Official "Donate Games to the Troops in Iraq" Thread

neushane

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UPDATE 7/30
[quote name='Witzbold']Hate to double post but just a slight update on the situation.

Kevin is still working on a way to keep the donation drive going and him in the saddle. Will keep you all updated with further details as they come along.

He would like to ask anyone who has a donation but has not sent it out yet to please hold onto your package, since it will not be 100% sure to arrive safely during this transition phase.

So please once again any donators who still have a package to send hold onto it for now. [/quote]


UPDATE 7/27

[quote name='Witzbold']Hi folks,

Have some bad news.

Im relaying a message from Kevin, since he is currently tied up with various things at the moment and is unable to post himself.

The bad news is by August 31st, Kevin and his team will no longer be able to take care of the donation drive due to the unforseen issue of he and his team not being in charge of the warehouse anymore and will be transfered out.

So please to those who are still or have donations to send have them sent out before August. Any packages that are sent out after that we will not be able to confirm their safe delivery / distribution at this time.


Kevin and his team will do their best to try to find another trustworthy soul(s) who would be willing to take up the torch in regards to keeping the donation drive alive over there. Since its been a real great run so far and we would really like to keep things going with this since its a huge morale boost for the men and women serving overseas in Iraq.

I will also be sure to keep you all posted on the status of the situation as new news reaches me.

--------

Cheapy can you also please update the story to reflect this news?[/quote]




UPDATE 7/19

neushane has gone back to the states, but StewyTQ is now continuing the effort.
[quote name='SteweyTQ']I cannot begin to tell you the good that has come from the work of this thread. The young men and women over here need to find a release from the stresses of life in a combat zone and you guys have helped them tremendously. By donating games to occupy their time you may have kept them from drinking or other stupid mistakes that could cost them their career or life.

I am not a soldier, sailor, Marine or Airman; I am a civilian contractor who has been here for close to 3 years. I am not asking you to donate games for us but would like to continue the work that Shane Neuhaus has started and be a relay point for your contributions. I will provide you with pictures and a short detail of who got the games and what they plan to do with them.

If there are any questions about the legitimacy of my intentions you are more than welcome to e-mail me or call me at 713-422-9521 and I will be glad to speak with you.

My mailing address is listed below and I hope to hear from you guys soon.

Kevin Stewart
KBR/ LSI
APO, AE 09381

[email protected]
[/quote]

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Original post from Shane



IF YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE A DONATION AND HAVE NOT DONE SO YET, PLEASE HAVE ALL DONATION MAILED OUT BY WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 27TH. I KNOW THIS IS SHORT NOTICE BUT I WILL BE RETURNING HOME SOON AND I COULD NOT FIND THE RIGHT PERSON TO TAKE OVER THIS DRIVE. I ALSO HAVE NOT RECEIVED A FEW PACKAGES THAT WERE MAILED OUT ABOUT 2 WEEKS AGO AND I WANT TO ENSURE I RECEIVE EVERYTHING AND GET THE DONATIONS TO TROOPS BEFORE I DEPART IRAQ. I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GUARANTEE ANY ITEMS SHIPPED OUT AFTER THE 27TH. I WILL CONTINUE TO HAND OUT GAMES UP TO THE DAY I DEPART (IN A FEW WEEKS). ANYTHING REMAINING WILL GET SHIPPED UP TO LUNCHBOX79. HE IS A FELLOW CAG IN THE ARMY A BIT NORTH OF ME. I ALREADY SENT SOME GAMES TO HIS UNIT BUT WILL FORWARD EVERYTHING ELSE I GET TO HIM WHEN TIME APPROACHES MY DEPARTURE. IF ANYONE WANTS TO STEP UP AND TAKE THIS OVER, PLEASE EMAIL OR PM CHEAPYD FOR PERMISSION BUT I WANT TO LEAVE ON A CLEAN SLATE KNOWING I DID THE BEST I COULD AND NOT HAVE ANYTHING THAT CARRIES OVER COME BACK TO MY NAME. THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE HAVE DONATED. I WILL STILL UPDATE THIS THREAD FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS.

With the permission of CheapyD and the support of my fellow CAGS I have started this thread for donating used games to the troops. The purpose of this thread is to get all your support and see if you would be helpful enough to donate games to our cause...troops deployed to Iraq. Out here in Iraq we have overpriced new games and no game selection. Instead of trading in games for $3 credit, I am asking to help us out and send them our way. I will distribute any donated games to fellow troops deployed in the area. Any CAG that is out here in Iraq will get 1st crack at whatever games I receive. From what I have seen other gamers playing and what has been posted in this thread it looks like the following consoles are the primary targets:

-Xbox 360
-PS2
-PS3
-PSP
-Nintendo Wii
-Nintendo DS

You can email me at [email protected]

I can only get on the internet after 10am EST (6pm locally) so if you have a question that requires an immediate response it would be best to email me. If anything is missing on this post please let me know. Again, thank you CheapyD and all fellow CAGS!

neushane

[digg]http://www.cheapassgamer.com/archives/cags-donate-games-to-the-troops-in-iraq-campaign.php[/digg]
 
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[quote name='DesertEagleXIX']Hey, Neushane

A merry Christmas to you! What kind of chow are they serving on-board tonight? Flight Deck Buzzard?[/quote]

LOL! No Deagle. I just got back from the DFAC (dining facility in case some people dont know) and we had everything you could think of...ham, turkey, roasted pork, mashed potatos, pumpkin pie, baskin robbins ice cream (we only get 5 flavors here, not 31), etc... Sure as hell beats MREs :lol:

Hope under everyone's tree was everything you guys wanted.
 
If anyone has any crappy games that they are going to get rid of, dont trade them in for $2-5.00. Instead, send them out this way. The other day I saw 2 guys I know playing NCAA 2004 on a PS2. If anyone is going to trade in games, especially sports games, i.e. Madden 06 or Tiger Woods, for a crappy $2.00 please change your mind and send it to a soldier stuck out here. I can even paypal you the money if that is what makes you hesitate. I brought 35 or so games out here that I lend out on a regular basis. My wife even hits up the local Blockbusters and EBgames for good used games. The PX store out here still sells games like College Hoops 2K7, Eternal Sonata and Table tennis for $59.99. These younger guys can not afford that. These guys need stuff to help keep them entertained and keep morale up. Being 30 years old myself, I dont ask for me personally but for the 18-20 year old guys out here that never been away from home for such great lengths of time. If you do want to help, anyone can email me out here at [email protected]

This is by no means a way to scam anyone or take advantage of people. I see a lot of care packages that we hand out on a weekly basis. Some with books, dvds, candy, cookies, beef jerky, magazines, but never a video game. I just thought it would be a great way for people that want to contribute but might not know where to go. Merry Christmas again.
 
Happy Holidays neushane and stay safe.

It would be cool if we did a Child's Play like drive for the troops over seas. Video games for our troops would be a worthy cause.
 
Merry Christmas, soldier. Here's to hoping you're coming home soon.

~HotShotX

PS: If by some chance and blessing of God you know a solider named Jeff Correa from New Jersey, tell him his brother from the "Trio" misses him.
 
[quote name='HotShotX']Merry Christmas, soldier. Here's to hoping you're coming home soon.

~HotShotX

PS: If by some chance and blessing of God you know a solider named Jeff Correa from New Jersey, tell him his brother from the "Trio" misses him.[/quote]


I looked at our email address directory and did not see a Jeff Correa on there for my area but it is restricted only to our LAN. Closest thing to that was a Jerry Correa but I will keep my eyes open for you. I see hundreds of guys a day at the chowhall.
 
[quote name='ananag112']Happy Holidays neushane and stay safe.

It would be cool if we did a Child's Play like drive for the troops over seas. Video games for our troops would be a worthy cause.[/quote]

Thank you ananag. If it was more official I would have to come up with a catchy name. Something like "Games for Grunts" :lol: :lol:

You would think that as large of an industry video games is that there would be something like that in place. Maybe if this is something I can get to take off I would have to do just that...start a charity. Heck, then people could even make donations tax deductible. Win, win situation. I have done a lot of volunteering during my 12 years in the Navy. Everything I volunteered for was because I enjoyed it and not for brownie points. I think something like this would just top the cake since gaming is such a huge hobby for me.
 
Happy holidays and stay safe while you're in Iraq. I would send you a cheap game or two, but I'm already supporting 4 or 5 soldiers during their 15 months tour. Quite an expensive hobby to keep sending care packages. Maybe I'll find something to throw something your way. Hehehe.

P.S. If you see my bf over there, please give him a big wet kiss for me! :D
 
Hey man, thank you for going out there for the patriotic cause; some may disagree with the politics of it, but we can all appreciate what you guys do for the country.

Merry Christmas from famous movie actor "William H. Macy"!

p1_macy.jpg
 
Happy Holidays man. I got a friend who is in the millitary. He finished boot camp around a month ago and is going to Iraq in a few weeks after he goes back on January 5 or 6th I forgot. ^_^ Thanks for everythat that you are doing.
 
[quote name='neushane']I looked at our email address directory and did not see a Jeff Correa on there for my area but it is restricted only to our LAN. Closest thing to that was a Jerry Correa but I will keep my eyes open for you. I see hundreds of guys a day at the chowhall.[/quote]

That means a lot of me, thanks a lot and stay safe.

Edit: Also, Jeff Correa's in the Air Force, not Navy. So I don't know about your chances of running across him, but here's hoping. Thanks again.

~HotShotX
 
Merry Christmas buddy! You have all of my respect for being out there and going through all of those tough times. I hope you all come home safe and soon.
 
Merry Christmas even though i'm a little late... Happy Holidays and best wishes to you and everyone you are with over there. It's gotta be really hard being away from your families and especially during this time of the year! Stay safe and remember you've got millions of people over here wishing you good luck and a safe return home! :)
 
[quote name='neushane']I just wanted to give a holiday shoutout to all my fellow CAGs. MERRY CHRISTMAS! A bunch of us are currently stationed out here in Iraq and have limited internet access. Man, I miss hitting up the hot deals forum and getting in on those sweet deals I keep seeing! Everything out here is ridiculously priced and the trade scene is the only way to go to get different games. I also miss getting the CAGcasts every week. We do not have the bandwidth to even download the files. I have my wife download them to a CD for me and mail them out. It maybe "old" news by the time it gets in my hands but thank you for continuing to make this place a great site to visit, no matter where in the world you are. Happy Holidays!

neushane
US Navy[/quote]

Safe journey there and back! Thank you for your service and Merry Christmas and hopefully a Happy New Year!!!

Gratefully yours,

Alex
 
I was in Baghdad a couple years back during the holidays, and despite being in a war, they really did a great job making us feel as much at home as possible. At the chow hall, they had a ridiculously huge feast throughout the day. Very nice.

Hope you stay safe and return home to your family. God bless.
 
To answer a few of your questions we have mainly the Xbox360 and PS2s. The MWR dept (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) has a bunch of PS2s that they check out to everyone but there is a very limited amount of games available for checkout. The store gets in the Xbox360 on a regular interval and sometimes they get in the Wii.

I mostly see the consoles mentioned above over the handhelds. The only handhelds I see is the PSP. Our shared drive has the Custom Firmwares on it and some other stuff :whistle2:#

Thank you for those who have emailed me and replied to this thread. Your thoughts and support are much appreciated.
 
If other CAGs are up for this, we should use this thread (renamed appropriately as a "Overseas Military CAG Donation Thread"), find out where these things should be sent to make sure the right people get them, and how to keep shipping costs down to a minimum (overseas is a bitch).

Neushane, if there's enough support for this, turn the OP into a list of systems and accessories currently availiable, and take a few requests from your comrades on what games/etc you'd like to see (to prevent the inevitable shipment of 500 copies of Madden Pre-08')

Of course, take photos/posts on anything you guys get in, once people see the system is working, I imagine more will chip in :) Any thoughts or suggestions on this?

~HotShotX
 
Well, I do believe it needs to be organized. I want this to be a controlled situation because I know items can be pilerable. I dont want stuff like that to happen.

As far as shipping goes, that is easy. We have a physical address and an FPO address that comes straight to my building. This is good because anyone that ships to an FPO address is only paying for shipping to say San Fransico or New York. The overseas fees are already covered so you DO NOT pay overseas fees. Also, the post office has flat rate boxes that can weigh whatever and only cost around $8.00-9.00 max. Like I stated earlier my wife has done it for me in the past. Most packages DVD or game size cost around $1.75-2.25 to ship to an FPO address.

I am out here until March something. I was kind of hesitant to come out with this idea. My unit reports to the same area of Iraq each time and I work for a level that knows each unit that reports here. When I return stateside I would be willing to keep this going and have all items first routed to my office in CA and then out to here for distribution.

Pictures would be a must or else where is the satisfaction for all those that contribute ;-)

If you like I will rename the thread. I just would like to know CAG is okay with that. If any moderators are reading this thread or if someone can tell me who to contact, I would like permission to make this okay. Thank you to everyone. I think we can make this work. If it becomes official, I will post the FPO address for my unit.

Shane
 
I was reading this thread and saw the post about sending games over.
Glad you guys are talking to CheapyD about it, I'd love to buy some games and send over to Iraq.
 
I've got a few sports games and ps2 games I'll send over their without hesitation. Only issue I have is if the right people are getting them cause I sent 2 Christmas Cards to the Red Cross which then got sent to some vets in the VA but haven't got a response yet. I'll keep sending stuff but If just one person gives me a response I'd feel more hesitant on sending them without a problem.
 
I got a good tip from the post office when sending heavy or a lot of stuff:

Send stuff to Iraq (APO/FPO address) using the the flat rate box. It's a godsend. If it fits into the box (no matter how heavy), it'll ships for $8.95 Priority. You have to fill out the custom forms though...which is no biggie.
 
[quote name='ttriber']I've got a few sports games and ps2 games I'll send over their without hesitation. Only issue I have is if the right people are getting them cause I sent 2 Christmas Cards to the Red Cross which then got sent to some vets in the VA but haven't got a response yet. I'll keep sending stuff but If just one person gives me a response I'd feel more hesitant on sending them without a problem.[/quote]

I imagine Neushane and his group can take a few photos of the guys with the packages and a "Thanks CAG" sign to show that these are going to the right people.

A little credibility goes a long way with charity.

~HotShotX
 
ttriber, I am sorry you have not received a response but try not to feel frustrated about it. Places like the Red Cross are extremely busy. You never know if everything they receive gets delivered as expected. We have received care packages out here that are dated 2005 on them. An organization receiving a lot of material takes a lot longer to get items processed. On the other hand, maybe someone did receive your card but just did not write back. Is it wrong, I think so. But not everyone thinks the same as I do. If someone takes the time to send a letter, postcard or package then I think they deserve the right to a response.

I was surprised the other day when a guy that works for me handed me a letter to mail out. I asked him who it was for and he told me a little girl that made him a card and send out some snowman hot cocoa package. Someone else might have received the same package but did not write a thing back. I told him i was impressed and smirked at him. Then he made some wise ass comment about the marshmellows being stale. That shit was classic !!

To say the least, I will be sure that everything gets to the hands of people that can use it and not let it be abused. I will also take a lot of pictures. I have my digital camera here. Can I say that everyone will get a response? No, I can't, but I will recommend to everyone that they come here and give a thank you and check out the forums at the same time :)
 
Oh, and if anyone wants proof about me and to show i am in Iraq I will do so. Just do not ask me to hold up a roll of toilet paper and a kitchen spoon...LOL

(if you have seen the OT thread on the chick scamming everyone with Xbox Live year subscriptions you know what I am talking about)
 
Thanks for answering that neushane. I appreciate your honesty and dedication for serving . I will probably send the games together. What type of games do you guys want though? Sports?Shooting?RPG?Wrestling?

May God Bless you and the rest of the soldiers.
 
[quote name='neushane']Oh, and if anyone wants proof about me and to show i am in Iraq I will do so. Just do not ask me to hold up a roll of toilet paper and a kitchen spoon...LOL[/quote]

:rofl:Nice!

As soon as we hear a response from CheapyD, I'll be ready to send a few games to our troops. :)
 
How you doing Neushane , im over here in iraq also!!!! So your in the navy , i work with some navy EOD every once in a while , so yep i do route clearance out here and look for IED's!!!! Not very fun but hey i get to ride in the "bonecrusher" the vehicle they used in the transformers movie , yea its called the buffalo and i must say its a trip to drive!!! I mostly operate the arm , so yep in the army 21B combat engineer here . . . HOOAH!!! So you leave in march , damn i dont leave till feb. 2009 , yep 15 month tour , ill miss 2 christmas's out here , i never thought that would happen!!!! But anyways , yea Neushane thats a great idea , i hav my digital camera also , so i can prove im out here in iraq , and yes my real nickname is Lunchbox , i even hav the name tape on my vest!!!!! Truth behold , the games they have out here are overpriced , im just glad i learned last time to bring my hand-helds , i brought my DS , PSP , and GBAmicro!!!! Yea the micro is for when im out on a mission waitin for EOD to blow and IED , sometimes it can take several hours and sitting there twiddlin your thumbs , very , very boring LOL!!! At least some things have changed since 2005 the last time i was out here!!!! So where you at over here Neushane , im here at COB Speicher , its not pretty here but hey , i hav my own lil space . . . YAY!!! To all you CAG'ers hope you all had a merry christmas and a good new years , hell drink a beer for me , good ol' Lunchbox LOL!!!!

anyone want my email its [email protected] you can also IM me there to , i try to be on there at least once a day to talk to my fiance , and hey any hardcore GEARS players out there can add me on live also , i wont b able to play till june tho , catch u guys later!!!!
 
lunchbox - thanks for the reply and the PM. I replied to your PM but after reading your post I answered a few of my questions...lol. Glad to see I am not along when it comes to being out here and thanks for backing up my statements. We gamers, we CAGS, get fucked out here!!!

ttriber - brother, we will take anything you guys are willing to throw our way. I am sure troops out here will appreciate anything that is new to them. Well, maybe not Avatar (j/k). Whatever you can send, I will make sure it gets enjoyed.

If any fellow CAGS out here want to jump in and state what you enjoy it will help. Also, if you either PM or email my iraqi email address posted in this thread with your FPO address, I will be sure you get 1st dibs on my next batch of games (from my wife) or anything I receive from a fellow CAG.

neushane
 
Well christmas is behind us , now up is New Years!!!! Heres hopin everyone has a blast at some new years party , ill be on a mission . . . as usual!!!!! Drink a beer for good ol' Lunchbox:D :applause:
 
bread's done
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