No Result
View All Result
Reserve & National Guard
SUBSCRIBE FREE
No Result
View All Result
Reserve & National Guard
SUBSCRIBE FREE
Reserve & National Guard

7 best ways to pass time on a combat deployment

By Tim Kirkpatrick

WeAreTheMighty
by WeAreTheMighty
August 12, 2020

Being deployed on a FOB or patrol base means you probably have little contact with the world outside the wire for the better part of a year. If you’re lucky, you’ll have a USO nearby where you can log onto Facebook for 20 minutes at a time until you have to rotate off.

Depending what part of the world you’re in, it might be in the middle of the night back home, and nobody is online — which sucks.

So what can you do to pass the time if you’re stuck in a sh*t hole?

Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

1. Hit the gym or freakin’ build an improvised one.

Wood, engineer stakes, and sandbags are just a few key ingredients every FOB has on hand. With some ingenuity and elbow grease, you can construct a new gym or modify an existing one.

Either way, working out is a great way to kill time.

A Marine carves out some time from his day to hit the gym during his Afghanistan deployment.

2. Catch up on your movies

Before shipping out, you probably didn’t have much free time during your pre-deployment work up. Now that you’re stuck on a FOB with plenty of down time, break out that portable hard drive you put all those movies on and play cinema catch up.

Your brain and morale will thank you.

You could also learn how to construct a movie theater from a few scraps by following these simple steps.

3. Create new MRE recipes

Let’s face it, the box where the MREs are stored have been completely rat f*cked — it happens all the time. Consider tugging on your creative strings and make something delicious from MRE items no one seems to want.

Everyone loves M&Ms. (Source: Amazon)

4. Playing card or board games

Since the military is a competitive world, play a game like Risk that takes a lot of brain power to strategize and beat your opposition. You may even learn something you can use to beat the bad guys in a firefight — you never know.

These soldiers play an intense game of world domination. (Source: Army.mil)

5. Sleep and then sleep some more — whenever you can

Need we say more?

A soldier getting some much need shut-eye while chillin’ in a tank.

6. Create a journal

Write down your unique deployment experiences and self-reflection in a journal. You never know, that sh*t could get published later on down the line.

7. Master a video game or two

If you’re lucky enough to have electricity where ever you get sent to, you can recharge that compact gaming system you loaded up with your favorite games. Video games are a nice way to zone out and relax.

Sorry if you’re somewhere without power. We salute you…

Can you think of any more? Comment below.

For more stories, follow @themighty on F​acebook.

Read comments
Tags: combat deploymentMREsUSO
WeAreTheMighty

WeAreTheMighty

We Are The Mighty (WATM) is America's premier media and entertainment brand for the 133 million strong military and veteran community. We are storytellers, brand-builders and influencers who are deeply connected with this passionate and loyal audience. Our talented team of veterans and media professionals captures the attention and diverse voice of our community with culturally relevant content, community engagement and high-impact events. WATM is an authentic and trusted voice and a reliable partner to companies, institutions, veteran service organizations, government agencies and nonprofits that want to connect with this community.

Related Posts

OPINION: Individual Ready Reserve offers chance to ‘take a knee’

by Emily Solberg
2 weeks ago
0
Individual Ready Reserve

The Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) is a little-known option that could help with retention, according to one reservist and military...

Read more

Citizen airman becomes 2nd nurse in history to receive Distinguished Flying Cross

by Taneika Duhaney
3 weeks ago
0
Distinguished Flying Cross

A once-undecided high-school-graduate turned citizen airman is the second nurse in history to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Read more

Deadly Buffalo blizzard prompts mobilization of 849 guardsmen

by AmeriForce Exclusive
3 weeks ago
0
Blizzard

More than 800 New York National Guardsmen took part in a week-long mission following a blizzard that dumped 50 inches...

Read more

OPINION: Finding value in the repetition of deployment training

by Amanda Huffman
1 month ago
0
Deployment training

Deployment training often includes a lot of repetition and can sometimes feel boring or frustrating beyond the point of reason.

Read more

National Guard year in review: Unique missions include prison staffing, asylum assistance

by Ben Greene
2 months ago
0
National Guard

Three hundred National Guard soldiers and airmen made a permanent benefit to Florida’s peace and security by deploying alongside prison...

Read more

Operations Desert Storm, Shield memorial renamed

by Kari Williams
2 months ago
0
Desert Shield

The National Desert Storm and Desert Shield Memorial will break ground on July 13 after more than a decade of...

Read more

Ads

Let's get social

The RNG Drill

News delivered directly to your inbox

Let's connect!

ABOUT US

  • OUR STORY
  • OUR TEAM
  • OUR WRITERS

MAGAZINE

  • GET PRINT
  • GET DIGITAL
  • GET THE NEWSLETTER

GET RESOURCES

  • VETERANS TOOLKIT

ADVERTISE

  • GET OUR MEDIA KIT
  • PUBLISHER’S STATEMENT

SUBMISSIONS

  • PITCH US
  • SUBMIT YOUR STORY

Never miss out on the latest stories.

© 2021 Reserve & National Guard by AmeriForce. Privacy Policy | Terms | Site by Swiss Commerce

Thank you for your interest in The Reserve & National Guard Magazine!

Thank you for your interest in The Reserve & National Guard Magazine!

No Result
View All Result
  • NEWS
  • YOUR CAREER
    • UNIT TRAINING
    • DEPLOYMENT
    • PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
    • RECRUITING & RETENTION
    • ENTREPRENEUR
    • TRANSITION
  • EDUCATION
  • MILITARY LIFE
    • MILITARY SPOUSES
    • MILITARY KIDS
    • PARENTING
  • OFF DUTY
    • ENTERTAINMENT
    • TRAVEL
  • HEALTH
    • FITNESS
    • MEDICINE
    • MENTAL HEALTH
  • OPINION
  • HISTORY
  • MONEY
    • PERSONAL FINANCE
    • BENEFITS
  • GET THE MAGAZINE
    • PRINT MAGAZINES
    • DIGITAL MAGAZINES
    • GET THE NEWSLETTER
  • RESOURCES
    • VETERANS TOOLKIT
  • ABOUT US
    • MEET OUR TEAM
    • OUR AUTHORS
    • ADVERTISE WITH US
    • SUBMIT YOUR STORY
    • PITCH US
    • CONTACT

© 2022 Reserve & National Guard by AmeriForce. Site by SCBW