What personal kit do soldiers take to Afghanistan?

As any member of the Canadian Forces (CF) who has deployed will tell you, preparing for deployment is key to having a successful tour.

There are many things to remember when preparing for deployment to Afghanistan such as acquiring your many kit items ranging from badge identification to boot paste as well as making sure your personal affairs are in order.  When preparing items to take with you on your tour, experienced CF members offer a number of tips for what to bring.

"Have stuff to help you kick back and relax," says Mike Comeau, a 16-year member of the CF based at CFB Gagetown.

Comeau suggests bringing cards, books, pens with paper as well as an iPod or MP3 player.

"Anything that you think will help," he says.

Comeau says he has noticed an increasing number of CF members bringing electronics with them on tour, including laptops.

He encourages people to have a variety of stuff with them when they go to Afghanistan.

Lieutenant Indira Thackorie, Public Affairs Officer for the CF, agrees.

Thackorie says she made sure she had whatever she could take to make the tour enjoyable when she was in Afghanistan. This included a blow dryer, hangers, comfy shoes, a six-month supply of important items like shampoo as well as a folding laundry kit. She also took storage items such as a folding storage unit from IKEA.

"It takes little to no room," Thackorie says.

She says she also liked to have different holsters for different outfits.

Thackorie adds that she noticed personal items at the Kandahar Air Field such as air fresheners, mats to put next to cots and even Crocs.

"They were popular," she says of the Crocs.

With a laugh, Thackorie says some members even grew a small patch of grass after receiving seed and fertilizer from home in the mail. Many people also had colourful personal towels, she adds.

Thackorie says common things other CF members who have served in Afghanistan told her they brought included music, pillows and pictures.

"Photos are a big thing," she emphasizes.

Thackorie says one person even had a maple leaf blanket while another person said he couldn't leave home without his iPod.

She says it is good to have a piece of home away from home.

Mark Wheeler, President of CPGear and a former CF member, says CPGear is responding to the needs of CF members as they prepare to deploy.

"We are responding by having desert boots in stock," Wheeler says. "Bates Boots seem to be the most popular and we are stocking up on these. The other things we are doing is making sure we have a lot of our products available in Cadpat arid colour. Pretty much our entire line of products is available in desert colours formally known as Cadpat Arid Region. We also carry quite an assortment of pouches and add-on options for the Canadian Forces Tac Vest,"

He adds that one of the best non tactical fun products CPGear offers is a Cadpat arid baseball cap that can be customized with any text a CF member would want such as Infantry, Artillery, Canuck and so on.

You can view the entire stock by logging onto to www.cpgear.com


Mark Taylor for CPGear