Deploying Soldier

by Rebecca
(Calgary, Alberta, Canada)

My husband is leaving for his 5th deployment overseas as a medic; he is going back to Afghanistan. I like getting him a gift that when he uses it, will remind him of us (me and our 2 girls). He has to travel 'light' and with sand being an issue we have to make sure the gift is either resistent to getting sand in it or comes in a really well sealed case like pelican cases etc.

Answer:
Hi Rebecca,
I have to admit, I'm not familiar with the needs of a deployed soldier, but there are two things that come to mind: convenience and entertainment.

When I say convenient, I'm thinking of something handy that he get a lot of use out of, like a multi-tool or fancy pocket knife, maybe one that includes a flashlight.

For entertainment, because I can imagine they might get bored (we can only hope), a Nintendo DS, or Sony PSP with some games. The PSP is the more versatile of the two. But I'm not sure how much access there is for recharging, or how something like this would hold up in a sandy environment. However, you can get some cool cases for them.

Hope this helps!