Solar Power Pre-Deployment To Afghanistan?

dAzED1 writes "My little brother is heading for training at 29 Palms as a Navy Corpsman with FMF. He gets a [Sailor|Soldier|Marine]'s pay, so while he can't afford gadgets, I can; since he'll be in a LAR unit, I was thinking of getting him a small video camera, an iPod, and some sort of solar recharger. Whatever he takes, he'll have to be able to carry in his pack, which is already going to be heavy with his medic gear. Other than the weight issue, I am having problems finding a solar recharger that doesn't get wildly differing reviews as to basic quality. He'll have plenty of sun and few clouds, but it needs to be lightweight, effective, and robust. With price not being much of a concern, what would you suggest for accomplishing this? Advice on a small robust video camera would be appreciated as well."

Comments

Pay

[Ethanol-fueled]

He gets a [Sailor|Soldier|Marine]'s pay, so while he can't afford gadgets

Unless he has kids or liens, he should be able to afford gadgets since his housing is free and He'll get a lot of tax-free combat pay if he deploys.

Anybody who's visited a larger military base such as Lackland AFB or Fort Bragg knows the many junior enlisteds driving pimped out ridez and sporting gadgets and bling. When younger recruits get out of basic training they're like kids in candy stores, especially since base exchanges have the latest stuff at low prices.

Also, given his unit, I hope that he dosen't plan to listen with headphones while on duty.

Re:Pay

[Anonymous Coward]

I just looked at it.

1399.50/month for an enlisted with 4 months of active "experience". It's not a lot of money on the surface, but it's plenty of money when you have no expenses.

$1399.50 is more money than I spend in any given month, if I exclude rent. It's much more money than I spend in any given month if I also exclude food. Given that enlisted can do both, if they wish, they're not destitute.

I'm not saying you'll ever make a lot of money as an enlisted man, but you wouldn't need to save up for "months" to buy an ipod. You'd need to save for about a week.

Re:Pay

[palegray.net]

I just got out of the Navy as an E-4. Sorry, but your assertion that young enlisted men can't afford a bunch of gadgets is just plain wrong. I was a contract E-2 going in, made E-3 nine months later (automatic), and made E-4 six months after that. Here's the current pay for each grade (pre-tax, but you're only taxed on your base pay, all allowances are tax free):

• E-2 (less than 2 years of service): $1,569.00
• E-3 (less than 2 years of service): $1,650.00
• E-4 (over 2 years $1,921.00

Unmarried Sailors get galley rations, comprehensive medical and dental care, an annual clothing allowance (doesn't completely cover uniforms, but it's pretty close), plus any special pays for rate designation (submarines, etc). While they're at sea they receive sea pay as well. Married Sailors received a housing allowance, commuted rations in their paycheck, and all the other standard benefits.

Virtually every young Sailor I knew in submarine school had, at minimum, a video game system, decent sized TV, fancy cell phone, laptop, various games, a CD/DVD collection, and more in their barracks rooms. All without going into much unsecured credit debt, if any.

Of course, there's always a few idiots who overextend themselves, and there's always a few who are more conservative with their money (a roommate of mine finished sub school with over $20,000 in his checking account). My primary point still stands.

In any event, thank you for your service!

Re:Pay

[im_thatoneguy]

Wait, universal health care, Government ID Cards, government food, housing and clothing assistance? .... COMMUNISM!!!! THEY'VE TAKEN OVER OUR MILITARY! GRAB YOUR GUNS! :D

Re:Pay

[freebase]

Semper Fi, Jarhead.

I got out in '93, mainly because I was tired of working two extra jobs plus keeping up with everything with the Corps, just to support my family. I was a Cpl at the time, living in base housing, with one kid, one car, one wife, and not much else. As I recall, my total gross from my military pay was right at 13K that year. I made almost that much working part time at McD's that year.

I got out and took a job with a defense contractor doing the same thing I was doing in the Corps (TMDE repair/calibration), and immediately was grossing more than 25K.

While I was in, everyone I knew below the rank of Gunny or SSgt, and had a family was on food stamps and WIC.

And for the other poster commenting on the tricked out cars and crap he saw on the air force base... Stop and think... There's not many places to spend money when you're deployed to a combat zone. I suspect most of those 'kids' you saw that you thought were right outta boot have been to the sandbox and back.

Also, for your further education, the military doesn't pay all your expenses as an enlisted man... at least not when I was in the Corps. No one drew a pay check for the entire 12 weeks of boot camp, but when we got our initial pay, we took that $900 check they gave us, and spent most of it paying for our uniforms, our PX bill, and our travel to take our 10 day leave. While I was in school at 29 Palms, I didn't get paid at all for three months because of a payroll screw up. When I finally got paid, I owed for uniforms, haircuts, etc. When I was in school at MCLB Albany, GA, I ended up spending more than an entire months take home on a complete new issue of uniforms just so I could pass the Junk on Bunk inspections to get weekend liberty and not spend all weekend picking up trash on the CG's detail, or doing something equally banal on orders designed to give me something to do to keep young Marines out of trouble.

I'll end the rant this has become by simply saying this... no matter how much members of the military get paid, especially young enlisted men and women, they've made the choice to put their lives on the line, to shed their blood, just so other people back home can continue to make statements and assumptions about things they truly don't and will never understand.

It is by the blood of these men and women, my brothers and sisters in arms, that this country, as bad as it may be at the moment, is still the place people such as yourself gladly call home.

"With price not being much of a concern..."

[Hertne]

Money may not be much of a concern, but what about time and skill?

I had family overseas recently and had the same thought, but didn't have as much money to spend. I decided to go the DIY route and made one of these Solarize your backpack and power all your gizmos

It's handy because it's lightweight and can be strapped (as the description says) to nearly any backpack, including most military ones, or taken off and set up somewhere stationary.

It also adds more of a personal touch to the whole idea. Buying something nice and expensive for a soldier is nice, but I've often times heard from them that having something personally made (even if it's a letter) is worth gold over there as well. Reminds 'em of home and all, y'know?

If you know how (or know someone that does) I would recommend making one of these.

Re:"With price not being much of a concern..."

[Lokinator]

More survival-oriented, but.. Operation Helmet, Operation BoreSnake (defunct but offers useful information for troops), and comfort kits all help out. Check with your brother about his armor vest quality - this has been an issue in Iraq, though some reports report it as resolved. The solar kit will help, but recall that most solar panels *reflect* in sunlight (see: "Iraq", "Desert Climes") and reflections have an unfortunate tendency to *draw fire*. This is an un-good thing in a combat environment. Think this through.

Video Cam

[cc_pirate]

Make sure the video cam you get him is flash memory based. HD based ones will certainly die with the shock and vibration they will take in the field. I recently got Canon Vixia HF10, which is flash based, HD and works quite well. However, for something the field he may prefer something a bit more robust like a Sanyo Xacti or a Flip HD.

Wind up?

[PolygamousRanchKid]

How about a wind up power supply instead? I read that the US Military was actually considering procuring and deploying these to combat the "battery problem."

Oh, wind up power supplies are powered themselves by . . . MREs.

Forget the charger...

[an.echte.trilingue]

As a former infantryman, I can tell you that you are really over thinking this. Rugged means more than just hard to break. It also means that it is a single piece (so he can't loose part of it) and that those pieces are easily replaceable.

Forget the charger, and get him something nice that runs on AAs. Lots of military equipment, such as the AN/PRC-14 night vision goggles or the little radios that squads carry around, run on AAs and so he is sure never to have a shortage. You literally have boxes of these things just floating around where ever you go. They aren't that heavy, they are virtually unbreakable, and he will have to carry some anyway. When I was in, guys bought electric shavers that ran on AAs expressly for this reason.

Besides, his unit will appreciate him not flipping a mirror out for all to see whenever he wants to listen to music.