Gear - Part I

This post is the beginning of my "gear" section. I'll discuss initial considerations in the beginning, and towards the end - will touch on some of the items I've found invaluable & used the most thus far.

One of the most stressful items of my deployment to Afghanistan as a civilian contractor working in I.T. was trying to figure out what I should bring with me. There are 3 major factors that came into play for me:

1. Time was short. I left home exactly 32 days after I accepted the offer with my company. Roughly half of those 32 days are spent in the "screening process" - getting your medical eval, security clearance investigation, etc - and it's a time when you don't yet know with any certainty if you've got the job yet. I was reluctant to make "gear" purchases until I knew for sure I'd be shipping out.

2. There is not a whole lot of information out there for someone that works in my field to gather information from as to what one should be packing. Not only that, but you can be assigned to any of a number of bases, all of varying sizes with very few - or many amenities - with varying degrees of weather considerations. You'll want to prepare for as much as you can.

3. This biggest issue for me: you're only permitted to bring ONE 62 linear inch duffel bag with you to CRC, and 1 carry on bag.  Basically - and there's not a lot of wiggle room for this because they DO weigh & check the size of your bags at one point - you'll have a STANDARD size military duffel bag (or sea bag for us former Navy types) and a standard size backpack that holds a laptop.

I'm pretty anal when it comes to making lists - so I made a detailed spreadsheet with separate worksheet for different categories of items: medical, toiletries, clothing, electronics, bags & storage, and misc. I'm not going to list all the items I brought just yet. I hope to revisit that spreadsheet 6 months down the road to see what was wise to bring & what was wasted space. Its too early to tell. But I researched online & wrote down everything I thought that "I" could use - or might want to have in the event I was assigned to a remote, small camp in the desert or in the mountains - or, if I was assigned to a nice bhut or chu that had electricity wired & the need for hanging items, etc.

Your company will NOT provide you anymore detail about what to bring, other than "10 days of clothes & any necessary medicines". And honestly - that's just about all they will say. So, do your research online finding out not just what I.T. contractors suggest to pack - but civilian security folks, active duty troops - anyone and everyone who mentions the words "deployed" and "Afghanistan" in the same sentence. Choose items YOU think YOU might need. We all have varying degrees of what we need, and what makes us comfortable or what tools/items we "have to have" with us at all times.

I ordered a nice black standard duffel bag from Amazon, borrowed a luggage scale from someone - and, upon the official word of my employment (the day I was given my date to attend CRC) - went on a purchasing spree for gear. I spent probably in the range of $1500. This included a laptop that I picked up at an amazing price of $375 for an HP DM4 i5 with 4gb RAM & a 500gb hard drive. I picked up a High Sierra backpack that has lots of pockets to organize & store things for about $55 on Amazon as well.

You're given a weight limit on the duffel bag of 50lbs. I came in at 49 1/2lbs. My backpack fully loaded was about 35lbs. I could've shoved more in it - but then it would've been too big around - and not qualified as a carry on bag. So - with these two bags - I headed to CRC. I knew at some point, I'd be able to have items sent to me - but I had no idea when that would be. Thankfully, I packed & unpacked about 4 times - and even though I couldn't take everything from my list, I was able to take just about everything I'd need over the next 3 weeks. Amazingly - after about 3 unpacks & repacks during the time in CRC up until I got to my site - I didn't break a single thing or experience any sort of spillage of liquids or gels. Proud of myself on that - because your duffel bags will get tossed around & be stacked upon by several other bags during travel.

So - the items I couldn't have lived without? Zip lock bags & rubber bands for starters. Putting all meds, and other small items in individual zip lock backs keeps things organized & dry. Be sure to compress the air out when closing items up. Besides what you put items into - bring 6 - 10 small & large zip locks for future use too.
Rubber bands are great for rolling clothes and keeping them rolled. Rolling clothes was a HUGE life saver and the only way I was able to pack as much as I did. Roll. Roll tight - and keep'em rolled with rubber bands. Don't worry about wrinkles - I barely had any on some clothes that were rolled up in excess of 2 weeks! Besides, if it's wrinkles you're worrying about here - then you're worrying about the wrong thing.
Laptop, portable hard drives, a flash drive or two, a multi-type power converter plug that does more than just one kind of plug and especially a power strip! With a single converter that can plug into different plug types, you can simply plug your power strip into that - and everything else into the strip. Outlets are tough thing to find. I have ONE for my use - not one with two outlets - but ONE outlet period in my room. That was the case for most of my travels. I often gave open ports on my strip to other folks. So pack one for sure. The laptop - I recommend a display just big enough to make you happy. Don't get anything huge. That extra weight is just silly. And don't settle for a mini either. You'll be squinting & feel jealous of everyone around you. My HP DM4 is perfect for me. Light - and just big enough. I brought 2 portable hard drives - 1 for entertainment (music, movies, etc) - and one for backing up my laptop. Both are 500gb and are serving me just fine. I have room to spare on everything - and I have a lot of stuff on them! Your laptop will be a very important part of your life from day 1 of CRC. Also - bring headphones you like to wear a lot - and also a headset with a microphone. Skype has been pretty good - even on unreliable internet.
Locks. A cable type bicycle lock is great. You may not think you'll need it - but the moments will strike you and you'll say "Wow - glad I had that with me!". Also - TSA locks for your luggage. Bring 2. Also, bring a couple of padlocks that do not require a key and use a combo instead (and not the kind you had on your locker in high school). Something you can do easily - even in low light - and fast.
Carabiner hooks. I brought 3 small and 2 large. I've used them all for all sorts of things. The best use? When wearing your body armor - to hang your helmet from it instead of wearing it or carrying it. In my situation, we rarely bring, or wear, or body armor - but you must have them together & readily accessible at all times.
A good small flashlight that you can carry with you at all times. Besides power failures, you'll have lots of instances where that little light will come in handy.
A decent size pocket knife. Be sure to put it in your checked baggage - and leave it there until you get to your site. Once at your site - it should be the first thing to be unpacked & put into your pocket. Besides it being a handy tool to have, you'll feel better knowing you have at least SOMETHING to protect yourself should you need to.
Last for today - sheets & a pillow. I doubt you'll be able to pack a decent pillow in with everything else - but if you can - rock on. I had to settle for the garbage pillow that CRC provides you with - as well as their bedding & wool blanket. Wish I was more comfortable. When you get to Kuwait - you'll need to provide your own sheets, pillow, & blanket anyway. I bought some sheets before I left CRC thanks to the advice of a buddy. Sure, you can use the sleeping bag you'll be issued (if you're issued one - I was) - but I haven't used mine yet. Actually, I should put it as a liner under my sheets on my mattress, now that I think of it. Its nice to be able to sleep in decent sheets & with a decent pillow (I bought two at the PX at my base - I'm lucky that way).
Speaking of bedding - time for me to hit it. Till next time . . .