tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575061201749703300.post1211136775525980027..comments2024-02-28T20:56:23.768-06:00Comments on Sipsey Street Irregulars: Living out of Your Ruck: What I took to the InvasionDutchman6http://www.blogger.com/profile/09935420042995679958noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575061201749703300.post-65955312558742046062016-05-01T09:14:54.314-05:002016-05-01T09:14:54.314-05:00Don't forget to bring a little Pogie Bait. Can...Don't forget to bring a little Pogie Bait. Candy,Slim Jims, similar things. One, it can help keep your morale up, and you can share it with a buddy to keep his morale up too. I carried a little battery powered FM/AM radio around in VN in the bush, and I seemed to get pretty good reception no matter where I was. With an earphone, you keep it quiet, and it helps keep you connected back with the World. Also, a good thing to share with a buddy, for the same purpose. For OPSEC, I always turned it all the way down when I was done listening to it, so that when I turned it on, if the jack wasn't all the way plugged in (I always checked, first) it wouldn't blast out in the quiet of the jungle, and give your position (or the platoons) away. You are right on the money about the socks, Matt. We wore them out pretty quick, and were always hunting for new ones. Turning your boots upside down at night (if you take them off, and oh brother did we need to!) on a stake or something will probably save you from critters getting into them at night. We didn't leave helmets on the ground at night for the same reason. I would add, to check very carefully before it is dark, how you arrange your sleeping spot, in regards to your perimeter, where the MGs are placed, and the nearest high speed avenue of approach. I always slept on my stomach (to prevent snoring) with an arm on my rifle, and all my equipment within an arms reach. Any tobacco that is wet and rubbed on your exposed flesh will keep the mosquitos away. Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18410045398729979497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575061201749703300.post-56148331151185458362016-05-01T01:00:07.162-05:002016-05-01T01:00:07.162-05:00lots of good suggestions in there, thanks. I might...lots of good suggestions in there, thanks. I might add from my Burning Man excursions and urban bivouacking trips:<br /><br />roasted coffee beans can be eaten directly, saving the bother of grinding them and boiling water. <br /><br />cheap, effective, and nasty-chemical-free baby wipes can be made with a cut-in-two roll of paper towels soaked in your own choice of mold-inhibiting solution. 50-50 vinegar and water is probably the cheapest but I haven't tried it yet. I have a small silicone bottle of Dr. Bronner's concentrated soap with me to add to it. don't know if that shows up on night vision or not; if not it can be used as laundry soap. it is my one universal wash-it-all. can't use much in a laundromat though, or it will bubble over onto the floor.<br /><br />tobacco grows wild in many parts of the world. I've tried tree tobacco leaves, Nicotania glauca, in the Baja desert, in a corncob pipe, and it tasted sure enough like tobacco but I didn't get a nicotine buzz. maybe I just didn't smoke enough; I'm not a big fan of the drug but I like to experiment. southern Baja actually has *two* native Nicotania species.<br /><br />in the desert, dust makes a "good enough" toilet paper. in your army circumstances though, I can see how crowding could have a deleterious effect on that. the sun's ultraviolet rays kill bacteria fast, but not instantaneous. and sometimes alkalinity of the dust is high enough to cause burning of sensitive skin.John Otis Comeauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02522276769585322025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575061201749703300.post-88655454093755722602016-05-01T00:10:42.047-05:002016-05-01T00:10:42.047-05:00It's always well-worth having things that make...It's always well-worth having things that make your life that much easier and give you a performance edge when combat is potentially imminent. But it's also worth considering ways you can reduce your dependence on various kinds of supplies.<br /><br />For instance, if you have access to wind-drifted, sun-drenched, dry sand (or clear flowing water, of course), you can save a lot of wet-wipes (and TP). It's not exactly comfortable, but it does work for basic sanitation. Fine sand even makes a pretty good detergent (the main purpose of which is to bond with oils and thus allow them to be rinsed away with water).<br /><br />That particular tip may not be one you've ever heard before, but other basic skills of doing without things like battery-powered devices (and too many different skills to list are included in that) or manufactured fasteners are an important part of what it means to "Be Prepared". We may not be aiming to become Boy Scouts (and that organization isn't what it once was), but abilities to improvise various alternatives to manufactured goods were a highlight of their literature.<br /><br />Of course, getting a feel for how to do something without the factory-made solution in hand often will give you a far greater appreciation for how much more cost-effective the ready-made solution is if you have access to it. Don't go relying on sand for your hygiene needs until you've actually tried using the stuff, same for knots (and expedient rope-making using found/natural materials) you've never practiced. And seriously, never try to rely on plants for pharmacology unless you really know what you're doing.<br /><br />Every crucial supply you know how to replace with expedient materials in a pinch (and not just in theory, but by practice) gives you that much more latitude to go ahead and risk running out of something if keeping an ample supply is too costly (in weight/bulk/signature...it's rarely going to be more costly in monetary/effort terms than the expedient version).Chiu ChunLinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03519192610708043962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575061201749703300.post-92204438307838859052016-05-01T00:02:33.542-05:002016-05-01T00:02:33.542-05:00Hi Sgt, Matt,
Just a thought about the "Baby ...Hi Sgt, Matt,<br />Just a thought about the "Baby Wipes." Every time I go to "HOOTERS" and get food...I get a hand full of those little, square, packets of after dinner hand wipes...aka "baby wipes" I always save them and have a gazillion of them in the house, in the car, in the shop!! Man they sure come in handy!!!<br />Audentes...Fortuna...Juvat,<br />III%,<br />skybill-outskybillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00386847670843842715noreply@blogger.com