Photo By Staff Sgt. Robert Walden | Soldiers from the Command Cell, 960th Brigade Support Battalion raise the flags at the...... read more read more
Soldiers of the 960th Brigade Support Battalion managing the command cell at the Life Support Area, Kuwait, have greatly improved their base and made the living conditions better for thousands of service members who travel through on a daily basis.
Between 900 and 2000 transient service members a day stop at the LSA on their way to other bases, redeploying, or for Rest and Relaxation leave.
"Our mission as a command cell is to provide life support for the gateway mission, which is to send Soldiers in and out of theater," said Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Winney, the LSA camp command sergeant major. "We provide water, food, electricity and billeting for all of the transient Soldiers."
When the 960th BSB took over the mission at LSA in July 2009, they identified areas where they could improve their base and set out to accomplish these improvements. Some of the things identified were problems with noisy generators, the inability to quickly get people and equipment on and off base through the Entry Control Point and general camp clean up.
Doing something about the generator noise was the first improvement the 960th BSB command cell tackled.
"When we first got here the noise level on this camp was atrocious," said Winney. "It was affecting the quality of life. We had old generators that were extremely noisy. Most places on camp you couldn't hold a normal conversation outside because of the noise level."
To resolve the problem, over half of the old generators were replaced with a new RQ, or run quiet type generator. "Now you can walk around and actually converse with someone without having to yell back and forth," said Winney. "That was a big accomplishment for us. We hit the ground running and did it in about 60 days of being here."
Streamlining the process of getting hundreds of trucks and busses transporting service members and supplies on and off of the installation on a daily basis, while maintaining security, was the next obstacle that the Soldiers at the LSA command cell faced.
"Every drop of water at the LSA is brought in on trucks, and all of the electricity is provided by generators," said Winney. "There are fuel trucks coming in and out, and all the water brought in is also carried out. That includes sewage and waste."
"When we first got here there were constant issues with outages of power and water," said Winney. "The ECP out there was a nightmare. It was to the point that it was hindering the mission. We made a lot of improvements to expedite the process to get them in and out and to reduce their wait time at the gate," explained Winney.
Although these achievements have greatly improved the base and made the transient service members time at the LSA more pleasant, most will not realize the drastic improvements. One thing that nearly everyone traveling through the LSA does notice though, is the ability to eat and relax any time of day or night at several different places on base.
"Everything on LSA is open 24/7. We have McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, a PX, and a base dining facility," said Winney. "We get Soldiers in here all hours of the day and night. Some are here less than 12 or 24 hours and we need to take care of their needs whether its food or a tube of toothpaste."
"Desert Diamond is a little oriental place where you can go sit down at a restaurant and eat," said Winney. "There aren't many places where you can do that in Theater. They give you a menu and even bring the food to your table. It's just like being back home."
"Green Beans Coffee had seating for maybe half a dozen Soldiers," said Winney. "We replaced it with a brand new facility that has room for about 50 soldiers. The Soldiers are enjoying it tremendously. Now you can go into a much nicer environment."
"The environment is really what it's all about. What makes Soldiers feel better is the fact that they can sit down in a nice, clean, quiet environment and enjoy a cup of coffee and chat with a friend, or to sit at the USO and read a book or watch a movie," explained Winney. "I think environment has a lot to do with it."
The Soldiers have also constructed a 250 yard Golf driving range on the edge of camp. They have clubs and hundreds of balls for the service members to use.
"It gets a lot of attention from our Soldiers and everyone has a lot of fun out there, and can improve their game," said Winney. "If you hit ten balls, we just ask that you go out and pick up at least ten. If you see more, grab them too."
The Soldiers of the 960th BSB have not only been busy making the LSA more comfortable, but also improving the way it looks.
"It's just so much nicer looking than it was when we first got here," said Winney. "When we got here litter and trash was not a concern. People just let it lay. We made some changes and our permanent party personnel have cleaned up the place we live. We try to make it as nice as we can while we're here. It's still not home, but it's better than it was."
| Date Taken: | 02.07.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 02.07.2010 07:45 |
| Story ID: | 45047 |
| Location: | LIFE SUPPORT AREA, KW |
| Web Views: | 393 |
| Downloads: | 361 |
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