Posted on Jun 9, 2017
SGT Joseph Gunderson
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Besides tithe issued equipment that are going to be brought downrange regardless of if you like it or not, what item(s) would you tell one of your first timers to make sure to bring to either make their life easier or perhaps just more bearable?
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Responses: 172
SrA Kevin Piatek
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Kool-aid singles
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GySgt Bill Smith
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Edited >1 y ago
Listerine mouthwash bottels full of vodka, dip, smokes, a hard drive with some good "low budget flixs" on it and a lot of extra soft socks.
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Cpl Justin Goolsby
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A power adapter/converter. It's always funny to me how many people think power outlets are universal. Despite being reminded and warned again and again, there is always at least one person who didn't bring an adapter and now they're looking to borrow someone else's so they can charge their phone.
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1SG First Sergeant
1SG (Join to see)
>1 y
Totally agree.
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1SG Civil Affairs Specialist
1SG (Join to see)
>1 y
Word. Get caught without one, and the sadness is palpable. Having to borrow from buddies sucks much.
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SSG Technical Inspector
6
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Definitely a GoPro or something similar.

All the good lists here have the folding chair.

Laptop.

Quality headphones.

A good pillow and blanket.

A micro fleece towel. Regular towels start to get musky when climate control goes out.

Bluetooth speakers.

Some kind of gaming system and a portable tv if you can get one into a toughbox. PSP, Nintendo Switch, X-Box, etc. All good.
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SPC Infantryman
SPC (Join to see)
>1 y
Or a clone console... combat zones tend to get hot real quick and there's a risk something will get blown up
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SPC Brad Flowers
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Hard candies hold up well. Let your families and loved ones pick them out for you as well and tell them to get some for themselves. You can enjoy them “together” every day at a certain time.
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Shane Harnett
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Baby wipes, multi tool, compass, reading material, family pics.
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Shane Harnett
Shane Harnett
>1 y
And extra socks!
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SGT William Harding
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Most stuff was listed that I took on every excursion. The only thing I might add to that is a neck pillow, and seasonings for the different forms of meal you may have. When I was in they didn't have all this technology they have today.
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SSG Damon Alexander
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Being an engineer, I always had, my Gerber multi-tool, and a buck knife, on the belt...Never left home without it. Always had plenty of socks, and Tshirts. Always had a camera in my pocket. And always took a few books to pass the idle time. As well as a small multiband radio.
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SSG Ken Schiffner
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These responses are killing me. We didn't have laptops, games, ebooks, etc. Mine was a book, a camera, pogey bait, 100 mile an hour tape, 550 cord, and more Copenhagen then you thought you could ever chew because you will.
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CPL Cord Nipper
CPL Cord Nipper
>1 y
I remember when a paperback was worth it's weight in gold for trade during a deployment.
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SGT Combat Engineer
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Laptop and external hard drive, about 2 TB of some “adult” entertainment
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