At least it's not a national disaster area this time........
Published on January 9, 2006 By Spc Nobody Special In Humor
Another damned packing list. Let's see, two murderers, two commiters of fornication, two pagans condemned to limbo..........

Too much dante?

I'm getting ready to go back to AIT again, and after a great deal of waffling, MEPS decided I would not be driving, but would in fact be flying. Therefore I get to pack one duffel bag, and a very small carry-on. Woot.

Doing the prior service thing, so I should get to wear civies some, and get a reissue of all my army gear, but I don't trust it, and don't know how long it'll take, so I've got some uniforms going too. More goodies will follow in the mail, but this is it for now.

2 pr combat boots
1 pr dress shoes
2 pr running shoes. (my sauconys and my brooks, sorry mizuno.)
1 set patent leather shoes
6 pair black socks
12 plus pair white socks
2 berets
All available rank and insignia
1 BDU type elastic sorta belt.
1 dress belt
1 of each field cap
1 pair poly pros. (I can't find the other top to my second pair. Or my watchcap.)
All PTs.
2 pr BDUS, maybe 3 room permitting.
2 white Tshirts
6 pr brown Tshirts
All available boxer briefs. On the pain of an article 15, I refuse to wear the brown "tighty" fruit of the looms.
Class A's (all of that stuff actually, why not? It already's been tailored and set up?)
Dress gloves
Glove liners (but not my work gloves, can't find them either. Maybe I burned them up in celebration of my ETS?)
1 Army type laundry bag
1 Balaclava
1 PT vest
Duffel Bag
Carryon bag
1 Field Jacket (Virginia's cold! And I'm not waiting for the stinkin' Goretex.)
2 Neck Gaiters

Then my civies stuff

2 jackets
Old unit hat
4 prs jeans
Assorted shirts
The shoes and belt I have on right now.
At least one full dress outfit, probably my suit.
All my running clothes, and maybe a pair or two of sweats. (these actually take almost no space up, since they're made of that microfiber crap.
Any other snivel gear, maybe just some normal gloves, non-army, so they'll actually keep your hands warm.
A pair of sheets and a "mink" blanket if they'll fit. If not, this is the first thing in the mail from home. Army wool blankets suck, and the wool bits always get in my contacts. I'd take a woobie if I still had that. Gotta love woobies.
A towel. A good towel, which means not army. Although army towels are great as a surface protector for boot polishing.
Swim trunks. I really would love to do an Ironman in a year or so.

Then other assorted crap and toiletries. Pun intended. These will include alarm clock, army type coins, locks, my paperwork, boot polish (I don't think they have lincoln wax there, and kiwi sucks balls), flashlights, dogtags, glasses, contacts, contact solution, razor, shaving cream, toothbrush, toothpaste, and deoderant.

Plus the big aluminum fist (just the front really) that I did for my first sandcasting and my marathon medal. And something to read on the way. Never. Never. Never. Go anywhere in the Army without something to read.

And using revolutionary techniques only known to sherpas, and people stationed in korea that actually took everything they were supposed to on alerts, I will fit all of this into my duffel. Which I will need a sherpa to carry for me. Yar. I've had my breather, so once more into the britches...............

Comments
on Jan 09, 2006
One thing being in the military teaches you is how to pack tight!  Good luck!
on Jan 09, 2006
Balaclava


I love that word.
on Jan 09, 2006
One thing being in the military teaches you is how to pack tight!


Heh heh heh..........oh. Not quite tight enough in this case. I'm going short the sheets, my field jacket and a few t-shirts, but I was able to fit the frickin' clarinet case I forgot to allow for in the carry-on, so that evens out, right? Now go pay the water bill and get a couple of locks, and I'm all set.

God help the poor Homeland Security guy that opens my bag. Forget IEDs and that kind of excrementum. He'll get popped in the face with my tube socks, then he'll need two people just to get the duffel closed.

I love that word.


It holds a place in my heart next to mukluk, and hullaballoo. Did you ever hear the novelty "song" Bulbous Bouffant? You'd love it. I've got it somewhere on an old Dr. Demento album.
on Jan 09, 2006
When do you ship out? Are you gonna have to make a Army Store run?
on Jan 09, 2006
When do you ship out?


Take the shuttle up to Dallas tommorow night, catch four hours of sleep. (I swear they do that deliberately) Then off to MEPS at 4 in the morning. Weigh in, sign the contract and such, then catch a plane to Virginia out of DFW.

Are you gonna have to make a Army Store run?


Nowhere to put it. My bag is scary full. Like Korean alert full. If the nylon gives, they'll have to call in FEMA. I'll just have to make do for a few days 'til I can buy stuff or have Joy mail it to me. No biggie, I've got most of what I wanted to take to start out with except my field jacket, and maybe a few more civies.

The flannel sheets and the playstation darn well better be in the first care box though...........
on Jan 09, 2006

He'll get popped in the face with my tube socks, then he'll need two people just to get the duffel closed.

At least 2!

on Jan 09, 2006
He'll get popped in the face with my tube socks, then he'll need two people just to get the duffel closed.

At least 2!


One to sit on top of it, one to hold the contents in, and at least two more to muscle the flaps together and close the latch. Army ingenuity... another oxymoron.

How long is your band camp... I mean, AIT again?
on Jan 09, 2006
How long is your band camp... I mean, AIT again?


Bigger than a breadbox.......I don't know. Theoretically, if I get the whole thing, my class is supposed to graduate July 5th. First of all, I don't see this happening in the Army I know. They would never, never graduate after a long weekend if they could do it before. Second, they cut it short sometimes depending on prior experience, so I may not have to do the whole thing. I could be there a mere three or four months.

At least 2!


I'm thinking about putting a small lock through the top. I know you're not supposed to, but I've done it before, and it keeps your brown t-shirts or combat boots from "accidentaly" wandering off in this situation so that they can get it shut. I've gotten the impression that security actually trys to avoid opening military duffels wherever possible because they're such a pain in the rear.