speaking of carrying bags (and bags for deployment are likely a fully packed Ruck Sack, Assault Bag, Two Duffel Bags on top of carrying all armor/gear and weaponry) on deployment i remember the landing at Manas like it was yesterday. For those that don't know, we generally go through Kuwait on the way to Iraq (unless on a MEU or naval ship and then perhaps another route) and Manas, Kyrgyzstan (while we still had it, it's now back to the locals or Russia IIRC) on the way to Afghanistan.
I got there in Dec, 2010. We left Germany it was a tolerable like 29 degrees out, been snowing for a hot minute so we figured we'd be good. No. We weren't. We landed, got off the heated plane to -21 w/ staggering wind chill added. It was so cold you formed pissicles in the porta potties outside. So it's then up to the privates/lower enlisted to get all the bags out of storage and line them up so people can take them back to the massive 100+ man tents you stay at until you forward to Afghanistan. No joke your hands start getting brittle and frozen like five minutes in, but you have to keep looking to sort all the stuff together. I felt so bad for the guys on this, i even helped to get it done faster even though that was below my grade. 20 minutes in we all think we have frostbite, hate life, and haven't even gotten to the warzone yet wtf son haha
it was so cold the runways froze and we were stuck there for seven days. But every day we thought we were flying so you had to gather all your stuff, lug it done there, and wait just to get turned away and go back to do the same the next day, all in below zero temparatures (talking F for the non Americans, not C). IOW, you literally shouldn't have to help someone else do a basic task like be ready for a mass movement. Being in the right place, right time, right uniform and equipment is literally half the job haha
edit: i also remember that for that seven days i just sat in the ghetto computer lab and posted on Sherdog haha