We're sending Alan the canned air,so he can blow everything out. It is just a fact of life there. Sand gets into everything no matter how careful you are.
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Bad Info for Troops Deploying to South West Asia
- Thread starter Nickle
- Start date
Paul was saying that they are suggesting a Dry Sac. Like you use when Canoing, or Kyacking. One that you can roll up and seal. That or one of those Coleman Vacuume Roll bags. Where you seal it up and then roll it and it pushes out the air. But keeps it tight.
I was going to dig up a heavy vynil ziplock bag. (just gotta find one. ) that will do the job nicly. got him an aluminum case for it too. and if a sandstorm blows up he can tape it closed too.
A caution with the canned air is that it is on the forbidden list at the post office. I know I sent aerosol shaving cream with no incidence, but after I found a non-aerosol alternative, I stopped taking the chance. Not only do you have the postal regulations to worry about, but you should remember that it will be traveling through temperatures that stay around 100-120 degress for most of the day.
I just asked my hubby how they handled the laptops, and he said that they had everything from taking it with them from the begining to having them shipped from home, to ordering them from the PX after they got in country. This is what he said about care for them: "some guys continuously kept them in a sealed travel case, but most guys just kept them out and used them and every other day carefully blew them out with compressed air."When asked how they got the compressed air, he said that some of the PX's over there sell it.
He also says real Italian mags only for the pistols over there. "If they are not stamped Beretta or Made in Italy do not even bother trying to use them."
Some other advice from him: "if they have not left home yet I would tell them to start drinking a LOT of water every day now so as to start getting used to the amount of water and not much else they will be drinking. It may not seem like much of a thing but when ALL you drink is water and you are consumeing as much as 3 liters an hour it would come in handy to get used to it a bit."
Do NOT buy camelbaks. They are issued, and rarely used.
Ok, now that this is REALLY long...hope the information is helpful.
I just asked my hubby how they handled the laptops, and he said that they had everything from taking it with them from the begining to having them shipped from home, to ordering them from the PX after they got in country. This is what he said about care for them: "some guys continuously kept them in a sealed travel case, but most guys just kept them out and used them and every other day carefully blew them out with compressed air."When asked how they got the compressed air, he said that some of the PX's over there sell it.
He also says real Italian mags only for the pistols over there. "If they are not stamped Beretta or Made in Italy do not even bother trying to use them."
Some other advice from him: "if they have not left home yet I would tell them to start drinking a LOT of water every day now so as to start getting used to the amount of water and not much else they will be drinking. It may not seem like much of a thing but when ALL you drink is water and you are consumeing as much as 3 liters an hour it would come in handy to get used to it a bit."
Do NOT buy camelbaks. They are issued, and rarely used.
Ok, now that this is REALLY long...hope the information is helpful.
Thanks. We drink alot of water here anyways,but will get son drinking more. I guess I'll have hubby get the canned air now,or at least a couple of cans. He can take with him,then we'll see what he has available to him.
I'll echo the information on the mag's. Only get Beretta mag's. Anything else isn't worth risking your LIFE with.
I'd try eBay. Here's a few auctions. These all should be REAL mag's, though some are 10 round.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Pair-of-New-Ber...QcategoryZ36257QQtcZphotoQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/Beretta-92-Pist...QcategoryZ36257QQtcZphotoQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/Beretta-Model-9...QcategoryZ36257QQtcZphotoQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
This one is legal in several states, but not Mass
http://cgi.ebay.com/Beretta-92-M-9-...QcategoryZ36257QQtcZphotoQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I'd try eBay. Here's a few auctions. These all should be REAL mag's, though some are 10 round.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Pair-of-New-Ber...QcategoryZ36257QQtcZphotoQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/Beretta-92-Pist...QcategoryZ36257QQtcZphotoQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/Beretta-Model-9...QcategoryZ36257QQtcZphotoQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
This one is legal in several states, but not Mass
http://cgi.ebay.com/Beretta-92-M-9-...QcategoryZ36257QQtcZphotoQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
About Laptops, Dell will do a decent deal to military members/government employees. Let me research the info.
Research done. Here's a link:
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/category.aspx/notebooks?c=us&cs=2232&l=en&s=eep
Research done. Here's a link:
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/category.aspx/notebooks?c=us&cs=2232&l=en&s=eep
My understanding is we can not have Berretta mags shipped to MA. Which is why we are going to ship to my brother in Texas and have him send to Alan once he's in Iraq.
Agreed, that would be smart. I posted the eBay links, in case some of you were interested. I can't even come close to competing with those prices for AFTERMARKET (JUNK) mag's, and the eBay ones I looked over to make sure they were correct (Beretta or Italian).
Just got a call from Brett in Kuwait (Mrs Tank's husband). He was giving me info to help answer questions.
I mentioned that he might want to join here, and he said he will.
There was a lot of info he gave me, and he mentioned laser sights for the M9's again, mentioning that the only person out of the 3 man HMMWV team that NEEDS one is the gunner. Apparently it gets the message across to the normal Iraqi's better than warning shots do.
He'll probably post lots of info, don't be afraid to "pick his brain", so to say. I've known him for several years, and I've found that you can trust what he says 100%.
I mentioned that he might want to join here, and he said he will.
There was a lot of info he gave me, and he mentioned laser sights for the M9's again, mentioning that the only person out of the 3 man HMMWV team that NEEDS one is the gunner. Apparently it gets the message across to the normal Iraqi's better than warning shots do.
He'll probably post lots of info, don't be afraid to "pick his brain", so to say. I've known him for several years, and I've found that you can trust what he says 100%.
Most certainly will. Thanks Nickle. Your the best.
MrsWildweasel said:
Not me, the guys serving are the best. I'm just a small cog on a giant wheel. Thank Brett, he actually took the time to call me from Kuwait with some info.
Thanks Tank (and Mrs Tank).
I've been wracking my brain for the last half hour, and now realized what I forgot.
Make sure the deploying soldier gets a Yahoo mail account, since AKO mail doesn't work so well. Yahoo allows IM as well, IIRC.
Brett wanted me to make sure I told everyone that.
Make sure the deploying soldier gets a Yahoo mail account, since AKO mail doesn't work so well. Yahoo allows IM as well, IIRC.
Brett wanted me to make sure I told everyone that.
Thanks Tank and Mrs Tank too. I'll show that to Glenn. We did a comcast account.
I set him up a web mail account with our home service. (he just has to go to the Comcast.net page to access his mail through thier interface) so no settings/mail is saved to the computer. I intended to send at least a can or 2 with him now. I knew he could get it there or go to the motor pool and bum some air. I have been doing lots of research, and thanks for helping.
It is a big load off the wifes mind. I am just pissed I can't go.
I got the Dell and got a good deal, I am a state employee and get about the same priceing. It should be here the week before he leaves. (Next week)
It is a big load off the wifes mind. I am just pissed I can't go.
I got the Dell and got a good deal, I am a state employee and get about the same priceing. It should be here the week before he leaves. (Next week)
AIr over there isn't going to be too bad remember- Very low humidity. heck we use a regular compressor here for cleaning computers, (Umass Comp sci) and we just make sure to drain the tank once in awhile.
You can tell by just spraying your hand with the First blast (Hold it 12+ " away!) and as long as it isn't moist it won't do much harm.
Computers now -a days can really stand alot of abuse.
You can tell by just spraying your hand with the First blast (Hold it 12+ " away!) and as long as it isn't moist it won't do much harm.
Computers now -a days can really stand alot of abuse.
I've had some awful problems with air compressors in the desert, though it was West Texas (El Paso). The problem would be the floppy/CD-Rom/DVD drives anyways, and I definitely wouldn't take one with an internal floppy.
well they call me Tank for what reason I am not all that sure, might be cause I am the size of a small house. Anyway, I would love to help ou guys out with any questions I might be able to answer. So please fire away.
I wish I could just rattle off a big old list to give you all you might need for info but it is not that easy. So like I said ask anything you can think of and I will give you the best answers I can. Do not forget to pick MrsTank's brain as well. This is her second time through this so she can answer a lot more of the "back home" questions then I can.
I am sure that as I think of them I will post things I know I wish I had know. Here is one to start with: Take a pair of Teva's or somthing like them, you will be walking anywhere from 50-500 yards to get to the shower facilities and flip-flops do not feel very good to your feet when walking through sand and stone.
I wish I could just rattle off a big old list to give you all you might need for info but it is not that easy. So like I said ask anything you can think of and I will give you the best answers I can. Do not forget to pick MrsTank's brain as well. This is her second time through this so she can answer a lot more of the "back home" questions then I can.
I am sure that as I think of them I will post things I know I wish I had know. Here is one to start with: Take a pair of Teva's or somthing like them, you will be walking anywhere from 50-500 yards to get to the shower facilities and flip-flops do not feel very good to your feet when walking through sand and stone.
Thanks and welcome. We are finishing up on the last of the things to get Alan,before he goes. That is one I will put on the list. I think we are down to the last of what to get him. Once he is settled in Iraq we'll have a better idea of what to send. Right now Dix won't let them bring knives that have a blade more than 3inches,so we are setting aside things that we have to send later. Fed ex delivered the laptop and MP3 player this morning,along with the digital camera this afternoon. The only thing I'm waiting to hear on is to the cell coverage at Dix. Nickle has been a great help too,because I was getting some bad info,and ran it by him.I'm sure we'll be coming up with more as we think of it. Anything you think of that you wish you had taken and didn't ?
Thanks again. Susanne
Thanks again. Susanne
MrsWildweasel said:
WTF!!! If these troops can't be trusted with sharp things, do we dare let them have guns, not to mention motor vehicles? I don't know the exact length right off, but I'm fairly certain that my K-Bar is well over 3 inches. I'm willing to bet all my guns against a role of Necco wafers that we've got some REMF's flexing their muscles here once again.
Ken
This is coming from FT Dix. Once Alan gets to Iraq we can send his Kbar. Trust me we are just playing the game. I have a box set aside already for what we are sending once he's there. There's more than one way to skin a cat. I will play along so far. I should add this isn't from his unit command they'd let them bring it.
dwarven1
Lonely Mountain Arms
MrsWildweasel said:
I'd missed this the first time around... three inches? Yeesh. Someone's being an idiot. What, they're afraid that our troops might hurt someone? Like an insurgent, maybe? Good grief.
If you've got time, MrsWW, order one of these. http://www.eknifeworks.com/webapp/e...A=&range=21&Brand=64&Mode=Brand&SKU=KS1620BLK
I carry one every day (except when disarmed by airlines or cruiselines), and it's like an extension of my hand. And the blade is under three inches. Not something for serious combat, maybe, but in a last ditch... and it's darn useful for cutting anything.
Anything we can do for your son? Other than prayer? You mentioned an MP3 player and a laptop - what kind of music does Alan like? I have a lot of CW and rock & roll that I've ripped and could burn to CD's for him...
Ross
Edited by LenS-Mod: Hopefully to make the URL hotlinked.
Alan is taking his leatherman with him to Dix,then when he is settled in Iraq we are sending his Kbar and a knife one of our nephews gave him to go with him too. Knives Alan has. Just have to play the games that Dix wants them to do. We'll oblige. Thanks for the offer on music. He has my ecclectic taste. We'll keep you in mind for later. (you wouldn't believe what we already have to go with him.) Right now prayers work. I'll take all I can get in that department. He does like country, rock,heavy metal,bagpipes,just not rap. He even likes classical go figure. We'll keep everyone updated as much as we can.
Knives
I find it interesting that Dix is now limiting knives. If I remember correctly, Tank took knives with him through Dix, but I also sent him some later. I can't remember now which ones were which.
As far as mailing them...they are allowed to be mailed, however here in ME we had issues with having to argue with the post office every time we declared them on the custom form. It got to the point that it was just easier to "forget" they were in there. I never had any problems with doing it that way. I just made sure that there were lots of other things in the box that I could declare and fill up the custom form.
I find it interesting that Dix is now limiting knives. If I remember correctly, Tank took knives with him through Dix, but I also sent him some later. I can't remember now which ones were which.
As far as mailing them...they are allowed to be mailed, however here in ME we had issues with having to argue with the post office every time we declared them on the custom form. It got to the point that it was just easier to "forget" they were in there. I never had any problems with doing it that way. I just made sure that there were lots of other things in the box that I could declare and fill up the custom form.
dwarven1 said:
Ross, I agree. Although inappropriate for military "in the field" use (those should be black only), I bought this one at a Braintree R&P gun show a few years ago and carry it everywhere. I love the way it opens. [twisted]
http://www.eknifeworks.com/webapp/e...ext&Submit.x=10&PriceStart=&Brand=&SKU=KS1660
I paid about $35 for it from Sawyer Cutlery in Hingham at the gun show (I bought a couple of other things and then negotiated on total price, so it might have been $40 if bought alone). The blade is 2-7/8". I think the owner is local LE.
dwarven1
Lonely Mountain Arms
I decided to go for the black one. I had had a cheap $5 clip knife that I got from Four Seasons, but when my coworker saw how useful it was for me, he asked me to pick one up for him. And as I don't get to Burlington often, I just gave him mine... and while browsing Smokey Mountain Knife Works' website, I found this one. After a year or so, it feels like an extension of my hand. It's a great design and a great knife.LenS said:
Ross, I fully agree. My comment about mine not being appropriate for "field use" is that you don't want "shiny" objects in a battlefield. Mine is a brushed SS (dull finish), but just the same I'd prefer black for tactical ops.
Funny thing is that I stopped by my local SprintPCS store hoping to pickup a replacement phone (ear-jack is broken) and ran into an old shooting friend (atty who always CCW'd). He spots my clip-on knife and asks if I'm ready for battle? [lol] Now if it was tactical black, would he have picked up on it as quickly??
Funny thing is that I stopped by my local SprintPCS store hoping to pickup a replacement phone (ear-jack is broken) and ran into an old shooting friend (atty who always CCW'd). He spots my clip-on knife and asks if I'm ready for battle? [lol] Now if it was tactical black, would he have picked up on it as quickly??
