Fort Lewis soldiers endure tent living while at war

A 'tent city' in Iraq

TACOMA, Wash. -- Fort Lewis soldiers at Camp Liberty in Baghdad are making do without some of the luxuries enjoyed by their comrades stationed elsewhere in the country.

While the Army provides some leisure activities like pool, ping pong and even karaoke night, most of the 600 members with the 1st Battalion of the 23rd Infantry Regiment are living in tents with 25 or more soldiers. That's in contrast to the two-man trailers their fellow Stryker brigade soldiers are given to the north in Mosul.

There's constant activity in the tents, which are air conditioned, as soldiers go out on missions at different times or play video games to relax.

"I don't really mind living in tents," 22-year-old Pvt. Nicholas Mayer of Maryland told The News Tribune of Tacoma, which has a reporter assigned to the brigade in Iraq.

However, a tent can't be locked up like a trailer, which means someone has to be on guard duty during the night, Mayer said, noting that that soldier then isn't available for the following day's missions.

Lack of Internet access is another hard part for many Fort Lewis soldiers who have to walk a half-mile to the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Center to get online. Even then, they must wait more than an hour at peak times to log on, and are limited to 30 minutes if others are waiting.

The connection's slow, so there's just enough time to write or reply to only one e-mail.

Read the rest at the Seattle Post Intelligencer