Scott Fontaine covers Fort Lewis, McChord Air Force Base, the Washington National Guard and the veteran community. Fontaine has worked at The News Tribune since 2006. E-mail along story suggestions and tips to scott.fontaine@thenewstribune.com
Or, if you prefer, you can send mail to The News Tribune, PO Box 11000, Tacoma 98411.
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Matt Misterek is the communities and military team leader at The News Tribune and has supervised local military coverage since 2003.
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MOSUL, Iraq – This is one tired country.
No matter where you are, folks always seem to be trying their damndest to catch up on sleep. As I type this, a dude is sprawled out on a wooden bench next to a runway, using his plate carrier as a pillow.
The passenger terminal at Contingency Operating Site Marez looks like a flophouse. Four soldiers from 1st Cav are sleeping against a wooden table. A junior officer is using four seats as a makeshift bed. And a contractor appears to be catching some Zs while standing up.
Joes will snooze in, on or around just about anything. If you’re riding in the back of certain models of MRAPs, it can be (relatively) comfortable to throw a ruck on the floor, sit on it and recline against your seat, using the SAPI plates for support. On flights across the country, the sight of guys sleeping on a noisy C-130 with no earplugs is common.
And all this is in spite of the cans of Red Bull (or its local knockoff, Big Pull), cigarettes, over-the-counter stimulant pills and gallons of coffee.
(Flickr photo by YourLocalDave)
