Photo By Staff Sgt. Russell Klika | U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to Regimental Troops Squadron,1st platoon, 278th Armored...... read more read more
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By Staff Sgt. Thomas Greene
CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait — Night gives way to daylight as the sun, with its lurid red glow creeps up the eastern horizon. Once she pulls herself over the edge of the earth, she travels an upward ark in the sky as though she were on steroids and fades from red to yellow.
Spin yourself 360 degrees and you will see a surrounding cloud at all points of the compass, hanging like a pall where land and sky come together. The pall could lead one to believe it is a heavy fog in the distance, but there is no moisture in this fog. No need to worry about rain. It's not likely to happen, but an unexpected dust storm could sweep in at any moment.
Promptly, at 6:00 a.m. those still asleep are treated to the sound of reveille played over the base loudspeaker. One would have to be near deaf to sleep through it.
"Welcome to Camp Buehring" reads the sign at the base's entry check point.
Camp Buehring is the overseas starting point for soldiers of the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, Tennessee Army National Guard one of the last combat units deploying to Iraq as the U.S. begins to withdraw its forces.
This brown and gray oasis in the desert is also many soldiers' introduction to the harshness of the Middle East and the third world.
The land here lies as flat as a cookie sheet and as barren as the moon. Apart from spiders, flies and a lonely cricket, the only wildlife seen inside Camp Buehring are two sparrows and a rumor of a mouse in the sleep tent.
Buehring is initially a welcome change of venue for most soldiers of the 278th. Arriving around the 17th of February, a plane load of troops was fleeing a damp and cold southern Mississippi where days prior two inches of snow had fallen.
Here the temperature is a pleasant seventy-five degrees. Two days later the newbie's begin to suffer buyer's remorse as a mild dust storm creeps over, under and around them and enchants them for the next three days.
The Up-tempo
Camp Buehring is also where U.S. forces get some of the most realistic training in the world. Soldiers who attend the advanced combat lifesaver course, come away shaking their head in awe after completing the course.
Combat life savers are not medics, but ordinary soldiers trained to do the extraordinary; treat life threatening wounds, stabilize the wounded and keep them alive for evacuation.
Staff Sgt. Kenneth McCormick of Smyrna, Tenn., said his hands were shaking as he went through the course. "The training was as close to real as you could get without having a live subject to work on," said McCormick.
Spc. Jason Horn of Trenton, Tenn., described the course as follows: "Imagine yourself in the dark with a strobe light flashing. You hear the screaming [loud sound effects] of seriously wounded, breathing, bleeding dummies with eyes that blink. These mock humans count on you to stop their bleeding, bandage their wounds or open a collapsed lung. The sound of weapons firing surrounds you and the clock is running because you hear the sound of the medevac helicopters coming."
There is a vast improvement in medical care in this war from previous wars. One out of every three 278th ACR soldiers is CLS qualified.
"Our combat life savers are trained more realistically, they are better equipped to treat life threatening injuries and we have 1200 CLS qualified personal throughout the regiment and that is a phenomenal number," said Maj. Steven Turner, the 278th ACR's chief of Operations.
The 278th ACR also trained on various live fire weapons ranges. One is the dismounted close quarter range that stresses quickness, split second decision making and trust in your wing man.
Sgt. John (Andy) Parker of Tazewell and Staff Sgt. Keith Primavera of Knoxville, talked about the ranges and techniques taught to them by former elite military personnel.
"The scenario is inside an Iraqi home. As you sweep through clearing each room, targets will pop up as either innocents or insurgents. It allowed us to put our training into action. We had to make quick decisions and make the right decision," said Parker.
Primavera added, "The training also brought out the trust and confidence you have to have for the soldiers beside and behind you. You know they're going to cover their area and your back."
The Downward Tempo
Not all of the 3300 soldiers in the regiment go north to Iraq at once, but rather in piecemeal.
The 278th soldiers who have completed training at Camp Buehring and await transportation call it "hurry up and wait."
Camp Buehring has been improved since the 278th ACR traveled through here back in 2004. It offers amenities such as a movie theater, wireless internet, first class dining facilities, fitness centers, fast food and a 24 hour coffee shop.
When not training, soldiers find ways to pass the time by conventional methods such as card playing or surfing the net.
According Master Sgt. James Grigsby, Regimental M2 Bradley Master Gunner, when "Joe" (slang for soldier) has too much time on his hands, he gets in trouble. "He will start looking around for something to do and if not kept busy he will start saying "watch this ..." Trouble almost always follows.
While "chilling out," members of the regiment have participated in two 5 km. races. Regimental Headquarters Troop's Pfc. Ashanti' Short of Clarksvlle finished 3rd in the women's event and Spc. Jason Norton of Knoxville placed second in the men's event.
Soldiers at Camp Buerhing also have access to the United Services Organization. They have a unique program called "United through Reading." According to Staff Sgt. Jim Kritikson of Sevierville, a soldier reads a book while being videotaped by the USO. The USO then sends the book and the DVD to the soldier's home where their child can watch and listen while they look at the same book. Kritikson and Staff Sgt. Tim Sather of Jefferson City both say they took advantage of it.
Some soldiers just find a shady spot to hang out with a makeshift seat and chit-chat the hours away. Command Sgt. Maj. John Cartwright of 3/278th ACR said, "he was boxing up boredom to send home."
The laundry is taken by a guy from Pakistan and a dude from Bangladesh. Some mornings, when business is slow they can be seen playing cricket.
The food at Camp Buerhing is good and plenty of it, and the dining facility serves four meals a day. The food is served by and international staff that would make the United Nations proud.
Indians and Pakistanis, Hindu and Muslim, stand amiably side-by-side, serving meals along with servers from Indonesia, Philippines, Nepal and Bangladesh. They dress in black slacks, white shirts, black vests and white cafeteria hats.
Now the day is done. It is an hour before sunset. As the sun is setting west, the pall is thick enough to obscure the bright ball to the point that it can be observed with the human eye without a wince-and slowly day turns into night.
| Date Taken: | 03.16.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 03.16.2010 08:00 |
| Story ID: | 46738 |
| Location: | CAMP BUEHRING, KW |
| Web Views: | 935 |
| Downloads: | 624 |
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