Field expedient antennas are not just for HF and VHF!
Check out this Iridium field expedient antenna! SATCOMM!
(Half of the dipole drawn in because it has broken off)
1/4 wave (About 2.6 CM) on each side of the dipole. Shaped in to a wavy shape (to have a better impedance match).
Silicon at the center. Prevents rain from getting in and spoiling the coax.
1/2 wavelength from the feed point is the reflector.
A pickle tin from the camp cooks. It is around 3x larger than regular tin lids. It is _NOT_ electrically attached to the coax. It is simply held in place with some silicone.
The connector is a TNC-Male. It connects to the Iridium.
There is just enough coax to get outside the mod tent and up a couple feet. Zip-tied to a cam-pole.
The coax has 3dB loss, the antenna is horizontally polarized (resulting in 3 dB loss because Iridium is RightHandCircularPolarized).
Overall you only have 1/4 signal strength. But it works! And it works better than nothing!
The same theory at HF applies for Satcomm. Get creative. Make comms work.
Edit:
Iridiums standard for loss is -3dB. So this isn't that far off.
I had the pickle tin spaced off 1/2 wavelength because I was far up north and wanted to hit the satelites near the horizon. It never failed. But if you move the pickle tin higher (to .25 wavelength), it will send more signal straight up. Might be better near the equator. Or it might be too directional and drop signal. Try it out and find what works for you.
As for what should be carried, I would take a look at ACIMMS? or DBB? first. There might be a little handbook to carry somewhere there.
Those aidememoires sure come in handy. When you're cold wet and sleep fudged, few things help like being able to blindly follow some instructions and have it work. I had a rash on my leg from walking around with so much paper in one pocket in a ziplock. But it has worked out more often than not.
https://www.marines.mil/Portals/1/Publications/MCRP%208-10B.11.pdf?ver=2017-03-15-092827-423