tide pens are great. white out and a stick of white chaulk [both work well on last-minute scuffs] although you might want to tuck a note in there as to what to use it for.
leave the flashlight at home. It is not allowed, and for every plebe that skates with one, there are 3 others that get nailed. Help them to help themselves by respecting the rules and regs.
white crew socks. Theirs turn gray very quickly and never do get clean, especially if they sink their boots in the severn.
anything with a flip-top that they can eat quickly. Tuna. fruit coctail. Don't forget to send a plastic spoon with it.
small individual pre-packaged cheese/crackers, peanut butter, etc. Pretzels [small amounts of salt will be helpful with this hot weather]. Again, in small individual packages that they can open, eat, and toss.
fruit roll-ups [aka fruit leather] - especially for those who are craving something a little sweet. Raisins, craisens, etc, all work well too. Pack the latter in a zip-lock bag.
If you are going to send brownines or home baked cookies, seal them in small zip-lock bags, and avoid adding anything that will melt. They may not be able to keep it for themselves, but in most companies they will be allowed to "share" with their company mates and cadre.
white cotton glove and a spare black cotton sock, so they can do their own pre-alpha's.
small american flag if not already sent on I-Day. Used to avoid mutany's.
a few extra "frogs" [those small metal things that hold their name tags on] - you can usually find them at an army-navy store.
you can never send enough letters, notes, jokes, or pictures from home. Put a date on the bottom left hand corner of the envelope-it helps to figure out in what order to read them. Put an inspiring quote on a small colored tag or index card that they can post in their room, and enclose in their letters.
SMALL plastic box that they can use to store all the little things...those frogs, nametags, belt buckles, etc.... along the lines of the plastic pencil boxes they carried way back in grammer school.
4 tennis balls. used are fine. tuck in a note with instructions to cut a slit in them and use as "booties" for their desk chair. Great for saving scuff marks on the floor.
SMALL fan. about 6-8 inches across. Most companies will allow them, and a small one will fit in the bookcase that is located at the head of their racks. Depending on the wing they are in in, the A/C either works too well, or not well at all. As luck would have it, there is an electical outlet right there at the head of their rack that is perfect to accomodate the fan.
2 very tough black garbage bags that they can stuff full in a hurry when they are told they have to move. Better than loading the stuff on a chair and rolling it down the hall, only to leave a trail of "stuff" behind them that they will have to scurry around to find. Make sure to tuck a note as to the purpose, once again, as they are NOT thinking about anything other than what they are told to think about right now. All good! They will survive!
for our young women, send their usual brand of sanatary items and replenish once or twice over the summer.
motto: send a little, and send often.
they have only a little space in their con locker to store "Stuff," so sending less more fequently is a good rule of thumb! In short order navy moms and dads raise the packing of boodle boxes to a new art form!!! Do buy in bulk, but send a little of this, and a little of that, in each box! The variety is appreciated by most- and if not your plebe, then by his/her shipmate!
Consider packing an extra box, with instructions to your plebe to give it to another plebe in their company that has not gotten a box of their own. You would be surprised at how many will not get any packages for a variety of reasons!
and son said they have been given practically everything they need, but he asked me to please send more black compression shorts (they were issued some and he took 3 in with him) "since we do so much running all day, I just wear them all the time".