Posted: 5/30/2005 12:00:12 PM EDT
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What Was The "Most" Useful Item You Took To Iraq Or Wish You Took...? OK, my brother is getting ready to head over to Iraq. This will be his second ME deployment, he was in GWI. Without stating where or who he is with he will be in the prime (worst and most active) shitholes and won't be on a base. He will be mobile for several weeks (sometimes months) at a time. He will be there for at least a year. Because he won't be living on base anywhere his personal effects will be limited to mostly what can be carried. My main concern is trying to help him with some diversion during the down time. To that end I got him a 20 gig Ipod. Something small and light that can help him keep his sanity and find moments of joy and comfort durng a deployment that is pretty much going to suck ass the entire time. He will also regularly be out of contact so no phone calls or emails will reach him with any regularity. I want to get him as many "practical" and "useful" things as I can to make sure his deployment is as bearable as possible. So I'm open for ideas and what to get him before he heads out. For the guys who were there, what was the most useful thing you had or wish you had? |
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go to anysolider.com anysoldier.com/index.cfm you should have a lot of ideas about what the soliders really lack and are looking for people to send them. |
Sometimes comforting, othertimes not. If you're having a shitty time, and hate the place, looking at pictures of home only makes it that much shittier and that much more miserable. I left my pictures home this time. |
Bingo!!! I don't know what I would have done without my Ipod over there......Many Marinesl also brought laptops, making the sharing of music easy. I came back from the deployment with my Ipod crammed with 40 gigs of music.....If he doesn't have one, consider getting him one before he goes......He will thank you for it.... |
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How about a solar panel to charge batteries? Brunton and United solar make thin film plastic solar panels that roll up into 3" dia tubes. I have the 14watt Brunton SolarRoll and it will do 4AA's in about 25 minutes from dead. It's a little too much power for charging small batteries, but Brunton has a smaller 9watt unit that should be a real godsenp for him and his buddies if they are going to be without resupply. Dave ETA: Steyr, if this is of interest to you, I did a review of this panel in the Survival Forum a few weeks ago. ETAII: These panels are nearly indestructible and have enough poop to power a DVD player, laptop etc. |
| How bout something like a Sony CLIE? (basically palm pilot) you can use memory sticks to store music, it has a head phone jack, an ebook reader, a digital camera, and built in WAN capability in case he does get someplace with wireless internet access for a day or so |
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the smallest laptop you can find, that still lets him use dvds, that way he can watch movies, store buttloads of music, and has a place to download any and all digital pix he may take. and to that end, a pelican case that fits the laptop. while your at it get a plug converter kit, most laptops these days auto convert current, but you still need to fit it in an outlet. im serious, without my laptop i probably would have lost my mind. |
Which is why you need a packable solar panel.. www.kooters.com/solar.html The Solar Roll has 4 DC jacks on it, a 12V automotive lighter socket and two plug recepticles so you can charge and say, listen to music at the same time. |
Most places I've been to in Iraq had 220>120VAC converters everywhere. You can usually snatch one up from one of the Servicemen rotating out as they're too bulky to take home....That said, most electronics these days (Ipods, laptops, MP3 players, etc) have the ability to operate at both 220 and 120VAC.... |
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Sunglasses.....trust me. Get some good sunglasses, perhaps an extra set. A good pillow too. Bring a pillow. You'll look gay at first, then everyone will wish they had a good pillow too. You should get issued a good fleece, but if not, get one. Yes, it gets hot as balls and cold as well. And lastly, a laptop. That way you can play games, movies, and look at pictures that your family sends. and trust me on the sunscreen....... |
How about one of those inflateable camping pillows since he's has to carry all of this stuff. www.campmor.com sells. BTW: I read Toyous1's thread since he came back, and has since gone back, he says "CD/DVDs get scratches in them, get one of those MP3 players without any moving parts." I guess that means a solid-state MP3 player. |
I just sent a couple of hudred $$ worth of goods to our finest. Thanks for the link to the site. I also contacted Sams Club here locally to see if they would help me boost my additional efforts (sunscreen, soap, shampoo, lip balm, etc). Maybe they will be willing to divert some of that Chinese bound cash to our troops.  These toops need to know we care, and most of us here do. Have a great and safe holiday!! |
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How about a digital camera and some memory sticks? A buddy of mine just got back from there. He took a Dig camera and then when full he mailed it home. she put the pics on the home comp and then mailed it back. They exchanged sticks the whole time he was there and now has one hell of a photo Album that he can keep the rest of his life to show what it was REALLY like over there. I don't know if your bro will have any access to mail tho. |
Where will he be, then? The days of camping in the woods are over in Iraq. |
All in the original post. He will be in a town called "mobile" for weeks up to months at a time. 
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He will be moving from one camp to another, so the more he carries, the more fucked he is. Not discounting what your brother told you, just that it takes a while to get in country, but there are a series of ISB (intermediate staging bases) to support those moves. Now when we invade syria... |
You are correct about him being fucked and limited in what he can have/carry. But you are somewhat incorrect about them operating from base to base. They are more of a self contained mobile group that stays out for long periods of time. He's not a super ninja operator or anything but I don't want to elaborate much either. Long story short he will be sleeping under the stars most nights or in a vehicle. |
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A copy of Team America: World Police. A roll of Velcro is always handy. If he's issued a handgun, then get him a good thigh rig. If he's issued an M-9, get him 10 factory mags, or Mec Gars. A Camelback If he's issued an M-16 thigh rig that holds M-16 mags. If he's issued an M-16, a few 20 round mags would be good. Some good boots. Some good cross trainers from New Balance. Socks. Socks. Sunscreen. Sunglasses (polarized) A couple of Surfire Nitrolon G2s An ASP collapsing baton Some knee and elbow pads A Gerber Multi Plier of some kind Packets of either Gatorade or Koolaid Bug Spray with DEET A subscription to Maxim, FHM, Stuff, etc. Wolf Brand chilli My respect and admiration |
Hmmm.. lemme guess: Cav Scout, Forward Observer, Combat Air Controller or LRSU dog? Anything along those lines? Pooping and Snooping? Dave |
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Hair clippers... not only for himself but he can hook his comrades upw ith a quick buzz. Eye drops... it's dry over there. Camelback or some sort of hydration bladder system. Snacks that don't melt. This includes Jlly Ranchers and some other "hard" candy that while remaining relatively "hard" will practically bond ot the wrapper. Do the make iPods that you can upload color pictures onto? Good way to bing porn in without worrying about the "contraband" police. That or a laptop if he is going to have enough down time, a good way to secure it, and a way to keep it charged. Load that badboy up with porn and music. Also doubles as a DVD player. Surefire or other type of "bright" flashlight and batteries... our supply SGT never had enough of those in stock. Camera... coming home without pictures of that trip would be a long term regret. |
+100 on this one. Nothing like being able to clean your ass (effectively) after several weeks without a bath. This was first on my list with toilet paper second. I don't know what or where this person is deploying to. YMMV. decent camera and lots of memory cards a decent pair of sunglasses |
Because there's nothing like being hot sweaty AND walking around with a big raging boner the entire time you're with mostly men and getting shot at... Two things could come out of that... either 1. a Clockwork Orange effect where you associate porn as a negative thing as part of your PTSD or 2. you'll get a raging hardon every time you hear gunfire... 
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