Deployment Personal Gear

[SlyFox]

About halfway through my recent (and first) deployment I had an electric kettle mailed to me. It boiled water in about 2min, that combined with copious amounts of Starbucks instant coffee received via care packages kept me happy in the cold. Great for Top Ramen too. Also, an IR Flashlight (other than the one I had mounted) is something I will be bringing next time. Last but not least, a 20 box of Ave Maria Knight's Templar cigars.

[Cake_14N]

I would include a couple of other items:

1. A Steripen to zap any nasties in the water.

http://www.rei.com/product/784449/st...urifier-system

This one uses standard batteries, but they make other models that have a solar charger for recharging lithium batts.

2. A Solar charging system, different models have a wide range of tips to attach to the device providing power to phones, PSP, iPods, and even LED Lights.

3. Spices and seasonings. Dfacs are typically terrible, and garlic salt can do wonders for an MRE.

Cake

[Druid5]

On my 2nd deployment right now, so here's my list;

Must have:
- At least one good knife. I always have my Benchmade in my pocket, except when PTing, plus my primary knife when on patrol. A good reliable knife is your best friend when you need it the most.
- Decent magazines. Magpul Pmags are good reliable cheap magazines, unlike what the Army issues, which can be a crap shoot at best.
- A dependable watch, plus a backup if it breaks. Walmart specials are good throwaways and you don't have to worry about banging them around.
- Decent, well broken-in boots, at least two pair. Corcoran Desert Marauders are honestly the best boots i've ever worn. I'm on my second pair now and my first pair are still with me after 5 years, Iraq and a couple resolings.
- A decent sling that doesn't get in your way or obstruct weapon function. A wolf hook or single point sling works well for me, but personal preference varies.
- Eye pro, with either back inserts or a back up pair. Eye pro is easy enough to find in theater, but again, you go with what you like and cheap SI Oakleys take a while depending on the mail system.
- Batteries. Depending on your personal electronic needs, brings at least enough to last you for four changes.
- If you have rechargeable electronics (Roshan cell phone, Ipod, even a laptop) a solar charger is usuful, especially during the summer months when there's plenty of sun.
- Locks. Enough for all your bags, plus anything you plan on securing. There's only one thief in the Army and everybody else is just trying to get their stuff back.
- 550 cord. There are infinite uses for 550 cord and you'll never have enough. If nothing else, its a nice distraction learning how to braid or knit.
- A decent flash light. Surefire or other variants are a good option, especially if you plan to mount it on your weapon. A headlamp is also nice for when you need both hands free.

Nice to have;
- Computer. You're not guaranteed a whole lot of down time, if any. The MWR is usually crowded and the options for internet are few, if any. If nothing else, video games when you do have down time are a nice distraction.
- Compass. Plain old lens-static compass. Electronics eventually fail and a compass is always something I try to include in my bag.
- Digital Camera. Useful in the field if you come across something you have to make note of or jot down for further use.
- Extra gloves. Most Army issue gloves eventually rip or burst their seams and will leave you hand exposed. You can get reissued new gloves, but I always like to have extra on hand just in case. Plus, winter months usually necessitate better gloves than what is issued.
- Pelican cases for anything you want to secure and/or safeguard. Hard drives, laptops, etc will sometimes suffer being thrown around due to mishandling and these will help protect them from shock/water.
- Any personal preference items you can't do without. The PX is at best of times very selective on what they stock and at the worst of times out of the one thing you can't do without. If you're lucky enough to actually have a PX that is.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by Druid5

- Compass. Plain old lens-static compass.

I hear lensatic compasses work pretty well, too.

[Druid5]

Those too. I also carry extra hyphens that I try to get rid of whenever I can.

[upchuck]

A satellite dish (with signal and elevation meter), a good wireless router that you can hack (Google DD-WRT or Tomato), a few wireless access points, CAT-5 cable testers, plenty of CAT-5 and a couple good cable crimpers.

Bentley-Walker will ship the dish to you before you mobilize so you will be able to have internet for your element as soon as you hit the ground.

We were able to get a personal network up and running in less than 24 hours and it was easy enough to move when my platoon did our rotations to the AFCOPs. We might of not had showers or hot chow, but we had internet!

If anyone wants specifics let me know. I can start a personal internet lessons learned thread.

[Dozer523]

Originally Posted by upchuck

A satellite dish (with signal and elevation meter), a good wireless router that you can hack (Google DD-WRT or Tomato).

Holy cow!

Originally Posted by upchuck

We might of not had showers or hot chow, but we had internet!.

So ya'll were streaming educational web sites we're you? Triple X marks the spot.

Originally Posted by upchuck

If anyone wants specifics let me know. I can start a personal internet lessons learned thread.

Holy cow!

[Richard]

Originally Posted by upchuck

We might of not had showers or hot chow, but we had internet!

How times have changed.

Richard

[JJ_BPK]

Originally Posted by upchuck

A satellite dish (with signal and elevation meter), a good wireless router that you can hack (Google DD-WRT or Tomato), a few wireless access points, CAT-5 cable testers, plenty of CAT-5 and a couple good cable crimpers.

Bentley-Walker will ship the dish to you before you mobilize so you will be able to have internet for your element as soon as you hit the ground.

We were able to get a personal network up and running in less than 24 hours and it was easy enough to move when my platoon did our rotations to the AFCOPs. We might of not had showers or hot chow, but we had internet!

If anyone wants specifics let me know. I can start a personal internet lessons learned thread.

I must be ancient..

I was happy to get ONE(1) can of ANY soda and ONE(1) can of ANY Beer, once a week..

Thank GOD,
it was pasteurized,
everyday,
sitting in the sun,
on the resupply chopper pad..

[upchuck]

Originally Posted by Dozer523

Holy cow!
So ya'll were streaming educational web sites we're you? Triple X marks the spot.
Holy cow!

Not exactly. With these systems you are sharing less than 10% of a typical urban cable connection with 20 other users - on a good day. I had to block out many streaming sites so my team (ETT) could do things like skype with their families. We did however have a *ahem* collection large enough to make Hugh Hefner blush on a shared drive.

This was by far the best money spent during the deployment. It also makes for a great senior rater bullets on your NCOER when you control the flow of bits to your LTs room.

[edoo118]

Originally Posted by JJ_BPK

I must be ancient..

I was happy to get ONE(1) can of ANY soda and ONE(1) can of ANY Beer, once a week..

Thank GOD,
it was pasteurized,
everyday,
sitting in the sun,
on the resupply chopper pad..

Hey, that's more beer than I get in 6 months...

[MST]

Duct tape for the gear, medical tape for the fingers

[Surgicalcric]

Originally Posted by MST

Duct tape for the gear, medical tape for the fingers

Or just carry 100mph tape as it will serve both purposes.

Crip

[18C4V]

Originally Posted by upchuck

A satellite dish (with signal and elevation meter), a good wireless router that you can hack (Google DD-WRT or Tomato), a few wireless access points, CAT-5 cable testers, plenty of CAT-5 and a couple good cable crimpers.

Bentley-Walker will ship the dish to you before you mobilize so you will be able to have internet for your element as soon as you hit the ground.

We were able to get a personal network up and running in less than 24 hours and it was easy enough to move when my platoon did our rotations to the AFCOPs. We might of not had showers or hot chow, but we had internet!

If anyone wants specifics let me know. I can start a personal internet lessons learned thread.

I'm down for that thread!!!

How much is the dish?

[Guy]

Originally Posted by 18C4V

I'm down for that thread!!!

How much is the dish?

http://www.bentley-walker.com/military/iraq#price

http://www.bentley-walker.com/military/afghanistan



Stay safe.