May I interject a thought here? A quilt may be a bit bulky for him to take back with him after R&R. If you want to wait til Christmas to give it to him, consider mailing it to his APO while he is still here so he doesn't have so long to wait for it when he returns to base.
Then again, it can get quite cold early in Afghanistan and he might be really happy to have it before Christmas! A wool batting would help to make it both light and comfortable in many seasons. I use my quilt every night even when the temps are 76 in the cottage. Sometimes the guys roll their quilts for a pillow; wool batting would work well for this purpose, too, as it's, again, lighter weight and easier folded/rolled.
Have fun with this, he'll be ecstatic!
Jan in VA