Troops in Afghanistan need donated items

Father inspires community to donate to son's unit in Afghanistan
Victoria Advocate
J. R. Ortega
July 5, 2014

Albert Vasquez does not believe that a village is ever done raising a child.

And for Vasquez's 22-year-old son, Orion, who is stationed at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan, this is certainly the case.

His son's camp will be losing its PX, or Post Exchange, in the coming weeks, and Vasquez - along with many in the Crossroads and even beyond - are shipping items such as toiletries and snacks to ease the battalion's burden until it is pulled out at the end of the year.

The PX is like a convenience store.

Vasquez's son has been stationed at the camp since March 4; it's his first tour.

"Three months with little to nothing to keep you occupied or give you that connection to home - it can be pretty brutal on these guys," he said.

Vasquez first learned of the PX slowly closing during a conversation with his son late in June.
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How to help

Albert Vasquez has set up several drop-off locations throughout Victoria. Items that can be accepted by the battalion include:

• Beef jerky, beef summer sausage
• Canned cheese dips
• Canned sardines, smoked oysters
• Chicken or tuna lunch kits (includes foil pouch of tuna, crackers and condiments in each single-serving kit)
• Cookies
• Fruit: single serving size cans• Gum (blister pack gum is best because of the intense heat)
• Gummi-Bears
• Nuts, sunflower seeds, peanuts, trail mix, dried fruit
• Pop Tarts, cereal bars, granola bars
• Popcorn
• Power bars, protein bars, nutritional bars
• Ramen noodles
• SpaghettiOs and other canned ready-to-eat meals (single serving) with pop-top
• Single-serving bags of snacks, crackers
• Batteries (AA are most requested, then AAA)
• Cigars, cigarettes, dip
• Eye Drops (to relieve dry eye, not redness)
• Eyeglass wipes
• Lip balm (Blistex, Chapstick, Carmex) in stick-tubes rather than tubs, not tinted
• Pain relievers (Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Tylenol, Midol) in small containers
• Sunblock (travel size or stick preferable, no aerosol SPF 30+)
• Travel size packages of Q-tips
• Dental floss
• Disposable multi-blade razors (no single-blade razors)
• Kleenex (travel-size packets)
• Liquid body wash soap, liquid anti-bacterial soap (no bar soap or pump-style dispensers)
• Lotion, unscented, for dry skin (no pump-style dispensers)
• Deodorant
• Oral B Brush-Ups
• Razors and replacement blades
• Shampoo
• Toothbrushes
• Toothpaste (in hard-side tubes rather than traditional tubes)
• Protein supplements, vitamins