by David R. Chase

Created on: December 27, 2007

I have been deployed to Iraq, and I'm getting ready to go again. What did I do when we had "down time" during my first deployment? The same things I'll do when I go back - depending somewhat on whether I show up at the same FOB (Forward Operating Base) or not.

While I can't speak for every service member in Iraq, many had similar experiences to mine - I know, because during my last tour, we visited several other bases (sometimes for just a matter of hours and sometimes for days at a time).

My experience was fairly unique in one way, though; you see, I'm a female Soldier - and females don't often experience the things that I did. I was put into a predominantly male unit, and while my job in the Army isn't considered a front-line position, we were tasked out to do convoy security, patrols, and other missions that took place off of our base.

Despite what many people think, the Army does what they can with what they have - they are trying their best to make it as comfortable as possible for the Soldiers while keeping it as safe as they can. They do so much that often goes unappreciated by the general public because they don't realize that a Soldier's needs are simple compared to those of people who haven't dedicated their lives (or a portion thereof) to the Army.

While we did get ample down time, it's important to know that no Soldier in Iraq is afforded the luxury of a five-day work week. Work continues all day and all night, and weekends slip into oblivion; sometimes you only know that it's Sunday because there's a church service going on at the chapel up the street. That's a part of what made us appreciate having time off, though - and most likely what made it seem that much sweeter.

Every time we'd come back from a mission, my whole platoon would hit the showers and head for bed. Sometimes that was in the middle of the day; most often, it was in the middle of the night. If time permitted, the next day was for "mission recovery" - and that just meant that we accounted for all of our gear (and fixed it if we had broken it - with my guys, that was a common occurrence), cleaned our trucks, and recovered ourselves.

Recovery was great; you still had to stay in uniform - you could never walk around the base in civilian clothes - but it could be your physical training uniform (Army shorts and an Army t-shirt, and some comfortable tennis shoes - "PT's") instead of your full-coverage ACU's. You could prance around all day in your quarters wearing civilian clothes, but you

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>