1. Advanced combat optical gun sight/binoculars: "When you're on post, you can tell what the individuals walking down the street (blocks away) are carrying," said Cpl. Michael Fredtkou, an M-203 gunner. "The enemy doesn't expect you to see them that far away."

2. Energy bars: "They're lightweight, easy to get to," said Staff Sgt. Luis Lopez, 3rd Platoon sergeant. "Plus they're not as bulky as (meals, ready to eat)."

3. Kevlar cushions: "The old padding gives you a headache after wearing it for a few hours," said 1st Lt. Travis Fuller, 3rd Platoon leader. "After a few minutes with the cushions on, you can't even tell it's there."

4. Elbow/knee pads: "If it wouldn't be for these things, my knees would be completely cut up by now," said Lance Cpl. Tim Riffe, a machine-gunner.

5. Personal role radio: "When my squad was across the street in a defensive position, the platoon was able to let me know insurgents were in the building next to us," said Cpl. Tyrone Wilson, leader of 2nd Squad. "Who knows what would've happened if they couldn't contact me."

6. Global Positioning System: "I'm able to pinpoint our location within 10 meters when calling in position reports and medevacs," said Lance Cpl. William Woolley, a radio operator.

7. Extra socks: "I've gone without changing my socks before on three- to four-day training exercises and I always regretted it later," said Lance Cpl. Kaleb Welch, a squad automatic weapon (SAW) gunner.

8. Gloves: "They're clutch because when you're climbing over a wall you don't have to worry about broken glass cutting your hands," said Cpl. Gabriel Trull, who heads up 1st Squad.

9. Baby wipes: "You don't have much time out there for personal hygiene, so it's the best alternative," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Irving Ochoa, a Navy corpsman.

10. Three-point sling: "When you're jumping over rooftops, you don't want to worry about dropping your weapon," said Cpl. Dave Willis, 3rd Squad leader.

11. ALICE/day pack: "It displaces all of the weight around my body," said Lance Cpl. Geoffrey Bivins, a SAW gunner. "When you're running with 100 pounds on your back, that's important."

12. Night-vision goggles: "When you're on a rooftop at night, you can see everything," said Lance Cpl. Marquirez Chavery, a combat engineer.

13. Personal hydration system: "Water is one of those things you always need to make sure you have," said Seaman Hugo Lara, a Navy corpsman.

14. Watch with compass: "You get calls where you have to lay down suppressing fire in a certain direction and instead of wasting time to ask which way is north or south, you can just look at your wrist," said Lance Cpl. Lonny Kelly, a machine-gunner.

15. AA batteries: "You use them for your NVGs (night-vision goggles) and hand-held radios, both of which contribute to more effective fighting," said Cpl. Bryan Morales, 1st Squad, 1st Fire Team, team leader.

16. Poncho/poncho liner: "If you don't have some sort of protection at night, you end up freezing because your cammies are still damp from sweating during the day," said Lance Cpl. Jonathan Etterling, machine-gun team leader.

17. Ballistic goggles: "I was the A-driver in one of our convoys and we got hit by an (improvised explosive device)," said Lance Cpl. Anthony Johnson. "Shrapnel bounced off my glasses, saving my vision."

18. Multipurpose portable tool kit: "Cutting open MREs, cleaning your weapon, tightening screws on your gear — it has a thousand uses," said Lance Cpl. Evan Fernandez.

19. Carabiners: "With these you can attach anything to your flak (jacket) and have it right at your fingertips," said Pfc. Jason Kurtz, a SAW gunner.