They spray it into doorways and it hits on trip wires for bombs. Sounds like a wonderful thing to include in care packages.
2007-10-17 04:57:41 · 17 answers · asked by Southern Comfort 6 in News & Events ➔ Current Events
MY son has been there several times...they also need "flea collars", like you get for a cats or dogs...the guys strap them around there ankles because they have TERRIBLE sand fleas there...they would be much appreciated.!!
2007-10-17 05:40:08 · answer #1 · answered by Kerilyn 7 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Did anyone read the whole article? The military does not need silly string. Earlier in the war there may have been a use for it. It took so long for this mother to get the stuff shipped its use is no longer needed. This is symbolism over substance.
I realize I am coming accross rather cynical. I am a vet of the 1st Gulf war and I still believe if there were demand for silly string we would be supplying our soldiers with it.
2007-10-17 12:35:38 · answer #2 · answered by One eyed pirate 3 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Yes. I read that a mother of one of our soldiers thought of it and finally was able to get it to them through a company that sent it.
Can't be sent in packages as it is an aerosol can and could explode. I think it is a unique idea and will help keep our people safer.
Hooray for Silly String!!
2007-10-17 15:12:41 · answer #3 · answered by Meeshmai 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There's been a great article about a lady who sent the troops 80,000 cans of the stuff. I think it's cool as heck.
What next ? Rubber chickens as waterproof gun holsters ?
The possibilities are endless !! Spencer's could end up being a major military supplier !!
2007-10-17 12:07:07 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋
Why are people so negative about this, because they didn't think of it first???
I believe it was her son, a Soldier, according to the article, who asked his mom to send him some for the reason you stated.
It took a year for her to find someone to ship it for her.
I think it is a great idea if it is going to help our soldiers from being blown up to bits!!
And, I am appalled!!!! How dare our US Postal Service not Volunteer to ship it, via the US government helping them to!
We certainly have the man power for BS, so why not use our resources here to inspect the cans, and ship it!
Big deal its 80k cans.....We have JAILS full of people who could inspect them!!! now don't we!!! Minimum security facilties I am sure could have helped....
2007-10-17 12:46:08 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
wow very interesting and funny. I should make that my interesting news of the day, do you have a link to something about the silly string?
2007-10-17 13:26:15 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I caught the tail end of the request for silly string, but thank you for explaining why.
2007-10-17 12:33:49 · answer #7 · answered by One Wing Eagle Woman 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Our guys and girls in the military are pretty clever. Imagine, in this age of modern, high tech warfare...silly string!
Hey, whatever works.
2007-10-17 23:57:08 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
We can't send aerosol cans. Not allowed. I wish we could find a way. But the military has so far said no.
2007-10-17 22:17:35 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
be careful tho because u are not supposed to send aerosol cans
which silly string is in
2007-10-17 12:06:11 · answer #10 · answered by caretaker 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
DEPTFORD — Marcelle Shriver already had the party favors — about 80,000 cans of Silly String. Now, she finally has cause to celebrate.
After months of frustration, Shriver has finally found someone who will ship her Silly String to Iraq, where troops use the foamy substance to detect trip wires on bombs.
"I am so happy right now, I am shaking. I just think it's awesome that it's finally going," said Shriver, whose son is a soldier in Iraq, as boxes were loaded into a truck Monday afternoon. "I'm thrilled."
After an initial shipment went to Iraq in January without a hitch, Shriver struggled to find a way to send thousands of cans she was still collecting. One problem: Silly String is an aerosol and it's considered a hazardous material, meaning only certain companies can ship it. She also encountered problems sending more shipments through the military.
Thom Campbell, one of the founders of Capacity LLC, a New Jersey-based shipping company experienced in hazardous materials, heard about Shriver's struggles and decided to help out.
"The determination that she's shown over a year . . . deserves to be honored," Campbell said. "Mine is not a glamorous industry nor is it the kind of industry you get a lot of opportunities to do something like this so we were really lucky to . . . help out."
Working with a company called Yellow Transportation, almost all of boxes were picked up Monday in Deptford, outside Philadelphia, where Shriver had been storing them. The 24-foot truck could only fit 14 of the 16 pallets stacked with boxes of Silly String; the rest will be picked up later.
The thousands of cans of Silly String are boxed and addressed to individual servicemen and servicewomen in Iraq. The boxes will be taken to Capacity LLC's storage facility in North Brunswick, inspected and then delivered to the United States Postal Service for delivery with other letters and packages bound for Iraq.
Shriver's Silly String campaign began late last year after her son, Todd, a soldier in Ramadi slated to leave Iraq in November, asked his parents to send cans of the product, which also is sold under names such as "party string" or "crazy string."
The troops were using it to detect trip wires on bombs. They can shoot the substance, which travels about 10-12 feet, across a room before entering. If it hangs in the air, that indicates a possible trip wire.
After sending some cans to her son, Marcelle Shriver decided to collect more for other troops. The campaign started with a collection box at her church last year and quickly ballooned, as people sent her donations of Silly String and money.
But after one shipment of about 40,000 cans went to Iraq, Shriver struggled to find someone to ship the rest.
McGuire Air Force Base wouldn't take it, citing Department of Defense regulations. And the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove in Pennsylvania, which sent the first shipment, didn't know when they'd have more flights headed to Iraq and didn't have space to store the boxes.
Other private shippers volunteered their services, but for a multitude of reasons, couldn't deliver. Shriver, 58, said she's still working with a local support group to gather supplies for the troops. Despite her frustrations, she said the Silly String campaign was worth it.
"If this saves one life, I'm happy," Shriver said.
2007-10-17 12:49:32 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋