Mind you, this is just my observations as a recent civilian / MBA – I quote no official numbers or positions here!
I was on several different major bases and was surprised by the commonality. I guess common problem => common solution. (that, and one contractor in Iraq doing this). Most troops – at least on major bases – live in CHUs – containerized housing units. Like the CLUs I mentioned on the OPLATs – just a different name. A typical CHU contains 2-8 bunks (depends if it has a dividing wall, etc), as well as foot lockers, maybe a bit of furniture, a TV and any other personal effects… The vast majority are ‘dry’ CHUs – which means if you want to shower or use the restroom it is a walk. The ultimate luxury is a private ‘wet’ CHU (containing shower and toilet) – and those are extremely rare. Maybe a commanding officer or general gets those.
Bases generally have several clusters of housing in an area – analogous to city blocks – and they generally have catchy names such as ‘Dodge City’. There are bus services on the base that transport folks around (bases are rather large – small cities) and besides that there are fleets of Chevy Suburbans and Expeditions and Fords and Toyotas and Land Rovers up the wazoo – not to mention HMMVWs, MRAPS, Strykers, and other large military vehicles, plus trucks to carry food / water / sewage / oil / etc etc. You need to be careful when walking.
A quick web search estimated that costs for just the CHU container is around $2000 (used), then insulate it, put some internal walls and floor in, add doors, windows, and electricity, and a couple of AC units and lights / switches / outlets, then top it off with beds and furniture –> you have a CHU. I am guessing upwards of $15,000 each. Then, load it on a ship, transport to a port in Iraq or Kuwait, convoy it to your base, install it on concrete pads, connect it, and you have the start of a CHU town. Install a bunch, add in the a couple latrines and shower CHUs, surround it with T-walls, connect water / sewage / electricity, and you have the town. So, say there are 150,000 US troops in Iraq, and twice as many contractors, put 5 people in each CHU (for math), and I get in the ballpark of 100,000 CHUs in country. When we depart, do we load them all up and ship them back? Or leave them for the natives. I have no idea.
T-walls are there for protection against ‘IDF’ – indirect fire such as mortars and rockets. The bad guys still shoot them at bases, so the walls are a good thing. Though the T-walls will not protect against a direct hit, they do protect against near misses. There are also T-walls inside the towns, so though you don’t have a great view, you are reasonably safe. The big base, small rocket theory applies. There are also shelters nearby, so there are safe spots – presuming that you get enough warning.
A typical ‘CHUTOWN’ on Camp Victory, Baghdad, Iraq. T-walls surround it, gravel to keep the dust down (though it is a pain to walk on), and inside there are rows of trailers for living, common shower units, and latrines.
That is the housing. Each base also has one of more ‘DFACs’ - dining facility. These are big open buildings staffed by KBR or some other contractor, and is where you get your meals. Imagine a Home Depot or similar ‘big box’ store. Your ID is checked (and they check to see if you have a weapon – needed to get in some of them!), you scan your ID, wash hands with soap and water (required) then enter, grab tray, plate, and plastic ware, then proceed into a smorgasbord. It is cafeteria a la carte serving, and you can grab AS MUCH as you want, no charge. There is incredible variety – a normal food line, fast food, mexican bar, indian bar, salad bar, pizza/pasta, fruit… Hard part is stopping. Then, there are coolers and drink dispensers – juice, soda, gatorade, and bottled water of course. And, to top it off, there is always ice cream and a really nice dessert bar. Once you have your food, there are tables galore – one of the DFACs on Camp Victory serves 10,000 lunches a day, for example. Very easy to put on pounds if you are not careful.
All of this is contracted out. I spoke with one of the workers – a very nice man from India who has been in Iraq working for a variety of contractors for over five years now. He is actually heading home for the first time in five years later this summer – going to see his family that he left behind. He tried to explain the game of Cricket to me as we watched some of his friends play – I quickly gave up trying to understand the rules.
Indeed, that is one of the tricky things about accounting this war. Yes, we have 150K or so troops in theater, but there have to be at least 2-3 times that in contractors. For example, that DFAC needs people to cook food, serve it, clean up, and handle trash. Someone has to truck that trash around base and collect it. Someone else has to truck the food in from a warehouse, and that food gets there in a convoy from a seaport somewhere, so you need drivers plus security.. It all adds up. Unlike prior wars, the Army does not do all of that – contractors do. Lots of talk of those KBR guys making tons of money, and they probably do, but it actually makes sense financially. Yes, they cost more than a soldier, but it really is a one time cost – are not paying for the training, care and feeding, medical, or retirement for that contractor – just an hourly wage. Once we are out of Iraq, the Army is not paying that persons wages and benefits for the next 15 years plus another 40 years of pension. AND, politically, contractors are not the same as having soldiers on the ground – makes that troop count lower. Imagine having 500,000 troops in Iraq…
That is just food and shelter. Of course, there is sewage and electricity – presume that we have built sewage treatment plans and have generators up the wazoo. (which require fuel…) For water, bases seem to have built water treatment plants. On Camp Victory, I saw a US built bottled water plant – much cheaper to import a few pounds of plastic beads, make bottles here and fill them locally rather than ship empty or full bottles from the US. Next to the plant was an open field that had to be at least 10 acres and it was covered with pallets of filled water bottles. I can see why – in the heat I went through a good 5 or 6 one liter bottles of water a day, not to mention juice, coffee, soda, and Gatorade.
There are also rec facilities for the troops on base – a PX complex (stores) where you can buy a lot of common goods – sort of like a small Target. Also fast food restaurants (expensive - a Whopper was $6.50 at one I noticed…), computer lounges, libraries, gyms, movies, etc etc. Stuff to keep folks busy. You can also buy internet service – most everyone has a laptop – costs $80 - $88 per month depending on the base. Roomies often split the cost, so keeping in touch with home is easier than ever before. Is going to be interesting to see what happens when the troops pull back out of the cities by the end of the month and hand things over to the locals. I think that US troops will not be able to do much without an invite from the locals, so there are going to be a lot of bored soldiers here.
That is my MBA view of life on a base in Iraq. Again, these are major established bases – not the more spartan forward operating bases. But, all in all, though not exactly private or convenient, life on a base is not that bad. However, I am glad to be back in my apartment here with a private bedroom and bathroom!
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