I bought my daughter, a soldier headed to Afghanistan, a used DX-380
(ATS-808) and it works great for that. Look on eBay. Cheap enough not to
have to worry about, but a great radio. Perfect size (according to her) and
they come with a nice protective carrying case. Operates very well on the
built-in whip, which will be important for your soldier. Good battery life
also. This radio gets very high marks by reviewers and my experience
confirms that it is a good radio, especially for the $.

"Sherman" wrote in message
news
My friend's brother is going into the US armed forces, probably to the
wars. What's the best radio to give as a goodbye present? Not too
expensive but a good soldier's radio.