7th Engineer Support Battalion launders 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment

Photo By Sgt. Benjamin Crilly | Lance Cpl. Lee M. Neely (right), a water purification specialist with 7th Engineer Support Battalion, in support of 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, accepts laundry from Staff Sgt. Eric Forcillo, a watch chief for the 1/5 combat operation center, at Forward Operating Base Jackson within Sangin, Afghanistan, June 13, 2011. Neely runs the laundry center at FOB Jackson where he process up to 400 pounds of laundry a day. Neely, 20, is from Stockton, Calif., and is a 2009 graduate from Bear Creek High School. Forcillo, 33, is from Philadelphia. (Photo by Cpl. Benjamin Crilly)  

FORWARD OPERATING BASE JACKSON, AFGHANISTAN

06.14.2011

Courtesy Story

II Marine Expeditionary Force   

By Cpl. Benjamin Crilly
1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Public Affairs

FORWARD OPERATING BASE JACKSON, Afghanistan – It’s the little things in life that Marines and sailors deployed to the remote areas of Helmand province, Afghanistan, really miss the most. Like showering, hot meals, cold drinking water and clean laundry.

Lance Cpl. Lee M. Neely, a water purification specialist with 7th Engineer Support Battalion in support of 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, alone had the means to fulfill one of those little things, and took it upon himself to do laundry day-in and day-out for Marines, sailors and civilian contractors at Forward Operating Base Jackson.

The Stockton, Calif., native starts doing laundry at 7 in the morning. Three thousand gallons of water later, he has done anywhere between 200 and 400 pounds of laundry.

“It wasn’t my first choice when I enlisted, but someone has to do it,” said Neely, 20, a 2009 graduate of Bear Creek High School. “Laundry service makes it so that people can have clean clothes and feel better.”

“They turn in a bag of laundry, and it is done that day,” said Neely. “This stops them from being distracted in a combat zone and is one less thing that they have to worry about doing in their free time.”

Lance Cpl. Jack E. Woodworth, a team leader with 1/5, deployed to Nawa as part of the battalion's last deployment and did not have any form of laundry service available.

“Last deployment we went down to the creek to take a bath with our clothes on in order to wash them,” said Woodworth, from Casper, Wyo., and a 2007 graduate of Kelly Walsh High School. “Having a laundry service takes a lot of pressure off me and my team. Washing clothes at the patrol bases takes a lot of time out of your day that I could use to prepare for the next patrol or mission.”

Neely also improves the morale of the Marines and sailors of 1/5 by relieving the pressure through his services in Sangin.

“Out here, being able to turn in your laundry and get it back in the same day boosts your morale,” said Woodworth. “For me, it is just means that I am staying clean and staying in the fight.”

On top of raising morale, Neely finds job satisfaction in interacting with his patrons and retrieving loose odds and ends lefts in pockets.

“I love finding weird stuff in the washers and dryers, and getting to talk to the people when they come by,” said Neely.

The Marines and sailors of 1/5 are supported by Marines like Neely who do small things like keeping the battalion laundered to keep them 100 percent mission capable, said Woodworth.

• Date Taken: 06.14.2011
• Date Posted: 06.26.2011 03:46
• Story ID: 72758
• Location: FORWARD OPERATING BASE JACKSON, AF