--> Get vacinations for Hepetitis A & B and ensure you always have condoms!
You'll get the jabs as a matter of course, but I can assure you that the condoms won't come in handy (sexual wise) for at least the first 30 weeks of your service, unless you're a lucky b'stard.
--> Keep pictures of the universally accepted standard of beautiful women, because being away from civilisation has the nasty effect of lowering your standards of what a beautiful female really is.
Take heed of this advice, but also remember the picture of a beautiful women should be there to remind you to keep high standards as well, & not just to letch over, otherwise your standards will still drop....take it from a man with experience!!!!!
We wouldn't want you resorting to the
'any holes a goal' crowd.
--> More seriously, bring plenty of moist baby wipes because they come in VERY handy in the field.
Excellent for removing cam cream. If you reapply cam cream over old cam cream, it will flake & peel off, thus reducing concealment followed by a bollocking from your DS about bad skills 'n' drills costing lives, followed by a beasting. So, always get the bulk off, before reapplying.
Make sure all pockets are either zipped or buttoned up.......Again, bad drills an all that, followed by a beasting.
Check webbing pouches are also secured before moving off, & also after changing a magazine during a section/platoon attack. Sounds obvious I know, but trust me, it'll be the last thing on your mind when you're in the brown stuff, but believe me, when your getting low on ammo & 2 full mags have just popped out your webbing pouches, guess whose going back to pick them up?
These are basic skills & drills, but you'll pick up more when you get into your training sections & go out into the field. Your section commander will give you his 'actions on' certain scenarios, & they maybe different from one section cmdr to another, so always be ready to adapt to a different section cmdr. 'Actions on' will be how the section cmdr intends on getting through different scenarios i.e Delayed or immediate light. With delayed light like a para flare (schermuley) bomb burst into cover & hit the deck, immediate light you just need to hit the deck straight away, in both instances making sure you cover your SUSAT eye (not a technical term, its the right or left eye, whichever you aim with).
Although actions on light are general, other 'actions on' may not be i.e. crossing obstacles, routine in FRV, contacts front, left, right & rear etc. etc.
