Must hame items on the front!

[Guest_ikonboard]

Unlike the networks telling you that the warriors want letters from home and junk food and shit like that , this is really whats on there minds!!!

 

 

3rd Platoon Outlines its Top 20 Must Haves

by Sgt. Clinton Firstbrook

Marine Corps News

November 30, 2004

 

FALLUJAH, Iraq - After coming out of a combat zone, many Marines commented on

the items they're glad they brought with them.

 

The following list includes 20 "must have" items of Marines from 3rd Platoon

Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment during Operation Al Fajr:

 

1. Advanced combat optical gun sight/Binoculars: "When you're on post, you

can tell what individuals walking down the street (blocks away) are carrying,"

said Cpl. Michael Fredtkou, a M-203 gunner. "The enemy doesn't expect you to

see them that far away."

 

2. Energy bars: "They're lightweight, easy to get to," said Staff Sgt. Luis

Lopez, 3rd platoon sergeant. "Plus they're not as bulky as MREs."

(meals-ready-to-eat)

 

3. Kevlar cushions: "The old padding gives you a headache after wearing it

for a few hours," said 1st Lt. Travis Fuller, 3rd platoon commander. "After a

few minutes with the cushions on, you can't even tell it's there."

 

 

 

 

 

4. Elbow/Knee pads: "If it wouldn't be for these things, my knees would be

completely cut up by now," said Lance Cpl. Tim Riffe, a machine gunner. "You can

only take so much jumping into a defensive position without them."

 

5. Personal Role Radio: "Communication has been a huge key in our

operations," said Cpl. Tyrone Wilson, 2nd squad leader. "When my squad was across the

street in a defensive position, the platoon was able to let me know insurgents

were in the building next to us. Who knows what would've happened if they

couldn't contact me."

 

6. Global Positioning System: "I'm able to pinpoint our location within 10

meters when calling in position reports and medevacs," said Lance Cpl. William

Woolley, a radio operator. "We'll never get lost as long as we have it."

 

7. Extra socks: "My feet are nice and dry right now," said Lance Cpl. Kaleb

Welch, a squad automatic weapon (SAW) gunner. "I've gone without changing my

socks before on three to four day training exercises and I always regretted it

later."

 

8. Gloves: "They're clutch because when you're climbing over a wall you don't

have to worry about broken glass cutting your hands," said Cpl. Gabriel

Trull, 1st squad leader. "You also don't burn your hands when changing 240 golf

barrels."

 

9. Baby wipes: "It's a multi-use piece of gear," said Petty Officer 3rd Class

Irving Ochoa, a Navy Corpsman. You don't have much time out here for personal

hygiene, so it's the best alternative."

 

10. Three-point sling: "When you're jumping over rooftops you don't want to

worry about dropping your weapon," said Cpl. Dave Willis, 3rd squad leader. "At

any time you can just reach down and grab it."

 

11. Alice/Day pack: "Without these I don't know how I'd carry all of my

gear," said Lance Cpl. Geoffery Bivins, a SAW gunner. "It displaces all of the

weight around my body, so I'm not uncomfortable. When you're running with 100 lbs.

on your back, that's important."

 

12. Night Vision Goggles: "Wearing these at night gives you the advantage

over the enemy," said Lance Cpl. Marquirez Chavery, a combat engineer. "When

you're on a rooftop at night you can see everything."

 

13. Personal hydration system: "Water is one of the things you always need to

make sure you have," said Seaman Hugo Lara, a Navy corpsman. "Instead of

struggling to get your canteens out, the cord is there within your reach. Plus it

holds more water as well."

 

14. Watch with compass: "You get calls where you have to lay down suppressing

fire in a certain direction and instead of wasting time to ask which way is

north or south, you can just look at your wrist," said Lance Cpl. Lonny Kelly,

a machine gunner. "Knowing the time is important because everyone pulls shifts

for guard duty or standing post. How would you know when your shift starts or

stops without one?"

 

15. AA batteries: "You use them for your NVGs and handheld radios; both which

contribute to more effective fighting," said Cpl. Bryan Morales, 1st squad

1st fire team, team leader. "You wouldn't want either of those items dying on

you, so having a spare set of batteries around is very important."

 

16. Poncho/poncho liner: "The temperature at night is extremely different

during the day," said Lance Cpl. Jonathan Etterling, machine gun team leader. "If

you don't have some sort of protection at night, you end up freezing because

you're cammies are still damp from sweating during the day."

 

17. Ballistic goggles: "I was the A-driver one of our convoys and we got hit

by an IED (improvised explosive device)," said Lance Cpl. Anthony Johnson, an

assaultman. "Shrapnel bounced off of my glasses, saving my vision."

 

18. Multi-purpose portable tool kit: "It's like carrying a combat knife,

hammer and screwdriver in one hand," said Lance Cpl. Evan Fernandez, an

assaultman. Cutting open MREs, cleaning your weapon, tightening screws on your gear; it

has a thousand uses."

 

19. Carabineers: "Anything that you might have to grab at a moments notice,

you don't want to be digging through your pockets to try and find it," said

Pfc. Jason Kurtz, a SAW gunner. "With these you can attach anything to your flak

and have right at your fingertips."

 

20. High powered flashlight: "It does wonders," said Cpl. Chris Williams, 2nd

squad 1st fire team leader. "After you throw a fragmentation grenade into a

room it's difficult to see because of all the dust floating around. No one can

hide from them."

[fungus]

You know...its hard to believe that they don't already have that shit issued to them...so many of those items are no brainers.....

ACOG sights aren't just for special forces...

elbow / knee pads...aren't just for the DEA, or FBI either

personal raidos for intra squad commo....makes sense to me

gps...have to haves.....

gloves...they issue you those no matter where yo go...part of being deployed is knowing what out of all the shit they issue you to pack...some of it is shit, and can always be left behind...did so myself kin korea....not during war, but did spend several days in DMZ on patrol...months actually. Socks...up to you to bring em. They issue you several pair...went 22 days out of 45 in the field in korea in the same clothes...we ony got one bath in 45 days in the woods. I could go on and on...knowing what to pack will make or break you...period......and I'd take a cold MRE over that shit food they deliver in mermite cans any day.....they made me eat one time, because the first sargeant hadn't seen me in a week, and was worried...I brought my own damn food, and it was much better than what they brought out to us.....not to mention what you could get from some Korean mamasan who would trade you real food for what they gave you.....