Sometimes by lonely tone, sometimes by humor.  I started by picking Army because of my BIL who served. But then I 'branched out" just because some of the posts spoke to me.  Sometimes I pick by location, trying to reach Kuwait and Qatar and Afgh. Or if they sound like my sons (age 20), I'm a sucker.  By and large, tho', it's by the ones with the fewest requests relative to the unit numbers.

It is hard to decide much of the time.  But I found that somehow, like many have already said, that one person just speaks to you.  Before the contact count came out I used to pick by where their location was, if I could tell they were on the outskirts away from any base I would pick them first, I also look for people from the Marines because of my brother who was a career man.  But then I would think of the guys in Afganistan and wonder if they felt forgotten so I seek them out too. 

I developed a relationship with an airman who flew helicopters in Afganistan, his letter said he was going to be taking packages to the guys in the mountains away from the base or any comforts.  He immediately caught my eye because he talked about his fellow brothers that didn't have it as good as him.  I worked with him until his tour was up.  I miss "talking" with him.

I guess the best way to pick a contact is follow your heart, no matter who you pick, they wouldn't have signed up if THEIR heart wasn't in the right place too. 

BUT, pardon me for being blind or stupid, but I can't see any option that simply says "Search" other than the ones that are given like Last Name, Newest Contacts, etc.  I would like to find a medic or clergy member to contact and don't know how.  I also LOVE your idea about the K-9 units as I, too, am a dog-lover and would love to support them.  Help!

Also, I have found that even though a unit may be from, say, Maryland, they often have soldiers from other states such as NY, or CA, listed in their post...  Anyway this system screens for these comments?  What about requests for sheets or pillows or x-boxes, DVD's, etc.???

I am boggled by all of this and trying to take it all in...  HELP!

Hi and welcome to the Forum.  Yes, there is a lot to take in at one time.  You will find a "magnifying glass" in two places - one above the list of contacts and I forget the exact location of the other one, but somewhere else on the Where to Send page, plus, if you have the name of a person, scroll down that page and you will find the Junkie Search Tool with an alphabetical list of all of the members.  Hope this is clear enough.

Gran

EXCELLENT!   Right on the main "Where to Send" page above the "addiction warning"!!!  You are terrific!  Thanks for all of your help (I've read LOTS of your forum posts ).  Take care!

Empress Francis,

 go to navy contacts and find LT Greg Hazlett, he is a chaplain for alot of Navy Seabees in Iraq. Navy Seabees are the " builders" and " engineers and are doing alot of infrastructure work along with riding convoys with Marines.

Thank you so much for the recommendation!  I've added him to my list!

You have a blessed day!

Deb

We support SGT MATT HAMRICK, a chaplain. You'll see his latest picture up, strumming a guitar.He writes back, too!

You might also want to read SGT TIM CHANDLER . Not a chaplain, but signed his last note, "A Marine after God's Own Heart." He and I have corresponded and he is one serious Christian. He has requested witnessing material.

 I'm a complete newbie at this so I was also wondering how to go about choosing someone.  Plus I'm not really sure what to write about.  I'm South African so I don't know if telling the person a bit about where I come from, maybe including a photo or two would be the thing to do.  Any suggestions please?

There are as many ways to choose contacts as there are supporters, which is one of the things that makes it so fun! If you're interested in a particular sport, or a kind of music or movies, you could try to do a search based on that. Or if there's a certain part of the U.S. you've visited or would like to, you could pick someone from there.

I suggest just reading some of the entries and see if someone jumps out at you. Otherwise, you could go to the "Where to Send" page, scroll almost to the bottom, and click on the "Show a Random Contact" button.

I think they'd love to hear about where you're from, and photos are always appreciated!

Good luck! 

You may want to take some time and read lots of posts and read the forum before beginning. You can search for troops with a specific interest or need by using the search function (magnifying glass) on the "Where to Send" page, such as looking for a medic, or K-9 soldier, or someone who has an interest in something you have like art, golf or humanitarian efforts, or perhaps you may want to just select someone with the same last name or a group with lots of females.  Perhaps you want to write to someone from a particular area of the U.S. because you'd like to learn more of that place.  Do you want the "intimacy" of serving a small group, or the opportunity to serve many at once by selecting a large group?  Do you want multiple groups (a challenge to keep organized in what you write/send to whom!) or just one or two?  The options are almost endless.  Some write wonderful, descriptive posts with lots of photos (and they also have LOTS of supporters already--see Maj. Gary Bourland's or John Pethel's posts), others are are not big writers. If you are looking for a group that would appreciate some item(s) you would like to send you could screen by that.  If you are particularly interested in supporting a group that seems to have it "rough" look for the listings that people here on the forum write about that have special needs and/or very few requests for their address (See Overlooked/Emergency/Special requests.). 

You have the absolutely right idea about what to write in your first letter.  I think the troops would be delighted to find someone from another country supporting them.  It would also be interesting to them to hear about your everyday life in how it may be similar and yet different from theirs back home. Photos of you, your family, your country would be wonderful as well.  Tell them about funny incidents in your everyday life--They need to laugh as well.  Tell them why you selected them to support and that you thank them for their sacrifices and that you wish them well.  Include stationery and a self-addressed envelope and pehaps your email address if you would like a response, but remember that not all write back.  How did you find AnySoldier.com?  Remember we are a resource for you as well so ask us your questions and read the posts on the Forum written by some of our deployed soldiers as well.  They are wonderful.  Again welcome.  The troops will LOVE you!

Sharon,

I know what you mean about winning the lottery.  It would be nice to have an unlimited budget,  a couple employees and send everyone on the AS list a 50 pound package.  Alas,  it isn't so.  I get great pleasure from the packages I am able to send,  though.  My son is a Marine in Iraq so he gets the lion's share but I have a couple other contacts in Afghanistan.

 I got some  Adults Only playing cards the other day at the Fun Store.  Labled Dirty Cards.  I opened the plastic wrapper and checked them out - They had fingerprints and lipstick on them.  I'm sure 1st SGT Wells will have some fun with them.

Best Wishes,

James L. Miller

NicksMom:

I have had a lot of people ask me how I choose my contacts.  I go to the search page and type in something that is meaningful to me.  I mostly choose troops from Florida or Military Working Dog Handlers, "MWD Handler" or "K-9 Handler".

I know that the original posting is several months old. . . but I just saw it. . and wanted to bring it to the attention of all of the people who like to support K-9 units.  When you click on the "search" button in the "were to ship" area, it really helps if you do several different searches, such as:

• K-9
• K9
• Handler

It all depends upon how the person has it in the listing is what is going to work to pull it up.  The word "handler" will pull-up anything like dog handler, MWD handler, etc.  Sometimes they have it listed as K-9 unit or K9 unit.  If you try these three, you should pull-up most of them.  It's also the same way with other searches.  You have to think about possible ways to say the same thing and do multiple searches to find the people you're looking for.  This will probably be a "review" for most of you, but I thought that it might come in handy for new people who might not be as familiar with the system.

George 

James L. Miller:

I got some  Adults Only playing cards the other day at the Fun Store.  Labled Dirty Cards.  I opened the plastic wrapper and checked them out - They had fingerprints and lipstick on them.  I'm sure 1st SGT Wells will have some fun with them.

James, are you referring to 1stSgt Charles Wells? I love his posts! And he has great pictures, too. He's not one of my contacts, but I sure enjoy reading his updates. He sounds like he would indeed enjoy the "dirty cards"...