Air Force Guy left on Sunday for some additional training. He packed like a Geardo.
Now, you may think that means that he packed all his gadgets, gizmos, helmets, knives, and 550 cord - but that's not quite how a Geardo packs.
AFG did indeed pack every bit of Under Armor in the house. I didn't even know there was that much Under Armor in the state! Shirts, underwear... Under Armor has been stealthily taking over here. I'm sure we'll have a couch made out of the stuff sometime in the near future.
He also packed his Sure Fires. All four of them (varying sizes, you know. How can he predict which one he's going to need? He might need to change the color of the light beam in the middle of a desert somewhere!).
Six pairs of 5.11 pants went into the mix, as well as SealSkinz socks, cotton socks, some other kind of deployment socks he was issued once, and a few pairs of black dress socks "just in case". In case of what? A sudden hostile takeover of the Men's Wearhouse?
I tried to help pack. I dutifully went down to the basement and grabbed a few CamelBaks for him to choose from. He did not put a CamelBak in the pile.
"Sweetie! Won't you need a CamelBak? You're going to overheat and pass out or something! It's HOT there!"
I was absolutely horrified. How can the man think ahead to pack SealSkinz and completely ignore the CamelBaks in the house? He had an answer ready for me.
"They are going to be issuing the CamelBaks with backpacks. If I show up with my own, they might not issue me one."
I should probably add that of the several CamelBaks of varying sizes and shapes we have stored in the basement, not one of them were acquired through a store. The man has a talent for finding out how to get wherever gear is going to be issued.
And the CamelBak wasn't the only thing AFG didn't pack because he wanted to collect more issued gear. His Leatherman, for example. It would be too much to ask for him to leave every Leatherman he owns behind - he feels more naked without that than he does without his clothing. I mean, you can MAKE clothing out of tree bark, a few weeds, and some crushed bugs if you have a Leatherman, right?
If the world ended, the man would be fine if he just had his Leatherman. At least, that's what he thinks.
Did I mention that they were going to be issuing the super-deluxe version of the Leatherman at this training? AFG has two. Apparently when his training ends he will have three.
He did take 550 cord with him - and I'm sure he'll use it. I'm also totally convinced that when he comes home he will have managed to acquire even more 550 cord than he left with. And he will roll it up around a big piece of cardboard and store it with the rest of our 550 cord. No matter how much 550 cord we use, the pile stored in our basement never seems to go down.
And that's just a snapshot of life with a Geardo.
