Yesterday I finished a week of outprocessing, which entails getting around 100 signatures from 100 different offices in order to get the green light to deploy. It's a combination of an administrative and medical clearance process. I got two more anthrax vaccinations, a teeth cleaning, and a physical exam. I was given a document folder with professional credentials, NATO documents, DoD orders, my training records, medical records and flight information to get me to where I need to go.
At a hurried meeting in an anonymous Nellis AFB building I received the final stamp and was put on orders to Afghanistan despite violating one deployment requirement. During the meeting I answered "No" when asked by the mobility sergeant if I had treated my uniforms with the permethrin insect repellant they give us. The label on the repellant package clearly states: "hazardous to humans" so I decided not to apply it to my clothing. Maybe I'm an idiot but I'll wait and see how bad the bugs are... if they are bad enough to risk exposing my skin to a suspected neurotoxicant and carcinogen then maybe I will apply it to my uniforms...
My personal preparation has involved some precision packing. I have two 45 pound duffels, a 30 pound weapons case, and a 30 pound carry-on bag.
One duffel is completely filled with my Army issue of combat and load-bearing gear. I have two different types of backpacks, a ridiculous number of ammo and grenade pouches, a first aid kit, Kevlar helmet, two pairs of boots, two pairs of gloves, dust goggles and ballistic sunglasses, gun cleaning kits, a sleeping bag with Gore-Tex bivy sack, Leatherman, folding knife, strap cutter, drop leg holster, 100oz Camelbak, and some other random stuff.
The other duffel is all clothing and uniforms and my carry-on is mostly personal electronics, books and a few survival toiletries. In Kyrgyzstan I'll get even more stuff before I fly into Bagram: body armor, chem suit, and a second set of Gore-Tex jacket and pants (?)
My personal preparation has involved some precision packing. I have two 45 pound duffels, a 30 pound weapons case, and a 30 pound carry-on bag.
One duffel is completely filled with my Army issue of combat and load-bearing gear. I have two different types of backpacks, a ridiculous number of ammo and grenade pouches, a first aid kit, Kevlar helmet, two pairs of boots, two pairs of gloves, dust goggles and ballistic sunglasses, gun cleaning kits, a sleeping bag with Gore-Tex bivy sack, Leatherman, folding knife, strap cutter, drop leg holster, 100oz Camelbak, and some other random stuff.
The other duffel is all clothing and uniforms and my carry-on is mostly personal electronics, books and a few survival toiletries. In Kyrgyzstan I'll get even more stuff before I fly into Bagram: body armor, chem suit, and a second set of Gore-Tex jacket and pants (?)
I really have no idea of how I will carry everything from one point to another.
1 comment:
I went back and read all of your posts from before the email from Colleen telling us about your blog. The whole experience is just insane. Thanks again for sharing. Not sure that I would be able to do it. Looks like I will need another way to perform my civic duty(does teaching 11th grade US history count?). This post reminds me of something that I read in college; The Things They Carried".
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