Posted: 4/18/2008 12:54:47 PM EDT
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Let me first put this disclaimer out there... In my 9 years of active service (Security Forces/CATM), I've NEVER tried to get out of a deployment! My first base I lucked out and went to the nice places while most rotated to the sandbox. My second base was a non-deployable unit and now at Lackland I'm in a "training" unit. We've recently been added to the Air Force wide rotatation and my number was picked. I've only been given the heads-up tasker and won't get the official notice unitl Mon-Tues. My UDM says it's most likely Iraq for 4-6 months. So to you experienced guys, what is a must have? Don't know when, where or how long yet and what I'll be doing. Mike |
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The stuff thats listed in the Airmans manual pretty much covers what you need as far as the basics. I always brought a few paper back books and those seemed to keep me entertained. Alot of guys bought lap tops, game systems, etc. A deck of cards is a must. I knew a guy who brought a metal detector over with him. That was pretty fun to play with. Another thing I always did was pack a box and leave it with my wife to mail over to me once I got settled in at my location. The box usually had more books, goodies, movies, cd's etc. in it that I didnt want to carry back with me. One thing to always keep in mind, don't bring anything over there that you're not going to be affraid to break or lose. I knew so many people who fried electronics, had stuff stolen or broke a high dollar item. Just be ready for that kind of thing. Good luck on your deployment. |
+1 Laptop'll be a life saver. |
| Bring whatever you need to feel as comfortable as possible for the next 6 months. The idea above about mailing a box to yourself after your arrival is a great one. Also bear in mind that a lot of the wall sockets in iraq are 220v so make sure all your electronics are compatible. My laptop says 110-240v on that little black box on the power cord. Anyways good luck stay safe and I will probably see you there. |
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My suggestions: 1 laptop (suitable for gaming) 2 or 3 magazine subscriptions, redirected to your APO. 1 Projector. Instead of buying a smaller TV there, you could split the cost with your team, if willing. This is great for movie nights and whatnot. And what I'm going to do on my next Army Vacation, rip any and all DVDs you own onto a portable hard drive. DVDs get scratched, gritty, lost and disappeared over there. Rip any DVDs you buy over there and send them back stateside. You own the physical copy, so this is 100% legal. Keep busy, keep fit, and don't complain. It brings everyone down. |
| my 2 cents- bring very little extra stuff. Most of the time guys rotating home will ditch extra tactical gear give it away or sell it cheap. Depending on your work location many offices have nipr net and you can use office computers for email and stuff. If you bring your own laptop if your a computer geek than OK. There is so much gear that will fall into your lap during deployment about the only non issue items I brought with me were a couple of pocket knives and surefire flashlights. And on knives, right now they are telling the guys returning to conus they can't bring auto opener knives back unless they get a signed commanders letter that the knife was an issue item. |
The dust that's prevalent in the Baghdad area destroyed a Dell after about 6 months. I'm assuming that's what the problem was, the reader arm on the HD snapped, rendering it unserviceable. My trusty old Compaq finished out the tour  (if anyone knows how to scavage data off a HD with a broken reader arm, please let me know!  )A lot of guys bought the cheap ACER or AVERIX(?) laptops available at some bigger PX's when they went on supply runs. +1 to the grey market for all sorts of stuff as troops rotate home. If you are RIPing a unit that's already there (as opposed to establishing a new base, probably rare this far into the wars) then you'll definitely be bombared with all sorts of TV's, DVD players, tac gear, power converters, etc for sale when you rotate in. Good luck and be safe. |
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Quoted: A lot of guys bought the cheap ACER or AVERIX(?) laptops available at some bigger PX's when they went on supply runs. Averatec. I bought mine from a guy in early 2005, cheap, and it just broke about 4 weeks ago. The computer still worked fine, the screen just got cracked. It still had a shit ton of dust in it from the 1 year deployment. |
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Haji DVD's are cheap once you get in theatre, too. Just try not to get ones that were pirated in China... My copy of Batman Begins had entire sections of 'questionable' material stricken from them... I thought it was just a shitty plot transition until I got home and saw the American version And yes, you can see some people stand up for popcorn in a bunch of the haji movies. |