Troops in Iraq yearn to use pool

[unhappycamper]

Pfc. Sean Morgan, Spc. Paul Eliss and Staff Sgt. Charles McMahan, left to right, soldiers assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 35th Armored Regiment, pose for a photo inside the pool they hope to get working before the three digit heat shows up Friday at Combat Outpost Dolby, Iraq.


Troops in Iraq yearn to use pool
By Steve Mraz, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, March 6, 2009

PATROL BASE DOLBY, Iraq — At this patrol base southeast of Baghdad sits a pool — a small, sad, empty pool.

There’s no water in it; no working pump; no chlorine to treat the water. Right now, it’s just a vacant concrete hole that some time long ago was a refuge from the blazing heat of Iraq. Soldiers with Baumholder, Germany’s Company B, 1st Battalion, 35th Armored Regiment hope to make this pool their oasis.

But they find themselves at an impasse.

"If we can get a pump for it, get the chlorine and the filters and everything, that’s the main thing," said Staff Sgt. Charles McMahan, who is leading the effort. "If we can get that stuff, we’ll work on the pool, but we’re not going to work on it if we can’t get that stuff."

The soldiers here envision soaking in their would-be, could-be aquatic retreat on their off days, just as other deployed U.S. troops do at pools on military bases in the Middle East.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=61142