Miscellaneous Deployment Essentials Every Sailor Forgets

Religious Text

No matter what you believe nurturing your spirit will do wonders for your mental health!

Deployment is long and there are hard days. Whatever you read for perspective, bring a copy you can keep in your rack.

Foot Locker Storage Bin

With limited space for storage on the ship, I always kept one of these in a common work center space tucked away to store personal items/snacks. Make sure to lock it!

Your rack lockers fill up fast. A lockable trunk in the shop, where your chief allows it, is where the snack stockpile and the civilian clothes go.

Boot Polish Set

Keep this in the work space to share! Always a good thing to have shiny boots.

Inspections and ceremonies do not stop at sea. A shared kit in the shop means the whole work center shows up looking squared away.

3M Dual Lock (Heavy-Duty Velcro)

This stuff is strong! If you need to hang anything on the bulkhead this item will help.

It holds a phone or tablet to the rack overhead and keeps a speaker or fan from launching off the desk in a seaway. It is the most useful roll of tape you will bring.

Multitool or Knife

NOT FOR MAINTENANCE. Great to have on you. You never think you need it until you do.

Opening boxes, cutting line, tightening a loose screw on your rack light. Check your command's knife policy on blade length before you buy one.

Hand Warmers

If you have watch outside in the elements or at night you will be glad you have these.

A four-hour lookout watch in the North Atlantic in January is a different kind of cold. A pair in each pocket makes it bearable.

Knee Pads

You want that EP Eval? Go do some topside preservation and these will save your knees from the abrasive nonskid floor.

Needle-gunning, painting and scrubbing decks are all done on your knees on a surface designed to be abrasive. Knee pads are the difference between volunteering again and limping for a week.

Space-Saving Hangers

As stated before, there is limited space so these are great for the stand up locker in berthing to save some space.

The stand-up locker fits about six hangers' worth of uniforms. Slim, cascading hangers double that without touching anything else.

Flash Cards

Studying made easier for that next rank/qualification or certification.

Deployment is when you knock out your warfare pin and study for the advancement exam. Cards fit in a pocket for a slow watch.

Bungee Cords

SECURE FOR SEA. These are very handy to tie down personal items or keep things together.

Anything not secured will end up on the deck the first time the ship rolls. A pack of bungees keeps your gear, your bin and your chair where you left them.

Flashlight or Headlamp with Red Light

Make sure you have a red light for going topside at night (No white lights allowed). It gets VERY dark at night outside.

Darkened ship means no white light on the weather decks, period. A headlamp with a red mode keeps your hands free on the ladders and keeps you out of trouble with the bridge.

Pocket Notebook

Take notes at quarters and carry this around all day to jot things down so you don’t forget.

Every chief expects you to write down what was passed at quarters. A notebook that fits the coverall chest pocket is the one you will actually carry.

Passport and ID Protector

Always protect your personal information.

Your CAC, passport and cards go with you on every port call. An RFID-blocking holder keeps them together and keeps them from being skimmed in a crowded market.

Ziploc Bags

Wet gear, opened snacks, a phone on a rainy port call, small parts from a job. There is no problem on a ship a zip bag does not help with.

Drawstring Bag (for Port Calls)

Water, sunscreen, a charger and a towel for a day on liberty. It packs flat in your locker between ports.

Zip Ties

Securing cables, hanging a fan, fixing a broken locker latch until the hull techs get to it. Bring a bag of assorted sizes.

Gorilla Tape or Duct Tape

It fixes boots, bags, headphones and rack curtains. Wrap a few feet around a pen if you do not want to carry the roll.

Gorilla Glue

For the repairs tape cannot do: a boot sole, a broken handle, a cracked phone case. The ship's store will not have it.

Sewing Kit

A popped button or a torn seam on your uniform the night before inspection. The ship has no tailor, so you are the tailor.

Small Backpack

For overnight liberty, extra storage and day use. A daypack that folds small carries your gear on the pier and your essentials on a port call.