Firms Hustling to Send Freebies to GIs in Gulf

In what the Pentagon is calling the biggest stocking stuffer since World War II, U.S. companies have jumped at the chance to send freebies to American forces in the Persian Gulf.

Among the items on the list: 10,000 hand-held video games, 150,000 music tapes, 150,000 free phone calls to loved ones back home, 100,000 packets of Kool-Aid, one case of Army boot polish and free instructions on how to avoid going bald in the desert heat.

All told, more than 800 donors ranging from RJR Nabisco and Burger King to Wham-O and AT&T; have given millions of dollars in goods and services, according to the Defense Logistics Agency in Alexandria, Va., the Pentagon unit coordinating donations.

“The last time we had something of this magnitude was in World War II,” said Lt. Col. Henry Wyatt, a Defense Department spokesman.

Beneath their Santa Claus outfits, though, Persian Gulf gift-givers hope to reap the sort of benefits once reserved for world-class events like the Olympics.

The charitable outpouring means valuable publicity. In fact, many of the donations were arranged by the companies’ marketing departments.

The approach got off to a rocky start for some companies. In October, AT&T; cut short its offer for U.S. troops in Saudia Arabia to phone home free. The troops racked up so many calls that the Saudis complained their long-distance lines were clogged.

AT&T; repeated its offer at Thanksgiving, letting slide $1 million in free calls.

Philip Morris announced in October that it had donated 2 million cigarettes to the Persian Gulf forces, prompting an outcry from health groups who said the company was trying to hook a new generation of smokers.