Military gear for Iraq and Afghanistan deployments.
Featured on this
page are items that U.S. Military personnel should consider for combat
deployments. In some cases, these items are furnished by the U.S.
Military. Please check with your unit before ordering.
(List courtesy of
Brigade Quartermasters)
1. Converse Men's Desert Tan Side-Zip Boots
2. Altama Ripple Sole Desert Boots
3. Converse Foot Pursuit Desert Boots
4. Under Armour HeatGear Loose Fit Tee
5. H20 Proof Foul Weather Parka and Liner
6. Under Armour HeatGear Compression Fit Tee
7. 5.11 Tactical Long-Sleeve Shirt
8. Shemagh Traditional Desert Headdress
9. Under Armour HeatGear Boxer Jock
10. Max+Tac Fire Resistant Tactical Ops Gloves
See complete list at Brigade Quartermasters...
Soldier Relief Packs
These Relief Packs are
designed to improve the quality of a deployed soldier's life and
hopefully, in so doing, their combat effectiveness. This collection of
a few extremely beneficial personal care products can go a long way in
the heat of battle. Smell better. Feel better. Fight better!
- BRIGADE SOLDIER RELIEF PACK
- BRIGADE SOLDIER RELIEF PACK+
- BRIGADE BUDDY RELIEF PACK
-
BRIGADE SQUAD RELIEF PACK
Reach out to our troops in a big way! These care packages will really
boost morale. Perfect for neighborhood or church groups who want to
pitch in for the boys (and girls) over there!
3rd Platoon's
Top 20 "Must Haves"
Story by Sgt. Clinton Firstbrook
FALLUJAH, Iraq
(11/28/2004) -- 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."
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."
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 of 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."
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."
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Iraq is one of the most dangerous places in
the world - yet journalists, private contractors, and
soldiers still must travel there. This book has everything
visitors need to know to get by, including all aspects of
security, picking a translator, traffic, bribery, eating,
the weather, who's in charge, important government
acronyms, hotels and buying and renting houses,
transportation and traffic, and much more. (Amazon.com)
VIOTAC
S.C.O.U.T. CAM Wearable video technology allows soldiers to capture
the sights and sounds of the battlefield!
Mounting
The S.C.O.U.T Cam can be mounted to the helmet or other
equipment. Review S.C.O.U.T. Cam
SKEDCO KOSMO MOUT LIFELINE
Real Soldiers need real rescue means and the Kosmo Mout
Lifeline is it! Designed by Bud Calkin of SKEDCO and US
Army Special Forces Major Andrew Kosmowski, the compact
Kosmo MOUT Lifeline is a soldier's lifeline in urban and
field operations. This is must-have equipment on every
Soldier.
HOOAH!® SOLDIER’S ENERGY BAR (15 BARS/ 1 CASE)
American Soldiers rely on HOOAH! Bars' steady energy blend
of essential nutrients to provide healthy energy and
alertness with no sugar spikes or energy crashes. It is
great tasting, does not "chalk" and dry the mouth.
ULTRA-COMFORT PASGT COMBAT HELMET SWEATBAND
You've only dreamed about relief like this. WAKE UP! It's
here NOW! Stop "Helmet Head" pain, scalp problems, skin
irritation, and odors with this revolutionary product that
uses state of the art materials to provide cushioned
comfort and protection. Silver-ion technology
provides anti-bacterial and anti-fungal protection to
reduce odors and skin irritation.
BLACKHAWK® HELLSTORM™ S.O.L.A.G. SPECIAL OPS LIGHT ASSAULT GLOVE FULL FINGER - BLACK
The Special
Operations Light Assault Glove is perfect for Tactical Law Enforcement
and Military Ops. Made of advanced synthetic composite materials, it
is breathable, quick drying, lightweight and possesses amazing
durability with excellent finger dexterity. Designed with full wrist
support, double back of hand adjustment system, multiple stitch layer
design for enhanced gripping power. Ideal for land or water ops, and
the current choice of real Operators.
WILEY X® XL-1 INTERCHANGEABLE SUNGLASS / GOGGLE
Wiley X® Ballistic Eyegear has provided the ultimate in
shatterproof eye protection for over 15 years. Now
standard issue for the Navy SEALs, USMC Explosive Ordnance
Disposal Teams, Special Forces, Border Patrol, FBI, DEA,
C.I.D., I.N.S., E.O.D., Amphib Recon and the USA Shooting
Team. In Special Ops tests, 12 gauge 00 buckshot was fired
at a distance of 7 meters. No pellets penetrated the
glasses! In a similar test with #9 shot, there was no
penetration even at 5 meters.
ESS SPECIAL FORCES GOGGLE
Low profile frame design was created with direction from
elite US Special Forces groups. The Profile NVG is the
only compact military/tactical goggle system with no
compromises. Profile has all the advantages of a
low-profile, night vision compatible frame shape, without
sacrifices in dust filtration, field of view, impact
protection, or anti-fog performance.
G.I. DOG TAG ID PLATE SILENCERS
Handy
rubber grommets slip around tags to effectively silence
rattles and clanging. A must for field operations.
NALGENE® WIDE MOUTH BOTTLE
Constructed of tough, transparent Lexan polycarbonate,
these wide-mouth bottles are incredibly impact resistant,
even in extreme cold and heat. Transparent smoke-grey
32-ounce bottle with permanently attached black top.
Guaranteed leakproof. Store food, water, gear- nearly
anything.
SUREFIRE MODEL G2 NITROLON COMPACT FLASHLIGHT
Constructed of virtually indestructible Nitrolon composite polymer
with the anti-slip Gridlock pattern molded into the body to allow use
with gloves. Keeps the light in the hand in hot, humid weather.
Powered by 2 lithium cells for 65 lumens of blinding light and small
enough always have on your belt.
ALTA® TACTICAL SUPERFLEX ELBOW PADS
Protect the elbows when crawling or shooting from the prone position.
Black rubberized non-slip cap grips the surface, allowing the wearer
to crawl faster. High density foam padding provides maximum comfort.
Cordura® nylon cover adds rugged durability, and elastic straps with
Velcro® allow quick donning and adjustment. Lightweight and
comfortable! Universal fit.
ALTA® TACTICAL SUPERFLEX KNEE PADS
Padded with ½'' high density foam and contoured to hug the knees for a
looser, more comfortable fit. Minimizes loss of blood flow to the
knees, preventing leg fatigue, stiffness and pain. The knee cap is
made of flexible black rubber material, riveted to a DuPont Cordura
nylon cover. Elastic straps with new buckle-and-button fastening
system hold tight and stay tight, and can be donned, adjusted or
removed in seconds.
Deployment Gear List
Soldier Relief Packs
Pocket
Idiot's Guide to Surviving Iraq
