Comfort Items for Navy Deployment

Hammock

Talk to your work center supervisor prior to make sure you have somewhere to hang it up. Only to be used after hours and must be stowed away during the day.

A rack is not the only place to sleep. On a long transit, an after-hours hammock in the shop is the best nap you will get on the ship.

Camping Chair

This is honestly more of a necessity than “Luxury.”

There are never enough places to sit outside of the mess decks. A folding chair that packs flat gives you a seat on the fantail, in the hangar bay or wherever you get a few minutes off your feet.

Floor Camping Mat

To save your back during your cat naps on the ground.

Nonskid decks are brutal on your back. A rolled-up sleeping pad turns any corner of the work center into a place you can actually rest during a long evolution.

Neck Pillow

Small/portable and great for when you are laying on the floor or your chair/hammock. PLUS you can use it for your flights back home on leave.

It weighs nothing, clips to your bag and turns a chair or a mat into a place you can sleep. It also earns its keep on the flight home.

Clip Fan

Berthing can get very hot in the summer.

Berthing ventilation goes down more often than anyone admits, and the Gulf in August is no joke. A small rechargeable clip fan on your rack rail is the cheapest good night's sleep you will buy.

Bulwark or Carhartt Coveralls

Much more comfortable than ship issued coveralls. Once you wear these you will not go back!

You live in coveralls underway, so the fit and fabric matter more than anything else you wear. Check your command's uniform policy first, since some ships only allow the issued ones.

Slip-On Boots

All the cool kids have them! These are great for when you are in a hurry.

When general quarters or a flight quarters call goes out at 0200, laces cost you time. Slip-ons get you out of the rack and moving in seconds.

Watch

If you don’t have one already, are you really even in the military?

Phones get secured in certain areas and die at the worst times. A tough, water-resistant watch with a backlight is what you actually read at 0345 for watch relief.

Vacuum Seal Bags

As stated before you have limited space so these are handy for civilian attire or a big jacket you may bring with you.

Your entire life fits in a coffin locker and a stand-up locker. Compressing civilian clothes and a jacket down to a quarter of the size gives you room for everything else on this list.

Desk Organizer

The work center will love you!

Shared desks in the shop turn into a pile of tags, pens and chits within a week. A small organizer keeps your logs and paperwork where you can find them.

Wrench Set

Just when you need something, someone else is using it! Avoid this problem with your own small set of tools that you use the most!

Tool issue takes time and the set you need is always signed out. A compact personal set covers the small jobs, but follow your command's tool control rules and keep it out of maintenance you are not authorized for.

Sunglasses

Sun off the water is twice as bright as sun on land, and you will spend hours topside for sea and anchor detail, flight ops and working parties. A quality pair is protection, not style.