I'm not military, and I don't know how helpful this is, but I saw a link to this blog on another blog I read, and thought I'd share it for any of you who may be deploying soon.  It is wrritten by military personnel who have previously deployed to Afghanistan, and is meant to help people who are deploying for the first time, with things such as lists of what gear is recommended, what to expect, etc.

Looks like a good idea, a lot of need to know information there.