My husband is deploying and leaves for Kuwait on Friday, how much money should he take- no eagle card yet?

So, he leaves for Kuwait for his 2 week training/briefing and then goes on to an undisclosed location. He has an Eagle Cash Card but they have not been given an opportunity to load the card yet. How much cash should he take with him to get him through the next couple weeks, and will he have an opportunity to load the card while he is in Kuwait or not until he gets to his final location? I have been told that not everywhere takes visa debit cards (and it's not that good of an idea to use it over seas anyway) but does everywhere take cash (American dollars, obviously). I am just trying to find the best option for him until he can get his Eagle card going and don't want him to be stranded with no money. Any good suggestions from anyone would be great! Thank you!!!