What are some "essentials" that you'd recommend every Sailor having with them prior to deployment?

I made a list. Let me know if I am missing anything or have anything that I shouldn't:

-Seabag with all uniforms including Peacoat. (No coveralls as FRVs are now issued).
-Mini Light (white / red LED).
-Running Shoes
-Shower Shoes
-Consumables (soap, shampoo, tooth paste, razors, shaving cream, etc)
-Towels (do these need to be any particular color or does it matter?)
-Extra black and white socks.
-Extra underwear.
-Cash
-Locks x2
-Kindle w/ e-books
-Medicine for headaches, Vitamin-C for immune systems, sanitizer.
-Extra low ply Toilet Paper
-Phone Charger
-Notebook and extra pens
-Jeans, Shirts, Khaki pants, collared shirt.
-Extra pair of boots
-Extra ribbons
-Shining Kit
-Sleeping bag and high thread count pillow case.
-Sleeping Mask (yes, no?)
-Laundry Bag
-Tweezers

I would think bed sheets, and or sleeping bag, I only spent a little time on a LHD, only would spend a night when ever we flew back and did commodore briefing's, I kept a bunk, and a Locker. We were on a contingency type deployment, so we didn't do any liberty ports, but one. Bring will books to write shit in and my advice a log book type or note book for a daily journal, would be good. Plenty of pins,lap top tablet, nice set of civilian clothes, not too American looking type suggestion. We deploy different than ships but I would imagine they will give you a packing list, Mandatory Sea-bag Items, and the recommended. I always had my basic 3-day Bug out so when I when we convoyed or did what ever made sure I had basics and the things that I could use for survival just in case. So my 3 day could be my life saver if we ever stayed out longer or ran into unforeseen. I would just think basics and what you need to keep you happy. I'm sure ship guy's will have more I didn't do much time maybe 15 days total sorry, and good luck and look out for your troops, they will do the same for you..

A good quality camera. Take time to enjoy the liberty ports. Spend time in places other than the local bars. You will see places, sites and experiences that your friends from high school will never have. Save money for trips to local sites and attractions. I missed several places I wish I had gone and have seen dozens my friends watch on the news. Many of these memories will last your entire life, make the most of it.

Keep inspection uniform, now for small boys especially first timers motion sickness tablets and start taking two/three days before........

SMH. The last sub I served on was a fast attack Nuc, USS STURGEON (SSN-637), as an RMCM. My storage space was my bunk pan and a shared locker to hang our khakis in. The ships you folks served on must be designed like Dr Who's Tardis.

Bring some good books to help you unwind

I didn't have a chance to bring anything other then my sea bag and some civilian clothes for my first Westpac. In 1972 I was a 19 year old E3 and after spending 5 months recovering from knee surgery and physical therapy my world was turned completely upside down: on 4 April I was found fit for duty; on 6 April I reported onboard the USS ENTERPRISE. On the 7th of April I volunteered to be part of a draft of sailors to augment the crew of the USS MIDWAY that had been ordered to sail to Vietnam 7 weeks early. On 8 April I reported aboard MIDWAY and on 10 April 1972 we sailed from Alameda, CA and 28 days later we were dropping bombs on Vietnam. We returned to Alameda on 3 March 1973; after spending 205 of those 10 months and 3 weeks away from the States deployed in the Tonkin Gulf.

Back then - I didn't need to bring anything special - hell I wouldn't have known what to bring anyway! Being stationed onboard an Aircraft Carrier everything that one could need or want for one's creature comforts was provided. The ship had numerous stores that sold everything from cigarettes, soap, deodorants, stereos, cameras, there were barbershops, a ship's laundry to wash your uniforms, two different galleys that served food an aggregate of 23 hours a day; a library, TV and radio station, weight room, etc. During Vietnam sending first class mail home was "Free" it just took several weeks to a month to write a letter and get a reply. Payday was always paid in cash and you could "leave money" on the books as a way to save money. It was tax free as long as we were in the combat zone; Everything was, at least for me, provided. We pulled into various Ports of Call for R and R (or as we called it I and I - meaning Intoxication and well fill in the blank). Tours of special points of interest were always available as well.

That was then. There was a war on and we worked hard; after 3 months of working as a Mess Cook - scrubbing pots and pans among other things - I worked in the Ship's Guided Missile Shop; best job I ever had in the Navy. We worked 12 hours on and 12 hours off; then every 2-3 days we would have underway replenishments for fuel, food, supplies, ordnance, etc. Several times we'd work 30-40 hours straight due to replenishments, flight operations, drills, and watch-standing.

We were also entertained at sea and in-port; one time Miss America (former Miss Ohio) and several of her court were flown out to the ship and performed for us and in December of 1972 we had the Bob Hope Christmas Show onboard the ship while we were in Singapore Harbor. In addition to Bob Hope there was Red Foxx, Lola Falana (hubba-hubba), Roman Gabriel (former NFL Quarterback), and Les Brown and his Band of Renown. Heck of a great show.

Fast forward to 1999 - 2001; when I was a CWO4 assigned as the Supply Officer onboard a 270' Medium Coast Guard Cutter that was home-ported in Key West, FL. Size wise the MIDWAY, at it's widest point was 211 feet; the Cutter MOHAWK was 270 feet long with a beam of only 38 feet! We had a very small ship's store that sold the barest personal essentials (soap, shampoo, razor blades, Gedunk, and ship's marked ball caps, Ship's Logoed Tee Shirts - that were allowed to be worn underway) so anything and everything else that we thought we needed was brought onboard from our homeport or bought during our Mid-Patrol Break. Crew members brought whatever candy and snack items they wanted as well as I-Pods, Music CDs, etc.

Instead of deploying for months, we were away from homeport from 3 weeks to 7-8 weeks depending on what our operation schedule was like.

To answer the what "essentials" to bring obviously depends on the nature of the deployment; the duration away from homeport and the size of the ship/cutter (and what is available to buy on the ship); but one thing I found very valuable to have was an international pre-paid phone card. Back in 1972 when we would pull into Subic Bay, Republic of the Philippines, there was a Telephone Exchange on the base for making long distance calls home; nowadays a prepaid phone card covers those calls home. The last year onboard the cutter we had the ability to send and receive e-mail that was sent over the ship-s HF Radio Net - high tech in 2000! The ETC was the Ship's Censor - reviewing outgoing e-mail for OPSEC violations. You would think that all one would need was a security briefing about OPSEC but one brand new LT - Lawyer, sent to the cutter for familiarization, was relieved of duties, returned to his office on the first available flight from our first port call, and upon return was escorted to the 3 Star's Office, given a Class A Arse Crewing, and his DD-214! He tried to send a detailed e-mail describing our operation with a deep undercover operation...

Other then the creature comforts needed for health and sanitation purposes I would recommend beach wear, good suntan lotion (good both on the Steel Beach and sandy beaches of a port call), fishing gear (for those Sunday Morning trolling sessions) and a good digital camera to take pictures of your deployment. Most important - bring a good sense of humor and a great attitude - especially for those cancelled port calls and unexpected extensions on your deployment! Take advantage of any tours of local attractions to broaden your horizons. Best of all try to enjoy your cruise!

Lots of books and toilet paper and make sure your buddies bring books (and their own toilet paper) you didn't bring.

Baby wipes and plenty of hygiene products along with 2-3 books

I'd definitely recommend a sleeping bag as the mattresses aren't very clean and to avoid having to wash your sheets as often. Little baggies of any kind for small things. When it comes to anything for your hygiene ALWAYS bring extras. Like 4 or 5 in case they walk away or run out quicker than usual. Reading material is a personal preference but I find it easier so I don't have to worry about my electronics being dead. A small flashlight in case you're in the dark trying to look for something or reading before bed. Some people like to bring memory foam for more comfort or robes. Headphones so people coming in and out of the birthing won't disturb you if your sleeping.

The biggest thing is too be mentally ready to realize at some point you've forgotten something, ran out, or wish you would've brought something else to make it easier.

You squids need to belay that small boy term, it sounds rather perverted......................

I had reasons to not go Navy.. and read’g these comments I remember why I didn’t..
I went AF and deployed to some bard bones places .. I brought along a few books, Paperback of some novella that wound up being wipe paper.. at least pages were big enough and not waxed.. toilet was in a outhouse so no prob there..
no need for I pad(wtf was that? .. it’s ‘83)
Had a Walkman and plenty of batteries they almost didn’t let me bring from Germany.. I think I had 2 left(in the Walkman.. they made it all the way back to U.S. soil.. in the U.S. base in Germany was still German soil. Was in Sudan in K-Town there.. some Sudanese tried to sell me a empty shell of a 6 band radio.. nice try.. i’d Like to hear before buying.. oh.. very good radio, cannot let you listen..
Might wake child... only $10 American!
I passed on it... just glad that wasn’t a long deploy... glad to get home ! Did get to the coast... beach wasn’t clean.. lotta dead fish... so no swimming... musta been a red tide.. water oily.. took along kippers n crackers and decent dry stick salami.. that wasn’t greezy... got that in Germany.. had some good Lowenbrau
Wrapped and stored in a ammo can with a top secret tag ... had a bud at base command Post get the tag.. Customs guy wanted to look anyway.. the other Customs guy got me through.. so we enjoyed the Lowenbrau that first night .
It was Lowenbrau export.. I brought one empty bottle with cap back .. wrapped good.. so it didn’t break..
my brother not understand’g the meaning of the memory of it took it with some other bottles and took to work and had a place that took them... what a jerk! So much for them memories..

KY

I had to walk to work, I didn't have a ship to ride. I would tell a sailor he needs to know how to swim and tread water.

Bring the basics, toiletries, toilet paper, spare pair of glasses if you wear them, iPod/MP3 player, tablet or laptop, book,

Rx medications make sure that they are filled before you leave as sometimes the Medical Dept. Don't have them. Also get some motion sickness pills you can get them from Medical. A lot of people get sea sick I know I was a Corpsman.

Also do not bring a lot of food of any kind. You are not supposed to have any in berthing. It's yuck and attracts bugs. You will have the ships sore and geedunk machines aboard. Bring some cash and change, your debit card and a few checks. Sometimes you can cash a check if you need money. At least you could back in 2003 when I was on a ship.
Get a good note pad and some flash cards so you can study to get your qualifications done. Most of your free time will be spent studying until you get them done.

If your shop has room for a small Rubbermaid container and the people in your shop are cool with the arrangement, I recommend Tuna fish in the tearable packets. Peanut butter, and my personal favorite, Fluff. I always had a few dozen Ramen noodle packets as well. and a few small Tupperware bowls to make the ramen in on the mess decks.
I had CSER1 as my shop on both my DDG's so that was my setup. The Toilet paper, extra undies, and the other comments are spot on as well. I also remember watching movies on my iPod 160GB classic. At least now there are iPad pros and the like. I would definitely recommend digital media. Movies, anime, videos of loved ones. Music for working out, relaxing.

pack some extra shore line for sea anchors and some extra prop wash for keeping things clean and tidy

Take along a thick paperback or two that you thought you'd never find the time for ashore. Time between watches can become boring and having something to keep your mind on will add some value/enjoyment/escape to your waking hours.

Back when i served both in subs and carriers I always had 2 weeks of underwear,5-6 sets of working clothes (pooper suits in subs and dungarees in carriers) and at least 2 towels in my locker.

A camera. Don't let those memories escape. I was in 23 years. I've been retired 26 now. Still miss every it every day.