I went to another FOB yesterday, to do my last unit survey, and to talk to the soldiers in that small unit. The unit is from a northeastern state, and is attached to us for our rotation.
I was feeling kind of funny about this trip. Putting 12 soldiers’ lives at risk to administer a survey, well, let’s just say I’d have felt very badly if anyone had been hurt. However, the worst thing that happened was that I missed lunch. So that’s no so bad.
The soldiers had occupied a house, and had modified it to fit their needs, primarily by subdividing it to make more living space. For example, picture a breezeway between a garage and a house. Well, that space would be walled in, and then split into several rooms. They all had good air conditioning. Still, they were small dark rooms housing at least two men, and stuffed with all their gear, equipment, and personal items.
If your office is around 10 x 10, or if you have a small room in your house, go there and look around it. Picture 2 bunk beds, all the gear issued to two men, all the personal & comfort items for two men, no window, one four-foot fluorescent tube, clothes, food, desk tops with computers, and then imagine living there for a year.
The chow hall on that FOB serves only two meals a day, and every room I looked in was stocked with civilian food. They are getting food mailed from home, and would cook it there on a two burner hot plate. One fellow related a story of packing meat in dry ice and bringing it home from leave.
The issue here is $$. There are simply not enough soldiers on that FOB for the Army to justify putting a decent chow hall there. It’s also manpower. If soldiers are cooking, and pulling KP, they aren’t doing the other mission. They didn’t seem to mind their circumstances. I am continually impressed, surprised, amazed by how much soldiers will put up with and still keep good humor.
America is truly sending some of it best young (and in the case of the Guard, not so young) men and women to fight this war.
No comments:
Post a Comment