Publication:Chattanooga Times Free Press
Date:Sunday, July 17, 2005
Section:Front Page; Page:1

DISPATCH IRAQ

By Edward Lee Pitts - Staff Writer

The heat is on in Iraq for the 278 th Regimental Combat Team.

Desert temperatures now averaging more than 120 degrees are bringing new meaning to the dog days of summer for members of the Tennessee-based National Guard unit.

As the nearly 3,000-member unit is into its eighth month of a scheduled 12-month deployment in Iraq near the Iranian border, the thermometer there is topping out in the mid-130 degrees. Even at night, the mercury rarely dips below 100 degrees, according to soldiers. "Place your hair dryer on the hottest setting and put it to your face, just holding it there," Sgt. Tracie Muniz, 33, of Johnson City, Tenn., wrote in a recent e-mail to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. "That is what it feels like all the time."

Sgt. Robert Bonnett, 32, said a nearly 135-degree day last week caused a bag of microwave popcorn in his Humvee to pop on its own.

Even the notorious Tennessee humidity has not prepared the soldiers for Iraq’s summer scorchers, according to their email messages.

"I was told this would be a dry heat," wrote Sgt. Bonnett, of the Athens, Tenn.-based 1 st Squadron. "I was lied to. It is as if we have been placed into the sixth level of Dante’s Inferno."

The July heat, in stark contrast to the surprisingly cool and wet weather the regiment faced when it arrived in Iraq last December, is presenting the soldiers with new challenges.

"If you’re smart, you drink plenty of water the night before you go out on a mission," wrote Staff Sgt. David Cline, of Maryville, Tenn. "Trying to drink during the day is too late to be trying to replenish your body’s water."

MISSIONS CONTINUE

Sgt. 1 st Class Rick Mullins, of Chattanooga, said missions still must go on, but it is no picnic to be sitting inside a fully enclosed, armored Humvee in such heat.

Command Sgt. Maj. James Kyle, 58, wrote that soldiers now must wear gloves because their weapons are too hot to touch.

Soldiers who are out all day on missions wearing full combat gear laugh when their counterparts who work primarily inside the base complain about the heat, according to Staff Sgt. Cline. But he said indoor work areas heat up, too, when base power generators and their backups often automatically shut themselves off, leaving everyone without air conditioning.

Inside the guarded confines of Camp Caldwell the soldiers still are required to wear heavy Kevlar helmets despite the stifling heat, according to Sgt. Bonnett.

MONITORING HEALTH

Sgt. Muniz, who works with 278 th’s Charlie Med Company, said the regiment has not had as many heat-related injuries or illnesses as doctors predicted.

The soldiers are drinking more water, taking more breaks and watching each other more closely, Sgt. 1 st Class Mullins said. Meanwhile, regimental medics monitor the heat and give daily reports on conditions to commanders.

There have been some benefits to the ovenlike temperatures, soldiers wrote. When Camp Caldwell’s water supply reaches levels too low to allow for the luxury of showers, Sgt. 1 st Class Mullins said enterprising soldiers keep bottled water outside all day so they still can have a hot shower that night.

Staff Sgt. Cline said it is shocking to call home to learn the highs in Tennessee are just in the 80s. Such temperatures have taken on new meaning to the 278 th troops.

"The other night the temperature dropped to the mid-80s, and I felt like I was going to freeze to death," Sgt. Bonnett wrote.

The Iraq heat kicked up for good in June, gradually getting warmer for the last three weeks, wrote Command Sgt. Maj. Kyle. But the worse is yet to come. August is traditionally the country’s hottest month.

"We are being told by locals we will see 135 (for highs) for the next 40 days," Command Sgt. Maj. Kyle wrote.

E-mail Lee Pitts at lpitts@timesfreepress.com

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