what to bring when deployed?

Question

i will be deploying for my first time in sept and i was wondering what i should bring with me. i know the basics as far as cloths and the basic stuff but what i want to know is what should i bring that will make my stay more comfortable and the things that they dont tell you about. thanks in advance if i forgot any information ill post later thanks !

Answer 1

I found that when I was out in the middle of the Ocean I stayed sane by keeping a notebook or journal. I would right whatever came to my mind: lyrics, stories, who'd pissed me off, what I thought my wife was doing (I loved to punish myself). With my notebook I could go anywhere.

Answer 2

Boredom and IEDs are two main killers in Iraq. Training will help you survive the IEDs. What you take with you or buy over there will help you survive the boredom.

Take an iPod or some other sort of mp3 player. Load it with lots of music. You'll be listening to it a lot. Music on earphones is the closest thing to privacy you'll get.

If you don't take a computer that can play DVDs, buy a portable DVD player. Take the time to figure out how to connect it to a larger TV and take the requisite cables to do so. That way if you should happen across a real TV, you catch watch something on it.

Get a NetFlix account. NetFlix will ship to APO and FPO addresses.

Take a digital camera and a video camera. Make videos to post on YouTube. Also, you can usually connect camcorders to your computer to work as webcams. Good for video conferencing with family and friends while you're over there.

Make sure your computer has wifi but also take a CAT-5 internet cable.

If you like to read, arrange for someone to send you books. Make sure you also have someone to send them back to.

Take a PSP and as many new games that you haven't played as you can afford. You'll be an expert on all of them by the time to come home.

Nomex gloves to protect your hands. I like the new CamelBak gloves. But you asked about comfort so I won't go into tactical equipment.

Keep your head down. Bring yourself and your buddies home alive.

Answer 3

Bring your music, books,study material for school or the promotion board. Many bring their playstations, xboxes, dvd players and computers Personal bedding such as pillow and blanket. Some bring their guitars. Pictures of the family and friends. You probably will not need any civilian clothes as in a combat zone will not allow you to wear them.

Answer 4

A laptop or personal DVD player and an iPod. You can get everything else in the PX or through packages sent from home.

Bring some DVD's to get you started but you can get DVD's from the "Haji shops" around the area for like $3 or you can get them from the PX for about $20. It all depends on what kind of quality you want.

Answer 5

Bring a laptop or a PSP. Bring a book for your time in Kuwait, but there should be a decent stockpile somewhere in your AO. Talk to people who have been to that specific location before. They'll know more about it than anyone else. I can only speak intelligently on one FOB, but yours might be different.

Answer 6

a laptop, comp games, and a ton of dvd's. Your Ipod. Just bring the stuff that you can't live without, and thats going to entertain you for a year. Some people bring a bunch of books. Some bring instruments, it just depends on what you like to do.

Answer 7

laptop (you can talk to loved ones more on a computer than you can on the phones) webcam (they can see you too!) Books Movies Music Pictures (duh) Phone cards, mp3 player (some camps have gyms you can go to), and the weirdest thing you might hear: baby wipes. When you cant take a shower it does a lot to make you feel not so gross!

Just look around your house. If you use it ona daily basis or weekly basis its probably a good idea to take it (make sure you ask some of your higher ranks if you think it might not be appropriate to take)

Answer 8

Well, this all depends on your interests. Books, music player, laptop, dvd player- I suggest with copied dvds so they don't get messed up- cards, paper to write home on. Maybe your own pillow, a bottle of your special person's perfume, or a nite shirt to keep with you. Stuff like that.
Hope this helps.

Answer 9

If you get to take anything non-military, take something that is YOU. Something that will remind you of the "other" you and the one your friends and family know. When I went to Desert Storm, there wasn't Ipods, DVD's, VCR's, few phone calls, no internet, no barracks (just tents). I took my favorite ball cap, an Hawaian shirt, and a beach chair. I had my 39th B'day there. Loved every minute of it.