Dust storms blow through Kuwait camps
by Spc. Jacob Boyer
CAMP NEW YORK, Kuwait (Army News Service, March 4, 2003) -- Soldiers found themselves cleaning their gear after the third dust storm in as many weeks left a coat of sand covering the camps in northern Kuwait Feb. 25.
"I couldn't see five feet in front of me," said Spc. Jose Loya, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Infantry Division (Mech.) fueler from El Paso, Texas. "But you've just got to suck it up and drive on."
Gusts of up to 29 knots made seeing difficult as virtual walls of sand swept through living areas.
"The biggest factor (in the storms) is the gusty winds," said Maj. Dave Coxwell, 15th Air Support Operations Squadron weather flight commander. "It's very dependent on the seasons. In this season, you can see high winds every day, and a storm like this maybe once every 10 days."
There are many problems associated with the storms, but one of the biggest is eye protection, said Coxwell, a Savannah, Ga., native.
"If you can't see, you can't fight," he said. "Right now the big issue is visibility. It negatively impacts all kinds of operations, particularly flight."
"When the dust rolls in, you've got to put your goggles on and find whatever breathing protection you've got," said Spc. Austin Boone, HHC, 123rd Signal Battalion information systems technician.
Technical equipment, such as computers, is very vulnerable in a dust storm, said Boone, who is from Alexandria, Va. Many soldiers wrap their gear in clear plastic bags so work can continue without ruining the equipment.
"Sand gets into everything," Coxwell said. "It's either laptops failing or just everything getting covered in it."
Recent storms have also damaged tents around the camps. One of the dining facilities at Camp New York has had one of its walls collapse twice, and other tents have completely collapsed.
Once the storms pass, cleanup begins.
"Our office has an air compressor," Boone said. "We go around and clean everybody's computers and tables. You've got to get the dust out as quickly as you can."
Boone, who was in Kuwait last summer during 3rd Brigade's rotation, said the recent storms are only the beginning.
"We haven't even seen the real dust storms yet," he said. We'll see them in a few months. You can't see anything."
The gusts in Kuwait in March average about 34 knots, Coxwell said.
Dust storms can affect a soldier's day in other ways beyond the impact on equipment.
"These dust storms are kind of like a rainy day back in the States," Boone said. "You know the day's going to be sluggish, you don't want to go outside, and you don't want to do any work."
(Editor's note: Spc. Jacob Boyer is a member of the 3rd Infantry Division public affairs team.)
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