Cots, laundry, other logistics vital for troops

The News Tribune - Tacoma, WA ^ | December 7th, 2003 | Michael Gilbert

[river rat]

"Is it my imagination or is the deployed military getting soft...."

I'm not sure the correct term is "soft"....
But they sure as hell have access to "health and comfort" items that we never dreamed of.....

1. Phone calls home.
2. Email to/from home.
3. Regular snail mail.
4. Hot meals in the field.
5. Constant air cover.
6. Night vision! and Thermal Imaging!!!
7. And recently --- R&R trips HOME in mid tour!

Ah, to be young again.....

Semper Fi

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Regular snail mail.

I got mail 20 years ago in Korea faster than they get theirs in Iraq today.

[SLB]

1. Phone calls home.
I called home from Sidney on R&R
2. Email to/from home.
What is email?
3. Regular snail mail.
Twice a week mail call
4. Hot meals in the field.
We shot a small deer once and barbecued it. Surprised it was not filled with parasites, but who cared - hot chow!
5. Constant air cover.
Only arrived after the firefight was over and the area was secured.
6. Night vision! and Thermal Imaging!!!
We had a starlight scope mounted on a tripod. It was huge! Worked fairly good, but only at the firebase.
7. And recently --- R&R trips HOME in mid tour
I got to go to Sydney. Made the mistake of going in May - WINTER in the Southern Hemisphere.

[Lucy Lake]

faster than they get theirs in Iraq today.

My cousin in Iraq received priority mail packages in two weeks, isn't that a good delivery time?

[river rat]

Well, about 40 years ago, it could be months between successful deliveries of mail in Vietnam...

It became clear - that the closer to the water, the more frequent the mail reached you...

In the NW corner of I Corps -- mail was not so frequent..

Semper Fi

[river rat]

Sounds like you had it pretty "comfy" yourself! (kidding)

We older farts are amazed at the volume and nature of some of the shit we send to the field to support the fighting grunts...and jealous too..

The gear they're setting up for this new Stryker Brigade Command and Control Center is typical I suppose - and explains why these folks have always been referred to as the REMFs....

Semper Fi

[river rat]

"He's got some Christmas lights, too, and pretty soon the place will be downright cheery."

And, an easily identifiable and clearly discernable and attractive Christian TARGET!!!

Are these folks in THAT safe an area...or simply nuts?

Semper Fi

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Maybe they're trying to be fly paper. Or something else that draws flies.

Maybe they put them out in BFE on purpose. No collateral damage.

Do they still do "Mad Minutes" ?

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

MICHAEL GILBERT | THE NEWS TRIBUNE   Spc. Michael Roby, left, and Sgt. Danny Armstrong from the 223rd Engineer Battalion, Mississippi National Guard, hammer nails Saturday into the plywood roof of one of more than 100 newly dug bunkers at the Stryker brigade's camp in Iraq. Troops from Wisconsin, Colorado, West Virginia and Pennsylvania are also helping the brigade set up shop.

Today is the brigade's third full day on the ground at its camp, the location of which remains off-limits for reporting under the ground rules for reporters traveling with the unit.

...The dining facility served its first hot meal Saturday night - spicy beef over rice with vegetables, and coffee cake.

McKenney got a contractor out to service the 84 Port-A-Johns now on the camp, and he said there's another 220 or so on the way.

...They're putting up and wiring more than 70 tents; it appeared about half had power by the end of Saturday.

As for cots, that's a sore point...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 * Stryker Brigade, ping!

[blackie]

Cots, laundry, other logistics vital for troops ~ Bump~

[R. Scott]

It must be safe - or they are setting up a tempting target.
I visited the 173rd at Bien Hoa in early 1967. The perimeter was cleared well out with great fields of fire, but there was only a single string of concertina. The troop tents were within a few yards of the wire. It didn’t look too safe to me, until one of the guys showed me his bunk – cases of grenades and ammo stacked everywhere. They wanted Charlie to attack the “weak target”. It seemed to work pretty well too.

[PhilDragoo]

And at Valley Forge they had no shoes, though my great-to-the-fifth grandfather at Fort Pitt was in better shape.

These people are ducks in a shooting gallery so people here can shoot off their mouths.

I don't begrudge them a cot.

[Alamo-Girl]

Bump!

[archy]

Is it my imagination or is the deployed military getting soft and spending a whole lot of cash that is not necessary?

I always kiked a hammock better than a cot, and having slept in the driver's and gunner's seats in M48 and M60 tanks, I always thought that flopping out on a barracks floor was downright cozy, especially if I had my magic oiece of foam rummer for my sleeping pad, not too different from the closed-cell pads they use now.

But so far as tents or plywood-roof bunkers, there's a much better way.

[Cogadh na Sith]

Is it my imagination or is the deployed military getting soft and spending a whole lot of cash that is not necessary?

It hasn't been an actual field army in 30 years. It's having a hard time transitioning from a garrison army to a field army....

Besides, most notably--how many women did you have deployed with you? --There's your answer....

[JustBack]

"Blanking wimps?????????"

I will take any soldier in the SBCT over jerks like you anyday. You shoot off your mouth with comments like that as you sit your butt on your sofa. I just returned from training these great folks in the desert of Kuwait. They deserve any comforts we can give them. Maybe you should be thanking them instead of disparaging them.

[section9]

Well, about 40 years ago, it could be months between successful deliveries of mail in Vietnam...

It became clear - that the closer to the water, the more frequent the mail reached you...

In the NW corner of I Corps -- mail was not so frequent..

Jesus, the Eye Corps' NW Corner? What did you guys do, use North Vietnamese mail?

Oh well, it sure beat dodging mortar rounds, I suppose.

I keep wondering how this brigade will fare in RPG alley.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[section9]

Fine. Now that you're back, perhaps you can tell us how the Strykers will fare up against RPG-7's. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[dts32041]

I sit on my butt cause I retired after 20 years of active duty.

You are obviously enamored with the creature comforts.

Wish you could have trained with me when the 7th LID was traveling the world, then mayhap you might find out what train as would fight.

But lessons learned are lessons lose, from generation to generation of solider.

Now mayhap you should talk with some Nam foot sluggers, or maybe some combat infantry man from WWII, cots, BS.

Pretty circus tents,(to close together) more BS, brigade TOCS are suppose to be mobile, and protected from artillery and mortar attacks but then what do I know, only lived the Army for 20 years.

So FOAD you young pup.