I wanted to send out a thank you for all the support that we have received from back home. I also wanted to congratulate the graduates of the 2003 class. You have just completed one of the many milestones in life and the adventure has just begun.
In choosing a career while at Marshall University I decided on a military career as an officer in the United States Army. I spent four years on active duty then went to the Army Reserves in order to pursue a job opportunity in state government. The Army Reserves has allowed me the opportunity to continue my military career while maintaining a full time job. The Army Reserves is 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks in the summer and does not take away from my other job. I have spent the last 11 years in the Army Reserves.
I am currently serving on active duty in the United States Army in support of operation "Iraqi Freedom". I was mobilized with my reserve unit out of Charleston, WV on February 7, 2003. After mobilizing to Fort Dix, NJ, my unit, the 321st Ordnance Battalion, was sent to the country of Kuwait. For the first seven weeks I live out in the middle of the desert of Kuwait. In walking around and looking inside and away from camp all that I could see was sand in all directions. I do not think that I will feel the same about the beach ever again.
The first camp that I lived in is called "Camp Victory". This camp is made up of a few thousand troops packed into sectors of circus tents. The soldiers sleep on cots with limited space to call your own. Our unit set up some of our own tents for work areas and the officers sleep in these tents.
You had to walk to everything once you are inside the camp. Our tents were located about 1000 meters (little over ½ mile) from the dinning facility. Some go to all three meals if you are willing to make the trip in the heat. I usually make the trip once a day for the dinner meal.
In the first camp I survived a couple of major and a couple of minor sandstorms and sand was in everything I owned. The temperature at that time stayed around 100 degrees and as high as 118 degrees. The only time that you knew it was that hot was when the wind stops blowing. It is very easy to become dehydrated here and not know it due to the wind. Every day I pushed the water intake with the soldiers to ensure no one went down.
Our unit then moved to a second camp. The camp is called Camp Arifjan. This location has fixed buildings and paved roads and will be a permanent location after things draw down. Although our surrounding conditions are better this camp was not intended to hold more than a limited number of permanent active duty personnel. This camp is currently busting at the seems with people. There are a few buildings designed for quarters and they are packed. There are several warehouses being used to house personnel and those not lucky enough to get in these are in the dusty tents along the trucking lanes. Our unit was lucky and got into one of the warehouses. We are packed tightly into this warehouse. There are rows of bunk beds with 3 feet between. I share half of the space under the bottom bunk to store my stuff. The positive is that I don't have to shake out sand every day from my stuff.
I work with the recovery of ammunition to ship out of country. We work 12-hour shifts to load containers for air and sea shipments. I am currently working the night shift and assist the Ordnance companies with issues that arise during the night and push this information to the staff on day shift. This shift will have its positive and negatives as it will be cooler during work (about 85 + degrees), but will have to sleep during the heat of the day which has been over 110 degrees. I tell my self that this is better than the 2 feet of snow and 10 degree weather that I was laying out in a foxhole for training at Ft. Dix in February. You forget about the weather as you focus on the movement of hundreds of containers inside the Theater Storage Area or the Ammunition Supply Point in order to complete the mission.
Overall, life has not been that bad and I do believe that I will survive. Hope all is well with everyone back home and I would like to wish you all the best of luck.
Edward G. Cox Jr.
CPT, OD, USA