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Monday, May 23, 2005
Soldiers turn Kuwaiti desert into small-town America
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Camp Buehring, Kuwait — At night, this desert base takes on some of the look and feel of a rural Georgia town.
Young soldiers, some of them barely out of high school, mill around a town square of sorts that contains a Subway, Pizza Inn and internet cafe. The PX, or post exchange — the busiest enterprise of all — takes on the role of an old-fashioned general store.
Male and female soldiers aren’t allowed in the same sleeping quarters, so they gather outside in mixed groups to watch movies in makeshift theaters consisting of computers or DVD players stacked on crates or card tables. Others stroll up and down Eisenhower Street where the former president’s name contributes to the sense of Americana.
The scene is like a Norman Rockwell portrait — except virtually everyone is armed and the male-female ratio is about 10-to-one.
“If not for the fact they don’t have cars, this would probably seem like just about any other Saturday night at home,” said Capt. Phil Botwinik, an Atlanta lawyer in civilian life who works on the 48th Brigade’s legal staff. “It hardly seems like another country at all.”
Soldiers are required to wear their uniforms and carry weapons whenever they’re outside. But they’ve been making the most of the one exception they’re allowed. If they’re going to exercise, they can wear standard black shorts and gray Army T-shirts.
The camp is illuminated with stadium-style lights. But in this desolate, blistering desert, there are no moths or other insects buzzing around them. A group of six sparrows are the only animal life I’ve seen inside the camp, although they say it’s not uncommon for camels to pass by outside the gates.
The base is staffed with workers from India, Bangladesh and the Philippines, but it’s rare to hear conversation in any language other than English. Chamblee is far more exotic than this place could ever be.
The last group of Georgia soldiers arrived Friday morning, so the entire 48th Brigade is now overseas.
Most of the bleary-eyed soldiers spend their first day or two resting in air-conditioned tents, unpacking their personal gear and adjusting to the seven-hour time difference. Now, they’re beginning to act sleepy at night and energetic in the daytime, just like they should.
The camp is filling with a scores of heavy military vehicles in preparation for a series of convoys that soon will carry the soldiers into Iraq.
Soldiers have begun driving the heavy guns and tanks to remote firing ranges and recalibrating the weapons.
The camp hums and chugs with the constant sound of diesel engines. That’s not from trucks as much as the generators that supply electrical power to the sprawling facility.
The weather has been less oppressive in the last couple of days, but mid-day temperatures usually climb well above 100 degrees. It was 110 Sunday with no trees and precious little shade.
Sgt. Errol Tripp of Decatur describes the mid-day heat this way: “Take a blow dryer, put it on high, and point it towards your face,” he said. “Then throw in some sand and you’ve got it. Kuwait.”
Despite the relative safety and restfulness of their stay at Camp Buehring, many of the soldiers say they’re looking forward to getting on with their mission in Iraq.
“I want to get on with it already,” said Sgt. 1st Class Ronnie Perryman of Rincon, a surveyor by trade. “Even if we’re getting shot at in Iraq, at least we won’t be bored.”
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