Photo By Luis Delgadillo | Spc. Zoe Ann Wieman, laundry and textiles specialist with the 549th Quartermaster...... read more read more
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By Sgt. Luis Delgadillo
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division
COMBAT OUTPOST MURRAY, Iraq – While most Soldiers in Iraq enjoy the benefit of having contractors do their laundry, one group of Soldiers is washing nearly 400 pounds of laundry daily.
Arriving at Combat Outpost Murray last November, Soldiers of the 549th Quartermaster Company, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga., were tasked with providing quartermaster support such as shower and laundry facilities. The quartermasters are doing their part to support fellow Soldiers.
Though Soldiers at COP Murray had shower facilities prior to the 549th's arrival, the showers often fell into disrepair and laundry service was nonexistent.
Getting clean clothes meant 1-30th Inf. Regt. Soldiers had to transport soiled laundry to FOB Falcon, which translated into an hour drive accompanied by a route clearance team.
Pfc. Eric Ward, a laundry and textile specialist with the 549th QM Co., said he welcomed the challenge of providing services to the smaller combat outpost.
Ward, a native of Compton, Calif., said he felt good knowing he was providing a valuable service.
For him it meant getting the opportunity to practice his job as originally intended: in combat, forward, and alongside those in need of service.
One of the oldest corps in the Army, quartermasters have always been located near front lines of fighting.
In recent years, the availability of contracted services in Iraq has led to a decline in the need for military occupational specialties of Soldiers such as Ward, but those services are not feasible for all.
Remote bases are places where many contractors cannot go, proving that even in today's modern battlefield, quartermasters remain vital to the war fighter.
Sgt. Sharon Garland, a section sergeant with the 549th QM Co., said as a 10-year veteran of the Army she was used to being attached to units like the 1-30th Inf. Regt. but upon arriving to COP Murray her first impression was, "wow we're in the middle of nowhere...nothing (around)."
The remote location of the COP did nothing to shake the resolve of the support Soldiers who were prepared to provide efficient laundry service, often with a one-day turnaround.
The squad-sized element of 549th Soldiers with their equipment is capable of supporting upwards of 800 Soldiers, said Garland, a native of Thomasville, Ga.
Garland and her fellow quartermasters provide laundry service in two shifts, from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. and from 7 a.m. until 2 a.m.
"I tell them that if our equipment goes down then we can't provide services for these guys out here," Garland said. "This is what we came out here to do, to make sure they have hot showers and clean clothes."
By all accounts the services have provided a noticeable boost to morale.
"There is a lot less hassle to be able to go out here, drop off your laundry, pick it up and have it available. I think they're awesome," said 1st Sgt. Robert Tetu, from South Berwick, Maine Company A, 1-30th Inf. Regt.
The infantry Soldiers' mission is ongoing and the 549th QM Co. realizes as long as they are needed they will remain at COP Murray to do what they do best – support the fight and continue the long and storied tradition of the quartermaster forward.
| Date Taken: | 01.22.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 01.22.2008 17:16 |
| Story ID: | 15685 |
| Location: | COMBAT OUTPOST MURRAY, IQ |
| Web Views: | 392 |
| Downloads: | 137 |
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