A good friend of mine is prepping for deployment to the Mid-East, exact location unknown at this time but his best guess is Iraq. I have given him the suggested list for non issue equipment from this forum. I was hoping that forum members may have additional suggestions especially if there are any with first hand experience in that part of the world.

Is your friend deploying in a military or civilian capacity?

Johno

I wasn`t very clear in my first post. My friend is an officer in the reserves. While the army has given him a list of suggested items it seems to presume he will always have a backpack or easy access to the rest of his gear. I was thinking along the lines of EDC such as a red photon as well as comfort items not readily available over there. He has not been told how long he may be gone but the paperwork he showed me gives his family power of attorney for up to 18 months. He is allowed 3 duffel bags and 1 footlocker so it looks like this will be a lengthy deployment. Any suggestions will be appreciated especially from some that have first hand experience.

toke49:

Do not have any first hand experience in Military or Alphabet or Special Branches service.

My best recommendation once he knows what languages are most common in the areas he will be deployed to is to learn phrases such as; "Let's pretend to be friendly to this infidel (or other derogatory terms.) so that we can catch him off guard and kill him." If he is alive, at least he can have a chance to use the stuff in his backpacks.

Wish him well for me.

Bountyhunter

toke

I would look at getting him a photon light, but I would also make sure that you give him PLENTY of batteries to go with it. Does he have a good knife? I dont mean the issue one he has. Tell him to get a good knife and learn how to shapen it. Of course a multitool is good as well. Does he have a camelback? THose are gold in the field. Other than that, he is going to be surrounded for the most part by his fellow soldiers, so a small PSK designedfor urban use would be something that you could compile for him would be good for patrols in Bagdhad.

I would also wait on any comfort items. The PX system should be set up over there by now so he may not need baby wipes and drink mix. He may have more than he can handle. Phone cards are always appreicated no matter here you go in the world.

Three sea bags and foot locker don't sound like much, but that really is quite a bit of stuff, especially since the PX sytem is in full swing in most of the areas of Iraq.

sounds like that's about all I have to offer. tell him we said good luck and to keep his head down!

Garrett

hey toke49 whats his mos? is he combat arms? ie.. infantry, arty, or tanker. or is he support. knowing this can help get the right items for the job. good basics to start once he is deployed would be home news papers, books, hardcandy, a a batts, and other comfort items he can not get in country.......i hope this helps. wish him good luck ...vince g.. <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I wouldn't take a lot of extra stuff.

Activations are for about 1 1/2 years now, so he'll have at least one (probably more) R&R trips somewhere in theater - so a couple of sets of casual clothes, perhaps.

Caveat on all the following: If he's going to be up in the mountains or in Afganistan, we need to recurse the list a few times.

Unscented plain soap (like Ivory) and unscented deoderant. I hated smelling all that foo-foo crap on soldiers - anyone downwind knew they were coming and it can make your eyes water worse than a room full of unwashed natives on a hot day.

Some Q-tips for digging dirt out of the ears - he can get more in theater or have them sent to him, so 30 days worth is plenty.

Nail clippers.

Glasses, not contact lenses (not first-hand experience, but it IS common sense, isn't it?)

Shower shoes.

A compact stove that will burn JP and hold a canteen cup on it if he likes coffee/tea, perhaps, but it's a developed theater now so unless he's going out in the boonies regularly, I wouldn't even mess with that. If he takes one, TEST IT and BURN IT IN with diesel fuel BEFORE he ships out and then drain and dry out the fuel tank completely. New stoves tend to have loose this-or-that fittings after the first burn-in and may even have a "defect" - all of which can be easily remedied HERE and may be impossible to do anything about THERE. OTOH, there are probably plenty of trioxane bars available in theater.

He should take some money - not too much cash; mostly traveler's checks. A few hundred bucks will go a ways.

Extra OTC drugstore items are nice to hand out to adult friendlies he will undoubtedly become aquainted with - vitamins, painkillers, anti-histamines, whatever. I imagine that meds - even things we take for granted - are still in short supply there. I passed around a lot of goodwill with vitamins, aspirin, toothpaste, tooth brushes, etc. when I was in a 3rd world theater... many small things like that can go a long ways. But don't go overboard - he can figure that out best once he's on the ground and packages can be sent to him latter.

Sunglasses. I greatly prefered glacier glasses with full wrap-around leather side shields - besides the obvious, they are fair at keeping dust out and there can be some appearance bennies to wearing them that he'll either understand or not...

Footcare products - don't let fungus get a hold; take good care of the feet. A pair of running shoes and some athletic socks are a good bet for lounging around in when off duty - don't make the mistake of keeping the 'ol desert/combat boots on the feet 20 hours a day.

If he's going to be out in the boonies much, something he can use to shower with a liter or two of water - plenty of gadgets to choose from available.

Mirror for shaving. Funny how many guys seem to forget that... it does not need to be a large one - a signal mirror is plenty big enough (and may serve another purpose, if need me).

Bowl for shaving - a margerine tub is good enough. Scraping the face works out better than running an electric over it. Scraping makes sure the face gets clean and electrics don't. YMMV, but that's been my experience.

A plastic mug is nice-to-have. Just a regular coffe-cup size, not a giant insulated commuter cup. Not critical.

Decent set of tweezers. 25 - 50mm magnifying glass.

Sewing kit - mainly for buttons. One of the ones they sell recruits in the PX is OK, but add a set of stout needles (canvas, curved, etc) and a spool of black carpet thread.

Multi tool or small tool kit that includes pliers and screwdrivers.

Eyeglasses repair kit if he wears eyeglasses (see sunglasses above) - make sure it has parts/screwdriver that actually FIT whatever he wears.

If he's a field grade, a box of decent 9mm ammo (company grades will have M16 varient) - or do what I did and find a CB when he gets in theater and swap for a M1911A1... and if he's thinking about that, get a tanker's holster stateside (chest rig for M1911A1).

Poncho liner if he's not issued one.

A regular thermarest beats the snot out of the issue foam pad and makes a cot a heck of a lot more comfortable.

A twin bed size bedsheet is handy - nice-to-have.

Spare set of boot inserts - see fungus comment above (only needs one extra set). Swap daily if possible, setting the out pair in the sunlight or at least air them out and dust with anti-fungal powder.

Thin leather gloves - deerskin, goat skin, or pigskin. Most cowhide ones are too thick. They should stay in his pocket, not his duffle.

How about posting the packing list he was given, including the issue gear. We can comment/pick at that pretty well, I think - there are enough of us on the forum with first hand experience to comment. Is he going to draw everything stateside or is some of his equipment going to be issued in-theater? He should try to check with folks where he is going to see if they are short any particular items - for example, mosquito netting was almost impossible to obtain in my theater for quite some time and the poles were even harder to come by (and then we were drowning in that junk).

A comfortable folding chair - nothing fancy - if he's going to be a staff puke someplace. A seat with a back on it. Don't bother if he's going to be slogging out with the troops.

A pocket knife (SAK with saw and scissors is handy) and a two-sided DMT to keep it sharp with unless he's the sort that never carries a knife anyway (and if he does, I probably don't need to suggest this). Guys who don't EDC a knife don't use them in-theater either... strange but true. Since he's probably not going to be emulating Rambo, I wouldn't get excited about getting a pig sticker of any sort. Just a pocket knife.

Set of same-key padlocks that fit all his "luggage" plus one extra. Put one key in wallet and one on dog tag chain. Keeps honest folks honest. The footlocker locks are a cheesy PITA - I always break them on purpose right away and then just use a padlock - YMMV. Duffle bags can be locked if the lock/shackle is reasonably sized, so if he takes all that jun, er, gear, he'll need 5 locks (4 + spare). The same-key is important - why lug a bunch of keys around the world?

There will be reading material floating around and folks can send him more after he arrives - it all gets passed around. No more than he needs to "survive" the duration of the flight over is enough.

If he is a Christian, a good leather bound pocket Bible (some call the style a "preacher's Bible") in the translation of his choice (a NIKJV is a safe bet if someone wants to get it for him as a present). Substitute whatever appropriate tract if he is of some other religious persuasion and ignore this suggestion if he professes no faith.

Get his teeth checked REALLY well NOW - fix anything that is not perfect before he deploys. Trust me on this...

Having written all this - less is better, as I started off with. Too much gear is a PITA. Uncle gives you too much as it is... see if you can post his list here and we'll take another crack at this.

Tom

Excellent post, Tom -- thanks for taking the time.

Tom,

Its amazing how much you forget when you write a list for someone else. I have a constant problem of assuming too much sometimes. You listed some stuff that I m going to add to my foot locker for my next deployment!

Garrett

A rigger's belt with stash pocket. I think that you can ask Sotech to make the rigger's belt to be rigid or flexible.

Sotech SERE Rigger's belt