Established as the Morale Branch during World War I by presidential appointee Dr. Raymond Fosdick, what is today called the Morale, Welfare and Recreation program has historically played a role in lifting the spirits of fighting troops.
By approving non-appropriated funding this month for all camps in Kuwait, Col. Brick T. Miller, commander of Army Central Command -- Kuwait, will allow MWR to carry out its mission of entertaining troops in camps other than Doha and Arifjan.
"We're supposed to be a minute of relaxation for those troops on their way up north," said Capt. Renie Bright, MWR representative for Camp Victory, explaining why she thinks the desert camps, Camp Buehring, Camp Victory, Camp Virginia and Navistar should get non-appropriated funding. Non-appropriated funding is used for activities that are open to all the troops on the base camp. The money can be used on catering, giveaways, prizes or items that all Soldiers can enjoy or benefit from. Although the population of each of the desert camps in Kuwait can get as high as 13,000 during troop surges, non-appropriated funding was only available for Camp Arifjan and Camp Doha. This decision, made by the former ARCENT command group, was made because Doha and Arifjan were the only enduring camps.
Miller saw things differently; he saw it as a quality of life issue that called for the approval of non-appropriated funding for all the camps in Kuwait.
As far back as Brian Smylie can remember this has been an issue for the desert camps. Smylie, the man in charge of approving non-appropriated spending, said the camps have always pushed for this funding. This new rotation followed in that tradition, but even more fervently, and with Miller in charge it was a lot easier to get approval. It all started between January and March when the new mayors" cells for Camp Beuhring, Camp Victory, Camp Virginia and Navistar took over.
"We had no idea what we were doing or what we had a right to," said Capt. Adina Sanchez, Camp Beuhring's MWR officer in charge. The new mayoral staffs received no guidance about anything that had to do with running the camp, much less about MWR, said Sanchez. Sanchez, also Beuhring's personnel specialist, started trying to find out what MWR assets were available for the camp. She began requesting funds for things like contests and tournaments with food, prizes and giveaways. When Smylie, the bean counter as he calls himself, had to deny her the funds, she learned the camp wasn't entitled to non-appropriated funding.
"I hit the regulations right away," said Sgt. 1st Class Deborah George, Camp Beuhring's MWR noncommissioned officer in charge. In the meantime, George was directed to a warehouse in Camp Doha, which houses standard sets that every base camp gets. The sets include horseshoes, volleyballs, basketballs, soccer balls, various games and other recreational items.
"(That's) not even close to what our warriors deserve," said George. Sanchez and George quickly learned they weren't alone when they got together with all the other MWR reps from the different camps. "We weren't asking the right questions," said Maj. Darrell Beck, Camp Victory's MWR rep and headquarters, headquarters detachment commander.
Since the MWR reps didn't know anything about non-appropriated or appropriated funding, they were asking for random things instead of the funds themselves. Once they looked up the regulation, they learned what things they could ask for and what things fall under what funds. They started asking for non-appropriated funds because, unlike appropriated funding, which is granted through congressional budgeting, non-appropriated funding can be granted by Area Support Group -- Kuwait.The desert camps still have a long way to go.
They're still working on getting appropriated funding, which covers things like gym equipment and a staff of civilians to run their MWR facilities. Until the mid 1980s, active duty Soldiers held military occupational specialties for MWR. Those MOSs were discontinued, and civilians have since operated MWR programs. However, in the desert camps, headquarters detachment commanders and personnel specialists run the MWR programs.
The job of supervising computer rooms, game rooms, movies and books falls on the shoulders of a daily detail, which includes troops rotating in and out of the camps. Lance Cpl. Chris Sherburne, a Marine with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit training at Beuhring said working in the computer room and supervising the MWR tent is a nice getaway from his daily training, but the 31st MEU won't always be there.
Left behind to supervise the facilities will be the static population of about 2,000 Soldiers who will be pulled away from their job of actually making the camp run to supervise a sign-in sheet for 12 hours.
For now, the camps are more than happy with the funding they've received. Camp Virginia will kick off their new MWR activities with a Halloween fun run, awarding the top seven runners with AAFES gift certificates, and giving all participants a black, hooded sweatshirt. Camp Victory started Sunday with a fun day that included everything from camel rides to a casino night. And Camp Virginia held an all-out Bingo night Sunday with prizes and giveaways for everyone who came.
| Date Taken: | 09.28.2004 |
| Date Posted: | 09.28.2004 09:32 |
| Story ID: | 421 |
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| Web Views: | 81 |
| Downloads: | 21 |
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