Help needed to find phone card

[PrincessKsMom]

Hoping someone here can point me in the right direction. My friend's son is leaving for Iraq at the end of the month. I bought him stamps and would like to get him a phone card to call home (whenever he can), but I can't find one anywhere. All the international cards I find only work from USA to foreign country, not visa versa. Any ideas?

 

[lovemygoofy]

Get an AT&T int'l phone card. It will work. There are codes and directions that your son can use to connect to the states. He will also be able to purchase phone cards there to help.

Also, he doesn't need the stamps. Someone else can correct me if I'm wrong, since my husband doesn't send me any letters anymore, but it used to be that you could mail a letter for free from Iraq.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Thank you so much for your quick reply and for your family's sacrifice for our country's safety and well-being.

 

[DisneyMom]

I send my son AT&T phone cards every month - he tries to call home at least once every 2 weeks - the phone system over there is sporadic at best.

Other things that they find VERY useful are the individual insect wipes (come in a box of toilettes by Off), baby wipes and Q-tips (that sand is more like powdered sugar and gets into EVERYTHING!), chapstick (the air is SO dry over there), small tubes of rich lotions (same), a small fan with a clip to hang over their beds!

We just found out they changed his R&R leave and my oldest son had scheduled his wedding around that leave!! Now we're faced with holding wedding (AT DISNEY on 12/15) with no best man or rescheduling!!

 

[KT27]

I would buy a smaller phone card maybe $25.00 and wait to see what his particular Camp will offer. My DH is at FOB Hammer for 15 mos (about 1.5 mos done!) and calls on an internet phone (crystal clear) for about .01 per min (better than any phone card).

And yes postage from a combat zone...Iraq is free. If they need to mail something priority they would have to pay.

Again, I would wait to see where he ends up and what service his particular Camp/Base/FOB offers. When my husband was gone 06-07 he had a trailer with a bed & a/c. This deployment he is currently in a tent on a cot awaiting a trailer. But he does have a PX that's bigger than the one here in Baumholder, Germany so he is able to buy most of what he needs.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Thank you all for your replies. As it turns out, you were (of course!) right about the postage. Not necessary. As far as the phone cards, I didn't purchase any. Instead I gave him cash, to purchase what he needs from his PX. I had the story a little off though -- he's currently in Texas and from there he'll ship to Iraq. Sort of strange though -- they let him bring his laptop, so he'll be communicating mosting through his laptop -- no need for the phone card or postage.

Thanks so much for your guidance and again, to you, your spouses and families, for the sacrifices you make so we can all enjoy our Independence Day this weekend.

 

[KT27]

My DH has his laptop there, most camps are equipped with free internet for 30 min or so. Then there are internet cafes where you can use your own laptop by obtaining a wireless signal or use their computers but you do pay for this service. We talk on yahoo instant messenger & use web cams to see each other. So I would sign up for a free account on Yahoo im. Best of luck to him and when you find out where he is going let us know. This is my husbands 4th tour and hopefully last before retiring. Once he gets his mailing address be sure & write him a letter. My DH carried around all the letters the family & I sent to read when he had downtime or was stuck on 24 hr duty. It helped keep his spirits up.

 

[jmskinner]

My DH used the regular phone cards, not the International. Not sure if that was a no no, but it worked.