI J.

This is news, as it's a discussion of a particular event. A gaming con, and one in a particularly unusual and noteworthy place.

The tradition of sending care packages to deployed soldiers is a long and honorable one, and at Dakka we're happy to support it.

No politics need enter into the discussion.

**stonefox**

So I'm guessing that since that APO doesn't have a country as part of the address, anything we send to it is going straight to Iraq?

Anyway, I love opportunities to get rid of crap sitting on my shelves.

**beefHeart**

I am proud to be a sponsor... sent a box of goodies off in the post today..

**ancientsociety**

Posted By stonefox on 04/23/2007 7:01 AM
So I'm guessing that since that APO doesn't have a country as part of the address, anything we send to it is going straight to Iraq?

Anyway, I love opportunities to get rid of crap sitting on my shelves.

I would imagine so....

I'm mailing by stuff today. Since it's my first time mailing to an APO, does anyone know if there are guidelines to follow (packaging, addressing, etc) or is it like mailing to anywhere else?

**beefHeart**

I asked the woman at the post office this morning. The only thing she recommended was to use a very heavy walled box or a box in a box. I did the second. other then that no special instructions. I think the reason no country is necessary in the address is a matter of: National Security (to be dramatic), Standard US military protocol (to be less dramatic).

**Task and Purpose**

Mailing to an APO isnt a big deal.

I believe an APO is an "American Post Office"... these are usually run by Adjudant General soldiers on posts/FOBs outside the US who like to steal everyones laptops. (stole my laptop and atleast 5-6 others I know of, I mailed home a new deathwing army and it didnt get home either YAY!)

There are APOs every where. The APO for Iraq is AE or "Arab Emarites" this gets you in the right continent more or less.

To get it from there to a specific place you must put a FOB, foward operating base, or LSA Logiscal Supply Area???, and it helps to have a unit.

ie this is an example of my unit if I remember correctly...dont send here as we have been redeployed for 4 months now.

Any Soldier / or Rank Name
Unit XXX / F CO, 2-506 IN
APO AE, sometimes there is a zip here
FOB XXX /Falcon is where I was

**GreenMtVince**

Posted By Brother CPT Ginn on 04/23/2007 8:25 AM
Mailing to an APO isnt a big deal.

I believe an APO is an "American Post Office"... these are usually run by Adjudant General soldiers on posts/FOBs outside the US who like to steal everyones laptops. (stole my laptop and atleast 5-6 others I know of, I mailed home a new deathwing army and it didnt get home either YAY!)

There are APOs every where. The APO for Iraq is AE or "Arab Emarites" this gets you in the right continent more or less.

To get it from there to a specific place you must put a FOB, foward operating base, or LSA Logiscal Supply Area???, and it helps to have a unit.

ie this is an example of my unit if I remember correctly...dont send here as we have been redeployed for 4 months now.

Any Soldier / or Rank Name
Unit XXX / F CO, 2-506 IN
APO AE, sometimes there is a zip here
FOB XXX /Falcon is where I was

AE is actually Armed Forces Europe. The two other APOs are AP (Pacific) and AA (Central/South Americas) The middle east falls under CENTCOM which is the European based command.

I think the fact that you were at Falcon was more the reason you had issues with the postal service. It may be close to the green zone, but it's definitely not a in the nicest of neighborhoods.

**stonefox**

Oh, I've posted to APO AE before when I lived in Germany (military brat) and when my friends lived in Germany, but I was just wondering if it was going straight over or went to some undisclosed facility in the U.S. before heading over. It's just one of those "I wanna make sure it's going straight to them without middlemen fiddling with the bits first" things. I'm always uppity like that when it comes to donating stuff. So, since I didn't recognize what CENTCOM was, I was curious.

**Task and Purpose**

There are several levels of Command above CORP. Theatre level unified commands , IIRC, are the highest levels of command which break up the world.

NORTHCOM=US
SOUTHCOM=Southern American
PACOM=Pacific w/ Antarctica
EUCOM=Europe and Africa...Africa may get its own command***
CENTCOM=middle east/ Horn of africa

**beefHeart**

Photos of the loot.

Edit: I made some smaller pics and hosted them so they are actually viewable. -- yakface

**upliftingprimer**

wwwwwooooowwwww this post is so llllllllllllllllllllooooooooooonnnnnnnggggggg

finly bout time we did something constructive for our troops they real need our supportand beleave me had I any mouny it would be poring in to this

so everyone who donated to this thank you for being real americans where so many of us have fallen short

**beef**

Posted By upliftingprimer on 06/11/2007 4:50 PM

so everyone who donated to this thank you for being real americans where so many of us have fallen short

I did't realise donating games to troops made you a "real" american. Hell If I had known that I would have gotton all my Mexican mates to donate.

**Beast**

Posted By beef on 06/12/2007 12:31 AM

Posted By upliftingprimer on 06/11/2007 4:50 PM

so everyone who donated to this thank you for being real americans where so many of us have fallen short

I did't realise donating games to troops made you a "real" american.

Hook, line and sinker... upliftingprimer lands beef as his first catch.

Throw out the bait and someone will always bite... especially if it skirts a politically charged issue... I suggest future posts about donated games stick only to the thread topic and not make judgements about patriotism and political issues.

Everyone has an opinion on the war in Iraq and what patriotism is (for Americans), so let's leave that out of this thread. beef isn't even an American (unless he is a Yank living in the UK) and he is commenting (jokingly- I know) on upliftings' political bait. He seems to be a pretty calm guy too but if some of the more excitable people on dakka get involved, this thread will get locked pretty quickly.

A quick review of the forum rules on politcal issues might be in order for many.

**beefHeart**

thanks Yakface!!!

I was in a bit of a rush yesterday...

**Frazzled**

Thanks Yakmeister. As one of those "excitable guys" its good to see they received this stuff.

**beef**

Atleast somebody relised i was joking.

Whats the young guy got round his arm??

We should do a caption comp for the first picture. the possibilities are endless.

**ancientsociety**

Excellent, I love the look on the first guy's face. "WTF!? Look at all this STUFF!"

**beef**

More like "Damn the day i pull mail duty all this turns up"

**two heads talking**

Posted By Jmznudd on 04/21/2007 12:01 PM

Posted By Furious on 04/20/2007 3:10 PM
Awesome! I hadn't realized gamers could be found in today's armed forces in enough numbers to make a 'games day' possible! Good luck, guys. I'll see if I can get something from my FLAGS sent for the event.

Actually there are quite a few gamers in the US military. I couldn't give a percentage but at most of my assignments I was able to find 5-6 guys for either D&D, Warhammer, 40K or someother type of game. And there are alot of former military that still play as well.

When you've been a real soldier, its easy to play with little toy ones.

-Jmz

and using plastic toy soldier in the "sandbox" so to speak is an awesome way to mix games and tactical set ups.. toy soldiers is just our way of taking the realism out and letting off some steam