Marine buddy leaving for iraq soon

[EightySix Four]

My long time friend from highschool is preparing to leave for Iraq in the next few months. I would like to purchase something for him that will be useful while he is over there. Can any military personnel give me suggestions as to something they had/wish they had that would have made their life better, maybe safer?

Me and a few others considered going in together and purchasing some dragon skin body armor but I understand there is a large controversy surrounding it and I don't want him caught up in anything.

I really would like my friend to come home in one piece, and his stay to be as easy as is humanly possible (not very), so any suggestions, big and small would be very helpful.

Thanks,
Nick

 

[EagleKeeper]

Browse through P&N carefully.

There are a few active personel and vets that hang around there.

 

[shortylickens]

Even though it might actually save his life I would not recommend body armor.
It will be confiscated anyway.

I'd recommend porn, but thats just me.

 

[foghorn67]

I have a few friends that are deployed now or have come back. They report lots of boredom. It's either get up and patrol/fix things/build things or idle around.
Books, puzzle books, sodoku, etc.
Also, what does he do? Is he infantry? Mechanic? Maybe that will help with some that chime in, especially if you are getting something for him that helps while on duty.

 

[EightySix Four]

Originally posted by: shortylickens
Even though it might actually save his life I would not recommend body armor.
It will be confiscated anyway.

I'd recommend porn, but thats just me.

I know, I hear there is a lot of political bull shit about the armor going on. It could save their lives and you're worried about a military contract? Fuck that.

Originally posted by: foghorn67
I have a few friends that are deployed now or have come back. They report lots of boredom. It's either get up and patrol/fix things/build things or idle around.
Books, puzzle books, sodoku, etc.
Also, what does he do? Is he infantry? Mechanic? Maybe that will help with some that chime in, especially if you are getting something for him that helps while on duty.

Infantry straight out of High School.

 

[vi edit]

One of the big hits for a coworkers son stationed in Iraq is a portable DVD player. His Mom records all of the Cubs games on DVD and mails them over to him to watch.

If your buddy is a big sports guy you can record the games and send them over in timely intervals. That's a good time waster for them and gets their mind away from where they are.

 

[Away]

Laptop or cell phone so he can keep in touch with his friends and family here.

 

[jpeyton]

Dragon Skin is bad ass armor, definitely get that for him if you have a chance. Cronyism among contractors is the only reason the military hasn't adopted it.

 

[Baked]

Fleshlight w/ insert variety pack.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Porn?

 

[EightySix Four]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Dragon Skin is bad ass armor, definitely get that for him if you have a chance. Cronyism among contractors is the only reason the military hasn't adopted it.

I hear they are confiscating it.

Originally posted by: Away
Laptop or cell phone so he can keep in touch with his friends and family here.

Internet access available? Hook em up with a laptop with some form of voip setup...

 

[shortylickens]

I really didnt want to get into this but

EDIT:
Actually, I wont.
I know how the P&N fuckers are and I dont want to start it here.

 

[EightySix Four]

Originally posted by: shortylickens
I really didnt want to get into this but its not entirely about the contracts and money and such.

Most troops carry around about 50 pounds of gear out there. Its been proven in a number of studies that going over that actually decreases their chance of living because they tire much quicker. It makes them less combat ready at any given instance of the day.

And for reference: the thin, light Class 1 Kevlar they normally issue to cops will NOT stop a 7.62mm.
You need class III A to stop that, and its heavy.

This stuff http://www.globalsecurity.org/...ground/interceptor.htm
is actually pretty light, but it would still replace 16 pounds of essential gear a soldier would have to leave behind.

AFAIK dragon skin is lighter, stronger (arguably), and more maneuverable no? The level 3 comes in at 16.5lbs and the Level 4 comes in at 17.2lbs. Isn't that less than the standard issue stuff? If you're replacing the standard issue armor with something lighter, how does that mean they can carry less weight?

Anyways, that's not what the thread is about and if it's just going to get confiscated then I can find something else.

 

[marvdmartian]

A case of silly string??

Here's an idea. If your buddy is a video game player, give him a gift card that will let him buy 2 or 3 video games before he leaves. That'll give him something to do during his off time. You could also find out if he's in need of a leatherman/gerber/etc, and get him one of those. Care boxes while he's in Iraq might be more enjoyable to him than anything he might get before he goes, so that's an idea as well.

 

[EightySix Four]

Originally posted by: marvdmartian
A case of silly string??

Here's an idea. If your buddy is a video game player, give him a gift card that will let him buy 2 or 3 video games before he leaves. That'll give him something to do during his off time. You could also find out if he's in need of a leatherman/gerber/etc, and get him one of those. Care boxes while he's in Iraq might be more enjoyable to him than anything he might get before he goes, so that's an idea as well.

I like the idea of a laptop + voip + dvd's of sports games via car package.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

what about a PSP? i hear its got skype on it now so that'll be useful too.

 

[EightySix Four]

Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad
what about a PSP? i hear its got skype on it now so that'll be useful too.

That might be cool, I could crack one and send him memory sticks with new games, movies, porn, and recorded sports events on it.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

Originally posted by: crazySOB297

Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad
what about a PSP? i hear its got skype on it now so that'll be useful too.

That might be cool, I could crack one and send him memory sticks with new games, movies, porn, and recorded sports events on it.

depending on how his internet connection is, you could set up an orb server with a tv tuner so he can watch live tv as well as what you download. this way you dont have to keep buying mem cards and sending them.

 

[EightySix Four]

Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad

Originally posted by: crazySOB297

Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad
what about a PSP? i hear its got skype on it now so that'll be useful too.

That might be cool, I could crack one and send him memory sticks with new games, movies, porn, and recorded sports events on it.

depending on how his internet connection is, you could set up an orb server with a tv tuner so he can watch live tv as well as what you download. this way you dont have to keep buying mem cards and sending them.

sling box around the world

Also found out he's specializing in artillery.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: Baked
Fleshlight w/ insert variety pack.

Aww, I was going to post this.

 

[Kelvrick]

A boresnake in whatever calibers he uses will help cut down time in his weapons cleaning routine.

I think standard issue is the Beretta M9 right? That means 9mm boresnake. That, and a .223 boresnake?

A nice flashlight will also do wonders. Maybe a https://www.fenix-store.com/index.php?cPath=22_85">Fenix TK10</a> and a set of https://www.fenix-store.com/pr...=53_57&products_id=389">rechargeable batteries.</a>

EDIT: Members of candlepowerforums gets an 8% discount.

EDIT2: Yea, pron will be very good as well.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

porn on an ipod.

 

[EightySix Four]

Do they wear clothes under their uniforms? Maybe some under armor for the heat?

 

[Howard]

Fleshlight?

 

[dsity]

You mentioned boredom NSFW