'City in the Sand' Takes Shape

'City in the Sand' Takes Shape

By U.S. Army Sgt. Christopher Stanis / 1st Armored Division

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DUKE, Iraq, April 30, 2004 — You stand on the camp’s perimeter and look toward the horizon in any given direction. What do you see? Infinite desert: a flat, dry and dusty wasteland.

In the middle of that wasteland, near the city of An Najaf, lies Forward Operating Base Duke, the current home to the headquarters of Fort Polk, La.,-based 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, an element of Task Force 1st Armored Division.

Pfc. Jeremy Humphreys, a forward observer with 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment's combat observation lazing team (COLT), conducts his morning shave at Forward Operating Base Duke, Iraq.

U.S. Army photo

The “Dragoons” assumed control of the former Iraqi army ammunition depot from the 1st Infantry Division’s 3rd Brigade, which moved north for another mission.

Though seemingly desolate, there is a purpose to the location of Forward Operating Base Duke.

With 1st Armored Division elements already here, “it was a secure place to come to,” said Lt. Col. Don Koonce.

Koonce commands the 203rd Combat Engineer Battalion (Heavy), a Missouri Army National Guard unit attached to Task Force 1st Armored Division. Last year, the engineers tackled construction projects in Baghdad. Now, they are working in the cities of An Najaf, Al Kut and Al Diwania.

According to Koonce, Forward Operating Base Duke is only a temporary staging area until forces can move to another base closer to the city.

“Elements (of the regiment) will be moving over the next few days,” he said. “(So) we are building to expedited standards … we aren’t setting up permanent structures.”

There will always be a military presence on the base to guard the tons of unexploded munitions that surrounds the base while demolition teams blow it up, Koonce said.

A “city in the sand” is being erected to house approximately 2,400 soldiers. The camp comes with all of the amenities - showers, port-a-johns and a dining facility.

In only two weeks, the quality of life for soldiers living on Forward Operating Base Duke has vastly improved.

“When we first got here we had no showers or anything like that. There were long lines for the (few) port-a-johns,” said Sgt. Cleveland Shuler, a telecommunications specialist with Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment.

“Now,” he continued, “it isn’t bad. We have showers, we can wash our clothes.”

While the life support area is under construction, some soldiers are still living out of their vehicles. Tents were rapidly set up, additional port-a-johns were brought in and within a week and a military kitchen trailer was set up to serve one hot meal a day.

Additionally, Shuler added, the soldiers have access to free sodas and Gatorade.

“They’re making the best out of our current situation,” he said.

And if the regiment moves just after the improvements are made: “There’ll be someone behind us, so it’s all good” Shuler said.

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