Patrol Basics: How to Pack for a Patrol

For socks, consider keeping a heavy duty ziploc with some foot powder inside. When you change your socks let the old ones air/sun dry and then throw them in the ziploc, with the powder they feel almost brand new when you need to change socks again.

Adam has a uncanny way of teaching tons of material in a funny and engaging way. Thanks for this video, guys.

A sterile toothbrush is still good to bring, even for 48 hours. No toothpaste, just a basic brush. Source: deploying for a year at a time and those “48 hour patrols” add up when they’re virtually back to back. The enamel damage accumulates, even if you’re brushing between patrols. Even if you’re only patrolling 15 days out of 30, that could still be an accumulated total of 6 months of unbrushed tooth damage. Mouth health is important.

"bladders just burst." As the father of small children, I can attest to the truth of this statement.

When I first entered the Army, 1991, we were still training to fight the USSR and Warsaw Pact countries. A lot of my experience with Infantry tactics comes from that time frame, and being 11C, or a mortarman. Knowing that we would be moving around the battlefield A LOT, we always planned on longer missions and we didnt expect a FOB to come back to. We would set up patrol bases, at the company level, then push out patrols from there. We would move to a designated LZ, set up a perimeter and wait for the resupply chopper. After resupply, you moved out to continue your mission. If/when the US military gets involved in Ukraine, I think we will be moving back to the old style of operations, always on the move. Having said all of that, you can patrol with a really heavy ruck. The reason most people who have been in the modern military says you dont, is because the types of war we have been fighting for the last few decades involves operating out of a forward base of some kind. We used to joke about all the heavy equipment, being light infantry, which really isnt light at all. The joke was "Too light to fight, too heavy to run". I was in 1/9Inf Manchu with 7th ID until it was disbanded in the mid 90s.

A trick you can do to make small assault packs more comfortable and stable is to put a thin plastic cutting board in the hydration pocket. Only costs a few dollars and you can cut it to fit the bag.

Man, just the intro took me back into my feels remembering countless rucks in garrison and foot patrols in Iraq. Even after all this time I still look for new input and try different loadouts in all four of my packs because one should never stop refining. Thank you for sharing this info and your knowledge!

Deet is the active ingredient in bug spray. It's a solvent so it can damage plastics and some synthetic fabrics. Repellents can have deet levels up to 99% so just make sure you know what you got. More deet just means that you'll be protected longer, not that it's more effective. If you want something for clothing, products containing permethrin are a great option. I've found combining a clothing treatment with deet on the skin to be extremely effective. Especially in areas with lots of ticks and chiggers.

Small info correction: the wind-shirt in the ECWCS is the Level 4, not the Level 5: - Lvl 1: Silk top/bottom - Lvl 2: Waffle top/bottom - Lvl 3: Fleece top (also called the Air Force top) - Lvl 4: Windbreaker shell top - Lvl 5: Cold weather shell top/bottom - Lvl 6: Wet weather top/bottom - Lvl 7: Extreme cold weather top/bottom Lvl 5 top is the standard uniform top during winter months in Alaska (October - April) with a beanie and gloves. Source: Airborne infantryman stationed at JBER for the last 4 years. Love Spiritus' content. Best there is.

Sea to Summit makes so much good gear that's light and super compact. Their bag liners are so good

Don’t buy the plastic camp spoons. I’ve broken three of them. Just pony up the 25 bucks for the LONG titanium spork.

0311, Loved the job!! Everything about Infantry, even the bad weather!! The BS back in garrison is what pushed me out!!

Hand sanitiser and spare underwear is awesome as well. Other than that very well thought out. I usually keep the booboo kit with painkillers and bandages on my kit installed of the pack. Also there can never bee too much tape, shits essential and 8 times out of ten you’re the only one who brought it. My pack of choice is Savotta Jääkäri L + Savotta sidepouches and Savotta Hatka 12l extension. The combo scales up and down as much as you need. Awesome breakdown guys.

Im happy he talked about the fact RO's have to carry a lot of batteries. Always hated having to carry those things.

The Kelty raven 2500 pack has been my go to pack for 7 years. It’s been used in extreme arctic and desert conditions and still works like it’s new. Highly recommend this pack to everyone from soldiers to generalized prep-pers.

I literally got an ALICE pack today for a steal on Facebook marketplace. This video was an awesome reminder of what’s needed

Sun bum sticks are awesome! And people forget you need them in the winter too!

keep walking...

There are really good bags made to wear with armour. Many have good systems to get the bag off quickly so the hip belt can be used correctly to great effect. Your energy savings and joint wear are very important things to take into account. Injuries end missions fast.

I've been using 70% rubbing alcohol for yrs now as personal hygiene & germicidal body wash. Place squares of paper towels in a quart size freezer bag & soak 'em down. They work great after a bm also. It's alcohol, with all is usefulness. I've also used 90%, it doesn't burn (even there). I've put it directly on & in my eyes. It's how a bathe.