COLD AIR, HOT VIDEO GAMES, REAL CHOW -- RESERVISTS FINDING DEPLOYED LIFE GETTING BETTER BY THE DAY
V Corps Release
Release Date: 9/03/2003
By Sgt. Grant Calease 3rd Corps Support Command Public Affairs Office
LOGISTICAL SUPPORT AREA ANACONDA, Iraq -- With active combat over here, soldiers here are settling into their role as nation-builders and life is getting a little better.
When U.S. Army Reserve soldiers with the 3rd Corps Support Command (Continental United States Augmentation) from Fort Des Moines, Iowa, arrived here in May to augment V Corps's active-duty 3rd COSCOM, living conditions weren't that desirable.
But constant work has been done to improve the way the soldiers are living and working here, and the transition from an active combat role to a nation-building role means a slower daily tempo, and a little more free time to enjoy those improvements.
"When we first got here the conditions weren't very good," said Spc. William Wright. "We had no electricity and no fans.
"Along the way things have gotten better. We now have air conditioning," he said.
The tents the soldiers live in are in an open area where an unrelenting sun beats down on them all day. The installation of air conditioning to the living areas was a major morale-booster.
"It's impossible to sleep in the tents during the day," said Spc. Benjamin Fox of the days prior to air conditioning. "We spend a lot more time in the tents now because it's too hot out to go outside."
"They have made a lot of progress, but the air conditioning is definitely the best."
"Air conditioning means a lot. It brought the morale up a lot," agreed Cpl. David Lindley. According to Lindley, the addition of a second air conditioning unit to each tent makes the troops' quarters livable.
"With one unit is was still hot, but two makes it tolerable. With none it was unbearable," Lindley said of the Iraqi heat, which has climbed beyond 130 degrees.
Other improvements here include several new dining facilities and new personal hygiene areas.
"We actually have chow halls now, which is a big improvement over eating MREs [Meals Ready-to-Eat] or out of MKTs [Mobile Kitchen Trailers]," said Wright.
Wright commented on the abundance of more and higher quality foods at the new chow halls, as well as cold drinks. "It's just better food," he said.
The reservists had been sharing shower tents with thousands of other troops but now are using trailers that provide an individual stall for each soldier and sinks for shaving and brushing teeth.
"The new showers are awesome," said Fox. "One, we don't have to walk a mile and a half to the shower anymore, and two, they are cleaner and more private."
Many soldiers say killing free time has become the key to making the days here fly by. The reservists have added a few perks from home to help pass their days.
"Since we got the entertainment center up the time has definitely flown by," said Wright. That entertainment center, in the tent Wright shares with Fox, features a portable DVD player and two video game systems hooked into a 14-inch television.
The television and video game consoles were purchased on a trip to Kuwait City, while games and movies are bought on the Internet or sent from home, said Wright.
Since the system's arrival, the two specialists' tent has become a popular destination, with many soldiers nearby joining in video football tournaments.
"We're going to miss the football season, so at least we can play it," said Wright. "Anything to take your mind off being here."
"You know you're having fun when you see a bunch of guys huddled around a little TV in the corner of a tent," said Fox.
Still, as the soldiers pass their seventh month deployed, their thoughts drift continually to what's on everyone's mind - the biggest morale booster of all - the day when they return to their homes and the lives they left behind.
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