A soldier fires a few arrows in between missions at an archery range created by soldiers at Forward Operating Base Warhorse in Iraq's Diyala Province. (Air Force Staff Sgt. Ali Flisek/Department of Defense)

Downtime in the desert

DiggThis

Hurry up and wait, or so the idiom goes ... especially when you're a US soldier in Iraq.

By Tom A. Peter — GlobalPost
Published: July 27, 2009 05:23 ET

DIYALA PROVINCE, Iraq — Perhaps the true mark of a good soldier is how well he can handle omnipresent boredom. Even with two wars, the military rarely delivers the action-packed moments advertised on recruiting posters.

One tanker currently stationed in Iraq, for example, recalled seeing a poster in the recruiter’s office of a tank jumping a ditch shooting another tank. Now that same tanker sits in on officer meetings and reports back to his unit.

As the war in Iraq winds down, soldiers are increasingly faced with more banal jobs and less hectic operation schedules than those during the height of the conflict.

There are swimming pools and movie theaters at large, central bases, but soldiers stationed far from these amenities are finding novel ways to make the time in between “missions” tick by a little quicker.

Here, put this apple on your head ...

When they’re not in Iraq, the soldiers of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team are stationed in Alaska. A number of them are avid outdoorsmen.

Not wanting to fall out of practice during their deployment, soldiers who were avid bow hunters at home brought bows and arrows with them to Iraq.

At Forward Operating Base Warhorse, they’ve built an archery range with plywood cutouts of elk and other animals.

“You come here to a place that’s all guns and bombs and here we are shooting bows and arrows that go back thousands of years,” says Staff Sgt. Kyler Johnson. “You get out there and you can forget about everything else that you’ve got going on — all the bad stuff at work, all the problems at home. You just go out there and shoot your bow. It’s nice be able to have that get away.”

One soldier is qualified to certify bow hunters, so those new to the sport can start pursuing big game as soon as they get off the plane back in Alaska.

Comments:

1 Comments.

Login or Register to post comments

Posted by Branker on July 28, 2009 21:05 ET

Indicative of the first gulf war where most were amped to see action but never did and suffered from boredom.

Recent on Iraq:

Britain anticipates Tony Blair's Iraq testimony

Matthew Hart - United Kingdom - January 26, 2010 06:59 ET

London police brace for protests as former Blair allies appear before the Chilcot commission prior to the ex-prime minister's Friday testimony.

In northern Iraq, another world

Stephen Kurczy - Iraq - December 12, 2009 09:47 ET

A long way from Baghdad

Claire Duffett - Iraq - December 12, 2009 09:46 ET

Kurdistan is not Iraq, its citizens say again and again.

Opinion: Obama defines the use of war in an age of terror

C.M. Sennott - Worldview - December 10, 2009 11:43 ET

Obama's Nobel acceptance speech was a self-effacing and deeply personal exploration of "just war."

Four bombings rock Baghdad

Jane Arraf - Iraq - December 8, 2009 14:37 ET

Attacks paralyze government buildings ahead of crucial elections.

Iraqi election deal sealed at 11th hour

Jane Arraf - Iraq - December 7, 2009 15:39 ET

Analysis: Lawmakers on Sunday ended months of wrangling over an election law. Now for the hard part.

Analysis: Passing of Iraq election law brings relief

Jane Arraf - Iraq - November 23, 2009 12:52 ET

U.S. officials made unwanted compromises, but can now turn their attention toward troop withdrawal.

Discord as elections loom in Iraq

Jane Arraf - Worldview - October 20, 2009 08:40 ET

Analysis: The country struggles to decide just how democratic it really wants to be.

Iraq's election issues

Jane Arraf - Iraq - October 20, 2009 08:28 ET

Graft the next great hurdle to a 'new' Iraq

Tom A. Peter - Iraq - October 16, 2009 15:43 ET

Worse than the Saddam years? On the topic of corruption, many Iraqis say yes.

Opinion: Isolating insurgents is nothing new

HDS Greenway - Worldview - October 6, 2009 05:42 ET

In the Vietnam era it was called pacification. Today it’s nation-building.

US plays peace broker in Iraq

Tom A. Peter - Iraq - September 25, 2009 10:34 ET

As tensions between Arabs and Kurds grow, and US troops prepare to leave, the race is on to broker a lasting peace.

Behind Baghdad's '9/11'

Jane Arraf - Iraq - September 16, 2009 14:43 ET

Regret, rage and recrimination follow last week's deadly attacks.

Opinion: Slouching toward Baghdad

Joel Brinkley - Worldview - September 6, 2009 08:23 ET

The challenges of building a new democracy in a place that has been resistant to it.

Iraq: In the bunker

Jane Arraf - Iraq - August 20, 2009 08:07 ET

A wave of bombs, a dark anniversary, and a war that won't go away.

A summer of protest. Is anyone listening?

Teri Schultz - European Union - August 15, 2009 11:24 ET

An Iranian exile worries his demonstrations against Iraq fall on deaf ears.

The waiting game

Tom A. Peter - Iraq - August 13, 2009 08:39 ET

Traveling with the US military in Iraq? Best pack a good book.

Meet the economic gangsters

Mark Scheffler - Commerce - August 12, 2009 09:03 ET

Economic gangsters come in all shapes and sizes — they're Asian dictators and Somali pirates.

Your foxhole or mine?

Tom A. Peter - Iraq - August 8, 2009 11:38 ET

For married military couples, being deployed together has its advantages and drawbacks.