AUGUST adoption: Fun and GATOR Games with the USS IWO JIMA!!

[Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom]

USS Iwo Jima August 2012 from Marcy Scott on Vimeo.

UPDATE - USS Iwo Jima Homecoming December 20, 2012 - a Cox Video Diary (Kleenex alert!)

Here's a September 2012 update to our amazing August adoption - a wonderful email I just received!!  I want to give a great big THANK YOU to everyone who made the August adoption of the junior enlisted aboard USS Iwo Jima on this long deployment such a wonderful one!!!   Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom 

Received the following email (from a female sailor) today (9/25):  

"The crew and I on the Iwo Jima want to thank you for the lovely care packages that you sent us on this deployment. 

I am a [xxx] on this ship and I have been onboard the Iwo Jima for over a year now.  This is my second deployment and it has been difficult, especially without visiting a liberty port for months on end and the many restrictions we go under for operational security purposes. 

Sometimes, the only exciting thing we have to look forward to is mail.  Most of us are always expecting mail from loved ones but they don’t always arrive on time. 

For some of us that don’t get any mail, instead are blessed with a care package from lovely, caring and appreciative persons like you.  We are just as grateful for receiving your gifts as you are for us serving our country. 

A couple of days ago, all of us in my work center were pleasantly surprised with care packages and let me tell you - we were like a bunch of happy little kids on Christmas day opening our presents! 

We truly appreciate you thinking of us and caring about us and taking the time out of your day to make these packages for us especially for those who may feel lonelier because of not hearing from their family and loved ones for so long.  It truly means a lot to us.  Thank you.

Sincerely,

[XX]" 

August Adoption:  Fun and GATOR Games!   Our adoptees are the junior enlisted sailors (E4 and below) aboard the amphibious assault ship USS IWO JIMA - part of the Navy’s “Gator Navy” - and we’re definitely going for the GOLD with this adoption!  

The Iwo Jima Amphibious Readiness Group is halfway through an eight month deployment (more about the ship, below).  The Iwo Jima ARG is in the 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operation patrolling parts of Europe, Africa and the Middle East, supporting maritime security operations and critical response capability if needed. 

They’ve been away from home a loooong time, and along with needing PERSONAL CARE items, they are hoping for SNACKS AND TREATS from home (chocolate is a special request!), and have specifically also asked for GAMES to help beat the dog days of summer and keep their spirits up! 

There are 625 junior enlisted aboard, of which about 100 are female.  We hope to send as many boxes as we can.  Lets do our MOLLY best to give these great sailors plenty of treats PLUS fun and games to share.  THANK YOU for ROCKING THE GATOR GAMES!!!! 

We're encouraging individual boxes with a mix of snacks & treats, personal care items and games in each.  If you want to send a common box full of one category, please clearly mark COMMON BOX -SHARE.

Print these MAS Stickers (2"x4", 10/page) and add to your boxes!!

Here’s the ‘Wish List' from our contact, the ships RP1:  (Note: no pillow cases permitted by the ship for this adoption.  

She says in her email...

“My list is compiled from things that I see firsthand some sailors run out of and the ship store does not carry or runs out of.  Movies/TV series (DVDs, any kind works) are welcome.  Homemade treats are the best - cookies, chocolate and brownies.

PERSONAL CARE ITEMS ~

Shampoo and conditioner

Soap

Toothpaste and mouthwash

Hand sanitizer

Lotion

Purex 3 in 1’s (laundry soap) is good

New dark blue T shirts compatible with NWUs

New black over the calf crew socks

Shoe polish (black)

SNACKS AND TREATS ~

Homemade treats - cookies, chocolate and brownies - note:  chocolate is a big request! :)  Recipes and Baking Tips for successful shipping

Candy

Chips/popcorn

GAMES ~

Board games

Phase 10 (card game)

Scrabble

Jenga

Taboo

Playing cards

Dominoes

Jump ropes

Jacks.....”

♥ And of course - cards and letters of support from home are the most welcome of all ♥ :)

Add a Molly's Adopt a Sailor sticker to your box!  MAS labels

Measuring 844 feet long (about the length of three football fields), the USS Iwo Jima and her 1,100 sailors provide the platform that can deliver up to 1,900 Marines (currently from the 24th Expeditionary Unit) to any contingency in their region.  

This eight-month deployment is longer than the norm for a routine rotation.  The ARG’s deployment also marks the maiden voyage of the USS New York, whose bow is forged with steel from the World Trade Center.

The Iwo (LHD-7) serves both as a warship and as a medical provider of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.  Her extensive medical department includes operating rooms, a blood bank, laboratories and patient wards.  When Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, the Iwo provided a floating command center and hospital, while her crew assisted in search and rescue operations, plucking almost 3,400 people from rooftops and saving them from rising waters.  In 2010, she provided healthcare and humanitarian aid to eight countries in the Caribbean and South America, and in 2006, evacuated nearly 15,000 American citizens from Lebanon.

 

 

[Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom]

Don't they sound good?!  had the butter flavored shortening for making pie crusts, so you can use it for that later. Awesome, thanks ValerieJean!  

[kayakhinkle]

Why is it called "gator" navy?

[Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom]

An alligator can move from water to land, and that ability is what the Navy's amphibious ships provide:  the movement of troops and heavy equipment to and from shore via landing craft and aircraft.  Amphibious ships have a "well deck" - the deck is lowered, a cavernous space inside the ship fills with seawater, and landing craft can enter and leave from the ship's stern.  It's an awesome sight - and loud!  :)  Check out these videos:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuWCU7Xb00M  and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhbZtmIl-lI

[Proud Navy/NYPD Mom (Donna)]

Massachusetts Navy Moms are having a packing party on Sat., 8/18.  So we'll be sending boxes too.

Also today my husband and I went to our "Nifty-Fifties and Swinging Sixties" group from church for a good ol' summertime cookout.  I presented the Iwo Jima adoption and they are going to collect stuff for us too.  They are so excited to be able to help the troops by sending them things off their lists.  One lovely lady offered to make copies of the lists which I will pass out before and after church tomorrow.  That and I'm bringing a big box for them to put their donations into.  Hoping that maybe others will choose to participate as well.  We could have quite a few boxes.

@ Marcy, I noticed some comment about a box for each sailor.  Have you decided exactly what we are doing?  Individual boxes or common boxes??

Also, how many female only boxes do you have?

[Molly Molly Fo Folly]

I think Marcy said common boxes ---- this is always a little harder i think because at times we send so many boxes they just say *grab some boxes chief and take to your guys* vs opening and looking in them ,  i always envision one group getting cards and the other getting brownies. maybe we should start some way for them to tell whats in the boxes like the word mixed, or ---- hmmmm i hate to say what is in there though.    

Happy Sunday everyone --- 

[Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom]

No no!  We are encouraging INDIVIDUAL BOXES!!! There are so many sailors and we cannot control how the FCPOA will be distributing, and the scenario Molly describes could very well happen.  Certainly sometimes a common box will make sense, as packing parties sometimes end up with lots of a certain category, and then I'm thinking we could address those to our contact directly, vs the FCPOA.  Molly would that be ok?  I can give both addresses and clear instructions above and email to our packing party folks.

 Thanks!!!  And I'll clarify in the Discussion above.

[DramaSoul]

Marcy....I am going to do a box.  Looking over the list.  When do we mail them out and where do I mail it?  Do I mark if for a female or male? Or is there a specific Sailor to whom it goes?  It will take me a week to get stuff together between working and such. 

[Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom]

@ProudNavyNYPDMomDonna:  Of the some 625 junior enlisted, there are about 100 females.  

We're encouraging individual boxes, as there are so many sailors, and as Molly says "because at times we send so many boxes they just say *grab some boxes chief and take to your guys* vs opening and looking in them,  i always envision one group getting cards and the other getting brownies."  But since you may have lots of some items and a common box looks like it makes sense, how about addressing those to the contact directly and not the FCPOA?  I'm checking that with Molly right now :)

[Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom]

Wow, just got home from Walgreen's, where they are clearing out their summer toys and games aisle!  Awesome AirMax ring flyers (throw like Frisbees), glow-in-the-dark paddleball sets and a variety of other stuff marked down to only 62 cents!!  Neon glow in the dark small footballs & basketballs $2.49.  Other clearance stuff, metal travel mugs and water bottles down to $1.  Can't wait to add them to our boxes!

[valeriejean]

If we are sending individual boxes, are they the APO (12x12) size still?

[Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom]

Yep!  Priority Mail APO/FPO Large Box

[Charle&Brandon3]

I am wanting to make at least two care packages. My husband is a Corpsman and I want to help out as much as I can! I have never made a care package for someone besides my husband so if someone can email me all the details that would be great! Thanks ladies (: [e-mail]