AgriCorps Jedi impression (2023) – hard kit

This month, I’m switching things up and making an effort to lay out my current complete kits for GFFA reenacting/living history. The clothes (soft kit) worn by a Jedi in the AgriCorps are only one part of that impression – what about field gear???

“What do the Jedi carry in their pockets? String, or nothing! In The Phantom Menace we see that the Jedi wear utility belts, and just as Batman always has the right tool for the job the Jedi would therefore carry anything the writer needed them to have in a particular story, up to and including space-shark repellent. … The Jedi would never be caught without a breather, a comlink, food capsules, etc.” (Dan Wallace, endnotes for The Jedi Path, #3 of 4)

The basic needs can be covered by a belt kit which holds the necessary tools, a canteen for hydration, and a satchel (M9A1) for a couple larger items.

What’s inside? I’m glad you asked!

1 – ‘comlink’ – top half of an old audio-recording pen. I’d like to upgrade to something more substantial and in-universe, but it’s a low priority.

2 – Multitool (Gerber Compact Sport Multi-plier 400):
I’ve been carrying this piece of equipment for over 20 years, so it is quite authentically aged and distressed! The scissors’ spring is broken, and one of the bit drivers has a chipped tip, but otherwise it has held up remarkably well.

3 – Folding trowel:
“Some find that they vastly prefer holding a gardening trowel to wielding a lightsaber.” (Power of the Jedi sourcebook, page 86.)
This is a made-in-the-USA ‘U-Dig-It’ folding trowel in a heavy vegtan leather sheath I stitched up (closure is Velcro, though I’d like to upgrade it to a more milsurp-y brass stud at some point). It may seem like an odd item to carry on one’s person, but as this persona is coming from an agri/horticultural context, I felt I needed something to visibly denote that vocation. This sturdy trowel has served me well for years, not only for transplanting seedlings but also as a first-rate cathole digger: I carried it for all 2200 miles of my ’21 SOBO AT thruhike, and it never failed me – leave no trace!

4 – Iodine dropper – probably needs a more GFFA paintjob, but it’s fine. Since I can’t put my plastic canteen in a fire to boil away the nasties, I use chemical purification. I actually like the taste (if I’m tasting iodine, it means I’m on an adventure!) and I can use it for wounds if needed (can’t do that with bleach!).
5 – A99 Aquata breather
6 – Tinder tin (birchbark, cotton balls + vaseline)
7 – Combustion device (Bic lighter in a metal sleeve)
8 – pH strips – I’d really like to create some kind of ‘soil tester’ device, but again, this kit is a low priority.
9 – Republic credits (from ‘Muddler’ on the RPF)

10 – Chiewab Amalgamated Pharmaceuticals Company’s GLiS (General Life-Sustaining) Emergency Medpac – you can read more details on the construction HERE, but inside are various adhesive bandages, vinyl gloves, hemostatic gauze, roller gauze, coagulant spray, tampons, Pepto-bismol chewables, iodine applicators, a headache relief stick, and CA glue:

11 – cutting tool (TOPS mini Scandi 2.5)
12 – stainless steel collapsible straw – Living Force, save the turtles and all that jatz.
13 – 2 oz sanitizing gel
14 – mylar emergency ‘space blanket’
15 – a copy of The Jedi Path
16 – Canteen

And as you can see, everything DOES fit neatly in the satchel, with room on top for some snacks (not pictured):

You may have noticed the conspicuous absence of a lightsaber in this kit. Based on my research, it seems most likely that a Jedi of the AgriCorps would Not possess a lightsaber. Let’s discuss:

1. They’re washouts. TJP states that saber construction is undertaken at the Padawan stage, and if they were never chosen by a Master, they would not have reached the level at which a saber would be constructed.
2. If we turn to RPG resources, the archetype for an ‘AgriCorps worker’ (Clone Wars Campaign Guide, p 122) specifies only ‘agricultural tools and datapad’ as the character’s possessions
3. However, as we see in Episode II, younglings of the various Clans do receive basic lightsaber training while learning at the Temple, and the aforementioned character sheet specifies that such a character would possess Weapon Proficiency for a lightsaber.

The above points are backed up by several examples:
*Lorian Nod (sent to the AgriCorps as a punishment) possessed no personal lightsaber as a student prior to exile (Legacy of the Jedi)
*Hestizo Trace (of the pre-Ruusan AgriCorps) had no lightsaber (Red Harvest)
*Sanya (serving on Ukio during the Clone War) did not have one, and had to appropriate a clonetrooper’s pistol to fight off battle droids (Act on Instinct)
*Gwellib Ap-Llewff (kidnapped from the AgriCorps during or just after the Clone War) had to be trained by Vader to use a saber after being turned to the Darkside. (Evasive Action: Recruitment)
*None of the AgriCorps members seen in TJP are depicted with one.

As if more justification were needed, let us we remember that good living history is focused on common people, and endeavors to present an authentic impression which is as real-world functional as possible. While I’ve seen them improve by leaps and bounds over the last 20 years, even the toughest replica lightsaber is still just an LED tube that plays recorded sounds out of the hilt. If I wanted to use my AgriCorps impression to teach a lesson with ‘training sabers’, maybe I’d pick one up. But when ‘keep it common’ is the name of the game, it’s probably best to simply omit the glowstick.

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