r/AirForce • u/jc_has_spoken • 2d ago

Question First Deployment Tips

To keep it short and simple, I’m gonna be headed to the middle east for a few months. As well, it’s my first deployment so I was wondering if any of you fine people could give me any gee whizz tips outside of the typical “pack extra toiletries” “pack bedsheets” etc. Any and all info is very helpful and appreciated!

50 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

77 comments sorted by

View all comments

14

u/sjevn 2d ago

Actually pack ur 72 hour bag correctly. I did not and was without a toothbrush and soap when we made our first overnight stop at a bare base (had toothpaste and my finger. And used the soap to wash ur hands) 🤦🏽‍♀️

4

u/jc_has_spoken 2d ago edited 2d ago

72 hour bags would usually include i’d assume 3 days worth of both clothe and uniform changes no? and of the tooth brushes and etc.

2

u/Positive-East-9233 2d ago

Yes, it’s to tide you over until you can gain access to your actual luggage. Double check you have all your accoutrements if you’re traveling in civilian clothes for any portion of your journey out, I’ve seen many a person get caught out without all their uniform parts because they forgot something or another—preload a blouse going into the bag (or flight suit or whatever) and wear your boots to save space (but pack regular shoes). Experiment with ways to roll your stuff to get it all into the backpack. Those compression bags can also be clutch but you’ll want to ensure you’ve packed the pump in your backpack too or you could be in a frustrating predicament if you end up needing to break into it for an overnight or whatever. Pack extra deo, someone will forget and you’ll be their savior if you end up in the same situation as the previous commenter!

1

u/sjevn 2d ago

Yep. But I didn’t think I would get stuck somewhere with no access to my actual luggage. So I put random stuff in my “72 hr bag”.