What is allowed in Care Packages?

What is allowed in the care packages during Indoc? I know it was stated not to send any unless you had enough for everyone which I plan on doing but want to know exactly what is allowed and what is not allowed.

Thanks,

Cookies are always a real treat. I recall somebody screaming for rice krispy treats. But if you guys can swing it $$, maybe send some power bars or packs of peanut butter crackers? SNACKS ARE GOOD. When INDOC nears the end, perhaps google Oriental Trading Company as they have bulk candies to send for fun & a "Congrats".

Care Packages

Can we send goodies, snacks, etc. NOW? (During INDOC) I thought we had to wait until over....

jeweleez said:

Can we send goodies, snacks, etc. NOW? (During INDOC) I thought we had to wait until over....

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You can send it now during Indoc; however, it will be required to be shared amongst the entire company so send enough for everyone. If you have some special treat just for your DS/DD then wait until after Indoc to send it.

Our parent association sent them suckers to say, "You licked Indoc" to all the kids from our state and found out later that the suckers were confiscated because they were candy. So, I don't understand . . . . one says yes, send candy, and yet the experience our assoication had was, no, do not send candy.
Some say send cookies, some say do not send cookies.
Reason I asked what to send and what is allowed. I do not want to spend the $$ to find out later that it was consficated by the OIC or DI cause it was not allowed.

Is there an offical list somewhere?
Thanks,

Don't know which Parent Association you are with, however, suckers should have been sent after indoc. Might have just been bad timing.

It's not "Licked" until your done....

The suckers were sent after Indoc. Perhaps you are right, bad timing. I was not there, I was just told by the Sect'y's DS that they did not get them at the end of Indoc as a way of congratulations.

Confiscated Care Package

Last year just after Indoc, we sent a nice care package of healthy stuff like power bars, nutrigrain bars, beef jerky, etc. It cost about $60 including priority shipping. We sent a lot so it could be shared. Our son got to open it, then it was taken by upperclassmen and he never even had one item for himself. He got to taste a couple items from his next care package, but most of it was stolen from his personal drawer while he was in class the day he received it. It was very disheartening for our DS. It was worse than not receiving anything! Eventually he found a good hiding place on campus for his stash, but it took awhile. Good luck!

Do they do handout such things as stamps and envelopes to everyone too?

Confiscated/stolen care packages -- how juvenile

Wow -- surprised to see that care package contents get stolen or just taken away. Makes me think twice about sending anything. Anyone know if it is just better to wait until later on to send things, after the upper classmen grow up a little themselves? Is less stuff stolen once they become MIDs? I have heard that there actually is a lot of theft there in general. I was disheartened to say the least. Not that any academy is perfect, just had higher expectations than in a typical Calif. high school where I work, where there is stuff being stolen all the time.
I do have concerns about any fancy phones, etc. Maybe my DS should just keep his old stuff that no one would want. No new IPHONE for him?

Just spoke with a mom who has a senior there and is very involved with her state and the national association. She said not to send packages now and the ones that have received packages and are sharing, she was surprised it was happening. She said that the packages are usually consficated by the DI's and they eat the contents. The DI's have a harder schedule then our poor little DS/DD's do. They go to bed at midnight and get up at 4 a.m. Her son was a DI for 2 years.
She gave me a lot of information about what to expect through out the year and she also said the motto of KP was Simper Gumby. Be flexible cause you h ave to be.
One thing she mentioned was that KP was different from any other college. The kids runs the school while administration does administration stuff. The kids will serve meals, do the cleaning and be in command through out the years. They get up at 6 and lights out are at 10.
When you write your DS/DD, stress to them that they are in the military and the military works as a unit so to ask for help before it is too late. Not to try to get through classes on their own. KP is designed for the kids to learn that they have to ask for help which will probably be hard for a lot of kids being they were in the top 10% of their class and they did it on their own.
I hope this helps. We are waiting until Indoc is over to send packages. Also, tell your Plebe to find a good hiding place for their goodies cause it weill be taken away if they don't.

goodies

DS is actually working indoc as a 3/c mid. From what we were told last year,
food items are shared with the whole company (70-80 kiddos) and that includes the DI/upperclassmen working indoc. Would suggest that "special" baggies be sent to the DI's for your childs company and perhaps the plebes will then receive the package. Just a suggestion.

Save the stuff your DS/DD really loves for after indoc. Even then (unless they have a great hiding spot) it is contraband.

DS was also only allowed his phone on Sundays until he was recognized. It was safely stored during the week.

I guess you can send a package and hope they get to eat it. Might make you feel better. Still in a quandry as to what to do.

Hail to the Wise Newbie Shutterbug. When in doubt seek the Parent Association out! I posted on another thread what I'm about to repost. Be mindful of rumors, "I heard", and "I read", "I was told". Everything depends on the DI, CTO and CO and how the company works TOGETHER. Key operative word TOGETHER. If someone isn't pulling their own weight, you can count on the group suffering, or maybe not. You can count on the contents of the package being distributed, or maybe not. Everyone knows who is not pulling weight. Those same people very often will be out by the end of the trimester. They haven't learned how to work and ask for help. It is correct that KP is filled w/ the top 10% of their former HS classes who've accomplished much independently. Now those same PC/P must learn new ways of working. It's a new mindset. They must put their ego aside, work as a unit, as a well oiled machine or a finely tuned orchestra, for the greater good of all. This includes the spirit missions that occur in the middle of the night, on top of all the night watches that are comin up, the intense classes and study schedule, on top of the extra curricular activity your ds or dd loves. Word of warning. In past years, there have been a consistent cluster of PCs who elect do the spirit missions, while many others sit by...I mean "sleep by" and don't participate. No one is forced to particpate, but through this process some learn they aren't going to suck it up for the class anymore without others participating and others learn they they better roll out of the rack and contribute or else. All part of the process. NOW HOLD OFF SENDING FOOD UNTIL YOU HEAR FROM YYYOOOOUUUURRRR PC.

Thanks for your advice. I have not heard from my DS but another mom has that is in the same company and she said that he said to send it so I am. Not much but I will send something.

What is the "Spirit Mission"?

I don't know that things are the same, but when DD was a plebe 2 years ago, she couldn't have any junk food treats. Her company training officer watched them open every box and confiscated sweets. He kept the contraband in a locker and doled it out in bits and pieces over time. Not something you want happening to homemade baked goods. Healthy foods like power bars, granola, nuts, etc. were OK. DD quickly learned to go the gym to open her boxes and hide her chocolate in her athletic locker until she developed more creative ways to hide things in her room. So when you do send things, think small and able to be hidden or else something they can eat quickly.

I've never heard of company officers stealing the goodies for themselves. But, as DD frequently reminds us, we don't begin to understand KP since we haven't lived it.

shutterbugC said:

What is the "Spirit Mission"?

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Spirit Missions are actually a lot of fun. The short definition is they are a sanctioned prank. The plebes are required to complete a certain number of missions to be recognized. Missions must be cleared and approved in advance. They are supposed to build a sense of teamwork and class spirit.

One of my favorite 2012 missions was to move the outgoing Regimental Commander's room. It was time for the change of command in December, so he had to move rooms. They just moved his entire room down to Zero Deck (the basement) - to include all of the furniture they could get disassembled, through the door and reassembled. They recreated his room by the vending machine area. This was completed in under 15 minutes while he was in Delano. I hear his reaction was priceless.

Also heard, that sometimes the DD or DS may get called out for being the one receiving a package during indoc. Even if its something to be shared and benefits them as a whole. hmm extra pushups or goodies... Our parents assoc. told us some stories from the past so I will hold off sending until after indoc. But, as was mentioned it is going to depend on their company and DI's so who knows. It's one big guessing game.
Here's to our DD & DS's & DI's! We will hopefully hear from them tomorrow. Get your phones ready!

My 2 cents -

Unless your own DS/DD tells you not to send a care package when they call tomorrow or in a letter (which you probably won't receive until after indoc is over) - I'd send them a care package with enough for a large group of hungry PCs and DIs to eat during the mail calls - if you are so inclined. That said if you include a letter to your DS/DD with the care package I'd keep it in a separate sealed envelope, in fact I'd send that separately. Of course a short note that says something innocuous like "Hope you and your comapnymates enjoy the cookies, I baked them on 7/16/2010 and mailed them on 7/17/2010 so take that into account when deciding if you should eat them." etc. is probably fine and advisable.

As far as this whole paranoia about "being called out" or such it's usually over-hyped and over-blown. The truth is there''s always several PCs who fail to "stay under the radar" and my feeling is it's not because they are getting mail or care packages from home, it's because after assessing the whole situation, they've decided they really don't want to stay under the radar or cannot do so without sacrificing too large a part of their personality. Is their journey over the next four years harder by acting as such - maybe - the truth is its really hard, actually IMHO impossible, for them to get through the four years at any Service Academy, let alone the smaller ones - USMMA or USCGA where everyone pretty much really does know everyone else - by trying to act like someone you are not.

So like I said, don't let any sort of fear of attracting unwanted attention to your own DS/DD dissuade you from sending a care package if you want to do so and THEY haven't indicated they would prefer not to receive them.