Tom, great post and sensible. I will see if I can get a copy of the list he was given to post here. My friend is an officer and does not discuss his "job" at all. So I am not sure exactly what kind of op`s he may be involved in.
Everyone else, I appreciate all the info and advice and I am forwarding all to my friend. Thanx.

Sounds like a lot of good sugesstions so far. One thing often overlooked, if your friend has a watch that takes a battery, have it changed before deploying. I had my watch battery go out about a month into Desert Storm and it was almost impossible to get another. I for one, hate to not know the time and often in military ops, it is crtical to have a timepiece!
I also recommend a Camelback, Potable Aqua tabs and lots of extra t-shirts. It gets pretty cold in the ME in winter, so some warm clothes are also a necessity. Best wishes to your friend,, hope this helped some.

Widget. I appreciate the advice. We already discussed the watch. I believe he made a visit to WallyWorld to get a windup if they are still available.
Thanx

Wow I'd like one of those - having taken up climbing recently, the emergency V buckle appeals. But $45 to ship to the UK? That's more than the belt costs <img src="images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Andy

]Andy[

Maybe you can contact SOE for their rigger's belt and ask for USPS shipping charges to UK. The belt is the rigid type.

Another source is Tadgear their S&H is about US$25.

HTH

I'll second the small multi-fuel stove. I have heard from several returning GI's that they are worth their weight in gold. My personal favorite is the MSR XGK...

Outstanding list by the way...

Any chance this page might be useful?

http://www.pre-ban.com/bob/OIFLL.htm

Greg,
Thanks for the link. It is very interesting and I forwarded it to my friend.

...spare copy of the Constitution...