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72 hour pack

Started by starbase OK cadet, October 31, 2009, 03:13:03 AM

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starbase OK cadet

have a question last meating our flight commander said we needed our 24 hour kit for nexst meating i got that together so i was thinking i should get my 72 hour kit but what goes in it ??? plz help

Eclipse


"That Others May Zoom"


Rodriguez

Out of curiosity, what is he planning on doing? Teaching a gear class?
-C/Capt. Rodriguez, Ranger Staff, 11B Infantryman 53rd Brigade Combat Team FLARNG

IceNine

"Marching up and down the square"

Unless of course you don't want to. ;)
"All of the true things that I am about to tell you are shameless lies"

Book of Bokonon
Chapter 4

Eclipse

#5
The single biggest inertia and point of fail I've seen in getting GT's ramped up is the "gear meeting".

You generally need to accept that this is going to take at least two meetings, and should probably not be done in the field.

The first meeting should involve a bag-dump from an experienced ground team member with a short discussion on each item and tips and hints for same.

The next one(s) should be the trainee bag-dumping for the tasking.

I've seen too many instances where an SET signs off a group of new GT-T's for gear based on a discussion or demonstration without ever having the trainee dump their bag.  I'm all for expediency, and there's plenty of items that can be handled as discussion-only (i.e. stay away form the dogs, etc.), but gear is a potential life-safety issue for the member and our customers, so a working knowledge of it needs to be demonstrated, not just discussed.  Any team member missing required equipment becomes a liability, and frankly a PITA in field ops (...nothing more fun than passing around a compass or a pencil all day, and no, you can't use my whistle, and yes, you should have brought your own lunch, etc.)

That doesn't mean that a unit can't have shared gear, or one member can't borrow another's equipment (either whole or in part).  When I do gear taskings I don't check nametags - I look for all the minimums and a basic understanding of the "why's".  If cadet 1 wants to borrow cadet 2's gear for the tasking, no problem, as long as they understand they both have to have everything when they want to play outside (or only one can go).

As a tip, unless money is no object for you, I would not fixate on the tactical-ness of the equipment.  Your local big-box (Walmart*, Target, Sportmart) will have just about everything you need to start off, and it won't break the bank. 

Assuming you enjoy ES and GT-type duties, you will learn what works, and what you prefer, and can upgrade slowly as your progress, without killing your wallet.

A tac-vest along can go $150 without trying, while the reality is that you can fit everything for the 24 in a school bag and your pockets.  In most CAP cases, a TAC vest is a big, bulky, cool-looking, over-kill waste of money.

(Though its can be quite amusing to see a cadet showing up with a plate-carrier vest, especially if it has a plate in it...)

"That Others May Zoom"

Майор Хаткевич

Quote from: Eclipse on November 02, 2009, 04:12:45 PM
(Though its can be quite amusing to see a cadet showing up with a plate-carrier vest, especially if it has a plate in it...)

I personally enjoy seeing Kevlar Helmets.  :D :D

RicL

#7
As a senior member that's currently outfitting cadets in a fairly new squadron for an upcoming SAREX I'll give a few pointers I've come across.

There will -always- be items that are hard to find locally. One good example is a decent signal mirror with sighting hole. I prefer, and instruct, the use of the typical thick double layer glass military style sighting mirror but they're hard to come by unless you constantly troll your military surplus stores. Locally, even with being at Fort Drum, NY I usually find perhaps one a month at the surplus store.

If you have a member that's proficient at finding stuff at a reasonable price online and has a little spare cash why not have him buy 4-6 each of the hard to find items and make them available to your squadron members at cost? That's what I've started doing. With the above mirrors as an example, I picked up six brand new actual military issue signal mirrors for $26.80 shipped. That's $4.46/each for brand new ones that are durable enough to last a lifetime.

Same with things like band aids and first aid supplies. Don't go out and buy a pre-filled first aid kit, it's unlikely to meet the requirements. Have each cadet purchase a used empty first aid pouch for their load bearing gear along with one "box" of a particular item on the stocking list. The cadets then sit down and fill out their first aid kits by swapping what they need in theirs for the excess of the stuff they bought. (You bought a box of 48 band aids and only need 6, so ya swap 6 bandaids to the cadet that bought a box of roll gauze but only needs one)..

Pretty much everything on the 24 hour list can be fulfilled like this. I picked up the last 10 waterproof match cases at a local walmart tonight on clearance for $.50 a piece along with a bunch of cheap blaze orange boating rescue whistles.

Anyway, the easiest way to outfit a cadet with GT gear is to outfit multiple cadets and let them swap excess gear for what they need. It just makes sense to me.

As for what you use to carry your gear.. Yes I've seen cadets with plate carriers.. I also try to steer them away from them because they rarely fit properly and are a bit over the top. Take a look at your next SAREX and see what the members with real ground experience choose to use, there's usually a reason. Whatever you choose to use, make sure you use it properly  (straps adjusted properly for weight distribution) and make sure it's appropriate for all the weather environments that apply to your locale. (You don't want to find out at a winter ground mission that your gear doesn't fit over bulky winter clothing.. I've seen it)

Ric

321EOD

Quote from: Eclipse on November 02, 2009, 04:12:45 PM
The single biggest inertia and point of fail I've seen in getting GT's ramped up is the "gear meeting".

You generally need to accept that this is going to take at least two meetings, and should probably not be done in the field.

As a tip, unless money is no object for you, I would not fixate on the tactical-ness of the equipment.  Your local big-box (Walmart*, Target, Sportmart) will have just about everything you need to start off, and it won't break the bank. 

Assuming you enjoy ES and GT-type duties, you will learn what works, and what you prefer, and can upgrade slowly as your progress, without killing your wallet.

A tac-vest along can go $150 without trying, while the reality is that you can fit everything for the 24 in a school bag and your pockets.  In most CAP cases, a TAC vest is a big, bulky, cool-looking, over-kill waste of money.

(Though its can be quite amusing to see a cadet showing up with a plate-carrier vest, especially if it has a plate in it...)

VERY sound advice! - perhaps a seperate post....

"the strangest/funniest/scariest things you've found during a cadet pack check......." ;-)
Steve Schneider, Maj, CAP
Deputy Commander for Cadets (Retd!)
Thompson Valley Composite Squadron (CO-147)