My name is Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Haynes.
Today, I'm going to go over the loadout bag
for a Army cavalry scout,
also known as a 72-hour bag.
Army cavalry scout is the eyes and ears of the battlefield.
We go out behind enemy lines,
and we report all information to the commander
so that the ground commander
can make the best decision to fight the fight.
So, in the bag,
you will have some of your sustainment items,
such as your MREs, or your,
also known as your meals ready-to-eat.
All right? They all come in bags.
You just open up the bag,
and you can eat however you need to.
Beef shredded barbecue sauce.
'Cause it comes with a awesome cookie.
Really good cookie.
And then in my other pouch that I always have ready to go,
I have my map markers.
It allows us to draw out the graphics
for all the operational portion of the mission.
This is just basic notes.
So if I ever forget my formulas,
it's just something to have all my formulas in.
Has my range cards,
all my, just, don't-forget stuff.
And then in my Ziploc bag
I'll usually have my graphics.
I keep it in a Ziploc bag so if it rains,
it doesn't get destroyed by the moisture.
So, this right here is what a basic map
would look like with some graphics.
These are your NAIs, your enemy positions,
the routes, and the boundaries.
I got my protractor.
So when I need to get grid coordinates
or I need to plot my directions,
I can know how far I need to go with the protractor.
Yeah, there's a lot of math with a cavalry scout.
You gotta know the radius of the curve,
the grade of the slope.
Next will be calculator.
This right here will allow us
to rapidly get the correct answer.
Then I have your notepad and pen,
so you can copy down reports and you can receive
all the information that comes through the radio.
Then you'll have your night-light with red lens.
You have to use red lens at night
because white light will travel further than red lens.
That way you're not detected.
'Cause as a cavalry scout,
you gotta move undetected behind enemy lines.
And then you'll have
your extra batteries for the headlamp.
Because, again, this is a 72-hour bag,
so you have to ensure
that you can sustain yourself for 72 hours.
And then you got your face paint.
This is what you'll apply onto your face, your hands,
your neck, your ears, everywhere.
That way you are not detected so easily.
And then you have your compass.
So, it gives you your direction in degrees and mils.
And then there's two methods to hold this compass.
The cheek, the center-hold method.
So normally what I'll do is I'll hold it up,
put it up against my face, I'll aim,
I'll get my degrees, and I'll look
through my front aperture, see what it's pointing at.
If it's pointing at a tree, I'm heading to that tree.
And the center-hold method is just
straight out in front of you.
The black line right here tells you which way you're going.
And then in the main pouch,
I keep my E tool.
My entrenching tool.
That way when I gotta dig my fighting positions
or if I have to bury booby traps or anything like that,
I have my tool needed.
So you extend it all the way out,
and then you just tighten down at the handle,
and it looks just like a shovel.
It has some sharpened, rigid edges,
so you can cut down barks, trees.
You can cut down all that stuff so that you can improve
your observation post, your OPs.
It could, in some sense.
That's why there's another configuration
that is this.
If you need to, you could use it as a weapon.
If need be.
I would just have it in this configuration and hit.
Then you got your binos, you got your M22 binos.
This right here allows you to see the enemy
at a further distance and before they see you.
You could also use these binos
as a cavalry scout for a call for fire.
This is where you call in artillery.
This is your ASIP radio.
This is what we use as scouts.
This is our primary weapon.
Because if we don't have radio,
we cannot be the eyes and ears of the battlefield.
We cannot communicate.
Communication is key as a cavalry scout.
My hand mic.
This allows me to talk into the radio and listen.
And I got my long whip antenna.
This allows the radio to get the signal required.
You can extend this antenna out,
just like tent poles.
That way, you can reach further with your signal.
So, on the ASIP, the first thing you do
is you need to make sure it has a battery.
So the battery depends on what power on the radio.
If you're on high,
one battery can get you eight to 10 hours.
If you're on low,
it can usually last you about 12 hours a battery.
Put the cover on.
Secure it down.
First thing I would normally do
is I would put the antenna in.
You just twist it around till you find it straight,
and it just slides right in.
And then you start screwing down.
Once it's in, I do a little shake,
because if your antenna is loose,
you won't get good signal.
Next thing you want to do is you want to
plug in your hand mic.
So, inside the hand mic port,
there's a little rubber seal.
You do have to wet it before you get it on,
because you need that rubber seal to be lubricated
to slide correctly onto the port.
You just push in and twist, and it just locks in.
And then in my rucksack,
I will have my wet-weather bag.
The wet-weather bag prevents all my uniform pieces
from getting wet or anything from spilling out,
so it's not a mess in my bag.
So, in my bag, I always have extra boots,
because as a cavalry scout you will walk a lot,
so you always need a pair of boots.
I'll have a extra uniform.
Always set up, ready to go.
So, depending on the temperature
I'll bring out seasonal gear
so I ensure I don't get sick or cold
or in some cases wet if it's rainy.
These are my waffle tops and bottoms.
So my thermals, as everybody knows them.
I'll have extra T-shirts, and I'll have extra socks.
Again, as a 19 Delta cavalry scout,
I'll be using a radio as my main weapon.
But this will be my alternate weapon
in case the enemy gets too close.
The M4 is a 5.5 6-millimeter magazine-fed
gas-operated semiautomatic or fully automatic
handheld shoulder-fired weapon.
[gunshots]
When all this is packed
back into the operation configuration,
it is approximately 30 to 35 pounds.
This is all the bare-minimum stuff
I will have in my pack at all times.
I can always add to, depending on my mission.
But for just basic everyday mission,
this is what I would use.