Books/videos to Afghanistan?

Anyone interrested in sending books or videos to Afghanistan?

I'm stuck here for a year and practicing what survival skills I can while here. I am in a pretty secure environment and would like to train the troops on what I can. I would be interested in fiction or non-fiction books about survival stories and dvds/videos on how to.

Anything sent to me will be returned in the same condition it was sent in.

Hey I received the DVD "The Snow Walker" and was wondering if you wanted to take it over? It's not really based on pure survival, but more on the mental achievements one has to overcome in order to survival - mental survival.

If you want, you can check over the plot (ya ya, a spoiler, but for information and not really the total aspect) at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337721/

???

-David

For anyone who was wondering, I already pm-ed David asking him to forward the Snow Walker DVD to Jim.

Jim - please feel free to keep the DVD for your unit library, or lend it to other units over there, if you like.

aardwolfe

Thanks all. I replied to Fishmode's PM.

I just got the DVD yesterday and watched it that day at work. Got to ask yourself, whats more important. LOL

Great movie. Really easy to put yourself in his position and wonder what you would do differently. Great flick.

I dont really have anyone else to pass it on to here. After everyone at my work watches it who do I send it to.


Thanks again, you are all AWSOME!!!

I don't have to many books and most of the one I have I got when I was in the military. Is there anything in particular your looking for if so maybe I can find it for you.

Just anything dealing with survival. Primitive survival is my thing. Ive done enough of the modern suvival thing. I do some flint knapping and fire building on the weekends. Just about anytyhing primitive.

Jim;

Please feel free to forward it on to any other units in theatre. (Afghanistan and/or Iraq) as you see fit. I've heard there are some 15,000 US and Canadian soldiers at Kandahar airport - I'm sure they'll all be home before everyone gets tired of watching it.

aardwolfe

Im not in Kandahar but I can definately forward it to a few.

Couple of people in my unit have already watched it. I think I might watch it again myself.

Not really training material, but an intersting read, is Louis Lamours Last of the Breed. I am about 1000 miles from my copy, or I would send it to you...

That was a great read, I gobbled that up many moons ago but still remember how compelling it was to finish. I think of Louis Lamour doing old west style stuff, but, this one was about a downed Air Force guy trying to survive in Siberia. It was set back in the "evil empire" days. Good SERE info woven into the story.

Ive got so much to read for college that I cant get to all of the books that I brought here for relaxation.

Thanks for the offer though. I'll definately try it when I get back.

don't bring any books/DVD that might offend the local population. They are extremely sensitive to religion.

I'm back now. I didn't ever care one bit about sensitivity to any of them. Hell, they sell pirated movies to us really cheap. Not like they dont watch the stuff too.

Is the "The Snow Walker" DVD still floating around out there. If people have lost interest, I'd like to take a look. I don't want to pull it away from any troops, nor do I want you to go to great trouble or expense. I'm assuming you have decent postal service (the military is usually pretty good about this sort of thing), but like all assumptions ...

I passed it on over there as the previous owner instructed.

If I find it next time I go over there in 7 months I'll pass it along.

Jim,

Hello, I've been a member here for some time. As fate would have it I'm a civilian contractor now stationed out of Bagram, and finally have started putting my PSK Survival Tin to good use, carrying it attached to my body armor while traveling out to various FOBs. If you like we can compair notes.

Cheers,
George

Sorry, I just gave a number of paperbacks to one of the gals at work who was collecting a large mass of stuff to send over to our troops in country. Everything from lite reading to area history. DVDs are a good choice however a simple USB hard drive (500 Mb) is probably the best way to transport a lot of videos/movies. Just load 'em up, the small size would be ideal and can be walked to any computer for playing. (just watch out for the sticky fingers around camp!)

And I know you promise to bring books in same condition as left but no matter how hard you try, your buddies are going to want to read your books and they may not treat them so gently. I consider my book giving as books gone. As in - not mine anymore.

P.S. Return home healthy and in one piece, please.

Opps, I didn't know this was a revived old thread... my bad.

I spent two years in Helmand, Kandahar and Kabul A-stan in '08-'09. I hear ya about the shortage of books. I solved that problem by writing to the folks who run our local library book sale, and within weeks I was getting more boxes of books than I knew what to do with.
As far as survival books, our semi-annual book sale is coming up

http://www.booksale.org/sale/sale.php

and there is a camping/ outdoors section. I can hit the sale on its last days and get you some stuff, if you'd like to give me a list of your preferences.

No need to return them; time for me to pass along the same courtesy that others did for me.

Stay safe over there.

I just noticed that myself.
Anyone currently in country reading this that could benefit from the same offer?

I recall sitting in one of the big transient tents on KAF and finding some survival lit. Wonder if it was from someone who sent stuff because of a thread like this.

For those that don't know, places like KAF, BAF and Phoenix have huge libraries already. It is the guys out in the boonies who need donations. My PMT guys in Helmand passed around half a dozen books for weeks because that was all we had available. Haji DVDs and hard drive movie collections are in abundance for those who want video entertainment.