ShareThisCare packages to soldiers overseas contain a lot of the stuff you'd see in a convenience store: Cookies, men's magazines and beef jerky.But a veterans' group organizing care package campaigns at both the Democratic and Republican conventions has an item that's uniquely crafted for an arid war zone: Indestructible playing cards.The deck of 54 cards -- that includes the red and black jokers, of course -- is made from a heavy-duty plastic that's impervious to bends and tears. The numbers and suits on the cards are giant, making them especially easy to read if, say, the conditions of your Texas Hold 'Em game are less than ideal. "When it's 130 degrees out, you need something that will hold up," said Patrick Campbell, a military veteran and spokesman for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, which specially-made the cards.With a few minutes for poker or solitaire in the middle of a war in the middle of a desert, regular playing cards aren't a winning hand. With their indestructible deck, Campbell's group has hit the jackpot. "They're the coolest deck of cards you've ever seen," Campbell said.Besides sending care packages to soldiers, Campbell's group works to ensure that military veterans receive adequate benefits.They also want to make mental health screenings mandatory for returning soldiers and shorten the turnaround time on disability claims, which can take several years, Campbell said.(E-mail Isaac Wolf at wolfi(at)shns.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
Vets' group gets indestructible playing cards to troops
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