Of of our readers just left a comment in our "How to Support the Troops" roundup, noting that the link re: supporting Polish soldiers is now dead.
That's too bad, because the Poles have played a major role, from their outstanding GROM Special Forces to their leadership of the multinational brigades and ongoing combat operations there. I've sent an email to the American Center for Polish Culture, and done some research in the meantime. My original link was to Dave Kaiser of Blogo Slovo, and this post on Kalendarz was his as well:
So, if you wish to send a Christmas care package to a Polish soldier, to show your gratitude for their support in Iraq, then here is how to do it:
1. Buy appropriate stuff: The American Center for Polish Culture recommends: deodorants, toothpaste, toothbrush, socks, soap, hair shampoo, cologne, talcum powder, CDs, and Christmas cards. You get the idea, toiletries and the like. If you would like your package to go to a female soldier (there are about fifty Polish women serving in Iraq), you might also include face powder, lipstick and handkerchiefs. No food. No weapons, they have enough of their own.
2. Put it in a box no bigger than 12" × 12" × 12". Tape it, don't tie it. The whole thing should weight ten pounds or less.
3. Ship to the following address:
LtCol Mariusz MICHALSKI
Chief of MWR Branch
MND CS – Poland
BABILON
APO, AE 09332 USA"For POLISH SOLDIER" If you want to to go to a female soldier, note that here.
4. As a matter of courtesy, send an e-mail to the Director of the The American Center for Polish Culture ("director" over @polishcenterdc.org). They need an accurate count of care packages, they want to make sure that every Polish soldier in Iraq gets one. If you don't mind, tell them you got this information from Dave Kaiser via Winds of Change.NET.
6. Smile. You just made someone happy. He's stuck in the desert, a thousand miles away from the fields and uplands of his native Poland, helping police and rebuild a country despite the wishes of his European brethren. You let him know that we're grateful and that America remembers its friends.
For more information, you might contact the Polish Center in DC directly:
The American Center of Polish Culture
2025 "O" Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036-5913
Metro: Dupont Circle station on the red line
Phone: (202) 785-2320
Fax: (202) 785-2159
I hope to have a more definitive answer soon.
Thanks for posting this info, I was looking into sending care packages to coalition troops in Iraq. This information is quite helpful :)