Rich sends, Part II

Hey,
I'm at FOB Brassfield-Mora which is right outside Samarra. There is some debate as to whether or not we'll be staying here or going. I think those higher up think we are really good at up-loading and down-loading connexes. Today I went on convoy up to Speicher (Near Tikrit)-- my third mission outside the wire in two days. We spotted an IED on the way up. EOD showed up and set off the thing. They rolled up right after we spotted it. Good thing, we were able to roll out in about 30 min. after calling it in.
If you send Patti Bader's address/email I will contact her. I plan to write back to all who give me their full address. We'll see. I'm trying to get a hold of some nice post-cards that have a nice picture of somewhere in Iraq with something nice written on it. I'll send those out to whoever sends me a support card. Those who send a package I'm hoping to do a little more if possible and something a little more personal -- time permitting. Some of these folks are putting a good amount of thought, time, and money into the parcels they send. I'm going to try to do the same.
Are you sure it's not too much to be asking for "anything?" I guess, it couldn't hurt. If you see something on the list I'll put down that seems like too much, please just scratch it out. Little things that would be liked -- and I'm fine if they're used as long as they're clean and functioning -- are changes of 'full' size mattress sheets/light blankets. An alarm clock that you can see in the dark would also be nice. I've got a little one already but you can't see it in the dark. I'd love some music -- all sorts would be fine; country, classical, rock (contemporary/classic), Latin/salsa, R&B, POP, Christian, maybe a little rap, Sound-tracks, even some folk. I don't know if someone could put a bunch of music onto a disc or a thumb drive. Shoot, I'd love to have something to play/store music/movies on for those lay overs during convoys -- something compact that I could put into a cargo pocket. Flavored oatmeal would be nice. Oh, and laundry detergent. (And Liquid fabric softener--We could get dryersheets all day, but had no dryers. Go figure. Ever try to use a dryer sheet on a laundry line?--Chuck) I feel a bit selfish asking for these things. Anyhow, that's about it currently.
I've already -- on several occasions -- talked to Cpt. Morales about Soldier's Angels and handed off the e-mail address to him. He said he's already visited it but I'm not sure how far he's gone with it.
I'm going to try to put together some pics onto a disc in the next couple of weeks. I've got no personal videos but there are several here who've been able to get some cool footage already. I'll try to gather up some of what they've taken.
I'll attach the list of people that've sent me letters or parcels. Thanks for posting all this info. I really feel that we as soldiers should take a little of our excessive down time to contact these very generous people who care so much about us -- our families -- and our well-being. Many seem to be from the older generations who'd love to do more in the cause but due to their age are left with contributing by adding their part through support to and of us.
Wow, I wrote more than I intended to. Sorry for going on and on. Thanks for helping me out in this way. I wish I knew you better -- hopefully some day that can happen -- with our families living closer to each other -- but just not too close - LOL.
Much thanks,
--Rich