I'm Battling Enemy Bugs in the Desert (Nobody has bathed for 10 days)

National Post ^ | March 28, 2003 | Matthew Fisher

[UnklGene]

I'm Battling Enemy Bugs in the Desert (Nobody has bathed for at least 10 days)

Matthew Fisher National Post

Friday, March 28, 2003

Overhead, the biggest swarm of Cobra attack helicopters seen so far during the war raced toward the front to soften the Iraqi position. The Marines' 155-mm howitzers also opened up to do the same thing.

As dusk fell last night, U.S. spy drones passed overhead on their way to scout positions forward as U.S. forces prepare for their attack on Saddam Hussein's capital.

The battle for Baghdad is looming, but it may not begin until next week at the earliest.

Meanwhile, I am engaged in other battles that seem almost as real to me as the war to defeat Saddam Hussein.

One is the tussle for space in the back of the armoured personnel carrier I'm travelling in. My opponents are two lance corporals.

We sit on benches with our backs to each other, two of them on one side and me on the other.

The benches are about 1 1/2 metres long. About half the space is piled high with ammunition, backpacks, computers, cameras and satellite phones. Then there are personal effects and sleeping bags.

Every time they manage to sneak one package from their side to mine, they gain a few extra centimetres.

As there are two of them and only one of me, they tend to win these battles.

The reason every centimetre counts is that, depending on the schedule and the weather, we have to spend as many as 30 hours straight cooped up in a space the size of a dog kennel.

The problem for me is that in the dog world, I would be a St. Bernard.

It's amazing how much stuff you can cram into a small space.

In front of me to my right is the main gunner's M-16 semi-automatic rifle, a fire extinguisher and a tool box.

On top of the tool box is my camel pack, an oblong soft- covered canteen that can be slung across the back outside the vehicle.

Above hangs a metre-long saw. Below is ammunition for a medium machine gun. This is where my knees tend to hit.

Then there's a decontamination kit that would be used if we are "slimed," to use the Marines' parlance, by chemical or biological weapons.

To my left on the wall is a backup radio, more ammunition and a side holder that contains a machete, two canteens that work with a gas mask, and a short-wave radio.

Behind my head is a cloth line from which hang about half a dozen canteens.

Finally, over my left shoulder is the main gun turret, where the gunner and the captain who runs the company I am travelling with sit. Ahead of them sits the driver for the 14-tonne vehicle.

When the gun turret is in the right position, you can open one of the overhead hatches and sit half-exposed to the elements. You put a bandanna across your mouth and wear goggles to protect yourself from the blowing sand.

The Marines were stunned at first by the desolation of the desert. But now we're seeing palm trees and oases and people by the road.

The grunts I am travelling with say, being in the Marine Corps, they have learned to sleep almost anywhere.

It is not a skill I have learned very quickly. I have never been able to sleep sitting bolt upright. But, after several days in this vehicle, I now sleep six or seven hours at a stretch, without being able to move as much as an inch one way or the other.

This for me was achieving the impossible and to date my great personal victory in the war against Iraq.

Then there are the bugs.

There were flies today. A couple of days ago, it was midges. They swarm everywhere, getting in your nose and eyes. We were covered with them -- it's just another irritation in Iraq.

The air inside the personnel carrier isn't that bad because the hatches can be opened to let in fresh air. The problem is that the engine runs very hot so it can become sweltering inside.

At night, when it's fairly cool, it isn't that bad a place to sleep.

Although nobody has bathed at all for at least 10 days, we don't notice the smell -- maybe because everybody is the same.

Our hands are filthy, with sand getting into the cracks. This is very painful and makes it hard to write.

The conditions are absolutely appalling. But the Marines are quite used to it.

They don't complain. They laugh and shake their heads about it, and get on with the job.

[merrin]

As there are two of them and only one of me, they tend to win these battles.

The fact that they're Marines may have somehting to do with it as well.

[Cicero]

It's been a long time since I've read such good basic reporting, which allows the reader to feel that he is there. This is the kind of gritty detailed background you sometimes got during the Second World War, as I vaguely remember it.

[ET(end tyranny)]

I agree. I liked the article and thought he did a good job describing the situation.

[HairOfTheDog]

Although nobody has bathed at all for at least 10 days, we don't notice the smell -- maybe because everybody is the same.

G'nad, this story brought a tear to my eye!... snif!

[HairOfTheDog]

forgot to ping you! - see above!

[Travis McGee]

GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS!

(And this reporter too.)

[DeaconBenjamin]

gritty indeed.

[dts32041]

Boy is he going to be surprised when he takes his first shower and can get near his clothes.

If i have to explain it you will never understand.

[WVNan]

Gee, this reminds me of the good ole days on the road with the band; six big guys and me in one little van pulling an equipment trailer. One gets quite used to sleeping sitting up. But I never did get used to the smell after three days non-stop travel. I don't think we did smell the same. Those guys stunk much worse than I did. LOL. I think about those grunts over there and pray for them without ceasing. They are some tough dudes.

[Missouri]

Both my Uncle and Father are WW2 vets. Though my Father was on convoy duty on the Atlantic and seen little action, he would talk about the storms and how his destroyer was being tossed about in the huge waves.
My uncle is in the process of writing a book about his time in North Africa, Sicily, Normandy, and into Germany and I've got a copy of the manuscript. He goes into great detail on the hardships of the average soldier such as fighting a fanatical enemy, sub-freezeing temps., deaths from friendly fire, etc.
Everyday I pray that our troops in Iraq find the streagth and courage to finish the job like great American service men did before them.
More detailed reports like the one you just posted may help people realize what these guys are going through.

[Pinetop]

I wondered when someone was going to mention the sandflies. When I lived in Dahran, Saudi as a pre-teen, that was the most horrible thing for me. Even with the chador, the flies were in your ears, eyes, nose, mouth. Wherever they could find any moisture. I have told people about it since, but I do not have the Hemingway style of this reporter.

[MHGinTN]

The third is getting new chem suits after their hygiene.

[RobbyS]

Right. Good stuff. Ernie Pyle would like it. No B.S.

[Conservababe]

It's been a long time since I've read such good basic reporting, which allows the reader to feel that he is there.

I agree. I know that our embedded reporters cannot transmit but a few minutes before they turn it over to the anchors. I do appreciate their reports from the front line.

But, cannot they write of their first hand experiences and transmit to the anchors? Sometimes, I do not need breaking news, but accounts from the front.

[FreeReign]

It's been a long time since I've read such good basic reporting, which allows the reader to feel that he is there. This is the kind of gritty detailed background you sometimes got during the Second World War, as I vaguely remember it.

I had to swat away the midges from my monitor and I had to shake the sand from my keyboard after reading this gritty account.

[The Westerner]

You are so right. It's interesting to contemplate just how much extra space is taken up by the anti-chem/bio stuff. A special canteen for use with the body suits? Incredible. Does anyone know how long it takes for the chem. weapos/bio agents to dissipate? Just wondering how long the soldiers would have to be in this gear.

[FreedomCalls]

The conditions are absolutely appalling. But the Marines are quite used to it. They don't complain. They laugh and shake their heads about it, and get on with the job.

More than I can say about the reporters.

[Happygal]

Maybe it's a good thing the French aren't part of the Allied troops. Could you imagine sharing a truck with those stinkin' b******

[Chu Gary]

War is not a party and I am very sympathetic to the plight of the troops now waging war. However, the reporter might appreciate a little perspective. The troops now have the best war conditions troops have ever had, it's been worse in every war prior to this one. I was in Vietnam and the things he talks about were common. BUT, during WWII and WWI, conditions were horrible. During the Civil War, they didn't have sulfa, it had not yet been invented - get an injury, you're either going to die with gangrene or they would just cut that part out/off WITHOUT anesthetic (also not yet invented). Let's not even think about the War of 1812 and the Revolutionary War, much, much worse.

Still, our brave men and women currently fighting the good fight around the world deserve our prayers - they have mine and they need every prayer they can receive!