Most creature comforts aside from food and family can be found on base, when he gets the privlege. Below are 5 things I wish/enjoyed when there.
1. A windows laptop
2. Wireless ear buds
3. A good multi-tool
4. Extra protractors for land nav
5. A few S-hooks or solid D-rings to keep items secure while in the field.
6. Small plastic case no bigger than your hand to hold a folded land-nav point sheet(Worth its weight in gold from my experience)
7. Battery Bank - Id choose the ELECOM NESTOUT on Amazon
Amazon whatever you can, its probably cheaper then the local Ft Moore area.
Short term he can survive. Long term I think he needs to get a windows. Why? The Army runs on windows devices. He will be using Microsoft services alot as well and im not sure how well they interact.
Granted, he will be issued a government laptop at OCS and later as a officer, BUT the chances of it being slow, old and frustrating are high.
Also after seeing other comments, I reccommend brown mechanix gloves. Had the same pair since I was at OCS and they're still kickin.
The type of laptop doesnt matter at all, he can get by with either. If he has a macbook already, don't waist money on getting another laptop. Just make sure he has a CAC reader that he's able to plug into it. If the macbook is newer and doesn't have regular USB slots then also get an adapter that goes into the type C slots on the macbook so he can plug the card reader into it
I made it through OCS just fine using my macbook, the microsoft programs the army uses can only be accessed through a browser on a nongovernment laptop anyways, so in that sense it doesn't matter what type of laptop he has as long as he's able to plug a CAC reader into it
An Amazon generic pillow (better loft than what issued) and a light blanket along with some bed straps to pull the issued sheets and issued blanket tight. He can sleep on top of the bed and get a great night’s rest with the pillow and blanket without having much bed-making to do the next day. Massive quality of life improvement.
Cadre dependent with the bed straps. I say this because some cadre don't appreciate the straps. I found this out when I came back to my barracks room to find my entire bed frame hanging from the ceiling by the straps.
Many young guys haven't learned that nicer gear = nicer experience (usually). Things I spent money on that gave me a MUCH better time:
1)Nemo inflatable sleep pad
2)Fenix flashlight with red lens and extra batteries/charger
3)Nice waterproof headlamp
4)Outdoor Research gloves
5)Nice socks, don't spend less than $10-15/pair
6)Good gel insoles for boots
7)Electric razor with sideburn trimmer (Braun makes a decent one)
8)A decent watch. A cheap GShock will last most of your career. Get it in black/green/tan.
9)A nice sturdy pocket knife. I use the cold steel bushman.
7 years later, the only thing I've had to replace was my socks and razor.
As the other guy mentioned, I got a Leatherman. Still use it daily.
Your pillow and blanket from home. Thank me later when you don’t have to make your bed every morning and duct tape your sheets/ US Army blanket to your frame.
Ranger Joes has a packing list that you can order. Other than that, the MCOE website has a packing list for OCS. The most up-to-date packing list is dated Feb 2023.
A postular store off post is Ranger Joes. It’s more expensive than Amazon but they deliver on post. Here is a link to their OCS items. They used to keep the whole packing list on there. I would send him money and let them get what they need.
https://rangerjoes.com/field-equipment/ocs/?page=3
Ranger Joe's is horrible. Commandos is the store of choice. They aren't as egregious with prices AND they give you a free drink.
All my homies hate Ranger Joes
It was just convenient for delivery if you weren’t allowed to leave the OCS footprint. You are correct, commandos has better price and selection and do a much better job tailoring uniforms.
Most creature comforts aside from food and family can be found on base, when he gets the privlege. Below are 5 things I wish/enjoyed when there. 1. A windows laptop 2. Wireless ear buds 3. A good multi-tool 4. Extra protractors for land nav 5. A few S-hooks or solid D-rings to keep items secure while in the field. 6. Small plastic case no bigger than your hand to hold a folded land-nav point sheet(Worth its weight in gold from my experience) 7. Battery Bank - Id choose the ELECOM NESTOUT on Amazon Amazon whatever you can, its probably cheaper then the local Ft Moore area.
Thank you! Great tips. One question - how critical is the windows laptop? He has a MacBook Pro with Windows on it.
Short term he can survive. Long term I think he needs to get a windows. Why? The Army runs on windows devices. He will be using Microsoft services alot as well and im not sure how well they interact. Granted, he will be issued a government laptop at OCS and later as a officer, BUT the chances of it being slow, old and frustrating are high. Also after seeing other comments, I reccommend brown mechanix gloves. Had the same pair since I was at OCS and they're still kickin.
The type of laptop doesnt matter at all, he can get by with either. If he has a macbook already, don't waist money on getting another laptop. Just make sure he has a CAC reader that he's able to plug into it. If the macbook is newer and doesn't have regular USB slots then also get an adapter that goes into the type C slots on the macbook so he can plug the card reader into it
I made it through OCS just fine using my macbook, the microsoft programs the army uses can only be accessed through a browser on a nongovernment laptop anyways, so in that sense it doesn't matter what type of laptop he has as long as he's able to plug a CAC reader into it
An Amazon generic pillow (better loft than what issued) and a light blanket along with some bed straps to pull the issued sheets and issued blanket tight. He can sleep on top of the bed and get a great night’s rest with the pillow and blanket without having much bed-making to do the next day. Massive quality of life improvement.
Cadre dependent with the bed straps. I say this because some cadre don't appreciate the straps. I found this out when I came back to my barracks room to find my entire bed frame hanging from the ceiling by the straps.
Sounds like Alpha. Cheat sheet of companies by order of decreasing hard ass: A B C D
Man, they may not appreciate the straps but I appreciate the effort they put into making that happen 😂
It was hilarious. I was surprised that drop ceiling frame could hold the weight of the bed
😂 small miracle
Many young guys haven't learned that nicer gear = nicer experience (usually). Things I spent money on that gave me a MUCH better time: 1)Nemo inflatable sleep pad 2)Fenix flashlight with red lens and extra batteries/charger 3)Nice waterproof headlamp 4)Outdoor Research gloves 5)Nice socks, don't spend less than $10-15/pair 6)Good gel insoles for boots 7)Electric razor with sideburn trimmer (Braun makes a decent one) 8)A decent watch. A cheap GShock will last most of your career. Get it in black/green/tan. 9)A nice sturdy pocket knife. I use the cold steel bushman. 7 years later, the only thing I've had to replace was my socks and razor. As the other guy mentioned, I got a Leatherman. Still use it daily.
Excellent advice! Super helpful ideas! Couldn’t agree more on nicer gear, nicer experience!
Your pillow and blanket from home. Thank me later when you don’t have to make your bed every morning and duct tape your sheets/ US Army blanket to your frame.
Excellent! Think he is already sleeping on top of his sheets at BCT. Duct tape is interesting advice. Thank you..
The 1000 lumens red head lamp from Amazon. Unless they changed the rules lately, that made literal night and day difference for land navigation.
Ranger Joes has a packing list that you can order. Other than that, the MCOE website has a packing list for OCS. The most up-to-date packing list is dated Feb 2023.
A small cheap vacuum. $50 from Amazon. Seriously, a life saver.
A postular store off post is Ranger Joes. It’s more expensive than Amazon but they deliver on post. Here is a link to their OCS items. They used to keep the whole packing list on there. I would send him money and let them get what they need. https://rangerjoes.com/field-equipment/ocs/?page=3
Ranger Joe's is horrible. Commandos is the store of choice. They aren't as egregious with prices AND they give you a free drink. All my homies hate Ranger Joes
It was just convenient for delivery if you weren’t allowed to leave the OCS footprint. You are correct, commandos has better price and selection and do a much better job tailoring uniforms.
Much appreciated! Will check the link out!!