Posted: 3/3/2010 4:47:59 PM EDT
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So here I am packing all of my stuff for sealift. I have one tuffbox half full of RFI/random gear. I have one more tuffbox that I can load into my platoons baggage container for sealift. What sort of "luxury" items should I bring with me for my housing unit/CHU/whatever they call them? I work with maintenance in a HHC so I plan on packing all the poge shit I can just in case, because all the blue falcons in the S shops will likely clean out the PX over there.
I get to carry one duffel bag, one rucksack, and one carry on bag with me over. So the essential stuff will be in that. I am just trying to think of things that will be nice to have, that will be hard to get in theater. So far I have determined that I have alot of room for luxary/unnecessary crap. But what the hell, might as well bring the kitchen sink. So far I have, -A book about Winston Churchill -High dollar speakers to annoy my roomie with -A hat advertising a cigar company I like - nothing follows.... Soon to be added will be, -Twin sized bed sheets -High speed uber tactical pillow -really soft twin sized mattress cover thingy -Cigars in sealed humidified container -more books -some divider for the CHU? Any ideas? Thanks! |
| Even if you don't smoke or dip i would stock up on the popular stuff cause when units swap out that stuff is like gold. especially dip, buy a couple logs and then go to town wrapping in cling wrap to keep the mosture in. dippers will go nuts for fresh stateside stuff |
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Roll of Gorilla tape to seal the leaky seams of your can. As many videos as you can rip/download & a laptop to watch them on. You'll get bored, and they are good to trade. You can stage stuff at home, basically pack yourself some care packages & have family send them to you if you need them. Number the boxes and keep a list. There are a lot of books there, but I had trouble finding ones I liked. Maybe set aside some of those. A kindle would be ideal for this kind of thing, since books are fucking heavy. We played a lot of Scrabble, and RISK on the PC. A PSP is great for watching videos and playign games if you are on the move a lot, and get stuck in remote places. If you are on a large FOB all the time it's not so necessary. Stay safe. |
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A second recommendation for a good headlamp-great for reading and when taking a dump in a Porta-John at night
Decent flashlight-I have a Surefire Don't know what it is called exactly, but one of those hanging shoe cases Somehing like this *Sorry, do not have ability to host pics. Amazing the net even works in Haiti 
Sense of humor and patience. Stay safe. |
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Some sort of game device is nice..most of my unit had XBOX 360 to play with on the LAN they set up.
Laptop...I love my EEE PC...small enough to cart around, great for movies. 6 hour battery life. Headlamp. Hard drive with movies. Ebooks if you like that, you can find them to legally download for stuff that is no longer copyrighted, or buy them or look a bit and find some to download if that is your thing. Sporting gear if you do something specific (softball/volleyball/soccer etc) Shoes, gloves, balls etc. They DO have racquetball at Balad last time I went through there, not anywhere else I have been. I highly recommend a Skype account, with a video camera on your laptop and headphones with a mic. Decent sized thumbdrive is nice. One of our guys was running Linux (SLAX I think) to use the MWR computers to download stuff on...I found that kind of funny. I advise you to truecrypt your personal data. Two reasons. The Army is on a witchhunt for porn and illegal stuff in some units, and you don't want some TCN grabbing your laptop or a HD with pics of your family on it and your personal info. I say better safe than sorry. Truecrypt is easy to use, and with a good password a real pain in the ass to crack. Most forensics people see a truecrypt file and unless it is REALLY important, they don't bother with trying to bust it open. I packed up care packages for myself (wife was 6-7 mos preggers when I left) and just put them in ready made ready to ship boxes. I shipped food, toiletries, books, extra comfort stuff like sheets and towels, LOTION, etc. We were able to get fresh steak a good bit when it was flown in from Germany to the PX, so I shipped stuff to cook with (spices, tools etc). Was nice to cook a steak on the grill every couple weeks with. Music is always good. Good headphones and an MP3 player Workout gloves/gear if that is your thing. Digital Camera/Camcorder Digital Pic frame is good...be careful with the content. A good pillow for your hootch. I bought a mink blanket over there and then threw it away when I left. I personally like flannel sheets, so I brought a pair. The rest is kind of up to you. Some people live pretty spartan, some really hooch it up. I had one SPC in my unit who shipped something like 10 toughboxes back in addition to his 3 bags he carried. I think I shipped 2 or 3 home and only brought 2 bags (1 ruck and 1 duffel) Good |
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Ponchos and Poncho Liners. These things have limitless uses. If you're in a tent, they're great walls. A folding chair. If you're low on space, being able to fold it up is nice. A folding table - any size you can manage. It's nice not using the PC in your bed. 550 Cord. Bring some to start with until your supply can get some. Unless they're like mine was, then bring a crap-ton and hoarde. iPod/MP3 player and *comfortable* ear buds. I slept with mine in the whole tour. Smaller iPod is great for listening to music or books when on duty in the FOB (TOC watch, ECP duty etc.) 360/TV - This is the greatest stress relief. Even as a Scout going on multiple missions a day, my crew loved having a 360. In those moments we had of downtime it was a god-send. I know there's hate for using them in country - but they're worth it. DVD Player - If you're using a laptop, be sure it has one (I think they all do now), or if you have a netbook, get an external one. Chances are good you'll get Hajji DVDs there. They're not great, but better than nothing. A mug. Having your own mug/cup for coffee or whatever is great. Especially when the family mails you drink mixes etc. These are the things that made life a little more normal for me... I hope it helps some. Oh, and a HUGE +1 for bringing a camera. I brought two, a little P&S that I took outside the wire and never cared what happened to it (12.1MP for $200, not bad) and my D80 that was stored in a pelican case and used cautiously around the FOB (ended up selling it to a SGT friend). Bring it, and be glad you did.  |
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Quoted:
A poncho liner to divide the chu for a jack shack. This. You gotta have a spanktuary. And on that note load up an encrypted USB drive with a shitload of your favorite porn. 
Oh, Depending on where you are, I'd bring a few extra camelback resivoirs and some yeast. |
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I have an ever growing pile of tough/gorilla boxes from every damn time I go overseas. My house is full of shit I have brought back and I have only done three years in two different places.
Save your self some headache. Take a laptop, a good camera, and an MP3 player. Buy a good blanket or comforter when you get there, the issue ones always suck. Get your books from the base library, the PX, or Amazon. Then when you leave pass them on to the next poor sap. Try not to get to much shit from teh PX or the Hadji shops. Remember everytime you walk by any of them that they are just there to give the Army back a good chunk of your pay. Are you going outside the wire or are staying on base? If you are going outside you know what kind of shit you need, if not there is someone in your unit that has been there and done that and will fill you in based on your job and what they know of the AO. If you are staying on base try and find out what weapon you will be issued. If it is a rifle get a comfortable sling and some sort of good ammo carrier for your force protection rounds. The Blade tech single mag holders seem nice. If you are going to have a pistol you REALLY need to get a good holster now. THere will be nothing decent available in country. I would suggest you get a police style duty belt and a Safariland 6280 mid ride holster, and some sort of ammo pouch. This will be quick to put on and you should be able to wear it with any uniform including PTs (if command says nogo on the gunbelt then just put the holster on your pant's belt. It is not as tacticool as a drop leg rig, but it is a shit lot more comfortable when the daytime high is 120 degrees and there is a sandstorm blowing. And you won't look like those tools with the cheapy plastic holsters attached to their PT belts. Just some friendly advice from someone that never served, but has been in a couple of shitholes and dealt with a lot of the shit you will have to. |
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Got a list of my own going now. Go check out the deployed forum, there's a topic on just this kind of thing.
Just a few from my list: Baby wipes playstation psp exta pair of tinted glasses/sunglasses nomex gloves digital camera etc..... ETA: Good ideas, saving this one. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Lots of socks. One of those head mounted led lights. Depending on where you are going, a T-Mobile BlackBerry with Unlimited International E-Mail would be nice. Is t-mobile the main carrier out there? What about AT&T? No, there are local carriers there. But....I THINK that the T-Mobile Unlimited International E-Mail service will work. Please note, this maybe against your base regs and if you do bring your own comms be VERY careful about opsec. We need you all to come back home. |
| Get an e-book reader. I have the EZ Reader Pocket Pro and it kicks major ass. |
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Quoted: Quoted: A poncho liner to divide the chu for a jack shack. This. You gotta have a spanktuary. And on that note load up an encrypted USB drive with a shitload of your favorite porn. Oh, Depending on where you are, I'd bring a few extra camelback resivoirs and some yeast. I had two wooden shelves about 5' tall, facing each other. My rack sat on top (unbolt the legs), and one of the shelves was a desk. Poncho liner for a curtain. Put a folding chair in there and it was my own little world for reading, watching movies, and, uh, other stuff. When I left I gave the shelves to some Army cats. Go find a unit that is RIPing and see what you can find. |