Military Experiences

[Dorothy-BBY Community Supervisor]

When my sister first enlisted in the Navy, she was a fresh faced 18 year-old, with no idea to expect.  She had no idea what type of fun gadgets she should or even could take with her on deployment and into service.  As the years have gone by, I have sent her an mp3 player, a laptop, and a variety of movies and books.  I have almost run out of ideas of what to send her!

What types of products have your or your loved ones taken abroad when going into the military?  What would you suggest if you were trying to think of a gift for someone who is deployed overseas?  What types of issues have you or your loved ones seen with their electronics that they have taken with them, so I know what to avoid. 

Any input is always appreciated!

Thanks!

Dorothy

Community Connector

Best Buy® Corporate

Message Edited by Dorothy-BBY on 05-26-2009 10:31 AM

[Starflyer59]

Cool Topic and sad to say that this will show my age. When i joined the Navy we did not have alot of cool electronic devices. There was no such thing as the internet, no cd players, no dvd players, no mp3 players yet.

I do remember having a NES with me when we were out to sea. We had a ton of cassettes and I remember spending a couple fo weeks in Hong Kong and I bought a Kenwood brand walkman.

CD's came out and I remember my parents sending me a portable cd player that was so big and bulky that i was crazy to carry around.

Now later on in my career i have taken mp3 players, dvd players, laptops.

The biggest issue with US electronics overseas is the power conversion. I bought a dvd player a few years ago when I was in Japan and I had to have a special plug to use it back here in the US.

One good thing to send to someone overseas is the New Eletronic Book readers.

[RealGeorgeW Emerging Expert]

Checking in as the resident military guy.

I wish BBY offered military discounts(imagine me saying that ).

Most guys in the military are gadget freaks, so pretty much anything we carry would be appreciated.

[PowrFwd37]

Well, as a soldier (for over 18 years) who is preparing to deploy for a year, I am packing up an XBox 360, my Zune, my laptop, and a 15 inch HDTV.  I have already talked to my wife about doing what she can to keep me stocked up on the latest movies and games.  Real was right about one thing for sure: most guys in the military are gadget freaks. 

Movies are great entertainment while deployed, as are games of various kinds.

Thanks for getting the topic started!!

[Entropy]

Someone hinted at this earlier, but logistics/maintainability is important.

Something that offers international repair service is good, although hard to find.  (I think Canon and Nikon may offer this for their higher end SLR cameras, but not necessarily with P&S cameras.)

Cables get lost or damaged - choose products that use standard cables with standard connectors (Mini-USB or Micro-USB) and, if possible standard software drivers if they interface with a computer.  (e.g. if one device requires a special driver and the other one behaves as USB mass storage, choose the one that behaves as USB mass storage.)

I have seen indications that even now, some service personnel are purchasing civilian GPS receivers for whatever reasons.  (Back in Desert Storm, I recall stories that there was a huge rush on civilian GPS receivers because there weren't enough military ones for the troops - If I recall correctly, SA was temporarily turned off for that conflict for this reason.)  I'm assuming this situation has improved, but it may be that the features offered by some civilian receivers (like the Garmin Oregon) outweigh the increased accuracy offered by military units.

Unfortunately BB tends to focus on road navigation oriented GPS units (TomToms and Garmin Nuvis), not trail oriented units (eTrex, GPSMAP, Colorado, Oregon).

[sng16]

the one thing i always seem to be sending are good headphones and printed out photographs. i mean, we all know we can email photos 24/7, but i've seen it means more when they can actually hold it in their hand, have it with them, etc. the simple things. as for headphones, working for Best Buy i use and purchase only Skullcandy brand headphones. the noise cancelling is amazing, and the sound is wonderful. However, if you have a very big music stickler like i have in the past, I most definitely recommend the new Dr. Dre Beats. I know they're a tid bit expensive coming in around $300 at the cheapest, but in all cheap honesty that I have, they're worth every single last penny. not only will your soldier be able to relax, they'll have some of the BEST sound quality in the world while they're over there. so those are my two simple suggestions.

[jacob1505]

As for the post above, I have seen plenty picture printer paper, but never any photo printers. So maybe one of the portable printers would be nice.

Also, I have recently realized what wonders an external hard drive can offer. Ones that can be powered by the laptop are considered the best for deployments, because it doesn't take up an outlet and you don't have to worry about international converters. I think that the largest computer-powered HDs are 500 gigs.

Any handheld video game systems are great as well. I think the current fad is the Nintendo DS.

Hope this helps.

[Detroit97]

Hi Dorothy!  As for gifts for your sister in the Navy, you should think about where she's at...on a boat in limited space!  Or at least that's what I'm thinking.  So with that in mind I would suggest smaller things like portable gaming systems like Sony's PSP since it doesn't take up a whole lot of room and she could play it on her bed or where ever she might be.  An all-in-one video and digital camera would be helpful for when she's in port all over the world.  Portable DVD players are also good too for when she just wants to kick back and watch movies.  These are just a few ideas but I hope they help.  I saw that someone else had put that they couldn't get a military discount at their store and I wonder why.  My husband (who is on active duty) gets 10% every time he shows his military id at the register at our local store.  I don't know if that 's a branch thing or not but it doesn't hurt to ask.  Hope this helps!

[clean9624]

My husband is a Navy reservist (who has been deployed), I know it can be hard to come up with things to send that are worth while and easy to send/store.  I know that web cams are good if they don't already have one built into their computer/laptop.  Movies are always something my husband liked to get.  International phone cards are always good.  Hand held games, CD's, or even PC games.  I would think a digital picture frame with family photos already downloaded would be nice.  For those that are deployed on a ship or in a forward location it can be tricky to find something that they can store in the small amount of space that they have as their own.  I know that most military that are deployed are just happy to get a letter/care package from home letting know that they are missed/loved/supported.  Hope you are able to find something that your sister will like...and tell her Thank you for serving our country.