What extra kit is recommended for someone deploying to KAF?

[signal34]

I'm going on my first tour to KAF..just curious as to what extra personal kit proved to be useful besides what;s issued..thanx


(Moderator edit to clarify title.)

 

[George Wallace]

There are a couple of Topics on this already.

Another thing to think of, is how much kit are you taking with you, and how much extra weight you may be allowed to fill up with any extra kit you may want to take?  Do you have the room?  You may land up having to mail yourself a parcel, prior to your departure.

 

[Sig_Des]

Depends on the job you'll be doing as well. No use getting, say, an aftermarket chest rig if you'll just be at KAF.

Myself, I have my own drop leg holster, TAG Duty belt, HSGI drop-leg Magazine carrier (6 C7, 4 pistol mags) and I'll be picking up a vertical grip before heading over.

 

[Franko]

If your staying on base and not going outside the wire on a regular basis, buy what you need as you need it at the PX.

Otherwise you'll be spending money on stuff that you'll probably have to ship over and then ship back at your own expense.

Regards

 

[signal34]

any ideas where i can get a shemagh(desert combat scarf) around gagetown??

 

[PhilB]

Just buy one at the KAF px, they had tons when I was there, and pretty cheap.

 

[signal34]

thanx

 

[signal34]

how do you guys take care of the fogging of goggles?..is there a special spray for that?

 

[Franko]

Use the spray provided with your ballistic glasses.

Regards

 

[MJP]

Shaving cream or soap work good too.  Put it on in a thin layer and buff it out.  Or just don't wear them at all.  I Crew Commanded a LAV for pretty much my entire tour and rarely wore goggles as my ballistics did a good enough job cutting down the wind and keeping bugs out on the move.

 

[Franko]

Shaving cream or soap work good too.  Put it on in a thin layer and buff it out.  Or just don't wear them at all.  I Crew Commanded a LAV for pretty much my entire tour and rarely wore goggles as my ballistics did a good enough job cutting down the wind and keeping bugs out on the move.

That and they save your eyes.       

Regards

 

[MJP]

I had ballistic googles as well......I just can't stand googles in general.  Cuts down on peripheral vision to much for my taste.

 

[PhilB]

I found goggles to warm for use the majority of the tour. Usually I just used my Oakley M Frames

 

[Garett]

Goggles will take significantly more damage before failing vs. glasses.

 

[MikeM]

We had a lot of guys buy the Playstation Portables, helped kill time and gave the guys something to do when we weren't doing anything. It was also commonplace for a lot of guys to bring laptops. It makes for easy dumping of photos onto and watching video's as well.

 

[Bzzliteyr]

Having just returned from Texas (to simulate Afghanistan) we had a few nice dust storm and dust in general there was a problem.  We noticed the lack of dust protection that the ballistic glasses offered and some guys purchased tactical goggles a la SG1 by Wiley-X, are you saying they aren't that necessary over there?  Tell me about the dust please.

 

[PhilB]

There is dust everywhere, it is just something that you have to accept. There are limitations to every setup. Goggles and Wiley's are good because they prevent the dust from getting in your face. The negative of them, IMHO, is that they are very hot to wear on your face for long periods I found I sweat alot with them on, in comparison to ballistic glasses they have a more limited field of view, particularly peripherally, and finally they are generally attached to your helmet, you still need something for sun/sand protection when your helmet is off. I had ESS Profile NVG goggles attached to my helmet on 1-06 and only used them a handful of times. I found my Oakley M Frames did fine, when it was really dusty I threw on a shemagh. YMMV