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Hi there....right my other half's younger brother is off to Afghan in 2 weeks time, he has a nice watch, mp3 player etc
What would be a nice thing to buy for him before he goes...?
well it has to be said, some decent body armour given the british army being such cheap gits when it comes to equiping their troops
LOL I knew this was going to start this sort of post....
pr0n 😉
camera?
[url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flashman-Papers-George-MacDonald-Fraser/dp/0006511252/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242854260&sr=8-1 ]This[/url], if he's a reader.
Afghani-Arab phrasebook?
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Hipflask for the morale booster on cold nights and a small photo album? kinda pocket sized so can be kept with him.
Smallest things count in shitty conditions
A girl at work's fiance finished his tour earlier this month. She sent out base layers ( I suggested merino, but was not listened to!) as it does get cold at night. Maybe a pair of Oakleys?
Booze can successfully be smuggled in the post in shampoo bottles by the way. I think the Post Office turn a blind eye.
seriously some bottles of SF50 sunscreen cos he wouldn't want to get sunburn 8)
Oh and a Pashto-English phrase book to charm the locals....
Oakleys - all are ballistic spec. SI spec if you can get them.
A hammock. Can be strung up between vehicles etc if needed, way more comfortable than the floor/kip mat. Not one of those nasty string type ones though. Google DD hammocks.
Altimeter - SUUNTO
Thermals, decent socks, head torch, Garmin wrist GPS
All of above is stuff my mates in the marines found worth while.
You stars!! Knew the STW massif would help!
Bloke at work brought his son a decent leatherman before he went out to Afghan. On his return said it came in very handy on several occasions.
Ask him?
A good pair of boots. Gloves, base layers. Nintendo DS, PSP etc....
How much ya want to spend?
Surefire torch, G2 is cheap but good.Pricier end is the Surefire helmet light, couple of hundred quid but going down a storm with Blades, wich makes them ally as funk, and they are actually really useful. Cheaper in the States but a bugger to get as they have IR illuminatoer so are 'restricted'.
Leatherman or gerber would be nice too.
Don't bother getting Oakleys, they are cheaper for forces, and the ESS Ice issued are pretty good bins.
One of those solid state video recorders would go down well too.
Body armour is not as silly as it sounds. The Osprey system is slowly being replaced with Blackhawk Strike plate carriers (like Prince Harry wore), which are around the £60 mark private purchase. Osprey plates and soft armour fit these, and a few Int guys I know who deploy next month have private purchased them.
Or little bits of Gucchi tac gear, check places like On Patrol, or UK Tactical. IRR Union flags or zap number patches go down well and are less than £20.
Some merino gear was my first thought too (good for hot, cold and when you don't get to wash a lot, thin) etc. It's pretty compact and easily shared with mates too, if it needs to be, unlike a 6 foot fluffy rabbit mascot. Don't they have to carry all their own stuff, though? Might be worth asking him before you buy money on something that he might already be getting or would feel obligated to carry or something. I know it always put me in a difficult position when I went bike camping and some well-meaning family/friend would give me a portable anvil or something...
I think a Leatherman is a great idea.
They do free laser engraving here too so you could make it more personal,
[url] http://www.leathermans.co.uk/Leatherman-Full-Size.html [/url]
A Leatherman is a great idea, its what my parents brought me when I deployed to Bosnia many years ago. Get it engraved with service number, initials and surname but not with rank, after all this can change throughout ones service career. If you do buy clothing (especially base layers) make sure they are easy care as away from the APOD holiday camp washing facilities are very spartan and in the platoon houses its even more so (half any oil drum of water over a fire is what we used). Even at Bagram Butlins the dobi is all done at near boiling temp so items such a merino may well end up wrecked after a short while.
No point sending Oakley's. You can buy em off the Yanks when you're out there, much much cheaper. Same for flashlights.
My mate was in Iraq in 2003. I managed to send him a bottle of JD wrapped up in bubble-wrap and Haribo with no problem.
Have to agree with the last post, you can buy leatherman's, Oakleys from the Yanks BX at about a quater of the price we pay.
I would sugest a good but small sleeping bag, the ones we are issued are rubbish.
I've just got myself a thermarest as well as I've been told it's going to take up to 3 days to get out to Kandahar next month. We won't see a bed in any of that time so we will be sleeping any where we can.
Send Bottles of "Mouth Wash"
or Vodka Dyed Blue/Green in a Mouthwash bottle.
Rather than Give something to go out with send lots of little things through out the tour, A small parcel with Sweets, Mags, washing powder, toothpaste, shave gel, razor blades, etc can go a long way. Just don't forget the "mouthwash"
Or If you would like him to have a leatherman, Oakleys, etc, give him the money as they will get it at half the price or less, from the Yanks.
batteries, according to Generation Kill.
A massive stash of anti-dewpression drugs ?
& a return ticket home!
Has he got an iPod Touch? If so, then you can get a few apps for him. This one ([url= http://www.knightarmco.com/bulletflight/ ]http://www.knightarmco.com/bulletflight/[/url]) might come in handy and apparently the US troops already use it.
Don't worry about sunnies, the issue ones are half decent, but decent sunscreen and a leatherman would be top of my list.