VALPARAISO | When Air Force Senior Airman Natalie Raila received a care package in the mail, she sifted through the candy, books and Frisbees to find what she really wanted -- a new toothbrush and a Rice Krispie Treat.

Stationed with the 455th Ammo Squadron in Bagram, Afghanistan, the Crown Point native said she divvied up the package sent to her by the Porter County Pilots Association, calling dibs on chocolate before handing out golf balls and toiletries to her fellow soldiers.

"You don't realize just how much you miss," she said. "We love getting care packages. They're a big morale boost. We share them with everybody."

Back in Indiana, Leroy resident Cherie Cope was getting ready to send out a second shipment of care packages to troops stationed overseas, seeking help from fellow members of the pilots association as they brought boxes of donated items to her hanger at the Porter County Municipal Airport.

"We don't know anything about the soldiers," Cope said. "We just get names and send boxes."

On Tuesday, the pilot's association received an unexpected package of their own.

Having arrived back in Crown Point on leave earlier this month, Raila on Tuesday presented the group with a certificate and a flag that flew with a F-16 Strike Eagle during a combat mission in Afghanistan. Raila said she had requested the jet fly with the flag in honor of the association.

"This is an honor," said a teary-eyed Cope as she accepted the flag from Raila. "You can't imagine what this means to us."

Raila, who expects to be deployed again sometime next year, said she wanted to show her appreciation to the group for thinking of her while she was overseas.

"It's a joy for me as much as it was for them," Raila said.

Valparaiso resident Mike David, who is a member of the pilots association, said that the group ships out almost 200 packages twice a year to Americans serving overseas. This is the seventh year the group has collected items for boxes.

"It's an act of love," David said. "Getting a chance to meet a soldier who got something from us is even more of a treat."

Cope said the association is starting to collect items for its next set of boxes to be shipped over Nov. 15. She said money is needed for postage and can be donated to an account set up with Centier Bank called Supplies for GIs.

"It's so important to these soldiers," Cope said. "They put their lives on the line for us to keep us free. The least we can do is send them care packages full of goodies."