***** Posted on Wed, Jul. 02, 2003 Concerns raised about water rations for deployed troops By RICK MONTGOMERY The Kansas City Star
In a place where the hot wind feels like an open pizza oven, U.S. soldiers occupying Iraq each get two tall bottles of delicious drinking water daily.
The ration totals a bit more than three-quarters of a gallon of bottled water per soldier per day. Of course, "day" can mean long hours in heavy gear, with temperatures approaching 140 degrees by August.
Yet, according to the U.S. Army's own manuals, some troops toiling in such weather may need up to three gallons of water a day to stay healthy.
Responding to congressional concerns about water and food rations, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Richard B. Myers recently acknowledged in a letter that "some problems exist," particularly in remote spots far from supply depots.
But he assured U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton of Missouri that most troops are well supplied with drinking water -- even if it may be the locally "purified" variety that tastes funny.
"There is an abundance of purified water available" to soldiers willing to gulp down filtered and chemically treated water from Iraqi rivers, according to Myers' letter.
They far prefer the bottled stuff, however. Chlorine the military puts in purified water produces a taste that worsens the warmer the water gets.
Still, to stay hydrated in the heat, "it would be in a soldier's best interest to suck it up and drink some bad-tasting water," said Scott Montain, a research physiologist at the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine.
An Army press officer in Baghdad, Capt. Jeff Fitzgibbons, said limiting troops to three liters of bottled water is "mostly a matter of logistics, of moving (water) out to various places" to make sure all military posts are continually stocked.
"Surprisingly...the number of heat casualties is actually pretty small," said Fitzgibbons, who characterized the water supply as sufficient in most places....
Skelton, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said he began receiving several complaints about water and food rations last month from colleagues who were contacted by worried constituents.
In a letter to Myers, Skelton relayed a report that one military police unit in Iraq was "down to only two MRE's (meals ready-to-eat) and two sixteen-ounce bottles of water a day." A platoon of the 1st Marine Division outside Baghdad reportedly was getting by on one meal a day.
"Water and food are the problem," Skelton said. "As we speak, I hope it's corrected...It has been brought to the proper attention of commanders."
Concerns also were voiced in a recent letter to home from Staff Sgt. John Edmondson, an Army reservist from Kansas City, North:
"If you want to write to congressional rep on soldiers' behalf, you can demand to know why they are only supplying soldiers with 3 liters of water -- two large bottles -- a day, in 120 degree heat and still having to wear full uniform...(which adds 10 degrees).
"Tell said rep that if the military isn't able to adequately support the troops, then it should bring those troops home."
In the letter penned May 31 to his mother, Edmondson reported having "had heat exhaustion once already."
Christine Edmondson received her son's letter from Iraq several days ago. She phoned the offices of local members of Congress and provided portions of Edmondson's letter to The Kansas City Star.
"I want my son in a vertical position when he comes home," she said. "He's not one to go around complaining."
The daily bottled-water ration equals a few ounces more than three quarts. Given the extreme heat, that amount falls well short of recommendations cited in Army deployment manuals.
One manual, Nutritional Guidelines for Military Operations in Temperate and Extreme Environments, states on page 35:
"Approximately four to six quarts of water per day are recommended for light work in warm weather. More water is needed as physical work and temperatures increase. Up to twelve quarts of water per day may be required by military personnel working in hot conditions."...
During combat this spring, some forces endured days of inadequate food and water because their units moved far ahead of supply lines. As recently as May, Fitzgibbons said, "there were units having trouble getting their fair share of water -- the Army admitted that -- but the logistical network has gotten better."
According to Myers' letter to Skelton, not all troops are getting their daily ration of bottled water "because of ongoing operations." In such cases, the general wrote, "purified water is available as a substitute."
That means water drawn from local rivers and wells that has been filtered and treated for human consumption by the military's Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Units, or ROWPUs. Many soldiers, however, try to limit their use of purified water to bathing, not drinking.
"They shouldn't get sick at all from ROWPU water," said researcher Montain. "But in hot weather it probably tastes terrible."
To reach Rick Montgomery, national correspondent, call (816) 234-4410 or send e-mail to rmontgomery at kcstar.com.
<http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/iraq/6218852.htm> ***** -- Yoshie
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