Posted on 04/21/2003 4:25:31 AM PDT by 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.
Well, I heard from a friend of a friend of a friend...
Are there really that many freepers who think that M*A*S*H was an accurate representation of the military?
(Doesn't matter what kind of trash....it's like a "thermometer" of training. If they can't keep the place clean, then the rest of their training probably isn't sticking either)
LOL. Guess again.
If you knew how some of these camps are constructed, you'd know that 90% of is common area. But you are there, I am here. I KNOW what the police call situation is like, not is Kuwait, but in a similar situation.
I think that you may be out of touch with the reality of the theater.
Those "reserve" officers are serving on active duty.
Can you cite the relevant law or regulation? I'm fairly certain that a silver oak leaf is a silver oak leaf and a silver eagle is a silver eagle. And I don't think the armed forces are required to address a superior officer with "Are you in the reserves?" before complying with an order.
I could have sworn we were talking about the Army.
You strike me as the kind of individual that would have a huge need for a "Smart Weapon", cause I can't see how the regular kind could work for you.
No. I'm zulu +3 hrs. I can actually see what the conditions of a similar camp are like.
Can you?
You're right. At this moment, I'm sitting on my ass, but I have been in ASTONISHINGLY SIMILAR circumstances to our troops in the region right now. By your screenname, I'd assume you can say the same thing.
I'd say that gives me some right to voice my opinion, even if it disagrees with yours. And if you read my posts, I don't believe I've ever cast aspersions on your thoughts or beliefs regarding this matter.
Picture this from the viewpoint of the grunts. It's a religious holiday. They know the family back home are gathered together, maybe hoping for a phonecall their husband/son has promised to try to make.
He's in line, waiting for an hour, and then the phonetents are shut down. Not for operational necessity. Not for technical problems. Because the Mayor has decided that there's just too many plastic water bottles lying around.
What a frigging morale booster.
I caveated a previous post by saying that the article was less than comprehensive, and, as such, we couldn't know everything. But based on the information provided, this was not the way to handle this.
Calling him a pissant and a jackass was probably too strong. You're right. He is in area serving his country right now. So are the troops he just kicked in the nuts in this display of authority.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.