Rock and Roll Soldier

My general advice is to hold off buying the high tech items like GPS and reflex sights until you get to the sand box. When you arrive, the unit you replace will more than likely have people attempting to sell off some of the items they have. You will also be able to get direct feedback on what works well and what doesn't from people with a year experience in the sand box. A lot of items (but not necessarily EOTech sights) can be ordered as class 9. I was issued a PDA, laser grip sights and quality knives while I was over there.

Depending on where you end up, many things can be available at the PX. I was at LSA Anaconda so I had good access to one of (if not the best) stocked PX's in Iraq. They sold GPS and laptop computers, digital cameras, TV's, DVD players and everything in between. You can also have items sent to you by friends or family or even order through the internet. Most places have at least an acceptable level of connectivity at this point.

What I recommend getting now, before you deploy, are underarmor shirts and drawers, a good digital camera and a laptop that can serve as an entertainment center. A Blackhawk Tac-sling is also nice to have. Once you get in theater your pay is tax free. Tht should add a lot of extra cash in your pocket for whatever else you need.

Good luck.

I had a Garmin Rino 120 while I was over there and it was ok, but the battery life sucked and it died once (I shipped it home and my wife got it replaced, though). The radio was not really much use, though, so if I had it to do over again I'd get something small that was just a GPS and had good battery life. So, without having looked at the etrexVista, it sounds like a good choice.