Messy camp costs troops calls to home (kuwait)

gomemphis.com ^ | 20 APR 03 | By Cox News Service

[KineticKitty]

Messy camp costs troops calls to home

By Cox News Service

April 20, 2003

CAMP UDAIRI, Kuwait - On the eve of Easter, Fort Hood's sons and daughters couldn't call home from this miserable desert outpost because the place has been declared too messy.

The perhaps aptly named "Mayor" Bosse closed the phone tent "until further notice" and created an uproar among thousands of 4th Infantry Division troops waiting here for convoys into Iraq.

Dubbed the mayor because he is in charge of administering the camp, Mayor Bosse is actually Lt. Col. Peter Bosse, a reserve officer from Minneapolis, Minn.

It's not as though this is a scenic site. There is no vegetation - only sand and rocks and tents and tanks and Humvees and soldiers. There are also very few trash cans. Litter consists mostly of empty plastic water bottles.

The trash piles are possible breeding grounds for rodents and fire hazards, Bosse said.

The phone tent opened only a couple of days ago. Lines for a call home are hours long but soldiers willingly wait to hear the voices of loved ones.

Bosse said when the camp is clean, the phone tent will "absolutely" re-open immediately.

"I suspect that will happen soon," said Bosse.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

...if you know of some way or something that can be done about this, please let me know.

Since you asked...

They could police their areas and keep the camp clean.

They're in the military. It's called discipline. I hear the military is famous for it.

[boxerblues]

cockroaches are major problem even in the desert

[KineticKitty]

And what of foot powder and such? Hopefully supply would carry some extra. But supply is not always up to par.

[KineticKitty]

If were assuming it was that bad, Yes I would agree. Seems the "mayor" is one of very few that felt this way however.

[oyez]

The military hasn't changed all that much over the years. Just a measure to enforce disipline. BTW, disipline is not a negative thing, especially in the Army.

[elfman2]

"Soldiers being kept from buying needed supplies before they "pull out" might not agree with the no harm done attitude."

I think don't know what you're talking about, but I doubt that'll stop you.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

What happened here is known as "motivation."

In most places. Unless the US military brought them, there's no such thing as trash cans in that area. The locals sure don't believe in them. They throw trash anywhere because "Allah will take care of it." The windstorms and the desert usually bury it. In Saudi Arabia, we cleaned up an area. Three hours later you couldn't even tell anyone ever picked up the garbage, just from what the winds deposited there.

[CWOJackson]

It really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks; what the LtCol thinks matters.

It's very easy to let things like this slip in the field and it's his DUTY to tighten things up when they do...he did his job, nothing more. Field sanitation isn't something the average troop puts high value on but it's no less important.

It's just like shaving. That's a real pain in the arse in desert conditions but even one day's growth of beard can make the difference between a good mask seal and death...and there are a lot of young troopers that need to be reminded of this.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Seems the "mayor" is one of very few that felt this way however.

I do agree with you...to a point.

If this was a "bolt out the blue" type of swift retribution on his part then it could have been handled better. However, if he'd already spoken with an officer or perhaps an NCO about getting the mess cleaned up, then I stand by my original assessment. There's a bit more about this that needs to be known.

[Riley]

Disagree.

This is the military. There is usually someone tasked with seeing to field sanitation. This individuals responsibilities usually include planning latrine areas and trash arrangements.

It is the responsibility of command at each level to ensure that designated practises regarding such are followed, so that there are no casualties from disease among the ranks. The longer the unit is emplaced somewhere, the more elaborate the procedures can be.

At least that's how it used to be.

[TontoKowalski]

I don't disagree with you on much, but I flat do on this issue.

For a pissant Reserve O-5 to shut down phone priviledges for 2 days and to deny the troops access to exchange services for toiletries because plastic water bottles are lying around is beyond the pale.

A good (not even good, just competent) officer would have called in the JO's and Senior NCOs, raised a little hell, problem fixed, and that would be the end of it.

This was total BS. The "Mayor" just got a little big for his britches. DoD runs around spouting about "People are Our Highest Priority." It's time to prove it by putting a boot up the Mayor's butt.

[BSunday]

Even when we come back to home port from a long deployment, everybody knows you're not getting liberty until the ship is clean.

PS That's one of the most awkward headlines I have ever seen.

[CWOJackson]

"For a pissant Reserve O-5 to..."

The 0-5 is an 0-5 and on active duty.

"A good (not even good, just competent) officer would have called in the JO's and Senior NCOs..."

Good JO's and NCO's wouldn't have to be called in, they wouldn't have allowed the condition to develope to this point.

[duk]

This type of action is not unusual. I spent entire day (Easter) looking for a popsicle stick that the RIP instructor had hidden. In order to get a few hours off we had to police the grounds and find that stick.
Never did find it, and we never got our "few hours off." Training and discipline, it's the military way.

[TontoKowalski]

What the Colonel was within his authority to do, and what anybody with half a brain would have done, are two different issues.

Of course, it's hard to tell...the article is less than comprehensive, but from what I read, the Mayor is a jackass.

[Illbay]

Anywhere there are masses of people there are rats.

[CWOJackson]

Jackass?

I'd save that for types who call reservists pissants. That so called pissant is serving in country and doing his job...and you're sitting on your arse somewhere over here calling him a jackass?

[cynicom]

As ex-military, I never saw any condition or situation occur, in which someone was not in "charge". If those people in charge shirked their responsibility, then a rebuke is indeed warranted. The very fact that the "situation" arose shows that there indeed was a dereliction of duty. The OIC will do the usual, a private off the record chat with the responsible people, and a very public rebuke of the troops.

A very poorly handled affair.

[flyer182]

How do you know what the LtCol did or did not do? And he is a pissant? How about jack asses who jump to conclusions?

[70times7]

Many may indeed think that the camp is not "that dirty" and they are entitled to think so. However, they happen to be in the MILITARY. They don't have ballot boxes on bases; the only opinion that matters is that of the officer in charge. If he or she is a jerk it will usually get handled but even those types are a reality of the military - one just deals with it.

And if you think that the military is devoid individuals who act like teenagers that don't know enough to clean their rooms you don't know the military. I knew a few in the NAV who would have had to grow some to get to that level. Fortunately they were a minority - doesn't mean they didn't screw things up for all the rest of us on occasion.