Now that one of my buddies has given me some personal insight on what it is like to be deployed, away from his wife and kids on, I understand how troops would be pumped to smokes in the mail.
Believe it or not, some serious smokers smoke Gurkas too. I'm a serious smoker and enjoy one or two (of the hundreds) different Gurkas. Yes, most Gurkas are overpriced and most I don't like. Don't worry about insulting people. Taste is subjective. There are quite a few cigars that I try, don't like, give the remainig to someone else to try, and they end up loving them.
Awesome you decided to bomb the troops and not just toss them. Those cigars will find a soldier that will enjoy them.