CBG's for Service/Military Personnel

Comment

Comment by Ted Crocker on December 1, 2011 at 9:34pm

We need soldier names to send instruments!!!!!

Comment by Richard Stark on August 8, 2011 at 1:00am

I have had the honor of building CBGs for 2 of Our soldiers and both went overseas on deployment to Afghanistan. Contact hwykeycbg@aol.com if I can send either a CBG kit or finished build to any soldier who is wanting one.

Comment by Ted Crocker on July 2, 2011 at 9:12pm

Sid Workman has a Radio DJ buddy willing to put out the call for names.  We're trying to figure out the best way, and thinking a link here plus a call to the DJ and he'll forward them to Sid/here.  I need to write a press release - any help??

Comment by Mark Ayers on June 20, 2011 at 10:57am

How's everyone doing on their builds? Have you connected with any services personal to build for? I have not yet.

Comment by Mark Ayers on June 10, 2011 at 3:36pm

I am posting on my local freecycle.org yahoo group to see who may be able to connect me to service person abroad. 

 

freecycle.org

Comment by Jess on June 9, 2011 at 7:37am

Mark:   I've noted several questions about how to get instruments into the hands of military personnel, and thought it may be a good idea to visit CigarBoxNation and ask for guidance from Matt Borszon or Dan Sleep.  Many of us have followed their lead successfully.  Or, seek answers from Chicago Dianne, who is the person who set this whole thing in motion.  Just my nickle's worth.  Jess

Comment by Mark Ayers on June 9, 2011 at 3:09am

Mike

 

fire away with the build questions. Plenty of great builders here to help you out. 

Comment by mike miller on June 8, 2011 at 1:09pm

i vworked on overhaul on the s-3 for lockheed for about 7 years after i retired i think they are pretty much gone from active navy now. the last job they had was tanker work on carriers. i think all of the squadrons are gone now and most of the planes are in the boneyard. the p-3 is still here but on the way out. sure will hate to see it go. i'm sure there are lots of sailors in deployed overseas that would love a guitar with howerver many strings we want to put on it . as long as enough ifo is provided for them to maintain the guitar. and how to tune and play it i'm startin a couple today . i'm gonna try to use a military theme like mabe squadron emblems or mascots. that should be fun. i can tell you now i'll need help on the electronics to make it as good as it can be. so stand by for questions,

 

Comment by Mark Ayers on June 8, 2011 at 12:45pm

Pass the Ammo

Thank you for your service and dedication I spprciate it. And thank you for your first hand knowledge and experience. Your suggestions are great. More later when I am at my computer

Comment by Pass the Ammo on June 8, 2011 at 11:42am

Bump this up top

 

 

I'm in the military and I have done a number of deployments over the last 10 years or so.  My last tour was Iraq for a year, and I got back about a year or so ago.  I took a cbg with me and made a couple while I was there, and I can tell you that soldiers dig them.

I have a friend in Kuwait right now, and two friends that are saddling up for an Afghanistan rotation right now.  I'll see what I can do about getting some names for folks who would appreciate a cbg or other instrument.  In the mean time, here are some thoughts from a guy who has been there and done that:

Kits: getting a guitar is cool, but getting a kit would be cool too.  Especially if we could come up with a way to include odds and ends that could be used to customize it.  I'm thinking of stuff like grommets, hinges, fretwire (or cooler substitutes to fret it with)...whatever.  If the stick was already fit to the box, and the frets marked already, that would sure be helpful.  Maybe small bottles with stain or finish, along with some steel wool and sandpaper.  A kit like this would help a guy like me who is uncomfortable "competing" with some of you more established and talented builders.  I would hate for someone to want to help out but not participate because he/she didn't want to send something of lesser quality than what someone else is capable of producing.

USO: the USO has facilities all over the place that have instruments available to borrow.  I never saw a CBG in any of them.  Maybe we could move some to them.

Personal contacts: To my knowledge, you can no longer just send a box or letter to "Any Soldier" like we could during Desert Storm.  There are some organizations that you can go through to accomplish the same thing, and that should be pursued, but there is nothing like getting a box addressed right to you from the States.  Maybe we could use the Chaplains to connect with guys over there?  I have a friend in a good position to make that connection, and I'll see what I can do.  In the mean time, let's take advantage of any personal contacts we have and really emphasize to them that we mean it when we say we want to build stuff for guys over there.  I can tell you that we hear a lot of that and after a while, you hear it so much that you don't hear it any more. Know what I mean?

Other stuff to include in the box: Definitely strings.  Fingerpicks.  Letters.  Email addresses-you might be surprised at how accessible the Internet is for us over there.  You are probably a lot more liable to get a reply to an email than you are from a letter, but they'll have to have some way to get your email address, so put it in a handwritten letter in the box.  Also, be sure to stress this website and group. 

REAL POPULAR: Girl Scout Cookies (don't ask me why.)

Oh, and one last thing: A little instruction sheet with simple chords and/or tabs, especially on instruments with less than 6 strings.  Let them know how you tuned it, and maybe include a cheap tuner if you can afford it.  I met guys who could play a six string, and were lost when they saw three strings and an open tuning.

Hey, in the mean time, know that stuff like this really means a lot to guys over there.  A lot of people don't understand that the monotony can be as frustrating as the other stuff they deal with.  Thanks for thinking of them.

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