Posted on 12/12/2004 8:45:49 AM PST by Armedanddangerous
Over the past few months, I've seen numerous posts from concerned parents and friends of members of our armed forces about what these brave men and women really need. Here is a list I came across this AM and it makes more sense than any I've seen. For those interested in buying some of this stuff it can be found on line at places like www.cheaperthandirt.com www.brigadequartermasters.com or www.blackhawktactical.com
FALLUJAH, Iraq (Nov. 28, 2004) -- After coming out of a combat zone, many Marines commented on the one item that they’re glad they brought with them.
The following list, in no particular order, includes 20 “must have” items of Marines from 3rd Platoon Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment during Operation Al Fajr:
1. Advanced combat optical gun sight/Binoculars: “When you’re on post, you can tell what individuals walking down the street (blocks away) are carrying,” said Cpl. Michael Fredtkou, a M-203 gunner. “The enemy doesn’t expect you to see them that far away.”
2. Energy bars: “They’re lightweight, easy to get to,” said Staff Sgt. Luis Lopez, 3rd platoon sergeant. “Plus they’re not as bulky as MREs.” (meals-ready-to-eat)
3. Kevlar cushions: “The old padding gives you a headache after wearing it for a few hours,” said 1st Lt. Travis Fuller, 3rd platoon commander. “After a few minutes with the cushions on, you can’t even tell it’s there.”
4. Elbow/Knee pads: “If it wouldn’t be for these things, my knees would be completely cut up by now,” said Lance Cpl. Tim Riffe, a machine gunner. “You can only take so much jumping into a defensive position without them.”
5. Personal Role Radio: “Communication has been a huge key in our operations,” said Cpl. Tyrone Wilson, 2nd squad leader. “When my squad was across the street in a defensive position, the platoon was able to let me know insurgents were in the building next to us. Who knows what would’ve happened if they couldn’t contact me.”
6. Global Positioning System: “I’m able to pinpoint our location within 10 meters when calling in position reports and medevacs,” said Lance Cpl. William Woolley, a radio operator. “We’ll never get lost as long as we have it.”
7. Extra socks: “My feet are nice and dry right now,” said Lance Cpl. Kaleb Welch, a squad automatic weapon (SAW) gunner. “I’ve gone without changing my socks before on three to four day training exercises and I always regretted it later.”
8. Gloves: “They’re clutch because when you’re climbing over a wall you don’t have to worry about broken glass cutting your hands,” said Cpl. Gabriel Trull, 1st squad leader. “You also don’t burn your hands when changing 240 golf barrels.”
9. Baby wipes: “It’s a multi-use piece of gear,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Irving Ochoa, a Navy Corpsman. You don’t have much time out here for personal hygiene, so it’s the best alternative.”
10. Three-point sling: “When you’re jumping over rooftops you don’t want to worry about dropping your weapon,” said Cpl. Dave Willis, 3rd squad leader. “At any time you can just reach down and grab it.” (check BLACKHAWK TACTICAL)
11. Alice/Day pack: “Without these I don’t know how I’d carry all of my gear,” said Lance Cpl. Geoffery Bivins, a SAW gunner. “It displaces all of the weight around my body, so I’m not uncomfortable. When you’re running with 100 lbs. on your back, that’s important.” (Again, check BLACKHAWK)
12. Night Vision Goggles: “Wearing these at night gives you the advantage over the enemy,” said Lance Cpl. Marquirez Chavery, a combat engineer. “When you’re on a rooftop at night you can see everything.”
13. Personal hydration system: “Water is one of the things you always need to make sure you have,” said Seaman Hugo Lara, a Navy corpsman. “Instead of struggling to get your canteens out, the cord is there within your reach. Plus it holds more water as well.”
14. Watch with compass: “You get calls where you have to lay down suppressing fire in a certain direction and instead of wasting time to ask which way is north or south, you can just look at your wrist,” said Lance Cpl. Lonny Kelly, a machine gunner. “Knowing the time is important because everyone pulls shifts for guard duty or standing post. How would you know when your shift starts or stops without one?”
15. AA batteries: “You use them for your NVGs and handheld radios; both which contribute to more effective fighting,” said Cpl. Bryan Morales, 1st squad 1st fire team, team leader. “You wouldn’t want either of those items dying on you, so having a spare set of batteries around is very important.”
16. Poncho/poncho liner: “The temperature at night is extremely different during the day,” said Lance Cpl. Jonathan Etterling, machine gun team leader. “If you don’t have some sort of protection at night, you end up freezing because you’re cammies are still damp from sweating during the day.”
17. Ballistic goggles: “I was the A-driver one of our convoys and we got hit by an IED (improvised explosive device),” said Lance Cpl. Anthony Johnson, an assaultman. “Shrapnel bounced off of my glasses, saving my vision.”
18. Multi-purpose portable tool kit: “It’s like carrying a combat knife, hammer and screwdriver in one hand,” said Lance Cpl. Evan Fernandez, an assaultman. Cutting open MREs, cleaning your weapon, tightening screws on your gear; it has a thousand uses.” (Swiss Tool SOG Power Pliers, Gerber Multipliers.) 19. Carabineers: “Anything that you might have to grab at a moments notice, you don’t want to be digging through your pockets to try and find it,” said Pfc. Jason Kurtz, a SAW gunner. “With these you can attach anything to your flak and have right at your fingertips.”
20. High powered flashlight: “It does wonders,” said Cpl. Chris Williams, 2nd squad 1st fire team leader. “After you throw a fragmentation grenade into a room it’s difficult to see because of all the dust floating around. No one can hide from them. (Check the lights offered by SUREFIRE flashlights, STREAMLIGHT, www.nightcutter.com and TAC-M.) If you send one of these sorts of lights, make sure and send a box of batteries. The 123 lithium batteries are hard to come by in country, or so I am told.
Can anyone provide how-to-ship instructions, where to send either money for this stuff to be purchased, or the proceedures to get it done? I'm more than willing to do it; I just don't know where to begin...
bBump
there has been a section of the US Post Office's website devoted to shipping to
military personnel. You might check at
http://www.usps.com
And the counter personnel at the Post Office can help out some.
Other freepers will probably be along with more/better advice...
I'm pretty sure that the pentagon has asked well wishers to stop care packages to the theater until after the holidays (this doesn't include families). Can't find a way to deliver them.
I think this is a project for after the holidays. No, I'm not trying to be Scrooge. I'll keep them in my prayers but that's the situation as I understand it.
Good idea. I'll go nose around the DOD website and see if he's got an email addy.
On second thought, it would probably be better to hand write it and send it to him. I have a feeling that a lot of email gets flushed.
I'l do that Monday, from work. And include a personal check to get things started. (Who do I make the check out to?)
I wasn't specifically meaning exactly to make it a christmas present per se. I think it will be just as useful on January 10 as it would be on december 25.
I like the adopt a sniper link, have seen that before.
I was also trying to think of the name of the water carrying gear I posted about in the article. It just came to me... CAMELBACK. Many outdoor gear sellers have them in stock, but if you buy one from them, make sure you dont get one in a bright color. Make it green, O.D. or black.
I don't have any family members in the armed forces. I just hate to be sitting here doing nothing to help when they are over there kicking in doors every day.
I'm too old and fat to be a soldier, but I CAN do something like this.
Great suggestions. All are quite reasonable in price, except for the Armson ACOG and NVGs. Those are expensive. I suggest substituting a $40 Russian AR15 4x scope if you can't afford $600 for an ACOG. Optics are fair, but even a 4x scope lets you reach out and touch someone much more easily than with iron sights.
$10 Russian/Chinese armored compact binoculars are a decent substitute for the official $300 US M23 compact binoculars.
The only thing on the list that really puzzles me are the AA batteries. We've heard from troops that they were in short supply at first, but are now common. Your mileage may vary.
bmp
Freeper patriciaruth does a lot.
I imagine there are lots of guys out there with Mini Mag lights, Ipods and those FRS 2 way radios. They ALL need a steady diet of AA batteries.
Really, it isnt that expensive to get a big pack of them at WAL Mart. They are big time on sale right now.
I plan to spend some money on this project between now and the first of the year. Just remember folks, a large amount of the stuff on this list can be picked up at wally world while you are getting the christmas stuff, or groceries.
Another question for those who know...I wonder, what kinds of socks do these guys wear in the desert? Are we talking tube socks or what?
Cheaper than Dirt has those binoculars on sale right now I think.
Can you help us with some proceedures, addresses etc?
Although gifts would certainly be appreciated, every item is in the PX system and I've seen most of that gear at many PX's.
So it isn't as if they can't get these things, they may not to be willing or able to spend $100 bucks for a new ruck, etc.
Exactly right..If someone leaves a job for a year in the reserves, may have a wife and a couple of kids, they cannot afford 150 bucks for a Blackhawk 3 day pack or a 75 dollar surefire.
Oh, AA batteries can be dirt cheap, especially when bought in large quantities. We've been sending out 64-packs, including them as fillers in already-heavy packages of food, books, etc.
FR's Hobbit Hole has a day-to-day full-time project, getting our Hobbit Hole pocket knives out to troops all over the world. Aside from the fact that it's a great, practical gift, it's also a low-weight, high-value item. When you ship out over 350 in the last year, postage costs are extremely important.
The good stuff ain't cheap but it seems that Gerber, Brigade Quatermaster, and Underarmor have found a way to get their goods onto the PX shelves.
The "walmart" at Victory has all the goodies so that the guys who never leave the wire can dress like they think those that do dress!
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