The List

Greetings and salutations, good readers! I'm finally posting the packing list Paul sent. It's edited for content, of course, to some extent. I'm adding in my own twists where appropriate, and intend on revising later in the cycle to make it more user friendly. Essentially, I don't want folks to go through what I did, which is to wait on brigade to issue a packing list that wasn't detail oriented (it's the same one used for Afghanistan...).

Always carry with you when you go somewhere overnight (think of this as your "carry on bag"):
o poncho liner (don't care how damn hot it is, you will NEED this) Not sure if I have room, but will try.
o shower shoes Chaco sandals
o pt shorts & t-shirt
o running shoes (optional)
o shaving kit (I recommend an electric razor, but you like spending time screwing with your hair so....)
NOTE: if you can get travel size stuff for body maintenance, pack that, leave your main stuff in your duffel bag
o laptop (if you leave, take your NIPR laptop and your SIPR geek stick with you) Due to space constraints, this is in a pelican case in the primary duffel bag
o something to read (book, magazine, bubble gum wrapper)
o towel (just like "Hitch hikers Guide", always bring a towel....wisdom man, wisdom) Packtowl. Same thing.
o couple of extra tan t-shirts
o couple of extra socks
o some kind of plastic bag to stuff dirty crap into (like the kind you get at the PX type of bag)
o hard core travel mug (for me this was my constant tie to back home outside of pictures)
o playing cards
o travel cribbage board (OK, that's for me....)
o two DVDs. NOTE: if you partner up with a few other guys you end up with a pretty robust traveling DVD library if you all don't bring the SAME two DVDs. Hard drive with like, two dozen movies ripped onto it. "Magic DVD Ripper" is excellent for this - a feature film will end up as a 1GB wmv file. The external drive is about half full with movies.
OPTIONAL: extra uniform. These take a crap load of room, so it's really your call.
OPTIONAL: snivel gear. I recommend finding a way to attach your gore-tex parka to your carry on somehow, at least until March/April time frame.

Primary duffel bag:
Whatever you do, your sleep system GOES ON TOP.
Couple of uniforms
Rest of PT gear (pants, etc)
Extra snivel gear
Extra pair of boots
Under-roos & t-shirts
Socks, lots of socks Socks & t-shirts bundled in three day groups. Makes unpacking easier
Barracks bag Actually, we need two of these, due to the laundry services at Buehring and farther north.
Extra towel (always carry a towel...I can't say that enough) Full sized towel here, extra towel I sent ahead with the C bag.
PILLOW (this is a tough one - but a high tech guy such as yourself must have some kind of high speed insta-flate pillow right?) Absolutely. Thermarest makes an excellent camp pillow. Sent the full sized one ahead with the footlocker.

Everything else that CSM tells you to carry is B bag or container type crap - it really is (like ruck sack, canteens, fleece pants, civilian clothes, BBQ grill, etc)

Paul's golden rules for OIF/OEF travel:
- Expect to sleep where you stop when in military transit (hence the woobie in the carry on bag)
- Expect to wash your ass where you stop when in military transit Which would entail handy wipes in the carryon.
- Expect military transit to take longer than you expect, even longer than the schedule dictates.
- Try and shove a few energy bars into your carry on. Chow isn't regular or good while in transit.
- ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS take care of nature BEFORE you get on a C-130.
- Expect your duffel to arrive late, if at all.
- CARRY YOUR LAPTOP WITH YOU - ALWAYS No space this time, otherwise I would. Still might, and then just shove books into the pelican case.
- Once in IZ, if traveling back to or through Kuwait, leave the shootin' iron and live ammo with your supply folks in IZ. Trust me, there are no fire fights in the MAC system (despite what the grunts think). And the ammo scares the Air Force guys, make them think there's a war going on and they really don't like that message. They think this whole gig is just an extended ARTEP. Plus the Kuwait dwell guys from 76 IBCT don't have a lot of storage space and if they aren't from your battalion, they really don't care about your sensitive items.
- Travel in a C-130 with your SAPI plates IN. Yeah, they are heavy, but a jump seat in a C-130 has no back support... This time, SAPIs and IOTV are in the B bag. Easier to pack.
- When entering a C-130 for transit, be at the head or tail of the line. AVOID THE MIDDLE. The front has leg room (no seats opposite you) and the back has leg room. Every where else sucks. This is the single area where I actually pull rank from time to time. I know, selfish. And I feel guilty until I realize that I have spent the last 20 years getting this rank.
- If you are staying in Kuwait longer than 3 days, buy a pillow at the PX. When you leave Kuwait, pitch it.
- If you are staying in Kuwait longer than 3 days, seek out a camp chair that someone left behind (trust me, they will be there).
- Large zip lock bags are your friend...
- Once you get somewhere, always memorize dining hall location and hours and where you can plug into NIPR and SIPR.
- During initial deployment and redeployment travel, if you can get away with one duffel and your carry on, do it. Remember that you hump everything, ie you carry everything that you bring with you. This one simple fact alone (plus the fact that I am real lazy) brought me to a "light" realization. When I deployed to Operations Desert Storm, I fit ALL my field gear (including body armor and brain bucket) into two duffel bags and a carry on bag. So far, it's all in two duffels and a carry on. Plan on keeping it that way.

Remember you aren't packing combat optics or stuff like that, nor are you expected to conduct combat operations the minute to hit the ground anywhere. Also, this is a mature theater, so you aren't in need of stuff like stoves or even extended amounts of rations (or dehydrated water for that matter). Combat optics and NVDs go on the M4 while in transit - first, it just looks freakin' cool. Second, easier to keep accountability of it.


That's about it. As usual, comments and such are welcome. Other thoughts:
* Nalgene bottles are excellent, crush proof containers for all the "tangle" stuff - chargers, headphones, etc.
* No travel mug yet, but I do have photos in a travel frame of Kim & me.

Enjoy!