(Part 2) Best products from r/Military

It's a collection of anecdotes from an arms developer. More than anything it gives an overview as to the mentality and function of American arms development, acquisition, and industry during the cold war.

It's a fairly thin book and in some ways it feels both a bit too dry, and a bit to light on information.
The author is happy to throw a big list of numbers in your face, but at the same time he omits big chunks of the story most readers would likely find interesting.

I don't think it's a bad book, I enjoyed it. But you should know what kind of a book it is before you buy it. I get a feeling that a lot of buyers had an inaccurate understanding of what kind of a book they were purchasing and ended up disappointed.

Edit: One book I can however thoroughly recommend if you haven't read it is this. It's a great book full of knowledge that anyone interested in firearms (particularly military firearms) will find of great interest. I think the copyright on this book has long since expired so you can find free ebook versions of it online.

Here are some of the better things I"ve seen:

• Creative food stuff. Like I used to get sent chicken in a bag, old el paso tortillas, seasonings and some other stuff to make chicken tacos. Even the good food doesn't have much spice and some days, you just want to hang out in your hut and not go to the chow hall/tent.
  
  
• I will assume he has access to internet, if that's the case Amazon and iTunes gift certificates let people download and watch shows that they are into that are out right now.
  
  
• Homemade cookies and stuff are always good, just make sure you box them up well. Find out how long it takes for him to get mail. Sometimes it's only like 2 weeks. Other times it's more like 2 months.
  
  
• Tobacco is very valuable. It's basically like you think of cigarettes in prison. It's hard to come by and people will trade for it.
  
  
• Spices and Sauces to jazz up boring food.
  
  
• ODA tends to shoot all the time so something like this:
  http://www.amazon.com/Birchwood-Casey-Battle-Target-Pack/dp/B006ESIUHM
  
  might actually go over pretty well and make a day at the range more fun.

A miniature sewing kit. When you’re running missions outside, clothes tend to get ripped, and with only limited numbers, life can get rough. A sewing kit helps.
Spirarcha chili sauce. If your soldier likes spicy foods, send them this. It’s spicy, it has flavor, and it will last them a few months.

Socks and underwear. Send them hiking socks and replacement pairs of underwear. Clothes tend to get gross and if they don’t have laundry, sometimes it is for the best to toss out old underclothes and wear new ones.

Beef jerky.

Trail mix of various types.

Great ideas for one-time gifts. These range from relatively cheap, to pricy and are a great surprise to a soldier stationed anywhere. I’ve included links to the products to give you an idea of what they look like, though don’t take those links as the only/cheapest place to find them:

Adjustable two-point sling. On base they have to carry around a weapon everywhere, and on mission they’ll be going some serious distance with it in their hands. If they are still using an Army-issue plain sling life is going to get a bit annoying. An adjustable two-point sling makes things more convenient and lets them ready a weapon to fire without an awkward movement on a mission. Ignore this if they are using a machine-gun, because those use heavy duty slings. Various companies make these, I prefer the VTAC, but they are all similar in make.

Surefire Earplugs. On mission, soldiers are supposed to wear earplugs, but many don’t because its uncomfortable and often all they are issued are cheap low qualifty plugs. Surefire earplugs conform to the shape of the ear and they are designed to allow someone to still be able to hear conversation level noise while protecting from high level noise. These are great.

Head-Loc helmet straps. One of the greatest pains is a helmet that won’t stay secure. The Head-Loc straps stay tighter and make the helmet so comfortable that you forget you’re wearing it.

PMAGs. Magpul plastic magazines, or PMAGs are high quality replacements for metal GI magazines. Army issued metal magazines are often used for years past the date that they should be retired and they are prone to feeding issues (I won’t get into the details) and PMAGs fix many of those issues and give a soldier more confidence in their equipment. A combat load is 7 magazines, so don’t feel the need to buy more than that, and even one or two PMAGs is greatly appreciated. Ignore if they are using a machinegun.

Head-lamp. Walking around an outpost at night is tricky and Afghanistan can get dark, a head-lamp is a great help to keep your soldier from stubbing their toe or walking into barbed wire. Get only with some kind of red or blue light filter.

Mechanix gloves. Soldiers need to wear gloves on mission and they tend to get torn up, a replacement pair of mechanixs gloves is a good choice.

I will try not to duplicate any answers but there is lots of info here.

• Tough box with wheels
  
• personal laptop/netbook.
  
• iPod touch is great for music, games, books and wifi where you can get it.
  
• Xbox/mini TV depending on where you will be most of the time
  
• Civilian clothes. You do get to wear them sometimes and you don;t wanna be stuck without them.
  
• Bugout bag. A nice big bag that you can throw on your back real quick.
  
• 5/50 cord and duct tape.
  
  I would bring small bottles of hygeine products.. you will get 1000 care packages stuff with that crap.. no need to waste the money or space.
  
  bring your sleeping bag everywhere.. you never know when you wont have a bed or sheets.
  
  80% of the cold weather gear is useless.. especially the further south you get.
  
  Others have talked about the starcard. I say bring one to be safe but I was either at a place where the Exchange let you use a CC or it was an Afghan run mini mart that accepted Credit card or American cash. I never once used my starcard..
  
  My main thing was I didn't bring enough entertainment.. When I was busy entertainment was the furthest thing from my mind... But when it was dead... I thought I was gonna go insane with the lack of shit to do.
  
  Good luck. but most of all have fun.. Seriously. It's a great experience and you will meet some of the best people over there. I have been begging to go back since I got home in Feb.

Can you provide me with evidence backing up your facts that Wright, Bowden, and Coll are propaganda writers? In fact, have you even seen their other works? They are quite critical of foreign policy; Bowden spoke out against the use of torture against suspected terrorist and detainees at Gitmo and elsewhere; Wright’s sequel book The Terror Years makes it abundantly clear he is not a hawk nor a supporter of America’s war on terrorism. Coll’s Directorate S and his book The Bin Ladens (as well as Ghost Wars) all point to him not being in favor of the Iraq War nor the War in Afghanistan. To just dismiss all those texts which were deeply researched and studied with a wave of the hand, shows a lot about yourself and how you decide which facts to take as truth and which ones to discard.

Now, let me take your first comment into analysis; you mention Bin Laden being wealthy and he was, the son of a Saudi billionaire with ties to the King. It’s also true that the CIA did aid the Mujahideen in the Soviet-Afghan War from 1979-89. However, there has been zero evidence of the CIA actively giving cash to Bin Laden; they gave cash to his associates Jalaluddin Haqqani and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar as well as countless other leaders of the movement. But it is also important to point out that, in Hekmatyar’s case, the CIA first gave the money to the Pakistani ISI which then distributed the money as it saw fit, without Agency intervention. This was the primary way the Agency chose to distribute resources to the Mujahideen, not in a direct, boots on the ground way (Conflict in Afghanistan: Studies in Asymmetric Warfare by Sir Martin Ewans, p. 128). It’s doubly important too to mention that most of Bin Laden’s operations were self-financed, from the coffers of his own pocket (the inheritance left to him after his father’s death) and, due to the anti-American sentiment he had since he was a boy, he would never have accepted money from American backers.

Also, are you serious? The Iraq War was literally anything BUT planned. I could refer to literally tens of books from Tom Ricks’ Fiasco and The Gamble, Michael Gordon and Bernard Trainor’s Cobra II and Endgame, John Keegan’s The Iraq War and you’ll blatantly see that, after the first 100 days (and that’s being generous), the U.S. had no idea what the hell to do with Iraq. The same goes for Afghanistan.

Secondly, just stating a broad statement of “They let 9/11 happen on purpose” needs a source. Find me concrete, clear evidence of someone in USG admitting they planned and were involved in 9/11. It’s been eighteen years since the attack and there has not been a defector from the Bush Administration, the CIA, the FBI, nor any foreign/domestic intelligence, law enforcement, or governmental agency I am aware of that has put forth this credible information of 9/11 being a LIHOP. At the best, you can say that a massive intelligence failure due to a lack of cooperation by the FBI and CIA and other intelligence/law enforcement agencies resulted in 9/11 occurring.

As well, what books did Bin Laden write? In my own research, I can’t find any books he himself wrote and were published under his name in a West or non-Western country. I’ve found collections of public statements that were collected and interpreted into English, but no books he himself wrote and published. So, any links to those?

Also, both your comments have zero citations or any other links to your claims. You’re purely just throwing out statements with nothing to back any of what you’re saying and expecting us to say “yep, that’s true”. You say these are facts; well provide us with them, provide us with the reasoning behind your argument.

EDIT: If you posted a response to this with a source, I am unable to see it for some reason, reddit is shitting the bed

EDIT 2: This was the guy's response to me I was able to find on his profile (utilizing my desktop, not app);

You're so brainwashed by the government's propaganda. Please read https://www.amazon.com/11-Synthetic-Terror-Made-USA/dp/1615771115
I also recommend https://www.amazon.com/Obama-Postmodern-Webster-Griffin-Tarpley/dp/0930852893/ref=sr_1_20?keywords=webster+tarpley&qid=1569079936&s=books&sr=1-20
And perhaps if you like his biography of Bush and the Bush crime family.
OBL was clearly a CIA agent nobody gives money to important militants directly because it'll create an easily traceable papertrail. The media would've too easily found out.
Read 9/11 synthetic terror or watch Dr. Tarpley's videos about 9/11 on youtube.
I also recommend his work on Obama. They're all part of the same oligarchy.

Now, in response to that, both works are written by a man named Webster Tarpley, a very active member of the 9/11 truth movement who believes that 9/11 was a false flag operation. I'd recommend this debate here; the moderator even notes that Tarpley's presentation was as, "involuted as it was long winded" (https://www.c-span.org/video/?305586-1/911-false-flags-black-ops-evening-debate-). Furthermore, the publishing house which published those materials also seems to very much be built upon conspiracy theory and pseudoscience, even claiming Mitt Romney is trying to "Mormonize" America along with bringing in the Druids and Illuminati into the mix. As well, you have yet to prove that the sources I cite (Peter Bergen, Lawrence Wright, Steve Coll, John Keegan) are pro-government, pro-West authors who are involved in some conspiracy to support post-9/11 military action (despite their books chronicling the poor decisions of the military and government and making note of the failures rather than successes).

Furthermore, you mention the Bush family as a crime family. I am guessing you are mentioning Tarpley's book, not Roger Stone's, though I'd imagine both come to the same conclusion, that the Bush family is outright corrupt, being engaged in drug trafficking and proxy wars and overall utilizing the office for their own devious means...like the majority of presidents throughout history have (not the drug trafficking or proxy wars necessarily, more the utilizing office for personal gain).

"OBL was clearly a CIA agent..." Okay, find me the CIA document that proves that. Find me the document from the State Department, FBI, any domestic/foreign intelligence/law enforcement/diplomatic agency that relies on solid, unquestionable, intelligence that gives me that information. Once again, a bold statement that we must accept purely on your word or the word of other questionable persons.

As for the easily traceable paper trail, you're giving the CIA way too much credit; go and read Legacy of Ashes by Tim Weiner, Ghosts of Langley by John Prados, or The Very Best Men by Evan Thomas or, even better, The Brilliant Disaster by Jim Rasenberger and you'll see quite clearly that the Agency has more failures than successes in keeping secrets.

Wow thanks, this clears up what I was asking exactly. Also makes me realize why it's such a hard question to answer. I didn't know there was a difference between competition and bid- that really clarifies a lot. Also, so simple about the headline wording. I just have totally been misreading that, thank you.

I bet you've learned this from professional experience in the military, but could you recommend a good book that covers this stuff for a newbie who wants to learn more? From the bottom up- assuming no knowledge (a layperson's book).

From googling and looking on Amazon, I found these three I'm thinking about getting (below). They all have ideological perspectives, but different ones so I thought it would be a good overview without being too skewed. But if I could find one book instead of three that would be better. :)

https://www.amazon.com/Lobbying-Defense-Insiders-Matthew-Kambrod/dp/1591144256/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1525898006&sr=8-12&keywords=military+industry+contracts

https://www.amazon.com/Americas-War-Machine-Interests-Conflicts/dp/1250069777/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1525897967&sr=8-1&keywords=military+industrial+complex

https://www.amazon.com/Prophets-War-Lockheed-Military-Industrial-Complex/dp/1568586973/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1525897967&sr=8-3&keywords=military+industrial+complex

It depends on if your "ethic" prohibits being part of something that's main purpose is violence. We do a lot of other things, but the military exists for war. If you can accept that basic premise, then there is a good chance your values will have a place in the military. The military will shape, change, and otherwise inform your existing value set, and you may have to compromise some of them. For instance, if you're an atheist, you might find yourself biting your tongue out of respect and tolerance for some of your fellow soldiers more extreme religious beliefs.

Further, there is a military ethic, largely based in stoicism, and value system that you must adopt in order to serve. Loyalty. Obedience. Selfless Service. Sacrifice. Loss of individuality. Loss of innocence. Pain. Suffering. Those are all on the menu when it comes to military service. Oh, and if you're smart and enlist, get used to the idea of being treated like an dumb ass depending on what MOS you pick. Mowing the grass in the motor pool doesn't take ethical model nor does surviving a firefight. There is a large body of work on military ethics, just war theory, and ethical military decision making. The military teaches its leaders to make ethical decisions, and the more senior you get, the more time you spend studying the issue.

Now, I'm no expert in this field, but I think you're conflating ethics with morals and values. Kant argued that the desired effect of an action not the results of an action was what made it ethical or not. So take an issue like the death penalty. I oppose it on moral grounds, but you can make a solid Kantian case in favor of it. The same goes for war. Organized violence in service of political aims, i.e. war, contains a host of morally repugnant acts, but it, based on the Kant's ideals, is can be ethical if it serves a higher purpose. You can see what a philosophical quagmire you can find yourself in when you start thinking about this. So, make sure you aren't confused with what you are asking.

Here's the thing though...your parents? I say this as a fairly liberal minded person. Their values sound really out of line with anything mainstream. You might be in a for a bit of a culture shock if you join. The world is not the liberal, vegan, free-range paradise that I infer your parents raised you in. Life isn't a Subaru with a bunch of "Coexist" and "Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History" stickers. Military life is a rough business filled with rough people doing rough work that is often in service of what can be considered morally ambiguous goals. It recently came out that the CIA is leaving bags of cash in President Karzai's office in order to buy his continued "loyalty" in the war in Afghanistan. Moral? No. Ethical? Certainly under Kant's model and some others like utilitarianism.

Or take for instance fighting piracy in the Gulf of Aden. Wouldn't it be more moral for the US to engage in a long-term development strategy in Somalia in order to mitigate the economic conditions. Maybe. But, killing a few now and again so we avoid getting sucked into another Black Hawk Down certainly seems like a decent ethical trade off. So if you don't mind offing a few pirates so that trade can flow unimpeded through the global commons, then your ethics will be fine if you join the military.

Oh, and your parents will get over it unless they are really, really self absorbed.

I picked up a study guide from the store, but I grabbed this one. I doubt it really matters. As long as you have a pretty solid math/english foundation, you'll be fine. You probably just need to brush up on some formulas. Personally, I just used it for the non-AFQT sections (electronics, etc.)

I figure studying was worth it. Even without studying, I would have scored high enough to qualify for everything just the same; it was just a point of doing the best I could. Good luck.

I wasn't on Reddit back then, but enjoyed reading your update today. I'm an American Finn and not particularly religious, but I find some of that old Nordic stuff really appealing, too. I guess you can say we are not religious, but we are somewhat spiritual.

I'm glad you are far better than 3 years ago, and people on Reddit helped you in your time of need.

I'm sorry one factor that has not improved as much as you wanted is your relationship. Not sure if this would help, but the dude who wrote that "Five Love Languages" book came out with a military edition. I will try to post the Amazon link here. I hope it functions:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01LRGTYIO/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510117170&sr=8-1-spons&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=five+love+languages+gary+chapman

The 106th honestly probably has more maritime rescues than any USAF rescue unit. They've done this dozens and dozens of times. They're the unit that did the rescue in 'The Perfect Storm'. For a good book chock full of stories like this (mostly from the 80's/90's as I remember), check out 'That Others May Live' by Jack Brehm.

I enjoyed Fog of War which covers Robert McNamara's thoughts on WW2 and especially Vietnam when he was Sec. of Defense.

CBS did a series of videos featuring Walter Cronkite that went over the network's coverage of the war that I also thought were good.

Hearts and Minds is an interesting one, but emotionally draining. I believe it won best documentary in the Academy awards the year it was released.

Get him a few of those write in the rain notebooks. you can probably get them cheaper from somewhere. They may give these out for free now, but I had to buy them when I was in. I have like 5 filled with all sorts of notes and useful shit. Also a decent watch that allows multiple time zones and has a decent count-down timer.

EDIT: One of these would also be useful too.

Another EDIT: This is all stuff I found useful. I was in the Marines back in 04-07, so we had to buy a lot of stuff ourselves. He may get these issued, but it's always good to have extra gear. Saw pouch For saw ammo, but also a good general purpose pouch that can be attached to a pack for extra storage.

Waterproofing bags Was issued one, but bought a few extras. Good for organizing stuff in a ruck.

Other small shit I always found myself buying (Stocking stuffers) AA batteries, 550 cord, duct tape, electric tape, zip ties, map pens, regular pens, new socks, tobacco products.

The List:

• Tobacco - Even if they don't use them they are great for trading.
  
• Beef Jerky
  
• Hard Candy
  
• Wipes
  
• DVDs
  
• Foot Powder
  
• Black Cotton Socks - NOT DRESS ONES! (Or even better black tops with white bottoms)
  
• Cheap Sun Glasses (Depending on where they are)
  
• Magazines
  
• Newspapers from their hometown
  
• Portable DvD players
  
• Combs
  
• Razors
  
• Gatorade
  
• Coffee (Military Coffee is bleh)
  
• Board Games (Not 2 player ones please allow for 4 or more.)
  
• CamelBaks
  
• Anything else you may find entertaining or useful.